by Kenny | Jul 31, 2025
Planning to retire within the next 10 years? Taking these actions now could help bolster your portfolio as you approach your planned retirement date. After decades of working and saving, you can finally see retirement on the horizon. But now isn’t the time to... by Kenny | Jul 31, 2025
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Can I satisfy my required minimum distribution (RMD) from my 401(k) by taking it from my IRA instead? Answer: No, that is not allowed. You may aggregate RMDs from your IRAs if you have multiple accounts,... by Kenny | Jul 30, 2025
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst While the ability to recharacterize Roth conversions was eliminated years ago, Roth contributions can still be reversed. A Roth IRA contribution can be recharacterized to a traditional IRA, or vice versa. To recharacterize an IRA...
by Kenny | Jul 28, 2025
Key Points While the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is not mandatory, it is a 100% covered preventive service. The Annual Wellness Visit differs from the typical annual physicals you were used to with group coverage. If you’ve had Medicare Part B for more than 12... by Kenny | Jul 28, 2025
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Many of you are familiar with the tax advantages that Roth retirement accounts can bring. Although Roth contributions are made with after-tax dollars, the contributions grow tax-free, and earnings also come out tax-free after age 59½ if a...
by Kenny | Jul 27, 2025
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ reached another set of all-time highs, driven by constructive rhetoric on global trade and positive second-quarter earnings results from influential companies such as Alphabet. The S&P is up 8.6% year to date, while the NASDAQ is up...
by Kenny | Jul 25, 2025
If the word “retire” is becoming your new mantra, we suggest you make a retirement checklist before you receive your last paycheck. It’s never too early (or too late) to start planning your retirement. So why not start now, using the handy checklist below. 10 Steps... by Kenny | Jul 24, 2025
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: Does the new $6,000 additional deduction for seniors under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) also apply if the senior itemizes their taxes? Thanks, Robert ANSWER: Robert, The new $6,000 addition to the standard... by Kenny | Jul 23, 2025
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Summer of 2025 brought us the new season of the hit TV show, Love Island. When a new contestant arrives on this popular reality dating show, its viewers know that “another hot bombshell has entered the villa.” The... by Kenny | Jul 21, 2025
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Last week in Chicago, the Ed Slott and Company team hosted another successful 2-day advisor training program. A sellout crowd of over 260 financial professionals from across the country joined us for some intense IRA and retirement...
by Kenny | Jul 21, 2025
Key Points Medicare Part D is a voluntary program, but if you do not enroll in a plan, you won’t have coverage for expensive medications. You will also have a late enrollment penalty if you don’t have other creditable coverage. Medicare Part D is a huge time...
by Kenny | Jul 20, 2025
U.S. equity markets were little changed for the week; that said, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ were able to forge another set of all-time highs. A busy Q2 earnings calendar saw 12% of the S&P 500 report earnings. Earnings from several large banks came in better than...
by Kenny | Jul 18, 2025
Retirement is a series of milestones that arrive as you age. Here are the ones you should know about. The retirement clock doesn’t start the day you stop working. It’s better to think of this period of your life as a range of important dates and milestones... by Kenny | Jul 17, 2025
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I have a client who died last month. She would have been age 83 this year. She had an IRA. Her husband, age 87, was the beneficiary of the IRA. She did not take her required minimum distribution (RMD) for 2025 before she died.... by Kenny | Jul 16, 2025
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law on July 4, 2025, includes a new savings vehicle for children called “Trump accounts.” The rules surrounding these accounts are complicated, and many media outlets are reporting... by Kenny | Jul 14, 2025
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). This mammoth domestic policy and tax law is hundreds of pages long and will impact many people in all kinds of ways. What...
by Kenny | Jul 14, 2025
Original Medicare Part B covers 80% of the cost of most services. But what about the other 20%? Or the other out-of-pocket costs like deductibles or inpatient copays? Let’s discuss Medigaps, which can help cover these costs. What are Medigaps? Medigaps are health...
by Kenny | Jul 13, 2025
A barrage of tariff letters sent to over 20 countries by President Trump yielded very little movement in the financial markets. Trump announced that there would not be additional extensions to negotiations and that tariff levels sent in these letters would go into... by Kenny | Jul 10, 2025
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: With the signing of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) legislation and the current tax rates being made permanent, have your thoughts regarding Roth conversions changed? Jim ANSWER: Jim, We have always been, and...
by Kenny | Jul 9, 2025
Social Security is one of the most essential yet misunderstood pieces of the American retirement puzzle. With all the recent headlines, ranging from benefit increases and new payment rules to potential tax reforms under the Trump administration, many retirees and... 
