Are Your Children Putting You into Debt?

Are Your Children Putting You into Debt?

It seems like the bad news about our retirement prospects just keeps on coming.  According to a U.S. Census Bureau report just released, the median level of debt among households led by someone 65 and older more than doubled over the last decade from roughly $12,000 to $26,000.  This increase was the biggest among any…
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A New Benefit for Non-Deductible IRA Contributions

There are a number of tools you can use to reduce taxes on the growth of your investments. You can contribute to a traditional IRA, where you get a tax deduction for the contribution plus tax-deferral on all gains until you retire. Or you can contribute to a Roth IRA. You don’t get the tax…
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Ready to Start Financial Planning? Where to Begin?

Many of the individuals and families I’ve helped with financial advice over the numerous years I’ve been a financial planner initially came to me with a specific issue or concern.  Sometimes it was the need to consolidate and rationalize an investment portfolio scattered across numerous accounts.  Occasionally it was what to do with the money…
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Are You Saving Enough For Retirement?

According to fourth quarter 2012 data for defined contribution plans administered by MassMutual (as reported in media site BenefitsPro.com), the average deferral rate for women participants was 5.38% and the rate for men 5.81%. This was reportedly the highest savings rate in four years. That’s the good news. But is a 5% or 6% savings…
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Is the American Dream Over?

The Washington Post recently reported that for the first time since the 1930s, a majority of Americans are expected to be financially worse off in retirement than their parents. This conclusion, based on research from the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the New School for Social Research, and Boston College’s Center…
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The Importance of Long Term Care Planning

According to a recent survey from UBS Wealth Management Americas, long-term care is investors’ greatest personal financial concern.  Donald Jay Korn in On Wall Street (a SourceMedia publication for the financial services industry) reports that more respondents were “highly worried” about “being able to afford healthcare and the support I need in my old age”…
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