With the passage of the SECURE Act, the ability of a non-spouse beneficiary to spread out taxable distributions over their lifetimes after the death of an IRA owner or retirement plan participant (often referred to as the "stretch IRA" rule) was eliminated. The new law, however, generally requires any beneficiary who is more than 10 years younger than the account owner to liquidate the account...

The SECURE Act enacted on Dec. 20, 2019 affects some individual tax returns that taxpayers will file for 2020. This primarily affects taxpayers who claim: the itemized deduction for mortgage insurance, if they pay mortgage insurance premiums (the SECURE Act treats mortgage insurance premiums as qualified residence interest for itemized deduction purposes in 2019 and 2020).the itemized deduction...

In 2018-2019, tuition and fees averaged $35,830 for private colleges, and $10,230 for in-state public colleges, according to Sallie Mae.  It is recommended to start saving for college early on and the preferred savings vehicle we recommend is a 529 savings plan.  Some of the benefits of a 529 plan are the following: Tax-free growthTax-free distributions for qualified education expenses...

Achieving a higher credit score can mean better terms on credit cards, lower rates on mortgages and less expensive premiums on auto and homeowners insurance. It can make it more likely to win approval for an apartment, and get deposits waived when setting up services like electricity and cable in a new home. Here are some tips to boost your credit score: Limit hard inquiries (i.e., signing up...

As security remains one of our top priorities, we recommend that you take action right now to improve your account protection at Schwab. Two-step verification. Enhanced authentication adds a layer of security to your Schwab account. You can sign up by logging in at schwab.com/Securitycenter and selecting Manage Two-step Verification. From there, you have two options. “Only on untrusted devices”...

All students who’ll be in college next fall – including high school seniors who haven’t yet applied for admission – should submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) as soon as possible (it became available October 1st) to maximize your aid awards from federal, state, and school sources. The FAFSA is a financial aid form administered by the Department of Education that helps...

Yesterday on CNBC well known short-seller James Chanos mentioned he was shorting Grubhub and as a result the stock dropped precipitously resulting in the stock to fall 5.16%. Certainly doesn’t seem right that someone should have the power to mention a position they hold and make a tidy 5% profit in the process. Unfortunately, this happens on a regular basis.  For more information please click...