Read the full article]]> Cash Flow & Saving Money, 2013-08-23T20:45:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/what-can-you-do-if-you-forget-to-make-a-required-minimum-distribution http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/what-can-you-do-if-you-forget-to-make-a-required-minimum-distribution#When:02:57:00Z When you reach the age of 70 ½, IRS rules generally require you to begin making distributions for most retirement plans. What happens if you fail to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)?

Read the full article]]> Retirement, Planning for your retirement, IRAs, Taxes, 2013-08-16T02:57:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/boston-restaurant-week-2013 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/boston-restaurant-week-2013#When:02:56:00Z The long-running tradition continues: many of the finest restaurants in the Greater Boston area will offer special discounts starting next week.

Read the full article]]> Boston/Cambridge/New England, Cash Flow & Saving Money, 2013-08-13T02:56:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/singles-need-an-estate-plan-too http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/singles-need-an-estate-plan-too#When:02:51:00Z Single people may not think that they need an estate plan, but if you have assets, you should consider developing one.

Read the full article]]> Estate Planning, Financial Planning Advice, 2013-08-06T02:51:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/were-worried-about-retirement-and-we-should-be http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/were-worried-about-retirement-and-we-should-be#When:02:46:00Z This past June, the non-profit National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) published a new report on the state of US retirement savings. Based on data from the Federal Reserve’s 2010 Survey of Consumer Finance, the report suggests that many Americans are poorly prepared for retirement and concerned about it.

Read the full article]]> News, Retirement, Planning for your retirement, 2013-08-02T02:46:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/trustees-issue-2013-report-will-social-security-funds-dry-up-sooner-than-ex http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/trustees-issue-2013-report-will-social-security-funds-dry-up-sooner-than-ex#When:17:00:00Z Last week, the Board of Trustees for the Social Security trust funds issued its annual report for 2013. Despite the temporary reduction in payroll tax collections enacted in response to the Great Recession, they project that the dates for exhaustion of the Medicare and Social Security trusts remain unchanged: the Social Security trust is expected to run out in 2033, and the Medicare trust should do the same in 2026. The Trustees also oversee the trust that covers Social Security Disability benefits, and they warn that the disability trust will be depleted much sooner, in 2016.

Read the full article]]> Meeting Your Goals, News, Retirement, Planning for your retirement, Social Security, 2013-06-08T17:00:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/additional_medicare_taxes_in_2013_for_high_earnings_and_investment_income http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/additional_medicare_taxes_in_2013_for_high_earnings_and_investment_income#When:05:22:00Z Beginning next year, some taxpayers will pay additional Medicare taxes as one consequence of the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act.

Read the full article]]> Housing, News, Retirement, Social Security, Taxes, Tax Updates, 2012-08-12T05:22:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/federal_reserve_great_recession_set_household_finances_back_two_decades http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/federal_reserve_great_recession_set_household_finances_back_two_decades#When:00:10:00Z The Federal Reserve’s latest report demonstrates quantitatively something that many already knew intuitively: American households took a serious hit in net worth and income during the Great Recession.

Read the full article]]> News, 2012-06-13T00:10:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/social_security_trustees_expect_2013_wage_base_increase http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/social_security_trustees_expect_2013_wage_base_increase#When:23:41:00Z The Board of Trustees for the Social Security and Medicare trust fund issued its 2012 annual report in April. Although the new wage base for Social Security will not be officially set until October of this year, it's expected to rise from $110,100 to $113,700 based on their current inflation estimates. The wage base is the maximum income on which Social Security taxes are paid.

Read the full article]]> News, Retirement, Social Security, 2012-06-08T23:41:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/visual_display_of_the_federal_budget http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/visual_display_of_the_federal_budget#When:09:18:00Z Having a hard time understanding all the discussion of the Federal Budget deficit? The Congressional Budget Office has a nice infographic of Federal spending, revenues, and the deficit.

Read the full article]]> News, 2011-12-16T09:18:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/38_medicare_tax_on_investment_income_set_to_start_in_2013 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/38_medicare_tax_on_investment_income_set_to_start_in_2013#When:22:49:01Z In the midst of gripping near-term news of deficits and economic crises, taxpayers may not be aware that a looming tax on investment income will begin to nick higher-income earners starting in 2013.

