Tag: tax

When it comes to retirement—and to passing on whatever wealth you’ve accumulated to a spouse or the next generation—you may think you’ve thought of everything. However, despite your careful planning it could be that Uncle Sam will be handing you a hefty tax bill while you’re living—or your beneficiaries one when you die.

Even people who have been great about saving for retirement don’t always realize the tax implications of what they’ve done. They may have created a significant tax problem for themselves, and they could be leaving behind a tax time bomb for their beneficiaries.

When meeting with your financial planner, tax attorney or estate attorney it is not unusual to be intimidated. Don’t be. This is your life and your assets, and you need to be in charge. I tell all my clients the person sitting on the other side of the desk from you should be making an effort to get to know you as a person not just as a new engagement and likewise you should be doing the same with them. It should not consist of them asking you questions about your assets, net worth and family. It should be more than that, much more.

When you’re married, there are some things about filing your income taxes that might make you smile; for instance, the possibility of saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars by filing jointly instead of separately. But no matter who you are or what benefits you expect to enjoy as a married taxpayer, there’s at least one thing that may strike fear into your heart: an audit. Even if an audit doesn’t end up being painful (to your joint bank account, that is), it’s a stressful hassle that no couple wants to deal with.

As couples struggle with the complex challenges of retirement income planning, more are turning to Single Premium Immediate Annuities, or SPIAs for help in managing the risk of outliving their retirement assets. In short, an immediate annuity allows a person to convert a sum of money into a guaranteed series of payments for a period equal to the greater of the person's life or a certain number of years.

SPIA sales have been relatively flat for years, however sales have recently been growing at a 25 to 30 percent annual rate, reaching $2.4 billion in 2008.

We know, you've recently filed your taxes and you either just paid money to Uncle Sam or you collected it. Not to mention that the rebate checks are starting to roll in. But if you're new to this marriage thing, the tax rules are different than when you were single. With the economy slumping, it's more important than ever to pay attention to your money.

Since 2003 when it was first introduced, the marriage tax penalty has evolved into more of a tax planning consideration than a surprise liability. To understand the concept you need to have a basic understanding of how tax rates work. I have always used the analogy of "walking up a staircase" when describing the progressive nature of tax rates.