Inflation Adjustments for Social Security

The Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits will increase 1.5% in 2014. COLA began in 1975 in order to safeguard Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits from inflation and is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department…

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Federal Budget Deficit Plummets

The big news over the last week was the U.S. Treasury Office’s release of the federal budget. A trend has formed in the federal budget since the recovery from the Great Recession. Federal tax receipts are way up, and federal spending is way down. The combination of these factors has cut the U.S. budget deficit…

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Location Optimization: What Does it Mean?

A debate has surfaced in our industry over the last few years on what’s being called “location optimization.” Location optimization, or as some call it, “asset location,” is the practice of buying and holding investments based on the tax consequence the asset generates by holding it. For example, an average household’s portfolio may consist of…

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Health Insurance Mandate Pushed Back

One of the more crucial parts of the new healthcare law for 2014 is being pushed back to 2015. Employers with greater than 50 employees were being required to provide health insurance beginning 2014, but the Obama Administration changed that requirement to 2015 instead. This should ease the minds of many business owners who were…

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The Path of the Poverty Rate

This encouraging video illustrates the change in the international poverty rate between 1990 and 2010. As you can see, worldwide poverty rate is falling, and at a faster rate than most would have anticipated decades ago.  According to the short video, extreme poverty may be essentially eliminated before 2040.

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Measuring the Value of a Financial Planner

In a study by Morningstar released last year, the value of “making smart financial planning decisions” was quantified. By diligently researching financial decisions on your own, or working alongside a qualified financial planner to perform this research and analysis, Morningstar was able to estimate the potential benefits to an investment portfolio both in terms of…

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In Other News…

Good news doesn’t sell. Bad news certainly does. It is a strange phenomenon that humans are generally optimistic and prefer the “good guy” over the “bad guy,” yet the news media is filled with bad news. TV news ratings are clearly superior when the news is negative, and it almost seems like a joke when…

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Maximizing Social Security Survivor Benefits

Mary Beth Franklin is a highly regarded financial expert and editor for several industry publications including Kiplinger. In this short video she provides a quick primer on how to maximize Social Security Survivor Benefits. As a widow or widower, many people forget that you are left with a few different Social Security income options. One…

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