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For decades, public-sector retirees with state-backed pensions have faced reductions in their Social Security benefits due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions were designed to adjust Social Security payments for those receiving government pensions. But now, that’s all changed.
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The Trump Administration has announced a series of Executive Orders that will impact practically all Federal employees. Many of these orders will likely be litigated, and at this time it's unclear how they will be implemented. If you are a federal employee who might be affected by these orders, now is the time to prepare. These potential next steps fall into three different broad categories: team building, career planning, and personal finance.
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Are you a retiree or nearing retirement? Learn why involving your adult children in financial and estate planning is crucial for protecting your legacy, avoiding future stress, and ensuring your wishes are honored.
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An incentive stock option (ISO) gives an employee the opportunity to buy shares of their company’s stock at a specific price, during a specific window of time.
ISOs can be a powerful investment tool because they allow you to purchase stock at a discount. However, they also come with risk—and potentially significant tax consequences.
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America is a death-denying culture. We don’t like to think about, talk about, or even acknowledge death as an inevitable reality. Even if we’re going to die, the topic is uncomfortable, and often swept under the rug.
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You’re almost ready to retire, finally in the home stretch. You can see the finish line, and once you get there, the rest of your life will be nothing but playing golf and sipping piña coladas. The rest is in your financial advisor’s hands. After all, they got you to this point. Why wouldn’t they be able to get you through it?
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Buying a house, planning a big vacation, picking your retirement date … Most of us don't take these major financial decisions lightly. We build our lives one financial choice at a time, carefully considering the dollars and cents.
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Overreliance, emotional strain, and long-term impacts to your own retirement plans… It can be difficult to prepare your children for the world AND prepare them for financial independence. Unfortunately, we have seen first-hand how our clients’ own plans for retirement can be negatively impacted when children remain financially tethered to their parents for too long.
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If you have children, or plan to have children, the topic of education has probably come up. Do you want to provide for your child's education?
What if they want to go to a private school? What if you want them to go to a private school? And finally, how will you pay for their tuition?
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When it comes to making better choices about our health, the rules are pretty simple—eat better, move more. It's simple, but it isn't easy.
Many people who find success with their personal health attribute it to establishing a doable routine. They don't abide by stringent rules, deprivation diets, and unsustainable exercise regimens. Instead, they make small changes to their lifestyle habits that add up to improved health over time.
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In today’s financial landscape, achieving financial wellness isn’t just about numbers; it’s also about understanding the psychological factors that influence our relationship with money. This matters more than you may imagine. After all, the financial decisions we make are strongly influenced by our beliefs and attitudes towards money. In this article, we look at the psychology of money to explore how your thinking may be impacting your financial wellness.
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In today's world, financial empowerment is a necessity. For women in particular, a deep understanding of financial planning is crucial for crafting a secure future, whether you're just starting your career or nearing retirement.
In Build, Protect, Retire, an upcoming Women & Wealth webinar by Wealth Enhancement Group, you will learn how to navigate the complexities of the three main stages of financial planning.
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Imagine driving a car without a basic understanding of the rules of the road, or even how to operate it. Scary thought.
Here’s another scary thought: Making financial decisions with minimal knowledge about investing, budgeting, and credit. The thing about this scary thought is that it's all too real.
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Leap Day only happens once every four years. While you should be focusing on cleaning up your financial life more frequently than that (ideally going over your plan annually with your financial advisor), you can take advantage of this extra day in 2024 to motivate you.
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Reprinted with permission of Real Simple.Protect what you’ve earned and prepare for the future with these five financial questions according to Nicole Webb, SVP, Financial Advisor at Wealth Enhancement Group®.
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Nobody told you how difficult budgeting could be. Balancing your bills, unexpected expenses, and various sources of income can be a cumbersome task, easy to push off or ignore entirely. But moving your budget to the back burner can lead to a vicious cycle of irregular tracking and inconsistent savings, which can put your long-term financial security at risk.
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Understanding the concept of a fiduciary is crucial for anyone planning their retirement, growing their nest egg, or hoping to maximize their post-career income. The term “fiduciary” often surfaces in discussions about financial advisors and investment strategies, but what does it mean for you?
