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Transferring Wealth with a Stretch IRA

Want a way to flex some retirement planning muscle? Then consider a “stretch” (inherited) IRA. Not only can this strategy preserve wealth for future generations, it also has the potential to keep assets growing in a tax-deferred account for years to come. Here’s the inside scoop, based on one hypothetical family situation. One Scenario Imagine that George has accumulated $50,000 in a traditional IRA. His wife, Amy, should be well cared for through a $500,000 life insurance policy, his work …

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Roth IRAs — Powerful Planning Tools for All Generations

If the current income restrictions associated with Roth IRAs prevent you from using one for your own planning purposes, consider taking steps to ensure that your children or other younger family members establish and fund a Roth IRA of their own. Roth IRAs offer ample tax benefits for retirement — particularly for younger investors. Yet perhaps the more long lasting benefit of the Roth IRA can be realized when it is used as a wealth transfer mechanism. Roth IRAs for …

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Planning for Retirement? Don’t Overlook an IRA

Nearly 50 million American households own an individual retirement account (IRA).1 While the IRA has evolved into a popular retirement savings vehicle — with more than $4 trillion in total assets — it is often an overlooked component of most investors’ financial planning strategies. In fact, over the past two years, only 15% of households that were eligible to contribute to an IRA did so. 1 Have you forgotten your IRA? Should an IRA be part of your overall investment …

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The Basics of Long-Term Care Insurance

Thinking about the need and the costs of long-term care is enough to make anyone uncomfortable. But while it’s a difficult subject to talk about, it’s also a topic that often generates lots of questions and misunderstanding.   Consider this: The average cost of nursing home care in the United States now exceeds $70,000 per year, with wide ranging variations from state to state.* Who Pays? For the most part, those who need long-term care are left to foot the …

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Insurance Strategies to Help You Protect Your Business

As a business owner, you need to ensure that you have adequate insurance coverage to protect family, business partner(s) and key employees, so that no matter what the future holds, the business can continue to provide for those who depend on it.   With the right insurance strategies in place, you can guard your business against financial loss due to illness, disability or death. Here are some tips for putting in place a proper plan that will help protect your …

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Using Annuities to Generate Retirement Income

An annuity is a contract between an investor and an insurance company in which the insurance company promises to make payments to the investor either immediately or at a future time. An immediate annuity, as its name suggests, offers payments that start immediately. With a deferred annuity, payments are delayed to a future date. You may be able to purchase an annuity either with a single payment or with a series of premiums. Details of annuities vary considerably, and it …

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Annuities and Insurance: Filling the Cracks in Your Financial Plan

If you’re contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement plan on a regular basis, be sure to congratulate yourself! You are already taking an important step toward addressing what may be the biggest financial challenge you will ever face. And if you are setting aside money for the college education of a child or grandchild, you deserve credit for that, too. But take heed: There may be more you can or should be doing. In fact, a well-rounded financial plan might also …

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Annuities May Help Make Your Income Last a Lifetime

With demographic trends pushing the length of retirement to 25 or 30 years and beyond, it’s important to create a retirement investment strategy that generates an income stream that you won’t outlive. If you’re looking for an investment vehicle that promises a guaranteed, lifetime income stream, then you may want to consider annuities. Simply put, annuities can help ensure that you won’t outlive your savings. Annuities Defined Annuities are insurance contracts that promise future payments. They’re long-term, tax-deferred investment vehicles …

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Maintaining Positive Cash Flow in Your Business

One of the key components of keeping your business on course is to maintain a positive cash flow. A periodic analysis will help you determine whether your business generates enough cash to meet your obligations and how cash outflow compares with incoming revenues. The Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement reports your business sources and uses of cash during a specified accounting period. The cash flow statement adheres to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and is divided into three …

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The Benefits of Bypass Trusts

Trying to predict the federal estate tax is about as easy as trying to predict the stock market. After a decade of almost yearly changes, the government has currently legislated a temporary fix that expires 2012. Given the uncertain nature of the tax, couples need to remain vigilant about estate planning. Bypass trusts can help a couple maximize use of the federal estate tax exemption and ultimately bequeath more of their wealth to successive generations. For bypass trusts to achieve …

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