By: Henry VanBuskirk, CFP®, Wealth Manager One of the most crucial financial planning topics that almost nobody likes to talk about is life insurance. In our line of work, it’s akin to discussing politics or religion. Don’t worry, I’m not going to discuss politics or religion here. There are enough outlets online that proselytize on those topics already and you are free to find your preachers...
The tax filing deadline is fast approaching, which means time is running out to fund an IRA for 2022. If you had earned income last year, you may be able to contribute up to $6,000 for 2022 ($7,000 for those age 50 or older by December 31, 2022) up until your tax return due date, excluding extensions. For most people, that date is Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The IRS has postponed the deadline to...
Despite the banking-sector turmoil seen in March, the S&P 500 rose in March, helped by strong returns from growth stocks that were buoyed by falling bond yields. Here are 3 things you need to know: The Federal Reserve continued to hike interest rates by 25 bps in March bringing the Federal funds rate range to 4.75% to 5.00%. U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell admitted, the current bank stress will...
The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) released the list of its Top DC Advisor Teams for 2022 and Benefit Financial Services Group (BFSG Institutional Services) is pleased to announce we are among the nation’s leading retirement plan advisor firms. The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) Top DC Advisor Teams listing focuses on teams, broadly defined as being in a single...
The IRS has identified 21 states that made special payments to taxpayers in 2022. After a review of those special payments, the IRS has determined that taxpayers in many states will not need to report those payments on their 2022 federal income tax returns. Special payments in four of those states should be treated as refunds of state taxes paid, and taxation is determined under the general...
The federal income tax filing deadline for individuals is generally Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The IRS has postponed the deadline to file federal income tax returns and make tax payments for certain New York storm victims until May 15, 2023, and to July 31, 2023, for certain Mississippi storm victims. The deadline has been postponed for disaster-area taxpayers in most of California and parts of...
By: Henry VanBuskirk, CFP®, Wealth Manager “Who can it be knocking at my door?” It’s the Men at Work and Women at Work in Congress(1) with new retirement legislation, SECURE Act 2.0. While this new legislation has many positive changes, many of those changes come with added complexity to how the Traditional IRA and Roth IRA contribution limits and catch-up contribution amounts are...
The SECURE 2.0 legislation included in the $1.7 trillion appropriations bill passed late last year builds on changes established by the original Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE 1.0) enacted in 2019. SECURE 2.0 includes significant changes to the rules that apply to required minimum distributions from IRAs and employer retirement plans. Here's what you need to...
There has been a flurry of news articles on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB) coming out recently, and rightfully so. It is the largest bank to collapse since Washington Mutual failed in 2008. Silicon Valley Bank had $173 billion of customer deposits at the end of 2022 and served businesses such as Roku and Etsy. Two other banks, Silvergate (had $11.36 billion in assets) and Signature...
On January 19, 2023, the outstanding debt of the U.S. government reached its statutory limit, commonly called the debt ceiling. The current limit was set by Congress at about $31.4 trillion in December 2021.1 On the day the limit was reached, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen instituted well-established "extraordinary measures" to allow necessary borrowing for a limited period of time. While...
By: Paul Horn, CFP®, CPWA® Senior Financial Planner Most of our clients as they get older want to begin to think of ways that they can take care of their grandchildren. Most commonly the discussion revolves around opening 529 plans and saving for college. Below are five alternatives that are worth considering if you are trying to take care of grandkids: Pay for their first car. Another large...
By: Henry VanBuskirk, CFP®, Wealth Manager Our team would like to provide an update on a recent blog post discussing tax relief and the tax filing deadline for certain counties in California. The individuals in counties originally discussed in that posting will have until May 15th, 2023, to file tax returns, but some counties are automatically extending that tax filing deadline to October...
There was a big repricing of inflation expectations over February, as the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed an uptick in inflation and the January Jobs report was much stronger than expected. Here are 3 things you need to know: 2yr U.S. inflation breakevens were up +85 basis points (bps) to 3.18%, having ended January at just 2.33%. This was the second largest monthly move higher since...
After years of numerous delays, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has once again extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline from May 3, 2023, until May 7, 2025.1 What is a REAL ID? A REAL ID is a type of enhanced identification card. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, set minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards. Under the Act,...
By: Paul Horn, CFP®, CPWA® Senior Financial Planner We live in a world that admires hard workers. As we grow up, we try our best to get into the best universities, graduate with honors, and have a solid start to our careers. We dream about having a job with a big title and everything that comes with it; financial liberty, luxurious trips, more time with loved ones, experience,...
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