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If you have a child with a disability, all-consuming decisions revolve around health care, education, and medical and behavioral therapies. But another area of the child’s life requires the same kind of careful planning, and it can be just as complex — a child’s financial future. Many parents think of creating a special needs plan as a way to make sure their legacy of love lives on — a life plan can create clarity and confidence for your child’s years ahead.
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By Dom DiFurio
Americans have long understood that their birthplace can significantly affect their futures, and academics have increasingly been able to connect tangible early life factors like where they live and the friendships they've cultivated with potential future income.
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Serving in the military is a profound commitment that utterly transforms your lifestyle. Although it comes with its fair share of rewards, military life also brings a unique set of challenges—especially when it comes to finances.
As a Veteran, you've made sacrifices for our country. In return, our government provides a host of benefits and opportunities for you. However, navigating the financial landscape post-service can be daunting.
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Everyone needs a plan for their long-term care (LTC). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an average of 70% of people 65 and older will need long-term care at some point in their lives.
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Americans today are living their lives differently than previous generations. According to a Pew Research Center analysis from 2021, more adults than ever before are living single, with a partner, or raising their kids outside of marriage. In general, people are getting married later—or not at all.
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Second marriages offer an opportunity for a fresh start. Couples are given a chance to wipe the slate clean, learn from past mistakes, and experience love and happiness.They’re also given an opportunity to correct previous financial missteps, build a prosperous shared financial future, and leave a legacy behind for their children and beneficiaries.
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When two people with different ideas about money and investing get engaged, financial planning can become a delicate issue. For example, if one is a saver and the other is a spender, how you handle money can become a source of conflict.
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Sometimes, it might feel like you're just scraping by financially. But every once in a while, you may receive a windfall of cash. Whether from your tax refund, a work bonus, an inheritance, or just accrued over time, smart financial consideration and a little planning can help you figure out how to put that cash to work.
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Losing a spouse is never easy. In addition to processing the profound emotional impact, you and your family must address various financial issues. The challenge can be exacerbated when your spouse was the primary income earner or dealt with your finances independently.
The greatest challenge is not to determine the "perfect" next steps to take. Rather, you must figure out how to grieve, process, plan, and grow—all in the context of this life-altering event.
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When it comes to your finances, few things—if any—are more important than security. Whether it’s your nest egg, your legacy, or simply the funds in your checking account, you want to make sure that it’s protected against anything out of your control.
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Everyone is different, so it stands to reason that everyone’s financial goals are different, too. But whether you want to retire early, pay for college for your children (or grandchildren), or buy a vacation home, you need a plan to get there. And while there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all financial plan, there are steps that everyone can take as they try to create a plan that’s suited to their individual needs.
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Financial planning is all about living the life you want to live. A comfortable retirement might be your ultimate goal, but what does that look like for you? Beyond that, how do you expect to get there?
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Financial planning is all about living the life you want to live. A comfortable retirement might be your ultimate goal, but what does that look like for you? Beyond that, how do you expect to get there?
You need a financial action plan, and no plan is complete without a starting point. After all, you can only plan to reach a destination if you know from where you're starting.
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There are a variety of ways that companies can attract and keep employees. Whether through leave options and other paid time-off perks, extensive health care coverage, or the ability to work remotely, companies have no shortage of benefits to offer to stand out from the crowd when attracting talent.
For highly compensated employees or employees of startups, you may also be offered compensatory benefits like equity compensation.
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Out of all the things you try to teach your kids, how to handle money might not be at the top of the list. Maybe you think your kids are too young, that they’ll learn about it in school, or that without a significant source of income, they don’t need to learn good money habits.
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You work hard to save for retirement, and you want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to hopefully grow those savings. That’s why it’s important that you know how your financial advisor is adding value above and beyond what you might accomplish on your own.
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When we start a relationship with a significant other, their financial status isn’t likely our first concern. But before getting married, or even before getting engaged, it makes sense to take a pause and have some serious conversations about current finances–and future expectations.
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For most things in life, having a plan is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success. It should come as no surprise, then, that having a financial plan for retirement is one of the keys to helping you reach your retirement goals.
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Divorce is a challenging, time-consuming and often expensive ordeal. It’s a drain on your emotions, but the financial impact can be just as taxing.