Read the full article]]> Health Care, News, Taxes, Tax Updates, 2011-12-06T22:49:01+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/december_2011_last_chance_to_take_advantage_of_home_energy_credits http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/december_2011_last_chance_to_take_advantage_of_home_energy_credits#When:05:45:00Z For the foreseeable future, a number of tax credits for home energy efficiency improvements will go away at the end of 2011. Here are some credits that apply to improvements made to a taxpayer’s principal residence.

Read the full article]]> Housing, Buying/Owning a House, Taxes, Tax Updates, Yearend Tax Ideas, 2011-12-03T05:45:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/massachusetts_economy_could_be_hit_hard_by_automatic_spending_cuts http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/massachusetts_economy_could_be_hit_hard_by_automatic_spending_cuts#When:21:09:00Z Now that the Congressional Super-Committee’s attempts to produce deficit cuts have failed, the Budget Control Act calls for specific budget cuts that commence in January 2013. If this actually comes to pass, the resulting defense-related cuts would have a significant impact in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

Read the full article]]> Boston/Cambridge/New England, News, 2011-12-01T21:09:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/new_england_economy_hobbling_into_2012 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/new_england_economy_hobbling_into_2012#When:05:02:00Z I was unable to attend last week's New England Economic Partnership conference, but it sounds like it was a fairly somber gathering.

Read the full article]]> Boston/Cambridge/New England, Housing, News, 2011-11-26T05:02:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/super_committee_fail_may_trigger_budget_cuts http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/super_committee_fail_may_trigger_budget_cuts#When:03:24:00Z Now that the Congressional Super-Committee has thrown in the towel, the automatic spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 are set to kick in unless Congress gets its act together.

Read the full article]]> News, Taxes, Tax Updates, 2011-11-24T03:24:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/many_401k_participants_missing_out_on_a_sure_thing_investment http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/many_401k_participants_missing_out_on_a_sure_thing_investment#When:21:45:00Z There are no guaranteed investments, but the employer matching contribution comes awfully close. Why are so many workers passing up the opportunity to get free money?

Read the full article]]> 2011-11-21T21:45:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/2011_year_end_mutual_fund_distributions_and_tax_planning http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/2011_year_end_mutual_fund_distributions_and_tax_planning#When:20:50:00Z As the end of the year approaches, mutual fund owners may benefit from examining their holdings and considering some timely sales.

Read the full article]]> Investing, Mutual Funds, Taxes, Yearend Tax Ideas, 2011-11-18T20:50:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/supercommittee_might_change_retirement_plan_tax_incentives http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/supercommittee_might_change_retirement_plan_tax_incentives#When:03:55:00Z As the Congressional Supercommittee considers ways to cut the federal deficit, one element of their proposal might be a change in retirement savings tax policy.

Read the full article]]> 2011-11-16T03:55:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/bank_of_america_retreats_from_debit_card_fee_plan http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/bank_of_america_retreats_from_debit_card_fee_plan#When:20:42:00Z Citing negative feedback from customers, Bank of America has done a complete about-face from its plan to charge most customers a $5-a-month debit card usage fee starting next year.

Read the full article]]> Cash Flow & Saving Money, News, 2011-11-02T20:42:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/massachusetts_banks_that_still_offer_free_checking http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/massachusetts_banks_that_still_offer_free_checking#When:02:57:00Z Earlier this week I noted that it's getting harder to find banks that don't charge for checking accounts. Here are the names of several MA banks that still offer full-service checking accounts for free.

Read the full article]]> Boston/Cambridge/New England, Cash Flow & Saving Money, 2011-10-29T02:57:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/department_of_labor_makes_401k_fees_more_transparent_in_2012 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/department_of_labor_makes_401k_fees_more_transparent_in_2012#When:08:44:00Z According to a recent AARP poll, 71% of 401(k) plan participants believe that they don’t pay any fees in their company’s plan. In fact, most do, but the fees are not disclosed or are so deeply buried in plan reports that most employees are blissfully unaware of what the actual costs are. New Labor Department regulations will change that next year.

