Advisor's Journal Latest Updates

1. Did Portability Kill the Credit Shelter Trust?
Many clients may have begun to skimp on estate planning this year because the generous $5 million transfer tax exemption has been made permanently portable between spouses.
2. Income-Based Premiums Triple the Cost of Medicare under the ACA
For your high net worth and upper middle class clients, Medicare planning has become a critical component of a well-executed retirement income plan.
3. The Investment Income Tax: Don’t Get Caught in the Passive Activity Trap
Your clients may have mastered the more obvious points of the new 3.8% tax on investment income that became effective this year, but with this complicated set of tax rules, what they don’t know can hurt them.
4. Time Is Running out for Social Security’s File and Suspend—Cash in Now
Looming changes to the Social Security system meant to shore up its pending insolvency have created a renewed sense of urgency for maximizing Social Security benefits for high net worth clients.
5. Multiplying Deductible Familial IRA Contributions
With the diverse array of estate planning tools that advisors have in their arsenals today, it might be easy to overlook one relatively simple, tax-advantaged way to pass wealth to the next generation—individual retirement accounts.
6. Estate Planning Tools in the Administration Budget Proposal’s Crossfire
Estate planners should take note that the administration’s budget plan is soon expected to take aim at some of their most effective planning tools.
7. The Price of Longevity: When Clients Outlive Their Longevity Insurance
The IRS has recently allowed using qualified pre-tax dollars to purchase longevity annuity contracts.
8. Navigating the Maze: Social Security, Spouses, and Survivors
Determining Social Security entitlement is often a more difficult piece of the puzzle than anticipated when it comes to helping clients project anticipated retirement income.
9. Guaranteed Lifetime Income Variable Annuities: Eliminating the Confusion—and the Price Tag
Variable annuities with guaranteed lifetime benefits have become increasingly popular among clients planning for retirement income in recent years.
10. ESOP Tax-Free Rollovers Defer Taxes—or Lead Small Business Clients to the Frying Pan
An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is a tax-preferred plan created by an employer-company that is designed to invest primarily in shares of that employer.