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We know that too much personal debt can undermine your financial security. What’s less clear is how the national debt can impact your finances. The total national debt of the U.S. reached $28 trillion as of April 1, 2021–and it’s growing. This equates to over $85,000 for every living person in the U.S.
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All couples in long-term relationships must learn how to tackle financial decisions together. But same-sex couples face additional challenges thanks to confusing and ever-changing laws.
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With the economy in recession, we are sometimes asked whether it makes sense to take an early 401(k) withdrawal. The answer is “no.”Thank you for reading this week’s column.Okay, we’ll elaborate. When it comes to taking an early 401(k) withdrawal, meaning withdrawing funds before the age of 59 ½ and incurring a 10% penalty on top of applicable taxes, there are bad reasons to do it, and worse reasons.
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Companies and their employees have already been trending toward relocating from big cities with high rents and other issues. With the current housing and employment market, many have even greater motivation to relocate.
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The LGBTQ+ community has seen significant gains over the last few years, particularly with marriage equality and workplace discrimination cases decided favorably by the Supreme Court. Yet, the community has less financial security than the general population.
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In order to receive the services you need, rather than a one-size-fits all solution, it’s important to be honest and upfront about your situation. This is especially true when it comes to financial matters, whether you're talking with a lawyer, insurance agent or financial advisor. In order for financial planning to work to its maximum effect, you can’t section off your life; you have to consider your entire life. What are your goals, dreams and aspirations?
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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to work its way through the country and the world, more and more states are issuing stay-at-home orders to help curb the spread of this disease. By practicing social distancing–staying home whenever possible, limiting gatherings of large groups of people, staying six feet away from others, etc.–we can limit the spread of the disease through human-to-human contact. But there can be unintended consequences when we limit human connection.
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As a single person, it’s critically important to be sure that you’re on top of your financial plan for retirement. Your financial responsibility rests squarely on your shoulders–and that can undoubtedly be a big burden to bear. Here’s what to look out for when you’re single and planning for retirement.
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Many companies include stock options in employee compensation packages, and if you’ve been offered stock options as part of a compensation package, it’s important to understand the types of options you are being offered. We'll cover some key mistakes to avoid when exercising non-qualified stock options (NSOs), termed “non-qualified” because they do not meet all of the IRS requirements to be deemed incentive stock options (ISOs).
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Meeting with a financial advisor, or a new financial advisor, is the first step in creating a relationship with the person you may choose to put your financial future in the hands of. It’s a huge responsibility that your future advisor should not take lightly, and neither should you. ;
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Halloween is just around the corner. People of all ages will be dressed up as ghosts, ghouls and gremlins, but what about the spookier aspects of your finances? It’s important to take a look at what sinister behaviors are playing a role in your financial life.
We’ve laid out our four step process to exorcise your financial demons for good.
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Are you a financial hoarder? That may sound like a strange question to ask. After all, it’s a good thing to be a diligent saver, right?
While it’s good to be a saver, it’s also true that a healthy saving mentality can transform into more of a hoarding mentality if taken too far. Having this sort of mindset can weigh on you, both financially as well as emotionally.
Here are three characteristics that financial hoarders tend to possess.
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We’re big believers in long-term care insurance (we both own policies), but the premiums can be quite expensive. One relatively recent innovation in the insurance realm is the option of converting a portion of the cash value on a life insurance policy into a long-term care policy.
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When it comes to financial planning in a relationship, we rarely see partners who divide money management equally between the two of them. Instead, what tends to occur is that one partner pays the bills and balances the budget while the other focuses on managing the investments.
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There are few things that can offer greater personal satisfaction than achieving a goal you’ve been working hard to reach. The problem is that it can be easy to lose focus, causing your goals to fall by the wayside.
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I have always loved piggy banks. As a child, I loved filling my piggy bank with the extra change I found hidden underneath couch cushions and other nooks and crannies.
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Women’s role in financial matters is becoming more important than ever. In fact, a recent survey from LPL Financial showed that more than 66% of women had either primary or shared financial decision-making responsibility with their partners.1 It’s with this statistic in mind that I introduce one that may be more difficult for some women to swallow: 90% of all women will be solely responsible for their finances at some point.2