For those who are lucky enough to have one, a pension plan can be a wonderful piece of the retirement income pie. For most there is not much thought involved with the pension plan decision; turn it on when you retire and select the option that continues 100% of the income for your spouse if you pass away. While that works just fine, you’re most likely leaving money on the table and you lack control of the asset. Let me explain why…

Many of you are most likely nearing the end of your PPP loan spend and are starting to think about getting the loan forgiven. While the process for obtaining the loan was chaotic, confusing and stressful, it looks like the forgiveness process should be much easier

When Congress passed the $2trillion CARES ACT emergency relief plan, most focused on the direct stimulus checks, unemployment benefits and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which were all widely covered by the media. There are many other provisions that can be utilized, and today we’ll cover a planning opportunity for business owners who personally have student loans and/or whose employees do.

What seems like daily, we help clients make important decisions regarding their company stock plans. If done correctly, the positive impact to your long-term goals is substantial. However, it takes careful planning to ensure you’re maximizing the benefit you receive while being cautious of the potential tax consequences. Most don’t understand how these plans work and they make poor decisions that minimize the benefit and maximize the taxes.

The SECURE ACT has eliminated the “stretch” provision as an option for most non-spouse beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts. Replacing the “stretch” IRA (or stretch 401k), in many instances, is a new 10-Year Rule, which requires that an inherited retirement account be emptied by the end of the 10th year after the year of death. Before we move on to how it works now and why this is such a big change, prior to the SECURE ACT, let’s review how this did, and still does work in some instances.

Yesterday the House approved the CARES Act and the president signed it into law. This is the largest emergency relief program ever released by the government at whopping $2tillion. There are a vast array of provisions and not all of them will be applicable to you but it’s important to know what your options are should you face hardship due to the Coronavirus.