Simply put – yes. Most pensions are still calculating their benefits assuming a 7%+ long-term rate of growth. Looking back at the last 30 years of market returns, that doesn’t seem so far-fetched, but unfortunately a pension fund’s ability to … Continue reading →

A 529 ABLE account (or 529 A Savings Plan) was created by the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 to provide Americans with disabilities the opportunity to save up to $15,000 (2019 limit) per year in a … Continue reading →

One of the most dangerous delusions being pumped and disseminated by Wall Street today is that the economy and stock market can and should continue to thrive indefinitely without interruption. Wall Street is notoriously perma-bullish based on its business model … Continue reading →

As we’ve discussed with clients for a couple years now, the outlook for precious metals has been steadily improving. From a price or relative value standpoint, they’ve seldom been cheaper relative to financial assets and as we’ve stressed, long-term investment … Continue reading →

You may have to account for at least one, but probably more of the preceding issues before and during your own retirement.  However, the biggest threat that we can think of is also the one that gets almost no attention … Continue reading →

The month of July has seen the broad U.S. stock indexes such as the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq achieve new highs – which of course is a good thing for those with meaningful exposure to them. … Continue reading →

For many years now, home-owning Americans had more equity in their homes than they did in their retirement accounts.  In order to afford their retirements, they would have to find a way to unlock that equity, either by selling their … Continue reading →

There is an abundance of online advice on this topic.  For every year beyond your full retirement age you delay taking social security benefits, those benefits go up 8%.  As a result, many Internet experts say that’s the way to … Continue reading →

Most American workers received pensions in past decades.  When pensions started becoming more scarce, it forced Americans who had no real knowledge of saving and investing to manage their own money they would need to secure their retirements.  By most … Continue reading →

The changes to what we pay for the goods and services we buy do not increase by the same rate every year; some years they go up slowly, some years they jump up, and some years the cost of certain … Continue reading →