The top 10 articles of 2023

Tax efficiency, estate planning, legislative changes – we covered it all in 2023, helping you to identify financial planning opportunities and to understand how our planners can help you take advantage of them.

In case you missed it, here’s another chance to read our most popular content from last year.

10

If you’re considering an early retirement, have you thought about health care coverage during the period before Medicare? We look at some of your options before you turn 65.

9

Like most legal agreements, trusts use many terms and designations that are not readily familiar to nonlawyers. To help you better understand their mechanics and purpose, we’ve put together a short primer on the language of trusts.

8

Deciding when to file for Social Security is a strategic opportunity to maximize an inflation-adjusted, guaranteed source of income for life. We review strategies for singles, married couples, surviving spouses, divorced individuals and families.

7

When kids leave the nest, it’s a tremendous opportunity to refocus on your own goals and make sure you have a plan in place that will see you through to retirement and beyond. Get a road map for financial planning in this phase of life.

6

You know insurance is there to protect you from financial losses due to accidents, deaths or other tragedies. But how can you protect yourself from losses due to future cognitive impairment? Here’s a five-point checklist.

5

“Giving while living” is a phrase associated with billionaire philanthropists, but there are compelling reasons to share your wealth while you’re alive even if you aren’t a billionaire. See what they are.

4

What happens to your wealth if you become ill or when you pass? We believe everyone should have an estate plan to resolve this uncertainty. See how to set yourself up for a successful meeting.

3

Deferring Social Security is a way to gain control over your financial situation even when much else is beyond it. You may know about Social Security’s yearly inflation adjustment – but did you know that waiting to start taking it can mean even more of your retirement income is protected from inflation?

2

The SECURE 2.0 Act was made law in December 2022, ushering in a host of changes to the retirement savings landscape, to be phased in over several years. What are the 2024 changes and how might they impact you? Here are the main points to know.

1

The clock is ticking on your opportunity to take advantage of certain estate planning and gift tax laws that are set to expire at the end of 2025. Careful planning now could allow you to leverage favorable lifetime gifting and estate planning strategies – if you act before the law changes.