Genovese Burford & Brothers Blog

Much of the wealth currently owned by baby boomers exists in company sponsored retirement plans, such as a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan account or in Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRA”s).  Those trillions of dollars of assets are poised to be involved in our planet’s largest inter-generational wealth transfer in history.  More often than not, it is a couple’s children that will eventually inherit from their parents.  But first, the average baby boomer American worker likely lists their spouse as their “primary” beneficiary to receive all of their assets should they decease.  After the first spouse passes away, the surviving spouse and sole primary beneficiary, will usually rollover that retirement plan money into an IRA that they own, and enjoy the same creditor protection their spouse enjoyed in their lifetime.  The spouse is allowed to treat these retirement funds as if they were their own using a so-called “Spousal IRA”.  For...

As New Year’s Resolutions fade, and our financial attention shifts to tax prep or the latest gyrations of the stock market, we’d like to touch on one financial planning priority that so many of our clients and prospects leave unattended: planning for the unexpected with an estate plan.  Both as financial advisors and as humans, we understand, no one likes thinking about their own demise or disability, but the savings in confusion and frustration for our loved ones amidst their heartache is difficult to overstate. If you haven’t gotten your estate in order, don’t feel alone; we see it so often when we engage in financial planning conversations.  After we talk about dreams for the future, current saving and spending, investments, and all the other parts of a financial plan, we ask our clients about a will, a living trust, a power of attorney, and advanced medical directives. Subsequently, we...

One of the most common questions we receive is “When should I start claiming Social Security?”  If you are like most people we encounter, this can be a confusing and sometimes stressful issue.  Adding to the confusion, is the inundation of articles every day extolling the benefits of drawing as early as possible or delaying till age 70 in order to gain the highest possible benefit.  So which one is it?  Unfortunately, because each situation is unique, there is no rule of thumb on this issue, which makes it imperative to analyze each individual circumstance. Technically, you can begin claiming social security at any point after turning 62. However, there are three separate ages which act as milestones for benefits: at Age 62, at Your Full Retirement Age, and at Age 70. Claiming at Age 62 The benefits to claiming at age 62 are straight-forward.  By starting as early as...

The Magic of the Mundane… My skills around the house are limited, but if there is one thing I do well, it is “dishes.”   When the kids were really small, I never had enough patience with the chaos of “bath time” so my wife would handle those duties while I cleaned the kitchen.   I still prefer to do it every night, even if others volunteer.  So I recently read with great interest an article that described how both Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, two of the richest men in the world, love to do the dinner dishes.  Either could afford to pay an army of dishwashers, yet choose to stand at the sink every single night.  Why? Turns out multiple studies have shown that rolling up your sleeves and doing the dishes can reduce stress and boost creativity.  One study out of UCSB showed that doing mindless tasks allows the...

From time to time you may be inspired to do some good for others.  Perhaps the recent wildfires in California are a reason for you to want to help someone in need.  Coupled with that, you may also have a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) that you have to take from your Individual Retirement Account (“IRA) because you are 70 ½ or older.  As we approach year-end, the December 31 deadline for you to take your RMD for 2018 is fast approaching.  One last acronym:  consider the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).  QCDs only apply to IRAs, so if you have assets in a 401(k) or other plan and you would like to do what we describe below, you would have to rollover those funds to an IRA first. A Qualified Charitable Distribution allows you to give up to a total of $100,000 of your RMD from your IRA directly to charities...

So you’re thinking it’s time to hire a financial advisor…but how do you go about selecting the right one? Hiring a financial advisor is a major decision that should not be taken lightly.  Unfortunately, many people spend more time shopping for a car than researching and interviewing an advisor.  There have been a lot of changes in the industry with numerous types of advisory firms and their services.  When you’re close to meeting with a financial advisor, it’s important to be prepared to ask the right questions to make sure you, the advisor, and his or her firm are a good fit from the start.  The following are 3 broad, easy-to-ask questions you should have on your list before hiring a financial advisor. Are you a fiduciary? This is the single most important question that you can ask and lets you know from the start the advisor’s responsibility to their...

If you read part one of this blog series, How A Financial Advisor Can Help You Evaluate A Pension, but thought, “I’d like to understand the math that goes into this decision”, you are in luck! Although it takes a bit of work, there are 3 steps you need to take before you take the final step of evaluating how it fits in your overall financial plan. Step 1 Have an advisor help you determine the probability you, your spouse or both are still alive in a specified number of years.  “How do you do this?” you may ask. Good question! The government publishes life expectancy tables that will give you and your advisor the typical life expectancy for single or married couples.  From there, the discussion can evolve around you and your spouse’s current health, longevity expectations and financial situation, to develop a reasonable decision to claim benefits. Step...

