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Retirement Planning in 2026: Why Annuities Deserve a Serious Look
Retirement planning in 2026 looks different than it did even a few years ago. Many retirees and pre-retirees are facing a familiar challenge in a new way: they want growth, but they also want stability. They want income they can count on, but they don’t want to feel...
Safe Money Options Heading Into 2026
A Financial Advisor’s Guide to Protecting What You’ve Worked So Hard to Build When markets are choppy and headlines are loud, many people start asking the same question: “Where can I put my money so it feels safer, but still has a chance to grow?” As we move into...
Retirement Income Planning Going Into 2026: Turning Your Savings Into a Lifetime Paycheck
For most people, retirement isn’t about a specific age or account balance—it’s about confidence.Confidence that the bills will be paid, that you can handle surprises, and that you won’t run out of money before you run out of life. As we approach 2026, retirement...
Estate Planning & You: Getting Ready for 2026 (Without Freaking Out)
state planning sounds like something for billionaires in marble mansions… not for regular people with a mortgage, a 401(k), a dog, and a favorite taco spot. But here’s the truth:If you love someone or own something, you need some kind of estate plan. As we head toward...
Retirement Planning in 2026: How to Prepare for a New Era of Retirement
If you feel like retirement has gotten more complicated, you’re not imagining things. Between market volatility, rising costs, new tax rules, and longer life expectancies, “set it and forget it” retirement planning just doesn’t work anymore. The good news? With a...
Retirement Planning in 2026: A Practical Playbook (and How Annuities Can Help)
TL;DR: Going into 2026, retirees face two big realities: markets that still swing and a shifting tax landscape. Focus on dependable income, flexible tax buckets, and a plan for withdrawals/RMDs. Annuities—used correctly—can add durability to a retirement paycheck...
Retirement Planning Heading Into 2026: 7 Smart Moves For Clients Right Now
As 2025 winds down, retirement planning is shifting under three big spotlights: taxes in 2026, retirement plan rule updates, and Medicare drug-cost changes. Here’s a practical, client-friendly guide you can publish — plus talking points to spark action before...
Annuities 101: Why They’re (Sometimes) a Great Idea for Retirement
Quick Take Annuities are insurance contracts that can turn a portion of your savings into guaranteed income you can’t outlive. For the right person, they lower stress, steady cash flow, and reduce the chances of running out of money—especially when markets are jumpy....
Retirement Income Planning: A Practical Guide for Turning Savings Into a Sustainable Paycheck
Key Takeaways (TL;DR) Retirement success is less about “the number” and more about cash-flow durability, tax efficiency, and risk control. A resilient plan blends guaranteed income (Social Security, pensions, annuity floors) with market growth and cash reserves. Smart...
Weekly Market Commentary
Apprehensive investors pushed markets higher this week, with the small-cap Russell 2000 hitting a new all-time high, while the S&P 500 closed just 50 points below its October all-time high. Economic data, some of which is quite dated, offered a mixed picture of...
Weekly Market Commentary
The holiday-shortened week saw global financial markets trade higher. Increased optimism for a December rate cut, along with some constructive news on the AI front, catalyzed buying across risk assets. Several Fed officials indicated they were inclined to support a...
Weekly Market Commentary
Financial markets continued to decline as investors sold AI-related stocks amid valuation concerns, while rotating into more defensive sectors such as healthcare and consumer staples. A stellar third-quarter earnings report from NVidia prompted investors to step in...
Weekly Market Commentary
Markets were choppy and ended the week with mixed results. Investors poured into risk assets on the idea that the longest US government shutdown was over, but a more hawkish tone from several Fed officials recalibrated expectations for a December rate cut and...
Weekly Market Commentary
Well, the market finally had a significant pullback, but not before the S&P 500 and NASDAQ were able to set another all-time high. The week began with a deal between OpenAI and AMD, sending AMD shares nearly 24% higher. The deal catalyzed the technology sector...
Weekly Market Commentary
Investors sent US markets to another set of all-time highs despite concerns about an extended government shutdown. The U.S. government shutdown was largely dismissed by markets last week, which came as a surprise given that several key economic data sets (Initial...
Weekly Market Commentary
The S&P 500 hit a 28th record high for the year before settling lower for the week. Investors endured a choppy week of trading as better-than-expected economic data and better-than-feared inflation data tempered the notion of additional rate cuts. Several Fed...
Weekly Market Commentary
The major US equity market indices forged another set of all-time highs as investors went all in on risk assets after the Federal Reserve announced a twenty-five basis point cut to its policy rate and telegraphed the potential for three more cuts by January 2026. The...
Weekly Market Commentary
US equity indices posted another set of all-time highs as investors increased expectations for three, twenty-five basis point rate cuts by year's end. Inflation data reported for the week essentially gave the Fed the green light for a September rate cut....
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The “Required Beginning Date” vs. “First RMD Year” Confusion
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Most of you are probably familiar with the concept of the “required beginning date” (RBD). The RBD is the deadline for taking the first required minimum distribution (RMD) from an IRA or workplace retirement plan. If you’re a traditional...
New “Trump IRA” Is Fake News
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education On April 30, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order to promote retirement savings for American workers. In its aftermath, we have had a flurry of questions about a new savings option called a “Trump...
The Net Unrealized Appreciation Strategy and Qualified Charitable Distributions: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I have a client who is still working, over age 75, and wants to roll her 401(k) into her IRA. She has stopped contributing and wants to move the company stock to her brokerage account using the net unrealized appreciation (NUA)...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst We know that Roth conversions are permanent. Recharacterization of a conversion is no longer allowed. Once the conversion is done, there is no going back. However, recharacterization is still available for IRA contributions. A...
A Cheat Sheet for Retirement Account Beneficiary RMDs
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The SECURE Act completely changed the rules for beneficiary IRA (and workplace retirement plan) required minimum distributions (RMDs). It’s now been more than 6 years since the SECURE Act became law and almost 2 years since the IRS...
Required Minimum Distributions and Inherited IRAs Prior to 2020: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: My spouse and I have a combined six-figure required minimum distribution (RMD) from my two IRAs and her smaller IRA. Our CPA suggested that for 2026 we only withdraw 50% of her smaller RMD, and that I...
The Once-Per-Year Rollover Rule: Multiple Deposits vs. Multiple Distributions
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The once-per-year IRA rollover rule sounds easy. However, there are many ways to go wrong. One common confusion with this rule occurs when there are multiple distributions or multiple deposits. These two...
The Simultaneous QCD/RMD Transaction
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) and required minimum distributions (RMDs) are two separate and distinct transactions. Here are some of the basics of each: QCDs are only available to IRA owners and beneficiaries age...
Backdoor Roth IRAs and Inherited IRAs: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: When someone under age 59½ uses the “backdoor” method of making Roth IRA contributions, does the 10% penalty apply to subsequent withdrawals if the IRA contribution was non-deductible? Thank you, John ANSWER: John,...
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