In a country founded on the idea of individual freedom, Americans value the idea of choice. We inherently believe that maximizing individual freedom increases our individual welfare or happiness and that the best way to maximize individual freedom is to maximize choice. A bar with 120 beers on tap is perceived better than a bar [...]
The SECURE Act is by far the biggest retirement-oriented legislation to be enacted in over a decade. Many Americans are left wondering, “What does this mean for me?” Here’s what you need to know. 1. Required minimum distribution age increased to 72 One of the biggest changes in the SECURE Act is the increase of [...]
Following the When Roth is Wrong post, readers responded with various questions and, sometimes, with a different form of the same question. We address several of those questions below since they're good questions and may be helpful for other readers. Q: If we end up leaving the retirement accounts to our children, doesn’t that make [...]
What do Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Billy Crystal, and my father all have in common? At least two things. They will, God willing, all celebrate their 70 1/2 birthdays in 2018 and join the ranks of approximately 25 million others in the United States over this age (assuming, of course, that they all [...]
The history of the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) feels a lot like the 'Friends' relationship of Rachel and Ross. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. There has been enough disruption in the availability of this tax-saving opportunity that it has been hard to remember if it is on or off. Good news...it's on. The brief history goes [...]
One of the most challenging roles of parenting is finding the proper balance between protecting children too much and not enough. In the early years, we cover electrical outlets, protect household edges with soft bumpers, and spend hours analyzing all the safety features of car seats. Parental protection then evolves to monitoring what our children [...]
President Obama unveiled the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget last Tuesday (February 9th) which included several unexpected first-time proposals in addition to many crackdowns and “loophole closures” that have become annually recurring proposals. Experts contend there is little likelihood of any substantial tax change in the final year of the President’s term. However, we could see [...]
