Retirement

Student Loans getty The new Interim Final Rule issued by the SBA on March 3, 2021, reverses the prior rules by indicating that independent contractors and employers who were otherwise eligible to receive PPP loans may do so regardless of whether the borrower or a 20% or more owner is in default under Federal Student

WATSONVILLE, CA – FEBRUARY 4: Monterey Mushrooms employees work in a packing facility on Thursday, … [+] Feb. 4, 2021, in Watsonville, Calif. The company hopes to use empty mushroom growing rooms as COVID-19 vaccination sites for employees as well as field workers, packers, and processors from the region’s other farms. (Aric Crabb/MediaNews Group/The Mercury

ERC getty On Monday, March 1st, the IRS released 102 pages of well-written and reasoned guidance on the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) in the form of Notice 2021-20. While further guidance will be forthcoming as to the application of these rules for 2021, the provisions of the Notice provide considerable guidance in a number of

Protect yourself from Social Security scams. Be on the lookout for fake calls and emails. getty If you’re shopping at CVS tomorrow, you might hear the voice of Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul over the speaker system, warning Americans to beware of Social Security telephone and email scams. Screens behind customer service desks at Walmart

Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Angus King (I-ME) propose to redirect ill-targeted covid relief … [+] funds to valuable public investments. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images In the coming days, the Senate will take up the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill that passed the House of Representatives last week on a party-line vote. It’s

Crypto has a low correlation with stocks. What does that mean? Mining rig in Norilsk (photo by Andrey Rudakov) © 2021 Bloomberg Finance LP Stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities. Bitcoin. Bitcoin? Is cryptocurrency an asset class deserving of a place in every endowment and retirement portfolio? There is now being built on Wall Street a

Regulators and law enforcement are looking into flagrantly illegal “side letter” agreements which … [+] pay private equity investors aware of fraud to not tell unsuspecting others. getty While mutual fund investors are assured equal treatment under the federal securities laws, private equity funds are the Wild West—industry practice is to grant certain investors secret

Health workers administer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a couple in a car at a drive-thru … [+] vaccination event for residents 65 and older at Dewey O. Boster Park and Sports Complex on January 7, 2021 in Deltona, Florida. Employees of Volusia County and the Florida Department of Health provided 1,000 vaccinations on day

When it comes to retirement income planning, taxes are an important but often overlooked factor. Pre-retirees tend to assume their tax bracket will decrease after they leave the workforce and don’t realize they could lose 25%–30% or more of their retirement income to taxes. Having a lower marginal tax bracket in retirement used to be

Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about whether divorced spousal benefits could reduce other benefits including childhood disability benefits (CDBs), how long a reconsideration request might be expected to take and whether survivor benefits might be affected by the WEP or GPO. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston

NEW YORK, USA – JANUARY 18: Thomas DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller speaks during Martin Luther … [+] King Day celebration at National Action Network headquarters, in New York, United States on January 18, 2021. (Photo by Lev Radin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Anadolu Agency via Getty Images In late January, the Washington Post reported:

LIRP Life insurance retirement plan and glasses. getty If you are contemplating purchasing a new life insurance policy, be sure to discuss the use of an irrevocable life insurance trust (known as an ILIT) with your advisors before you purchase the policy. An ILIT is an irrevocable trust that you create to hold a life

Female writing to-do list dragonstock – stock.adobe.com None of us wants to think about boring, grownup stuff like wills, but being an adult is not as hard (or even boring!) as it looks! Trust me. And there are companies and resources out there that actually make the process easier. You don’t have to become an

getty You’ve seen and heard it all before. You’ve probably even joined in. How many times have you made fun of organizations that give participation trophies to everyone just to avoid damaging the fragile egos of those who didn’t win? If you’re like many people, this cavalier dismissal of merit and achievement makes you shake

Grass growing from wallet getty So, you are over 50 and you’ve done okay, maybe even better than okay. You’ve saved some money for a rainy day and invested the rest wisely. You may have followed the recommendations of a trusted broker or decided to manage your own portfolio. Most of your money is probably

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 17: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with labor union leaders in the Oval … [+] Office of the White House on February 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. Biden met with labor union leaders to discuss and promote his $1.9 trillion coronavirus economic stimulus plan. (Photo by Pete Marovich-Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images

Getty getty Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs and other qualified retirement plans are more complicated than they need to be. There are a number of little-known rules that can be helpful to taxpayers or trap them into paying higher taxes or penalties. Most people believe IRA stands for “individual retirement account.” But the tax

Roger, 90 and Mark, 85 have been off and on friends for 50 years. Mark has no family of his own. Roger’s adult kids call him “Uncle Mark”, as he’s shown up for family events for decades. He once had plenty of money, or so it seemed. There was the apartment in Paris, the home

Getty images getty For a lot of young people, especially those who are beginning to get a handle on their finances, tax filing can be a dreaded task, and strategic tax planning may seem like a major undertaking. Year-end is typically when many people start thinking about taxes. But waiting until the year is over

Loosing the city’s private equity rules may be good for Stringer’s immediate political ambitions but … [+] will cost the city’s underfunded pensions for decades to come, given that these deals have lock-ups as long as 50 years. getty What a remarkable coincidence that New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer is looking to loosen strict