How to Best Manage Your Beneficiary Designations
Leaving an inheritance to your family or friends is not just about passing on assets, it is about making sure that your assets are distributed in the way you intend.
Essential Tax Tips for IRAs
Woe to the taxpayer who runs afoul of the numerous and confusing IRA rules. There are forms to file, contributions to make, distributions to take, and penalties to avoid. While corrections are possible, it’s best to avoid mistakes in the first place. Here’s what you need to know.
Creating a Financially Organized Life
Here’s how to get a jump-start on creating a system to organize your bills, statements, policies and other financial paperwork.
What to do Now to Guard Against Rising Inflation
Inflation has struck with a vengeance, reaching levels not seen in more than 40 years. Though the Federal Reserve is focused on bringing it under control, it may be too little too late as prices continue to skyrocket.
Intergenerational Transfers: Helping Adult Children
When a parent is considering giving or lending a child money, the key question is whether it’s empowering or enabling. You need to structure a transfer that is best for both generations.
5 Tax Gotchas in Retirement
If you are wealthy and reaching your distribution phase, your high-balance retirement accounts can create some burdensome tax situations, particularly when it comes to legacy planning. Here are five potential pitfalls you should be aware of.
Announcing the launch of our new website and the ‘Keep Austin Wealthy’ Blog
Chris Wilbratte, Founder and Partner at Echelon Financial is announcing the launch of their new website, EchelonFinancial.com, and the “Keep Austin Wealthy” blog. The focus of Echelon Financial is to educate and help pre-retirees and retirees protect and grow their wealth.
Tax Loss Harvesting
Even in a bull market, not every investment will be a winner. With the right tax strategy, a losing investment can have a silver lining: You may be able to capture a loss on a stock to lower your tax liability or better position your portfolio for future gains.
Should You Roll Your 401k to an IRA?
Most likely, your 401(k) investment choices are limited to a menu of mutual funds from one particular provider. However, with an IRA, you have the option to invest anywhere. And, you’re likely to have more types of investments from which to choose such as individual stocks, bonds, and exchange traded funds (ETFs). You won’t be limited to mutual funds.
What is IRMAA… and Why You Need to Know About It
IRMAA is a what and not a who and is one of the tax traps waiting for you in retirement. It is another arcane government acronym that can increase the cost of your Medicare premiums by 4 or 5 times. IRMAA stands for Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, and it is important to understand how this Medicare surcharge works.
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