Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP®, Author at Online CFP Program

4 Ways to Afford Long-Term Care Insurance

How can the average American afford Long-Term Care insurance (LTCi)? Before we answer that question, let’s refresh our memory on the strategic use of LTCi. In our previous blog, we identified the following strategies to manage long-term care costs: Self-insure If you can comfortably afford catastrophic (e.g., dementia) long-term care costs of as much as…

Unused Premium

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 8: Gift and Estate Valuation Student Question: Could you please clarify for me what the unused premium would be in term life insurance? I don’t quite understand how you could not use the premium. Thanks. John Instructor Response: Hey John- Certainly. A lot of different terms in insurance, to be sure. Assume…

CFP® Professionals and Recession Preparedness

While pundits have predicted a recession that has yet to happen for several years, clients do worry about the impact to their finances if a recession occurs. According to a recent survey by CFP Board, CFP® professionals and other financial advisors make a difference in client confidence when facing recession concerns. According to the survey,…

CFP® Certificants in the News: Are You Committing Financial Planning?

CFP® Certificant in the News A CFP® Certificant is subject to a greater duty, the duty to adhere to the Practice Standards, to clients when providing Financial Planning vs. when providing Financial Advice. As we will see in just a moment, a Certificant may be subject to the Practice Standards based upon what the client…

Child Care Credit Calculation

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 14: Tax Credits, Payments, and Forms Student Question: Could you show me the calculation for Question 3? I calculate 20% of $12,000 , which is $2,400. Emily’s job requires that she put her three children, all under the age of 13, in daycare. She is unmarried and files as Head of…

Three Perilous Long-Term Care Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Retirement

Good to Know “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” That common but deeply flawed bit of conventional wisdom is based upon a comment made almost 450 years ago. It was flawed in the 1500s and it remains flawed today. As but one insight, any retirement plan that ignores long-term care risk could be a…

How Many Tax-Free IRA Rollovers Per Year?

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 1: Using IRAs to Build and Distribute More Retiremnt Income Student Question: Is it okay to roll over ( via direct trustee, not 60–day) from Traditional to Roth several times throughout the year if needed? Thanks, Matt Instructor Response: Great question Matt. The IRS limits tax-free IRA rollovers to one per…

What Does Peanut Butter, Jelly, and a 32% Lifetime Social Security Bonus Have in Common?

Good to Know Age 66 Monthly Retirement Check1 $24,000 annual benefit Age 70 Monthly Retirement Check1 $31,680 Annual Benefit Which benefit would you choose? Getting more sounds great but there are two challenges that must be conquered: Challenges #1: Bridging the income gap We called this “making the peanut butter and the jelly come out…

Unmarried Child Retirement Benefits

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 10: Social Security Student Question: Does the retired worker have to also be drawing on their Social Security benefits for the unmarried child of the retired worker to receive benefits? For instance, a 63-year-old man has a 13-year-old daughter and he is retired but not drawing his SS benefits yet? Melinda…

CFP® Certificants in the News: What Do the New Standards of Conduct Mean When Disclosing Conflicts of Interest?

CFP® Certificants in the News True or False? A CFP® certificant is allowed to have a material conflict of interest with a client when providing financial advice. Answer. The statement is conditionally true. A certificant can have a conflict of interest with a client as long as the conflict is fully disclosed, the client agrees…