Articles

Retirement

• What Is a SEP IRA?

  A SEP IRA is a type of plan under which the employer contributes (up to a certain limit) to an employee’s IRA.

• What Is a SIMPLE?

  The SIMPLE plan may appeal to small business owners as it is easy to set up, administer, and allows for a tax deduction.

• What Is an IRA Rollover?

  If you leave a job or retire, you should consider your options regarding your employer retirement plan assets.

• What Is a Roth 401(k)?

  A Roth 401(k) is funded with after-tax money, and allows for tax- and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings if requirements are met.

• What Is a 403(b) Plan?

  A 403(b) plan is a tax-deferred retirement savings plan that can only be offered by a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity.

• Why Do People Buy Annuities?

  Annuities, an insurance-based financial vehicle, can provide many benefits that retirement investors might want.

• What Is a Split-Annuity Strategy?

  A split-annuity strategy can generate immediate income while potentially stretching some retirement savings.

• Social Security Income

  The Social Security Administration’s retirement estimator gives estimates of your future benefits based on your actual Social Security earnings record.

• What Is a Self-Employed Retirement Plan?

  Tax-deferred retirement plans for self-employed individuals have higher contribution limits than IRAs.

• What Is an Indexed Annuity?

  An indexed annuity may provide some upside potential and downside protection.

• What Is a Traditional IRA?

  If you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you might consider a traditional IRA.

• What Is a 401(k) Plan?

  401(k) employer-sponsored retirement plans have many benefits, including that the funds accumulate tax-deferred.

• What Is a Roth IRA?

  Qualified Roth IRA distributions in retirement are free of federal income tax and aren’t included in gross income.

Tax Planning

• What Is Tax Deferral?

  There can be a substantial benefit to deferring taxes as long as possible.

• How Can I Benefit from Tax-Advantaged Investments?

  Many traditional tax-advantaged investment strategies have gone away, but there are still some alternatives.

• Is There Such a Thing as a Tax-Free Investment?

  It's important to understand tax-exempt vehicles when establishing a comprehensive tax planning strategy.

Investing

• What Are Dividends?

  It is important to understand how dividends (taxable payments to shareholders) fit with your long-term goals.

• What Is an Exchange-Traded Fund?

  ETFs have unique attributes and attempt to track all types of indexes, industries, or commodities.

• Growth Stocks vs. Value Stocks

  The labels growth and value reflect different approaches that can be used when making investment decisions.

• What Is Stock?

  Before investing in stocks, it is important to understand some of the basics and the risks involved in owning stocks.

• What Are Zero-Coupon Bonds?

  Zero-coupon bonds represent a type of bond that does not pay interest during the life of the bond.

• What Is a Bond?

  A bond is simply evidence of a debt from a government entity or a corporation and represents a long-term IOU.

• What Is a Mutual Fund?

  A mutual fund is a collection of stocks, bonds, and other securities with certain benefits and risks.

• What Is an Annuity?

  An annuity is a flexible financial vehicle that can help protect against the risk of living a long time because it provides an option for a lifetime income.

• What Is Asset Allocation?

  Asset allocation is a method used to help manage investment risk; it does not guarantee a profit or protect against investment loss.

• What Stock and Bond Investing Alternatives Do I Have?

  There are other ways to invest in stocks and bonds besides owning individual shares or bonds.

• 529 Lesson Plan: High Scores for 529 Plans

  529 plans are tax-advantaged savings plans that generally allow people of any income level to contribute.

Risk Management

• Why Purchase Life Insurance?

  If you have a family who relies on your income, it is important to have life insurance protection.

• Do I Need a Business Owner Policy?

  A business owner policy is an insurance package that assembles the basic coverages required by a business owner in one bundle.

• What Is Term Life Insurance?

  Term life insurance differs from permanent forms of life insurance in that it offers temporary protection.

• What Is Whole Life Insurance?

  Some of the pros and cons of whole life insurance.

• What Is Universal Life Insurance?

  Consider a universal life insurance policy if you want the flexibility to change your premium or death benefit.

• How Likely Am I to Need Long-Term Care?

  If you were to suffer an illness or disability that required long-term nursing care, would you be covered?

• What Are the Basic Types of Life Insurance?

  When selecting a life insurance policy, examine all your options, as well as the positives and negatives of each type.