News & Updates
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…
Read MoreCFP® 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,…
Read MoreCFP® 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…
Read MoreThree 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…
Read MoreCFP Board hosting Diversity Summit in November 2019
CFP Board Updates The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning will be hosting its second annual Diversity Summit on November 13, 2019, in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the summit is to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the financial planning profession. Last year, over 300 thought leaders attended the inaugural summit. The agenda…
Read MoreWhat 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…
Read MoreCFP® 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…
Read MoreIRS GIVES WIN TO INVESTMENT ADVISORY FEES IN A NONQUALIFIED ANNUITY
Good to Know We will take a very short break from our Social Security blog series with late-breaking news – potentially good news for advisors who charge only investment advisory fees. First, we’ll frame the issue then present the potentially good news. But before we frame the issue, let’s unpack the word “nonqualified” as it…
Read MoreThe Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty in CFP Board’s New Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct
CFP® Certificant in the News Here’s the big news for CFP® certificants: Effective October 1, 2019, a fiduciary duty is owed to clients in more circumstances than under the previous CFP Board requirements. Fiduciary duty is the very foundation upon which a great deal of the new Code and Standards rests. A CFP® certificant is…
Read MoreWhen Should You Claim Social Security Retirement Benefits?
Good to Know When will our universe stop expanding? What age should you claim Social Security Retirement benefits? For too many of us, these two questions are equally confounding. The author cannot help you with astronomical riddles but can illuminate some of the key factors that should inform your claiming age decision. This is the…
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