Retirement Watch

Independent, objective research on all the financial issues affecting retirement and retirement planning—including investments, estate planning, taxes, IRAs, annuities, insurance, medical expenses, and more.

Retirement Watch

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Finding Higher Returns with Low Risks

Market volatility and uncertainty spur the search for investment alternatives. Index fund investors broke even or lost money the last 10 years, depending on what the markets did in the latest volatile week. The index fund investors did worse than simply...

Published 10-07-2008 6:22 PM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Bob Carson, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, financial crisis, insurance, annuities, stock, stocks, equity indexed annuities, stock market
A Fresh Look at Family Limited Partnerships

Family limited partnerships have been a key element in many estate plans for decades. The FLP provides an array of benefits to the estate owner, not the least of which are tax reduction plus continuing control of the assets. Those benefits and the popularity...

Published 09-26-2008 1:29 PM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, estates, Estate tax, tax-free gifts, taxable gifts, gifts, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, trusts, homes, estate taxes, grandkids, real estate, grandchildren, retirement, retirement plans, creditor protection, asset protection, business sales, selling a business, family limited partnerships, partnerships
Avoiding IRA Inheritance Disasters

IRAs are supposed to be simple, but when it comes to inheritance IRAs are more complicated than most people realize. It is not unusual for IRA heirs to misunderstand some key rules. A wrong move or two triggers high taxes, often causing most of the IRA...

Published 09-19-2008 12:31 PM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, estates, Estate tax, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, iras, trusts, ira distributions, estate taxes, grandkids, grandchildren, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, stock
Your Home as a Retirement Fund?

Is home equity a foundation of your retirement fund? Apparently it is for a number of people. Both anecdotal evidence and some consumer surveys indicate that a number of Baby Boomers plan to "retire on the house." The plan is especially prevalent...

Published 09-12-2008 4:36 PM by Bob Carlson
Avoiding Amazing Estate Battles

Few things amaze estate planners more than the property heirs choose to fight over. The worst disputes often seem to occur over items that most outsiders consider trivial. Items of little financial value seem to trigger emotional reactions in heirs. Sometimes...

Published 09-04-2008 11:12 AM by Bob Carlson
Planning Tips for Family Businesses

Business owners have unique concerns in addition to the usual estate and retirement planning issues. Business owners fear their heirs might sell or dismantle the business or the wrong people might run it. Those results can be avoided, but the owner must...

Published 08-28-2008 1:44 PM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Estate Planning, estates, Estate tax, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, estate taxes, real estate, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, business sales, selling a business, small business
Five Myths of Business Succession

Few small firms survive past the first generation of owners. That is well-known. Most people assume the business failures are due to the inadequacies and mistakes of the owners and managers after the first generation. Yet, at least an equal share of blame...

Published 08-21-2008 8:48 AM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Estate Planning, estates, Estate tax, tax-free gifts, gifts, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, income taxes, estate taxes, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, business sales, selling a business, small business
Little-Known IRA Tax Saver

Many people own shares of employer stock through 401(k) or other retirement plans. Few of these workers, or many of their financial advisers, know the tax break that is available slash the tax burden from selling those shares. With a little planning and...

Published 08-14-2008 7:22 PM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, estates, Carlson, Bob Carlson, iras, ira distributions, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, employer stock, nua, stock
Reducing the Mortgage on Your IRA

Most people are busy accumulating large balances in their IRAs and 401(k)s and managing the accounts. They forget that the IRS holds a mortgage on those accounts. You put mostly pre-tax dollars in the accounts and let income and gains compound tax deferred...

Published 08-07-2008 10:45 AM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, estates, Estate tax, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, estate taxes, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, annuities
Overlooked Estate Planning Moves

Most estate planning discussions involve big picture issues, such as taxes, trusts, gifts, and how to handle a business. Too often, however, the success or failure of a plan depends on small details that can seem unimportant. Shortchanging the time and...

Published 08-01-2008 7:58 AM by Bob Carlson
Simple Steps to Shield Assets

Lawsuits, accidents, and other unexpected events can put personal assets at risk of loss. Protecting assets from these and other potential losses is a prime goal of many people. While expensive asset protection packages are available from various finance...

Published 07-25-2008 9:26 AM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, estates, Carlson, Bob Carlson, iras, trusts, real estate, mortgages, retirement plans, insurance, lawsuits, annuities, creditor protection, asset protection
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Your Retirement

Even if you do not own a share of their stock or even have a mortgage, the recent events involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will affect your retirement—no matter what your age is. I won’t review all the events regarding the two mortgage...

Published 07-16-2008 9:03 AM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Carlson, Bob Carlson, mortgages, retirement plan, retirement, medical expenses, fannie mae, financial crisis, freddie mac, retiree health care, health care
Time to Help the Grandkids Buy a Home

Home prices are down, and inventories of unsold homes are high in many areas. These are buyer’s markets. That makes this an ideal time to buy a home, or to help a grandchild buy that first home or move up to a larger home. Despite the decline in...

Published 07-11-2008 1:11 PM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Estate Planning, gifts, homes, estate taxes, grandkids, real estate, annual exclusion, grandchildren
How to Make Family Wealth Last

In the financial and estate planning industry a current rage is The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall, a book that recently was made into a movie. The novel is about a very wealthy man who realized that his wealth could not buy what really matters. Throughout...

Published 07-03-2008 9:09 AM by Bob Carlson
Estate Planning for IRAs

Unique estate planning strategies are required for Individual Retirement Arrangements. Many people focus on how to build their IRA balances and then how much to withdraw from them. The treatment of IRAs in estate planning often is overlooked, and that...

Published 06-27-2008 10:25 AM by Bob Carlson

Filed under: Estate Planning, wills, income taxes, iras, trusts, ira distributions

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Retirement Watch

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Finding Higher Returns with Low Risks

A Fresh Look at Family Limited Partnerships

Avoiding IRA Inheritance Disasters

Your Home as a Retirement Fund?

Avoiding Amazing Estate Battles

Planning Tips for Family Businesses

Five Myths of Business Succession

Little-Known IRA Tax Saver

Reducing the Mortgage on Your IRA

Overlooked Estate Planning Moves

Simple Steps to Shield Assets

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Your Retirement

Time to Help the Grandkids Buy a Home

How to Make Family Wealth Last

Estate Planning for IRAs