It’s been nearly half a year since Americans first became widely aware of the coronavirus contagion within the United States. While for a brief month it looked as if we had the virus in hand, since then it has spread wildly out of control in many areas. People who did not suffer dramatic financial consequences … Continue reading “Borrowing From Your Retirement Plan: New CARES Act Rules”
Each year, millions of Americans make donations to charitable organizations and receive something in return – a tax break. However, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act curbed this tax advantage because it reduced the number of people eligible to claim a charitable deduction by raising the standard deduction. For 2020, the standard deduction is … Continue reading “How To Use Qualified Charitable Distributions For Charitable Giving”
That year or two when you are closing in on your retirement date, followed by a year or two after you retire, are the worst times for a sustained market decline. Market analysts call this scenario the sequence of returns (SOR) risk – because once your principal has been significantly reduced, there’s not enough time … Continue reading “Why Sequence of Returns Risk Matters Now”
The third decade of the 21st century started out with a vigorous economy, record low unemployment levels, and benign inflation. But late in the first quarter over the span of two weeks, investors faced the fastest stock market correction in history. With an unpredictable assailant like a global virus, short-term actions by Congress and the … Continue reading “Prospects for Investing in the 2020s”
In the days ahead, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely be described in economic terms as a Black Swan. This phrase is used to describe an event that: 1) was unpredictable; 2) causes severe and widespread consequences; and 3) in hindsight was determined to be wholly predictable. What will be interesting going forward is how much … Continue reading “The Economic Impact of Coronavirus”
At the end of 2019, Congress passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act as part of a year-end appropriations package. This bill is designed to address specific issues related to retirement savings plans in an effort to help Americans save more for retirement. Retirement Plan Contributions People are living longer, and … Continue reading “SECURE Act Seeks to Help Americans Save More for the Golden Years”
As we progress through life, we find there are certain things we can control and others we cannot. However, even with the things we can’t control, we can exercise good judgement based on facts, due diligence, historical patterns and a risk/reward calculation. These strategies play an important role in retirement planning. When it comes to … Continue reading “Safety vs. Probability: Planning For Retirement”
A rising tide might lift all boats, but the same cannot be said for the economy. When the U.S. experiences robust economic growth, certain sectors of the stock market tend to rise while others hold steady or even decline by comparison. The stocks of companies that experience higher revenues are typically categorized as cyclical. In … Continue reading “Economic Correlation: Cyclical and Non-Cyclical Stocks”
The economic indicator known as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) represents the dollar value of all purchased goods and services over the course of one year. It is comprised of purchases from all private and public consumption, including for profit, nonprofit and government sectors. There are four components that are added to calculate the GDP: Consumer … Continue reading “Gross Domestic Product: A Primer”
Economists generally determine that the country has fallen into a recession after two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Since 1967, the United States has experienced seven recessions. The thing is, predicting a recession is a little like predicting a tornado. Experts are never exactly sure if or when one will occur, … Continue reading “What to Expect and How to Prepare for a Recession”