Retirement Articles
Practical explainers and guidance for retirement decisions.
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Should You Build a Treasury Ladder for Near-Term Spending?
A Treasury ladder can help line up short-term Treasury maturities with planned spending, but it works best when the dates, liquidity needs, taxes, and reinvestment plan are clear.
Investing
What Is an Investment Policy Statement and Do You Need One?
An investment policy statement turns a portfolio plan into written rules for goals, allocation, rebalancing, cash, taxes, concentration, and when to make changes.
Wealth & Estate
How Should Business Owners Think About Personal Wealth?
For a business owner, the business can be income source, largest asset, concentration risk, retirement plan, estate asset, and family legacy at the same time. The personal plan has to account for all of those roles.
Small Business
SEP IRA vs. Solo 401(k): Which Retirement Plan Fits a Business Owner?
A SEP IRA is often simpler, while a solo 401(k) can offer more contribution flexibility for owner-only businesses. The better fit depends on employees, cash flow, owner pay, Roth goals, catch-up contributions, loans, and administration.
Wealth & Estate
How Should Business Owners Plan for Succession?
Business succession planning is not only about who gets the company someday. It is about ownership, management, valuation, tax, liquidity, insurance, family expectations, and what happens if the owner leaves sooner than planned.
Wealth & Estate
What Should You Do With an Inheritance Before Investing It?
Before investing an inheritance, slow down long enough to identify what you received, set aside taxes and near-term cash, review inherited-account rules, and choose a plan for the money.
Retirement
How Should Your Investment Mix Change as You Approach Retirement?
As retirement gets closer, your investment mix has to do more than chase long-term growth. It also has to support withdrawals, cash reserves, tax planning, and the possibility that weak markets arrive early in retirement.
Retirement
Should You Choose Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage in Retirement?
The main Medicare choice in retirement is not only about premiums. It is about provider flexibility, prescription fit, Medigap timing, out-of-pocket risk, and which coverage structure actually fits the retirement plan you want to run.
Retirement
When Is Social Security Taxable?
Social Security is not always tax free. Under current federal rules, part of your retirement, survivor, or disability benefits may become taxable when your other income is high enough. The practical question is usually not whether the check exists, but how the rest of your income changes what portion of that check gets pulled into taxable income.
Retirement
Will Your Taxes Be Lower in Retirement?
Taxes can be lower in retirement, but they are not automatically lower. Traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, RMDs, pensions, Social Security taxation, taxable investments, Roth income, filing status changes, and state taxes can all change the answer.
Retirement
How Does Remarriage Affect Social Security After Divorce or Widowhood?
Remarriage can change Social Security in very different ways depending on whether you are looking at divorced-spouse benefits on a living ex's record or survivor benefits after a spouse or ex-spouse has died. The key is knowing which branch you are in before you assume remarriage automatically ends every option.
Retirement
Can You Work While Collecting Social Security?
Yes, you can work while collecting Social Security retirement benefits. The main question is not whether work is allowed. The real question is whether your age, earnings, and filing timing mean the earnings test could reduce current checks before full retirement age.
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