In addition to hourly wages or salary, employers often incentivize their employees with compensation in the form of company stock. Company stock can be awarded to employees without restriction or can be awarded through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) or purchased through an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). These plans can have various goals; […]
Does the Federal Reserve Control Interest Rates?
Anyone old enough to have been paying attention to the economy in the early 1980s remembers the Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and his iconic cigar, and what came to be known as the “Volcker Shock”. To combat increasing inflation throughout the 1970s, Volcker began to raise the discount rate when he assumed office in 1979, […]
A New Mental Accounting for Equity Exposure
Common Method of Allocating Between Equity Securities and Debt Instruments Portfolio design customarily begins with a decision regarding the percentage to be allocated to equity securities versus debt instruments[1]. Allocating and rebalancing to a percentage is simple; but the percentage to be allocated is typically nothing but a rudimentary judgement call, based upon ill-defined risk […]
THE SUN IS SETTING ON ULTRA HIGH NET WORTH ESTATES
Estate Tax Exemption for 2024 and beyond What is the Estate Tax Exemption? In 1789, Ben Franklin penned the famous phrase “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes”. It was not until 1916 that the estate tax was instituted, and death itself became taxable. There are certain amounts that are exempt from […]
The Alphabet Soup of Medicare: Medicare Parts Explained
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people: Who are 65 years or older. Have certain disabilities or end-stage renal disease. This article explains the Medicare parts impacting group 1: those who are 65 and older. Understanding your Medicare options is an important part of planning for success in your retirement years and beyond. […]
Our Two-Faced Dollar
The last time I checked, there is one face on our dollar bill: that of our great President George Washington. However, here I will make the case that our currency has not one, but two faces. Understanding what our currency truly represents can give us a clue as to how we can do our part […]
Just When You Thought You Were Out of Debt
American households are drowning in consumer debt, with the Federal Reserve Bank reporting a new record of over $1.13 Trillion in Credit Card debt in 2024.[1] Total consumer debt, including the largest category, mortgage debt, is also standing at an all-time high of $17.5 Trillion.[2] In our new high interest rate environment, the interest payments […]
Retirement Tax Planning: The Three Tax Wallets
Note: While some information in this article is specific to BP employees, the points about the three tax wallets may be useful for anyone saving for retirement. To understand the myriad types of retirement accounts and their complex tax treatments requires a certain depth of knowledge and expertise in retirement tax planning, more than can […]
Your Future Income Tax Brackets May Be Higher Than You Assume
Future assumed income tax brackets are a major consideration when making current decisions, such as the decision to convert a traditional retirement plan to a Roth plan and often, the assumptions we make are too low. When making assumptions about your future tax bracket, there are a few factors that often get overlooked. Below are […]
Convert! Oh, Ye of Little Faith: Roth Conversions are Underutilized
By James B. Twining, CFP® and Tor Benson, CFP® The decision to make a Roth conversion can be extremely impactful, warranting thorough, professional analysis with consideration of all pertinent factors. If current and future assumed tax rates are equal, a Roth conversion is often assumed to be neither beneficial nor detrimental. Appendix A illustrates a […]