Fri, August 23, 2013
In a curious turn of events, Congress appears poised to reduce the level of protection provided to holders of IRAs and 401(k) retirement plans. Read the full article
Thu, August 15, 2013
When you reach the age of 70 ½, IRS rules generally require you to begin making distributions for most retirement plans. What happens if you fail to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)? Read the full article
Mon, August 12, 2013
The long-running tradition continues: many of the finest restaurants in the Greater Boston area will offer special discounts starting next week. Read the full article
Mon, August 05, 2013
Single people may not think that they need an estate plan, but if you have assets, you should consider developing one. Read the full article
Thu, August 01, 2013
This past June, the non-profit National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) published a new report on the state of US retirement savings. Based on data from the Federal Reserve’s 2010 Survey of Consumer Finance, the report suggests that many Americans are poorly prepared for retirement and concerned about it. Read the full article
Sat, June 08, 2013
Last week, the Board of Trustees for the Social Security trust funds issued its annual report for 2013. Despite the temporary reduction in payroll tax collections enacted in response to the Great Recession, they project that the dates for exhaustion of the Medicare and Social Security trusts remain unchanged: the Social Security trust is expected to run out in 2033, and the Medicare trust should do the same in 2026. The Trustees also oversee the trust that covers Social Security Disability benefits, and they warn that the disability trust will be depleted much sooner, in 2016. Read the full article
Sun, August 12, 2012
Beginning next year, some taxpayers will pay additional Medicare taxes as one consequence of the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act. Read the full article
Tue, June 12, 2012
The Federal Reserve’s latest report demonstrates quantitatively something that many already knew intuitively: American households took a serious hit in net worth and income during the Great Recession. Read the full article
Tue, December 06, 2011
In the midst of gripping near-term news of deficits and economic crises, taxpayers may not be aware that a looming tax on investment income will begin to nick higher-income earners starting in 2013. Read the full article
Sat, December 03, 2011
For the foreseeable future, a number of tax credits for home energy efficiency improvements will go away at the end of 2011. Here are some credits that apply to improvements made to a taxpayer’s principal residence. Read the full article
Thu, December 01, 2011
Now that the Congressional Super-Committee’s attempts to produce deficit cuts have failed, the Budget Control Act calls for specific budget cuts that commence in January 2013. If this actually comes to pass, the resulting defense-related cuts would have a significant impact in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Read the full article
Wed, November 23, 2011
Now that the Congressional Super-Committee has thrown in the towel, the automatic spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 are set to kick in unless Congress gets its act together. Read the full article
Mon, November 21, 2011
There are no guaranteed investments, but the employer matching contribution comes awfully close. Why are so many workers passing up the opportunity to get free money? Read the full article
Fri, November 18, 2011
As the end of the year approaches, mutual fund owners may benefit from examining their holdings and considering some timely sales. Read the full article
Tue, November 15, 2011
As the Congressional Supercommittee considers ways to cut the federal deficit, one element of their proposal might be a change in retirement savings tax policy. Read the full article
Wed, November 02, 2011
Citing negative feedback from customers, Bank of America has done a complete about-face from its plan to charge most customers a $5-a-month debit card usage fee starting next year. Read the full article
Fri, October 28, 2011
Earlier this week I noted that it's getting harder to find banks that don't charge for checking accounts. Here are the names of several MA banks that still offer full-service checking accounts for free. Read the full article
Mon, October 24, 2011
A number of banks are developing annoying new checking account fees. What’s a consumer to do? Read the full article
Fri, October 21, 2011
In response to increases in the cost-of-living index, the IRS announced today that adjustments that will be made to contribution limits for some types of retirement plans. Read the full article
Tue, October 11, 2011
Quite a few taxpayers did Roth conversions last year, taking advantage of the change in conversion eligibility rules. But for some of them, now might be the time for a do-over. Read the full article
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