These days, holding a college diploma is table stakes to qualify for a decent job. Because more people than ever attend a four-year college and that degree is the minimum qualification for many positions, we’ve also seen a spike in students who continue their education to pursue a graduate degree. Read more…
10 Things To Do Now If You’re A Decade Away From Retirement
For most of your life, saving for retirement probably wasn’t a high priority. But as the years count down on your career, nerves set in and rhetorical questions start flooding your head: Have I saved enough? Did I invest too aggressively? Do I have the right kind of insurance? Read more…
What to Do If You Were Getting Ready to Retire Before the Pandemic Hit
The current impact that the global coronavirus pandemic has had on our daily lives is obvious. This event has touched every one of us in various ways, but you may feel particularly affected if you were thinking about retiring in the near future. You may wonder how the fallout and long-term Read more…
6 Methods to Consider When Choosing an ESG Investing Strategy
A growing number of investors are interested in Environmental, Social and Governance investing, known as ESG. That term is becoming more common, but ESG still means different things to different people. Read more…
IRS Provides Additional Relief for 2020 Required Minimum Distributions
Earlier this year Congress passed the CARES Act as part of the legislative response to COVID-19. The bill includes a waiver of required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the 2020 tax year for IRAs (including inherited IRAs and Roth IRAs) and defined contribution plans. Read more…
How Tax Projections Help You Make Better Financial Decisions
There is a phrase we say a lot here at Plancorp: “We should run a tax projection.” You might hear it when you ask if it makes sense to boost your charitable contributions this year, or when you call us with the good news that you’re getting a big bump in non-salary compensation. We also might reach Read more…
How to Use GRATs to Transfer Wealth to Beneficiaries Tax-Free
One of our most important responsibilities is helping clients achieve financial independence. We love when we can tell them they have enough money to do whatever they want for the rest of their lives. But that milestone is hardly the end of the wealth management process. The next question we like Read more…
3 Ways to Strive for Financial Freedom—Even During a Pandemic
We live in uncertain times. The deluge of depressing news only reminds us of the many things that are out of our control. Read more…
7 Tax Reduction Strategies to Help Your Portfolio During a Crisis
When events such as COVID-19 occur, investors often feel at the mercy of wildly fluctuating portfolios. Investing in the market involves risk — your portfolio will go down. And according to the math of percentages, the more significant your losses, the more returns you’ll need to break even. Read more…
Managing Your Equity-Based Compensation With Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
With stock markets fluctuating wildly, it’s especially important to understand the financial and tax implications of any company stocks your employer might offer. Restricted stock units, or RSUs, have become particularly popular in recent years. A 2017 survey by Ayco’s Compensation and Benefits Read more…