Read the full article]]> 2011-10-28T08:44:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/avoiding_increased_debit_card_fees_and_other_bank_fee_hikes http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/avoiding_increased_debit_card_fees_and_other_bank_fee_hikes#When:18:11:00Z A number of banks are developing annoying new checking account fees. What’s a consumer to do?

Read the full article]]> Cash Flow & Saving Money, Financial Planning Advice, News, 2011-10-24T18:11:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/irs_announces_2012_limits_for_retirement_plan_contributions_and_tax_phase_o http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/irs_announces_2012_limits_for_retirement_plan_contributions_and_tax_phase_o#When:09:06:00Z In response to increases in the cost-of-living index, the IRS announced today that adjustments that will be made to contribution limits for some types of retirement plans.

Read the full article]]> News, Retirement, Planning for your retirement, IRAs, Taxes, Tax Updates, 2011-10-21T09:06:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/social_security_administration_announces_cost_of_living_increases_for_2012 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/social_security_administration_announces_cost_of_living_increases_for_2012#When:03:58:00Z The Social Security Administration announced yesterday that there will be a cost-of-living increase in monthly Social Security benefit checks next year. There were no increases in 2010 and 2011 because the cost of living calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics hasn’t increased since the third quarter of 2008.

Starting in January of 2012, Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 3.6 percent benefit increase, and SSI benefits will increase similarly on December 30, 2011.

Read the full article]]> News, Retirement, Social Security, 2011-10-21T03:58:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/2010_roth_ira_conversions_the_deadline_to_recharacterize_approaches http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/2010_roth_ira_conversions_the_deadline_to_recharacterize_approaches#When:19:07:00Z Quite a few taxpayers did Roth conversions last year, taking advantage of the change in conversion eligibility rules. But for some of them, now might be the time for a do-over.

Read the full article]]> Financial Planning Advice, Investing, Retirement, IRAs, Taxes, Yearend Tax Ideas, 2011-10-11T19:07:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/six_year_end_tax_ideas_for_2011 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/six_year_end_tax_ideas_for_2011#When:06:44:00Z It’s unclear whether significant tax reforms will be enacted for 2012, so year-end planning could be tricky this year. Still, there are some tax strategies that should at least be examined for possible implementation before 2011 ends.

Read the full article]]> Education Planning, Financial Planning Advice, Retirement, IRAs, Taxes, Yearend Tax Ideas, 2011-10-07T06:44:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/should_you_be_concerned_about_the_eurozone_debt_crisis http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/should_you_be_concerned_about_the_eurozone_debt_crisis#When:20:28:00Z For most Americans, the European Debt Crisis is anything but riveting. Sure, Wall Street has been bouncing up and down in response to news about the Euro bailout fund, but Greek sovereign debt is a pretty esoteric subject for almost everyone else. Yet the cover of this week’s Economist magazine advises, “be afraid.” What are they worried about?

Read the full article]]> Favorites, Financial Planning Advice, Housing, Buying/Owning a House, Investing, News, Risk Management, 2011-10-01T20:28:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/motivation_to_save_for_retirement_imagine_yourself_older http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/motivation_to_save_for_retirement_imagine_yourself_older#When:19:09:01Z The November Journal of Marketing Research focuses on research into the ways that consumers make financial decisions. One of the papers describes a potentially useful tool for encouraging young people to save for retirement.

Read the full article]]> Financial Planning Advice, Meeting Your Goals, News, Retirement, Planning for your retirement, 2011-09-30T19:09:01+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/the_european_economic_crisis_explainedusing_legos http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/the_european_economic_crisis_explainedusing_legos#When:22:05:00Z

Michael Cembalest, Chief Investment Officer at investment bank JPMorgan, has done the world a service by publishing a graphic view of the European Crisis, courtesy of his 9-year-old son.

Read the full article]]> Favorites, Investing, News, Risk Management, 2011-09-27T22:05:00+00:00 http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/will_the_federal_reserve_bring_back_the_twist http://www.ffscambridge.com/blog/post/will_the_federal_reserve_bring_back_the_twist#When:23:13:00Z The financial press is buzzing with rumors that the Federal Reserve will try to boost economic activity by revisiting actions it took in 1961. At the time, the move was known as “Operation Twist.”

Read the full article]]> 2011-09-21T23:13:00+00:00