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Two things in life are certain: death and taxes, but have you ever considered the impact your death has on the taxability of your assets? Depending on how you are saving, you could potentially be passing a tax burden onto your heirs.

Before claiming social security there are some things you should know. When do you meet your full retirement age because that impacts how much you collect. Take a look at your longevity, your Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) and your spousal benefits. Lastly, keep in mind that there may be taxes and penalties that come with claiming too soon. We realize that this is a complex subject and encourage you to work with a financial planner, CFP® or ChFC® who is proficient in retirement planning.

Are you trying to make aggressive payments on student loans? If so, this is certainly an effective new strategy that can be utilized to shelter income from state tax that did not exist prior to the passing of the Secure Act.

"During this time of stimulus spending, tax cuts, and bond-buying by the federal reserve, I find myself wondering what the consequences of all of this debt will be? In this article, I will cover possible consequences of the debt we have accumulated (and continue to accumulate), as well as factors that will either help or hinder our ability to manage this debt load."

"It’s that time of year again when most of us are meeting with accountants and CPAs to tally up our income from the previous year. It’s not uncommon for your financial advisor or tax preparer to talk to you about deferring some of your income through contributions to pre-tax retirement accounts like an IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc. Though tax deferral does have its benefits, it may not always be the right decision."

"The CARES Act provides 2 trillion dollars of government aid along with several SIGNIFICANT changes to preexisting IRS, retirement accounts, and other financial rules in attempts to open up opportunities for individuals and small businesses to survive in this time of crisis. I have broken down and summarized that document here into 5 key areas: Recovery Rebates, Coronavirus Related Distributions, Significant Tax Changes to Retirement Accounts, Unemployment Compensation Benefits, and Small Business Benefits."

"Anyone can seem like a good financial advisor when markets are doing well. The expectation investors have when investing in capital markets is to make money, so when expectations are easy to meet, the bar tends to be set pretty low. However, it’s when markets are down (like the current bear market caused by COVID-19) that separates great financial advisors from mediocre ones. It’s times like these when people may wonder what their financial advisor is doing during this bear market. I can’t speak for all financial advisors, but I can tell you what the advisors at Financial Strategies Group have been and will continue to be doing in the weeks and months ahead."

"If I could only contribute to one retirement account for the rest of my working career, it would be the Roth IRA/401k. Although there are many benefits to a Roth IRA, there are three benefits that I find to be most intriguing. On top of the benefits I lay out below, you will be pleased to hear that in recent years employers have made the Roth 401k more accessible and the contribution limit on Roth IRAs has been increased!"