Playing Catch-Up

At a certain age, you are allowed to boost your yearly retirement account contributions. For example, you can direct an extra $1,000 per year into a Roth or traditional IRA starting in the year you turn 50. Your initial reaction to that may be: “So what? What will an extra $1,000 a year in retirement savings really do for me?”...

The Lucky 37

Although the IRS imposes income tax on the Social Security benefits of certain senior citizens, the majority of states don't. In fact, only 13 states tax Social Security benefits, and many of these have more generous income thresholds than the IRS....

Executor Decision

It’s an important question: Who can be trusted to take care of your estate when you’re gone? When you pass away and your will is accepted for probate, your executor “steps into your shoes,” meaning he or she can perform all the legal tasks you used to do....

401(k) Rumblings

The 401(k) plan has been in the news of late, as lawmakers have turned their focus on the tax system. In order to increase current tax revenue (without having to “raise” tax rates), one proposal being floated is that employee contributions to such plans would no longer be on a “pre-tax” basis....