Good to Know

Good to Know AI can be a competitive advantage for savvy financial advisors. While its potential applications for financial advisors are yet to be fully realized, here are just 6 strategies to consider. Contact more clients— AI can assist in making your client communications more frequent, targeted, and meaningful.  For example, AI can manage client…

Good to Know Your client, or their parents, may be entitled to increased retirement benefits from Social Security as a result of The Social Security Fairness Act of 2025 (the Act).  Specifically public service workers may have been penalized if they qualified for Social Security Retirement benefits and they worked in a private sector job.…

Good to Know The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 introduced significant tax reductions for individuals and businesses, with many provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. The likelihood of these provisions expiring depends on legislative actions taken before that deadline.  In this article we’ll review: The legislative environment, Key influences,…

Good to Know Let’s frame the challenge faced by far too many Americans. Confidence in a comfortable retirement remains soberingly low.  Consider this: Less than half of Americans feel confident about their retirement savings, Nearly one-third of Americans plan to depend solely on Social Security for retirement income, and The average annual Social Security benefit…

Good to Know Medicare Advantage, or Medicare Part C, is an increasingly popular alternative to Original Medicare, offering highly sought-after additional benefits and coverages. With a wide variety of plans available, selecting the right one can feel overwhelming. However, by considering key factors such as coverage needs, costs, and network restrictions, you can confidently choose…

Good to Know How does a retail investor play in the cryptocurrency market? Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be an accredited investor to participate, you can simply invest in a publicly traded Bitcoin ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund).  Such an ETF does not hold Bitcoin but rather tracks the price of Bitcoin.  It may…

Good to Know The traditional approaches and challenges to managing long-term care costs are: Self-insurance — the risk of depleting savings (e.g., retirement portfolios), Buy insurance — sharply increasing premiums plus increasingly tight underwriting requirements, and Medicaid — poverty generally required to qualify. It’s been said that nature abhors a vacuum and it appears that…

Good to Know There’s seldom been a better time to consider a career as a financial advisor, financial planner, or both.  While the scope of this article prevents the author from discussing every reason why, here are the top 5. 1) Client Trust and Respect Expand Client Trust and Respect — According to Forbes, CFP®…

Good to Know “She cannot eat her cake and have her cake.” Jonathan Swift, Polite Conversation 1738 What does this quote from almost 3 centuries ago have to do with Medicaid eligibility? Conventional wisdom tells us that no one can qualify for nursing home care under Medicaid insurance and simultaneously have assets or income in…

Good to Know Just two of every ten workers are very confident about having a financially comfortable retirement, according to the EBRI® 34th Annual Retirement Confidence Survey.  What is driving this lack of confidence?  Factors include inflation fears, Social Security concerns, and a recession threat. Inflation—More than 8 of every 10 workers believe that just paying…