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November 12, 2024With the exception of tax preparation, how do you determine when a certified public accountant (CPA) is needed versus a financial advisor for financial guidance?  – Joyce In many cases, most people would benefit from having both a certified public accountant (CPA) or other professional tax preparer and a financial advisor. Each has their own… read more…

November 5, 2024I have $120,000 in after-tax contributions in my traditional 401(k) at work. Can I roll over just the after-tax money into my Roth IRA? I would like to avoid creating a taxable event. – Daniel Daniel, this is a great question. Your ability to roll over these after-tax 401(k) contributions to your Roth IRA may… read more…

October 29, 2024Does a military pension count toward income levels for Roth contributions? – Gail Congratulations on earning your service pension. Whether it’s due to your own service or a spouse’s service, you’ve earned it. On one hand, military pensions don’t meet the “earned income” requirement necessary to qualify for a Roth contribution, meaning a pension alone… read more…

October 29, 2025I’m 71 years old and my current Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) balance is $315,000 after withdrawing $60,000 this year. This is putting me in a higher tax bracket and I must pay a large amount of federal/state taxes. In addition, my monthly Medicare premium will increase. Will the Medicare premium increase permanently or only the… read more…

October 15, 2024I want to do three Roth conversions in the next three years before I turn 73 in 2027 so that my beneficiary doesn’t have to deal with taxes. If I should die soon after the last conversion, will my beneficiary be subject to the five-year rules? – Tom This is a good question. The five-year… read more…

October 8, 2024What if a husband and wife own a home together that increases in value by $500,000. When one spouse dies and the other owns the property themselves, do they receive a step-up in basis? Or do they only receive a $250,000 capital gains exemption when they sell the property? – Samuel Your question deals with… read more…

October 1, 2024I’m 63 and still working. My wife, who is 64 ½ and retired, spent most of her working life raising our children at home. She qualifies for Social Security at a current rate of $675 and $845 if she waits until FRA. I plan on working for another two or three years. My Social Security… read more…

October 29, 2025Although everyone is different from a tax bracket standpoint, at what tax bracket does it makes sense to start converting your 401(k) into a Roth 401(k) and pay the taxes upfront? For instance, I am 42 with a combined income of $560,000 between myself and my wife, putting us in the 35% federal tax bracket.… read more…

July 10, 2025I’m 62 and currently working but my spouse passed away when I was 60. He waited until age 70 to take his Social Security. Can I collect his Social Security now in addition to my paycheck? If I get more money under my account at FRA, can I switch?   – Ellen I’m sorry to hear… read more…

September 4, 2024I want to do a Roth conversion from my traditional IRA in the amount of $250,000. It’s my understanding that I have to pay the income tax on the $250,000. Can that tax be paid from the funds in the IRA or do I have to pay the tax outside of the IRA? – Kevin… read more…

August 27, 2024How often can I change advisors who manage my assets? I just started in May and I feel uneasy with my advisor. – Maricor I’m sorry to hear that you’re not feeling good about your current advisor. The good news is that while there are some practical limitations to consider, there really aren’t any restrictions… read more…

October 14, 2024Because of our income bracket – we make over $350,000 per year – we cannot contribute to a Roth anymore. We’re 61 and 62, and planning to work until at least 67. Do we qualify to convert our 401(k)s into Roths a little at a time or do we have to wait until we retire?… read more…

August 14, 2024I’m 63 and have been on Social Security disability since 2008. My wife, also 63, stays home to care for me. We’re in poor health and were denied or quoted high rates for long-term care insurance in our mid-50s, with recent quotes as high as $1,850 a month for me and $2,750 for her. We… read more…

August 6, 2024I am the only eligible Social Security recipient in our marriage. My wife, at this point, will never have enough credits. I am 61 and my wife is 68. At what age would we get the most in Social Security where I get my social Security and my wife gets her spousal amount? – Tim… read more…

July 30, 2024After a recent job loss, I’m unfulfilled in my new role and considering retiring in January 2025 at age 55. My wife, 56, works part-time and we’ll switch to her health insurance next summer until she retires in two to three years. Until then, we’ll stay on my COBRA until May 2025. I’m struggling to… read more…

October 29, 2025I retired in 2022 at 62 years old. I have a $2,900 monthly pension and draw $1,900 per month in Social Security. I have $520,000 in my 401(k) and $24,000 in an IRA. I currently move $10,000 from my 401(k) to my IRA every time it increases $10,000 in value. Is it wise to do… read more…

July 17, 2024I’m 60 and plan to retire at 64 or 65, but I’m going through a divorce (my ex-wife will keep the house). Right now, my pension at work (I won’t receive Social Security) would provide me around 73% of my current gross income. If I wait a few more years, it will be a bit… read more…

July 16, 2024Is it smart to pay off my mortgage with money from my 401(k) and save $800 more per month? The mortgage balance is $60,000. – Robert Many people consider paying off their mortgage to be a “must do” before retiring. While there are benefits to this approach, there are also tradeoffs, so it’s good that… read more…

October 21, 2024My wife and I are 30 and 34. We have $950,000 in Roth IRAs, $900,000 in mutual funds and five-year CDs and we own our home worth $600,000. We have zero debt. I feel like we have to keep saving and investing to have a financially secure future, but my wife wants to live more… read more…

July 9, 2024My spouse will inherit her father’s house outright upon death and wants to sell it immediately. Would she be subjected to capital gains tax (above the $250,000 exclusion) on the sale and would it matter if only she is on the deed? Or would it make sense to have both of us on the deed to… read more…

July 1, 2024Retiring at 66 with $900,000 in a Roth IRA and $2,200 in Social Security benefits likely is a reasonable plan for many retirees. The income you could reasonably expect to generate from your Roth withdrawals, coupled with your Social Security benefit, probably will be somewhat more than the typical retiree’s expenses. You can likely expect… read more…

July 8, 2024I’m 69 and began to collect Social Security when I hit my full retirement age in April 2021, but I’m still working fulltime and making a good income. My salary is 2.5 times what I was making four years ago. Social Security has annually adjusted my monthly check every April based on my increased earnings… read more…

October 24, 2025I’m single, 85 years old and I need a financial estate planner, as well as an attorney for a will. All of my investments are in mutual funds that I’ve managed myself through the years, mainly because I’ve had bad (and costly) experiences with both financial advisors and lawyers. I, therefore, keep my financial situation to… read more…

June 21, 2024If I am not spending all my required minimum distribution (RMD) money each year, can I roll some of this back into my stocks? If so, will I be taxed on the amount rolled back in? Would this be considered double taxation? If I’m only taxed on the additional interest this money generates when I… read more…

June 20, 2024I’m 63 and totally disabled. My wife owns and operates a family business on a property that we own with no mortgage. Our plan is to sell the business for $795,000 and rent the property for $6,000 a month. We also currently have $1.2 million in the stock market, $400,000 in CDs and high-yield savings… read more…