One of the toughest challenges of being a Financial Advisor comes up all too often.  Prospective clients come to us all the time already very close to their target retirement age only to find that they haven’t saved enough in their 401(k) plans or haven’t invested prudently, or worse, both.  While financial planning can help make the best of a tough situation, many times the reality is that these clients will have to work longer than they’d prefer.  That got me thinking on a few best practices we can offer to people who are currently working and saving in their 401(k)s, to help avoid that outcome of being caught short of savings to support the desired lifestyle during retirement years. 1.       Take the long-term outlook (no market timing) Just a few months ago I had a new client tell me, “The market had been going up steadily since 2009, and...

After a long and satisfying career, you’re finally starring down the barrel of retirement. Traveling, relaxing, seeing family… and suddenly the rose-colored lenses you’ve been looking through are crushed by a stack of paperwork from HR asking how you would like to claim your pension benefits. Single life, Joint life, lump-sum, period certain, spousal benefits with a pop-up provision, and probably several other terms you’re unfamiliar with stick out as you skim over the packet. Worse off, there is likely a deadline on your sheet for you to respond. Cutting through all the jargon on the paper, the packet of information is asking a few questions; How healthy are you compared to the average person your age? How comfortable are you with risk? How much control do you want to have over this money in retirement? If you can confidently answer these questions, then a financial advisor can help you...

If you are like most American workers that have planned for retirement, you have probably been funding a company sponsored salary deferral plan such as a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 for a number of years waiting for that magic moment when you can flip a switch and enjoy a comfortable or beyond comfortable lifestyle.  Managing your 401(k) during your career was likely a pretty straightforward endeavor: check a box or two on your company’s forms or website to let them know how much they could take out of your paycheck, pick one or maybe a few mutual funds off a relatively simple list, and tweak those two things from time to time depending on whether you received a raise to your income or funds in your 401(k) performed the way they should have been.  Over the years it was probably really encouraging, maybe even exciting at times, to see your...

Download our foreign stocks breakdown, written by GBB Financial Advisor, Jonathan Deeringer. Download here.

Hello friends, Kelly Brothers here, and I just wanted to share with you a question I frequently get from clients and prospects, especially those who are still building toward retirement.  They ask me, “What are some things we can do to ensure we can live a comfortable retirement?” I want to share some things I’ve noticed that many of our clients who are living a comfortable retirement have in common. 1. Wealthy People Understand Delayed Gratification Have you heard of the famous “marshmallow experiment?”  Many years ago, hundreds of 4-6 year-olds were brought one by one into a room and seated at a table.  A single marshmallow was placed in front of them.  Each child was told they had a choice: eat the marshmallow now or wait for the adult to come back and they would get two marshmallows.  The kids able to control themselves and “delay gratification” were subsequently...

It’s a question I get frequently: “My business is doing really well, but my tax bill has skyrocketed.  Is there anything I can do to reduce taxes?”  As a Financial Advisor with a focus on small business owners, I am regularly in a position to help owners and CEOs think about their businesses.  While the conversations frequently hinge on succession, strategy, or management challenges, they just as often gravitate toward questions of estate planning and tax saving tactics for business owners.  A couple years ago, I was out playing golf with a friend, and we were paired up by the Starter with a gentleman playing alone.  The three of us struck up a conversation, and were enjoying each other’s company, when at the start of the back nine, the single asked me about my job.  Upon hearing Financial Advisor as the answer, he said “You know, my company has seen...

Let’s face it.  Inheriting an IRA can be a stressful time in people’s lives.  Understandably, we are usually busy and distracted, which is when it is easiest to make a simple mistake.  When inheriting an IRA, these types of mistakes can end up becoming very costly. There are different rules for spouses who inherit an IRA and for everyone else who inherits an IRA.  We will be looking at 4 mistakes you want to avoid as a non-spouse beneficiary when going through this process.   Not Taking a Required Minimum Distribution Most people know that once they reach the age of 70 ½ they are required to withdraw money from their IRA.  While this is the case with their Traditional IRAs, an Inherited IRA is treated differently.  The IRS requires that the person inheriting an IRA, take withdrawals over a specified period-of-time, at least annually.  This could be all at once...

As the school year approaches, many parents are faced with the daunting task of saving for retirement and their children's education at the same time. Being a parent is one of the most rewarding experiences life has to offer. However, it does bring its challenges and responsibilities, including saving for retirement and your child’s college education simultaneously. When you stop and look at college tuition prices, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the thought of saving for both. Our financial advisors have worked with many families in this position, and have some tips to help you get started. Put Yourself First With fewer of us receiving pensions and Social Security’s future in doubt, saving for your retirement may be your only significant source of income in retirement. There are grants, loans, scholarships and other ways of funding college, but there are no retirement loans. Your child will also have an...

Welcome! In an effort to better connect with our clients, community and industry, we created the Genovese Burford & Brothers blog. GBB has a team of highly experienced, knowledgeable, and friendly Financial Advisors. From this financial advisor blog, you’ll get insight on some of the most important financial topics in today’s world. From financial planning and risk management, to 401k plans and investment management, there are countless amounts of financial topics to explore. We hope you follow our blog and read along with us. -Your friends at Genovese Burford & Brothers