It’s never too early to start planning for retirement to achieve the lifestyle that fits your dream. I like to start by determining your estimated “fixed” expenses in retirement and your “wants” expenses. What do you want to do in retirement (travel, take tennis, golf, cooking lessons, garden, exercise, dine out, spend time with family […]
During a recent retirement class, I was asked if there was a checklist available to guide a surviving spouse on what is required to obtain spousal benefits. There is not a checklist that I am aware of, so I said that I would attempt to create one. First of all, this checklist should be shared […]
Everyone who is subject to Required Minimum Distributions who gives to a charity should use Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), but must qualify by being age 70 ½ or over. Say for example you give $10,000 to your church or another non-profit organization on an annual basis. If you are taking RMDs, you can have your […]
A surviving spouse is the only survivor that can leave inherited funds in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). It is very common for a federal employee to tell their spouse to leave the funds in TSP should the spouse survive the federal employee spouse. Let me share an example of how a hypothetical conversation between […]
So far, 2019 has proven to be a very different year in markets compared to 2018. Prospects of a U.S./China trade deal and a “patient” Federal Reserve (Fed) have led to a sharp rally, reversing the losses experienced in 2018. Global stock and bond markets are painting two different forecasts of the global economy: Stocks […]