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Business owners have a great deal of responsibilities to contend with on a day-to-day basis. As a business owner myself, I can understand and appreciate the sometimes overwhelming list of tasks that need to be done. Among that list, usually somewhere near the bottom, is the process of setting up a retirement plan for yourself and your employees. Although setting up a plan does involve some work on the part of business owners, it does not necessarily need to be a time-consuming or expensive proposition.

I grew up in a small town outside of Flint, Michigan called Swartz Creek. Many of the people in our community worked for one of the “Big Three” automakers, including my uncle, all three of my best friends’ dads, and many of my extended family. These companies were a classic example of a typical 20th-century employer. Right out of high school you could get a good job and make a very good living. It was certainly not easy work, but if you stuck with it for 30 years you would be well taken care of with an opportunity for early retirement, a good pension, and excellent health care benefits. Today, things are very different.

It is no secret that women traditionally had little to do with family finances or retirement planning. Over time, women have come a long way, especially as their presence in the workforce expanded and income increased.

A lot of investors are legacy-minded. This means leaving a monetary impact for family or friends is top priority to them. In this article, I’m going to focus on those situations where the transfer of assets is done after someone has passed away through a beneficiary designation.

Do- Diversify your portfolio. This may sound cliché but it is vitally important. Diversification acts as an insulator against the ups and downs of the market. Don't- Try to time the market! Market timing is making investment decisions based on the expectation that the market will go up or down in the short term.

Lately, I have been getting this question frequently. For some folks, it’s the first time they’re hearing about tax-free growth. For others who have been saving in a Roth for a long time, or are converting pre-tax dollars to Roth IRA, they have never really considered just how beneficial tax-free growth truly is. This is especially true when you have a 10, 15, even 20+ year timeline.

For retirees that wish to truly enjoy their retirement but still want to provide a legacy, setting priorities and finding a balance will be key. Most would agree that ensuring one's stability in retirement should be the top priority. The first step to ensuring you can enjoy retirement is to make sure you have enough money saved in the right type of accounts to make this happen.

Each spring, the tax documents emerge from their hibernation as people prepare the information they need to meet their civic duty. Oftentimes, your accountant (CPA) or Financial advisor might take this opportunity to talk to you about deferring some of your income for tax purposes, but what does that mean, and is this right for you?