Higher oil and gas taxes are typically passed on to consumers in the form of higher energy prices and elevated fuel costs. This reality is accepted as common knowledge by most Americans. However, raising the tax burdens of the oil and natural gas industry also creates an economic issue that rarely receives sufficient media attention ? the reduced value of [...]
Categories: retirement income Tags:
Poll finds aging US population in denial about need for long-term care (via Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) WASHINGTON ? We?re in denial: Americans underestimate their chances of needing long-term care as they get older ? and are taking few steps to get ready. A new poll examined how people 40 and over are preparing for this difficult and often pricey reality of [...]
There can be no question that saving for your own retirement is a financially sound and important thing for you to do, and one of the most common and popular methods of doing this is by investing in a 401K plan at your place of work. But what you may not know is that not all 401K plans are the [...]
Categories: 401k plan Tags: 401k fees, 401k plan, 401k plan fees, cost of 401k, excessive 401k fees
The Best Guide to Win Your Credit Report Dispute The 60 Minutes TV program just lately disclosed the large amount of problems in consumer credit files. While a substantial amount of these were errors that might be adjusted through the standard routes of contacting the credit bureau, millions of people don’t succeed in getting the errors removed from the credit [...]
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Genworth 2013 Annual Cost of Care Survey: Nursing Home Costs Up, At Home Care Prices Remain Relatively Flat (via PR Newswire) 70% Choose lower cost in-home care options RICHMOND, Va., April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – In its 10th year, the Genworth (NYSE: GNW) 2013 Cost of Care Survey shows a continued upward trajectory when it comes to the cost of obtaining [...]
Categories: long term care Tags: long term care cost
Have you lost track of an old pension plan? Do you think you might be owed some money? You’re not alone. But you can find that cash. Traditional pension plans, also called defined benefit plans, promise to pay a specific monthly amount to participants when they retire. (Profit-sharing and 401(k) plans are not considered traditional pension plans.) When a company’s [...]
Categories: retirement planning Tags: PBGC, unclaimed benefit
Life insurance is a common estate planning tool as it provides liquidity in an estate. That liquidity can be used to pay estate taxes or equalize an estate. Let’s say Mr. Smith has two sons. Son 1 works with him in the business and wants to take over the business when dad passes. The business is worth $5 million. Mr. [...]
Categories: life insurance Tags: second-to-die, uninsurable
If you’re in the market for participating life insurance policy, you may want to consider the so-called “disappearing premium” (previously called vanishing premium) policy-which means that the dividend yield from the policy will eventually be sufficient to cover the entire annual premium cost. As their name implies, participating polices allow the policyholder to participate, or share, in the life insurance [...]
Categories: life insurance Tags: disappearing premium, paid up additions, pua, vanishing premium
Over the years, you may have made the most of tax-deferred investments. In many cases, this let you use the government’s money to help compound the return that you had received. What if you don’t plan to spend those dollars during your lifetime and prefer to let them grow for your beneficiaries? Without proper planning, you could end up leaving [...]
Categories: estate planning Tags: beneficiaries, income in respect of a decedent, IRD
No one likes to think about it, but it’s an important decision that all individuals should make: how to plan for the transfer of your assets when you die. Wills and trusts are critical tools for this function, designed to pass your wealth along to a surviving spouse or another generation as efficiently as possible. But do your beneficiaries have [...]
Categories: estate planning Tags: beneficiaries, transfer of assets
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