It’s that time of year again: income tax time. And I can’t be sure, but I think many retirees are generally more concerned about taxes in retirement than when working. I’m no different than anyone else; I don’t enjoy withdrawing from my retirement savings, handing some of it to the government, or having them take … Read more
The Secure Act 2.0 was finally passed as just one part of a massive funding package by the outgoing congress just before Christmas on December 23, 2022, and signed into law by the president as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, an omnibus spending bill authorizing roughly $1.7 trillion in new Federal spending (yikes!). You’re … Read more
Now that I’ve reached age 70, I’m looking forward to getting just a little older. Why? Because when I reach age 70½, I’ll be eligible to make Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs). I first mentioned QCDs on this blog in an article published in December of last year titled ”My Year-End Retirement Stewardship Review and Planning … Read more
If you read much about retirement finance, you’ll see a lot of hyperbolic rhetoric about “Required Minimum Distributions,” or “RMDs.” You’d think RMDs are going to sneak up on you and devastate your financial plans in retirement. Spoiler alert: they’re probably not. Yes, RMDs will impact your savings, income, and taxes, but not as much … Read more
I recently received another one: an invitation in the mail to a “free dinner and retirement discussion.” It seems like I’ve been averaging one every few weeks or so. (My wife also receives one every once in a while. So does somebody named “Current Resident” who apparently lives with me who I don’t know.) I’m … Read more
This article is the second of two about retirement account transfers and rollovers. First, we focused on transfers, which I defined as moving assets between two of the same type of retirement account, e.g., from a Traditional IRA with one provider to a Traditional IRA at another. In this article, we’ll look at rollovers, which … Read more
Most don’t think too much about income taxes in retirement. They just assume that they’ll pay less since it’s possible (likely?) that their income will be less. For many, that’s a reasonable assumption (at least as long as tax rates remain relatively low). Others believe that their Social Security retirement benefits aren’t taxable, further reducing … Read more
Well, folks, I have great news: as of today, my new book, Reimagine Retirement: Planning and Living for the Glory of God, has been released by B&H Publishing (LifeWay)! It is a project I have been working on for about 18 months, and I am thrilled to announce that it is available to order from LifeWay.com, Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, … Read more
A few years ago, a University of Chicago college professor named Harold Pollack remarked that everything you really needed to know about personal finance could be fit on a single 3×5 inch index card. Someone asked him to prove it, the result went viral, and Pollack actually ended up co-writing a book about it called … Read more
