Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP® – Page 41

CFP® Certificants in the News: Honesty is the Best Policy

“Honesty is the best policy.” -Sir Edwin Sandys, 1599 CFP Board reported automatic interim suspensions on several participants’ right to use the CFP® mark in its April 14, 2020, press release. The CFP Board suspensions were based upon investment license revocations by the State of California and FINRA. Assuming the allegations made by CFP Board are proven, a number of recently-disciplined CFP® certificants…

Qualified Business Income Deduction

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 9: Tax Implications of Business Structures Student Question: I’m having a hard time understanding the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction for Specific Service Trade or Business (SSTB). A nonqualified business is an SSTB, right? But SSTB businesses can qualify if they are under AGI income phase-out? Does that mean if I am financial advisor and file Schedule C with net income onto…

Don’t Make Any Sudden Moves – CFP Board Practitioner Survey

COVID19, Market Volatility and Staying Calm The author had a Trust client that I will call Mr. B, a decorated former Marine. He built a highly successful business after he left the Marine Corps and eventually sold the business at a favorable valuation. While most of the author’s trust clients were highly stressed by the…

Bond Investment Strategies

Course: Investment PlanningLesson 11: Fixed Income Investment Strategies Student Question: Good morning! This page in the lesson lists the Laddered Approach and the Barbell Approach as popular passive bond strategies. However, in the reading, on Page 312 (Money Education, 2nd edition), the Laddered Approach and the Barbell Approach are listed as active strategies. Can you help me clarify which is correct? Thanks! Kaitlyn Instructor Response:…

Qualified Plan Contributions

Course: Retirement PlanningLesson 2: Qualified Plan Advantages and Disadvantages for Employees and Business Owners Student Question: I understand below is an example, but it is possible to contribute $20k to a retirement fund like a Roth IRA? I thought the limit was $6k. Example:Acme, Inc. contributed $20,000 to Tarzan Smith’s qualified plan in Year 1. Tarzan will never pay Social Security tax or Medicare tax on the $20,000 employer contribution;…

Corona Virus Impacts CFP Board Exam

CFP Board COVID19 Updates The most recent CFP Board guidance for those planning to take the CFP Board Exam in 2020 follows: “MARCH 2020 CFP® EXAM COVID-19 impacted hundreds of candidates planning to sit for the March 2020 exam. Some early test site closures were announced early in the March 10-17 testing window, followed by…

Social Security Retirement Benefits

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 10: Social Security Student Question: This question (below) doesn’t quite make sense to me. Could you clarify why the correct answer is D? Robin Elizabeth qualifies for a retirement benefit of $250 and a spouse’s benefit of $400. At her full retirement age, she will receive which of the following? Both $250 and $400. The higher of…

The Stretch IRA Is Not Dead For Everyone

Eligible Designated Beneficiary What exactly does it mean to be an “eligible designated beneficiary” of a Traditional IRA? Here is the short answer – an eligible designated beneficiary is exempt from the now-infamous stretch IRA killer known as the 10-year distribution rule. For IRA owners dying in or after 2020, the 10-year distribution rule kills…

Surrender Cost Index

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 14: Purchasing and Pricing Life Insurance Student Question: The surrender cost index is so confusing in terms of what I need to know. And could you provide a definition for the annuity due factor? Matt Instructor Response: HI Matt, This can be confusing. Let’s take a full step back for perspective. The purpose of the Surrender Cost Index is…

The Perils of Conduit Trusts for Retirement Accounts

Good to Know Once upon a time in a land not so far away, it was possible to defer (stretch) IRA retirement distributions over multiple generations at the death of an IRA owner. That idyllic time was before 2019 and the land in question is these United States of America. During that pre-2020 period, it…