Thursday, June 26. 2008
Things are Heating Up with the Next Generation... of No-Load Life Insurance!
For many years, the no-load space for life insurance products has been very limited, to a large extent because fee-based advisors were perceived as being a very weak target market by the traditional insurance companies. However, a new entrant to this marketplace is raising the stakes on the pricing and transparency of permanent life insurance, and is starting to get some attention as a result!
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Monday, May 19. 2008
Single-State Municipal Bond Funds Dodge a Bullet! But What About 529 Plans?
Earlier today the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis, stating that Kentucky's tax rules which exempt the interest earned on Kentucky muncipal bonds while taxing the interest of other state's bonds is not a violation of the so-called dormant commerce clause of the Constitution. The ruling spared what may have been a tumultuous disruption to the municipal bond market, but the Supreme Court's decision still leaves the door open for several issues...
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Friday, May 16. 2008
What is the CFP Board up to now?
In a press release this morning, the CFP Board announced the creation of the new "Council on Education" for the purposes of developing a model curriculum, determining continuing education requirements, reviewing course providers, and implementing a peer review process, among other things. Huh? Isn't that what the CFP Board already does!?
Continue reading "What is the CFP Board up to ... »Monday, May 12. 2008
Did Moss Adams Consulting Just Blow Up?
If you ask anyone in the financial planning industry who the leader is for industry consulting and benchmarking, Moss Adams is likely to be at the top of the list. At least, it was up until today.
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Tuesday, April 29. 2008
So who is Kevin Keller?
It's been a time of great change for the CFP Board over the past few years, and especially the past 12 months or so. The responsilibity for managing all of this change in the organization lies on the shoulders of one man - Kevin Keller. The only catch - he's also the new kid on the block.
Continue reading "So who is Kevin Keller?" »Thursday, April 24. 2008
Rigorous Analysis of Pension Options Done Right!
Many financial planners are faced with the client question: "Which pension option should I choose?" Comparing various lump sum and annual pension payout choices based on client life expectancies has often been mathematically intensive and quite difficult - at least, up until now.
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Friday, April 11. 2008
It's Financial Literacy Month - and we need to step it up!
April is Financial Literacy Month - a time
for us to reflect on what we're doing to promote and support financial literacy
in the United States, and hopefully focus on making improvements. But a recent
survey indicates that we need to try harder - and we might even be losing
ground!
Thursday, April 3. 2008
Should you be doing 2008 tax planning for your rebate check?
With the Economic Stimulus Act rebate checks set to start mailing out to taxpayers next month, based on their 2007 tax filings, many believe that no tax planning remains for the rebate checks. However, for the many individuals who will receive less than the full maximum of the rebate check (or possibly as little as nothing), tax planning opportunities do remain!
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Friday, March 28. 2008
Is your excess insurance capacity for sale? Should it be?
The pitch goes something like this: "You are eligible for more insurance than you currently have, giving you "excess capacity" for insurance on your life. Why don't you sell that capacity, since you're not using it anyway, and put the extra money in your pocket to meet your own goals?" And if it wasn't against public policy, the strategy might even work!
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Tuesday, March 25. 2008
New guidance on fixing a botched IRA stretch after it's "too late"
To preserve the ability to stretch IRA distributions for a beneficiary, that individual must start taking withdrawals based on his/her life expectancy in the year after death. If those required withdrawals don't start on time, can you still rectify the situation to preserve the tax deferral? A recent private letter ruling indicates the answer is "yes."
Continue reading "New guidance on fixing a ... »Friday, March 14. 2008
Is it time to buy muni bonds in an IRA?
As financial planners, we've all heard the old saw "never put a tax shelter inside of a tax shelter" - in other words, don't buy tax-exempt municipal bonds inside of a tax deferred retirement account. Well, it seems that "never" may have just arrived.
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Thursday, March 13. 2008
The dollar has its woes, and now the penny does too!
The rising price of various commodities, linked in part to the falling dollar, have begun to impact the cost of a broad array of goods in the U.S., from the cost of building construction to gasoline at the pump to food at the grocery store. Now, the decline of the dollar is being felt directly by the U.S. government, with a painful rise in the cost of the penny!
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Friday, March 7. 2008
It just got a little easier to borrow money...
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) has just released the new maximum conforming loan limits, established pursuant to the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, which will allow homebuyers in several metropolitan areas to obtain conforming loans as large as $729,750, instead of the former limit of only $417,000.
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Monday, February 25. 2008
Should you withdraw and reapply for Social Security benefits?
An interesting article in the syndicated column of Scott Burns suggests that it may be a wise strategy for those at or around age 70 to withdraw from Social Security and reapply to increase their benefit. Is this a Social Security loophole, a great deal, a trap, or just another good arrow in the financial planner's quiver?
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Thursday, February 14. 2008
Does extra retirement spending follow a consistent aging sequence?
A new study from Sun Life Financial suggests that retirees may have a consistent sequence of extra spending goals throughout their retirement years. Of course, practicing financial planners have acknowledged for years that retirement spending isn't perfectly level from year to year, but Sun Life's new study suggests that there are some consistent patterns that can be gleaned.
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