Month: June 2021

RMDs are a simple concept that became complicated after Congress and the IRS were done making their rules. But those rules also create opportunities. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs and other qualified retirement plans aren’t suspended in 2021 as they were in 2020. If you have to take RMDs, you might as well
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A longtime market bull sees an under-the-radar trend that should calm runaway inflation fears, and it has nothing to do with Federal Reserve policy. According to The Leuthold Group’s Jim Paulsen, private money coming from individuals and companies has been acting as a “very encouraging” market mechanism to help curb inflation. “We make decisions about
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If you’ve watched your parents or older relatives age into their final years, you might have witnessed a decline in their ability to manage their money. As they got older, they became more vulnerable to financial losses due to making mistakes, exploitation by unethical family or friends, or financial fraud. Substantial research confirms this risk.
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This is the time of year when your love for fried chicken clashes most acutely with your love for pool time and fun summer selfies. Air frying can potentially help. As Linda Larsen, author of the Complete Air Fryer Cookbook, explains in its opening pages: “Air frying is better for your health. In fact, most
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by Tax Notes State Commentary Editor Doug Sheppard Growing up in a rural area of eastern Jamaica in the 1980s, the culinarily inclined Denvil Duncan dreamed of becoming an executive chef on a cruise ship. ADVERTISEMENT Inspired by a cousin who worked in that capacity on the luxurious barges that pulled into Jamaican ports, Duncan saw a future in the
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You know the saying: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a… mortgage? As much as we’d like to have it all—all at once—most young couples can’t afford both a big, splashy wedding and a down payment on a home. When forced to choose between the two, weddings used to win; But all that
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The Covid-19 pandemic and economic shock that followed has made it more difficult for many parents and students to afford college. Yet even fewer families applied for financial aid this year. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, serves as the gateway to all federal aid money, including loans, work-study and grants, which are the most
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Climate change is a huge challenge globally.  The Society of Actuaries (SOA) conducts research on a wide variety of risks and their impact on retirement planning for various stakeholders. Two recent SOA research projects that focused on households and on big societal issues include Financial Perspectives on Aging and Retirement Across the Generations and The 14th Annual Survey
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Legal disputes come in all shapes and sizes, and there are almost always tax issues that face plaintiffs, defendants, or both. Plaintiffs receiving money worry if and how it is taxable, and whether they can deduct their attorney fees. Even without the complex rules governing qualified pension and retirement plans, the tax treatment of a
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