Simplicity Digital Advisor
Social Security 2020: Increasing Taxes, Payments, and the Full Retirement Age
Social Security Retirement benefits are set to increase by 1.6% in 2020. A modest 1.6% increase adds an extra $24 per month to for the average retired worker’s retirement check. Retired couples will see their combined benefits grow to $40 per month. This cost of living (COLA) increase is one of the smallest over the past twenty years. It will help offset 2020’s increasing Medicare Part B and Part D premiums.
However, the most significant changes happening to Social Security retirement in 2020 will be the increasing social security payroll taxes (FICA) for workers and the increasing age for full retirement benefits. Here’s what you need to know:
Tax Planning and Your Investments
‘Tax planning’ is left to federally-authorized tax practitioners. They prepare tax returns and defend clients pursuing relief from federal agencies for their own tax payments. They also dispute tax payment errors. Financial advisors don’t provide tax advice. They provide information on the tax consequences of specific investments they sell or recommend to clients. This type of advice is within the scope of financial planning. Some financial advisors are CPAs (Certified Public Accountants) or have the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) designation and can prepare tax returns for their clients.
Media Hype Exposure: Limit During a Recessionary Period
Keeping yourself removed from recent media reports on, stock market performance, political issues, and other ‘news-worthy’ stories might be best. Media hype exposure can negatively impact the American public and their investment decisions. During the last recessionary period, the media’s reporting caused widespread panic as millions of Americans. Many chose to liquidate their accounts out of fear of ‘losing their money.’
Wealth Preservation in America: Portfolios Including Alternative Types of Investment
After the financial crisis, many Americans re-examined how and why they were investing. It was clear to many investors that have all of their wealth tied to the stock market proved to be more destructive than having alternative investments. This period was unfortunate if an investor needed to liquidate their investments during a low-valuation period and were only invested in intangible investments in the public markets. However, there were investors, the High Net worth (HNW) investors, which fared better than the others. In this article, we examine a wealth preservation technique utilized by many portfolios.