Blogs
“Third-Party Posts”
Why Fixed Indexed Annuities Are a Smart Choice for Retirement Planning
When planning for retirement, one of the greatest challenges is balancing growth potential with protection of principal. Many investors seek opportunities that allow...
How much can you spend without running out of money? The 4% rule is a popular rule of thumb, but you can do better. Here are guidelines for finding your personalized...
Fixed Index Annuity
What Is a Fixed Index Annuity? A fixed index annuity is a financial product whose terms are defined by a contract between you and an insurance company. It features...
Why Annuities May Be a Safer Bet in 2025
Many people decide to claim their Social Security benefit when they retire. You may be one of them. It could be that you need the money, or maybe you want to invest it...
Interest in Annuities Is Soaring: Understanding the 2025 Trend
Learn how the market, economy, and demographics are shaping the annuity industry. The annuity industry is having a moment. After years of mixed opinions and confusion...
Annuity Awareness Month 2025: Your Guide to Income Security
Each June, Annuity Awareness Month shines a spotlight on one of retirement’s most misunderstood—but potentially powerful—financial tools: the annuity. In 2025, as...
6 Ways to Secure Your Finances After Retirement
Although your CalPERS service retirement is a lifetime benefit, and you have other income sources available to you, money can still be tight. Making ends meet is a big...
Retirement planning with annuities in 2025: Key considerations and trends
Annuities have seen a resurgence in popularity as a retirement planning tool, especially in 2025, driven by market volatility, higher interest rates, and an aging...
7 steps to prepare for your upcoming retirement
Planning to retire within the next 10 years? Taking these actions now could help bolster your portfolio as you approach your planned retirement date. After decades of...
Weekly Market Commentary
Investors sent the S&P 500 to another all-time high in a holiday-shortened week of trading. President Trump started the week by asking the Supreme Court to...
Weekly Market Commentary
The S&P 500 posted a gain for the fourth consecutive month as investors continued to embrace the prospects of a September rate cut, a robust economic outlook, and...
Weekly Market Commentary
US equity markets ended the week with a powerful move to the upside after Fed Chairman J. Powell indicated that the balance of risk had shifted to the labor market,...
Weekly Market Commentary
Global financial markets had another positive week as the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally joined the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ with a new all-time high. Benign...
Weekly Market Commentary
Global financial markets rallied last week as investors stepped in again to buy the prior week’s dip in prices. Japan, Germany, Spain, and Italy were international...
Weekly Market Commentary
Markets forged another set of all-time highs before taking a step back last week as a deluge of information had to be digested by investors. August 1st was the tariff...
Weekly Market Commentary
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ reached another set of all-time highs, driven by constructive rhetoric on global trade and positive second-quarter earnings results from...
Weekly Market Commentary
U.S. equity markets were little changed for the week; that said, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ were able to forge another set of all-time highs. A busy Q2 earnings...
Weekly Market Commentary
A barrage of tariff letters sent to over 20 countries by President Trump yielded very little movement in the financial markets. Trump announced that there would not be...
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529-to-Roth: Still No News on 15-Year Clock
sfgsf By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst It’s been nearly 3½ years, and still no news. No guidance. No updates. Background: In December 2022, the SECURE 2.0 Act was...
401(k) Rollovers and Spousal Contributions: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: I have a 401(k) plan with a previous employer that is a mix of pre-tax and Roth money. I’m considering a direct rollover...
The “Required Beginning Date” vs. “First RMD Year” Confusion
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Most of you are probably familiar with the concept of the “required beginning date” (RBD). The RBD is the deadline for taking the first...
New “Trump IRA” Is Fake News
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education On April 30, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order to promote retirement savings for American...
Reporting a Recharacterization
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst We know that Roth conversions are permanent. Recharacterization of a conversion is no longer allowed. Once the conversion is done,...
A Cheat Sheet for Retirement Account Beneficiary RMDs
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The SECURE Act completely changed the rules for beneficiary IRA (and workplace retirement plan) required minimum distributions (RMDs)....
Required Minimum Distributions and Inherited IRAs Prior to 2020: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: My spouse and I have a combined six-figure required minimum distribution (RMD) from my two IRAs and her...
The Once-Per-Year Rollover Rule: Multiple Deposits vs. Multiple Distributions
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The once-per-year IRA rollover rule sounds easy. However, there are many ways to go wrong. One common...
The Simultaneous QCD/RMD Transaction
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) and required minimum distributions (RMDs) are two separate and distinct...