This year, most people have been stressed (in time, and also cognitively and emotionally as well) more than ever before at home and work. After our busiest spring on record helping clients, we recently brainstormed the best techniques we use internally for staying on track professionally right now: Read the rest of this entry »
Callahan Financial Planning Opens San Francisco Financial Advisory Office
San Francisco – Callahan Financial Planning, a fee-only independent personal financial planning and investment management firm with offices throughout the Bay Area, has announced its latest expansion with the addition of a financial advisory office in San Francisco, CA.
“We see this as an incredible opportunity to provide our special fee-only advice to not just those in San Francisco, but also those throughout the peninsula in communities like San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, South San Francisco, Daly City, along with Oakland and Berkeley in the East Bay”, said Callahan Financial Planning’s Vice President of Financial Planning, Reuben Brauer, CFP®.
Understanding Medicare in Retirement
According to AARP, couples age 65 who retired in 2017 were estimated to pay $275,000 for health care over the course of their retirement. This is a 6% increase over 2016’s projections, and over a 70% increase since annual research began in 2002. The majority of retirees will enroll in Medicare to help cover medical costs during retirement. However, there are several things you need to know about how Medicare works, and how to enroll in order to avoid penalties. Read the rest of this entry »
The End of File and Suspend for Social Security
(Congress Plans to Close Social Security “Loopholes”)
This week, budget legislation (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015) passed in Congress to remove the ability for spouses to take advantage of the Social Security strategy commonly known as file and suspend. Previously, the file and suspend strategy allowed Spouse A, at full retirement age, to file and suspend their own retirement benefits to earn delayed retirement credits. This also allowed Spouse B to begin receiving a spousal Social Security benefit at that time (while earning delayed retirement credits on Spouse B’s benefits as well). The new law prevents a spouse from claiming a spousal benefit and later switching to their own benefit.
This strategy, often debated as a “loophole” by some, became possible in 2000, when Congress passed the Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act. This allowed voluntary suspension of Social Security benefits for people who had already claimed, and then changed their mind and wanted to suspend them later.
Beginning Retirement During Declining Markets
Retirement portfolios are generally intended to have withdrawals made regularly. These withdrawals provide the regular income necessary for a retiree’s living (and other) needs. However, when a multi-year downturn in the markets is combined with regular withdrawals, a retirement portfolio can deplete at a rapid pace.
The S&P 500 (a broad measure of large American business stocks) averaged a compound annual return over the last century of more than 9% (made up of the change in stock prices plus dividends). This long-term average has been remarkably consistent over long periods of time, but it is a poor predictor of returns over shorter periods of time. Let’s look at some examples to see why. Read the rest of this entry »
Will an Aging America Cause Lower Stock Returns?
The relationship between supply and demand is widely understood in economics. But does an aging America mean future stock returns will be lower as older Americans sell stocks for day-to-day needs in retirement?
Most economists I’ve spoken with on the matter in recent years have expressed concern about this very dynamic. It’s also a rational, simple explanation for several things. But while supply and demand are still present forces, this thesis makes a number of implied assumptions. The foremost being that baby boomers will be the only supplier of savings (capital) to the productive businesses that need it (in the form of stock purchases in the primary/secondary markets). Read the rest of this entry »
Advice On Managing Your 401(K) Retirement Plan
The employer retirement plan (commonly known as a 401k/403b) is an essential savings and investment vehicle available to many individuals today. These plans provide significant benefits to employees, such as tax deferral on employee contributions, employer matching contributions, Roth contribution and greater annual deferral limits than an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
However, a 401(k)’s features, investment choices and service providers are determined by the employer and offer employees little flexibility. Investors must choose among the investment vehicles offered and work within established rules and limits within their respective plan(s). Choosing the right investments within your plan can be difficult as plan data is not always readily available, and many HR departments often do not understand their own plans well enough to provide guidance to plan participants regarding their investment decisions.