The folks are Morningstar released their updated rankings of the best §529 college savings plans. As with all analysis the garbage in/out theory applies so a fair amount of healthy skepticism is recommended. After all the "best" §529 plan for one family's situation is not always the "best" for another's. Although §529 programs are by [...]
Life is hectic. How many times has, “I’m just really busy” been the answer you’ve received when asking a friend how they’re doing? We handle the time crunch with shortcuts. We like our apps, AAA diamonds, three out of four star movie reviews, Yelp and the like. But there are times when shortcuts are due [...]
The following was sent to us by friend and colleague Rick Dreyfuss – a former executive at The Hershey Company active in public pension reform who now serves as a business consultant and actuary. The Pension Dance As a national firm with headquarters in Pennsylvania we like to stay current with local politics. Doing so [...]
The time to plan for charitable contributions that will qualify for an income tax deduction is before making them. Here’s a nice primer on what goes into proper contribution/deduction planning.
In a September 6th speech at the AFL-CIO convention U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, called for an increase in the estate tax. In 2014 up to $5.34 million of an individual’s estate may be exempt from federal estate tax with a 40% tax rate applied to any excess over this amount. If Senator [...]
Last week the IRS released guidance indicating distributions of after-tax dollars contributed to retirement plans could be converted free of taxes to a Roth IRA effective January 1, 2015. Additional information may be found here.
On Monday Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced a series of measures the Obama administration will be taking to discourage U.S. companies from using mergers with foreign companies to reduce their corporate taxes. The measures like so many taken by the Obama administration show just how little a grasp it has on how free enterprise works. [...]
A longevity annuity is a deferred income vehicle with payouts beginning at an advanced age and continuing throughout an individual's life. This tool while nominally attractive at best makes sense in limited circumstances and at worst should be avoided by everyone saving for retirement. Much like Twitter has had it easy for any halfwit to [...]
During the 2012 Presidential campaign Mitt Romney stepped in a giant pile of political dogs**t with the following: "There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that [...]
All of these strategies are perfectly legal but their use by the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of the Democratic Party smacks of hypocrisy. Apparently one's "fair share" is fair solely in the eye of the beholder. See ya at the voting booth!