INSIGHT
Social Security COLA Highest in Over 40 Years
Social Security COLA Highest in Over 40 Years
As you may have seen, the Social Security Administration (SSA) recently announced a historic cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2023. In the past, we’ve had clients reach out with questions about the yearly COLA, so we thought we would proactively share some information with you regarding this announcement.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
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One question I get all the time when markets are as volatile as they have been this year is what should I be doing?
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Giving to charity not only makes a positive philanthropic impact, but it can also have a positive impact on your taxes. It’s a rare win-win situation in today’s world.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Risk management plays a significant role in investing. Proper risk management should lead to portfolio construction that is based on the investor’s unique personal profile.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Learn about the new world of Social Security and the major factors that determine your lifetime benefits.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Economic research has long assumed that human beings are rational decision makers who optimize their resources based on the information available to them. However, new research continues to uncover evidence that is in fact not the case.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 single-handedly created target date funds as a global asset class, one which now commands a 20% to 25% share among public and corporate pension plans. In the United States, more than $2.5 trillion is invested in these types of funds by approximately 40 million people.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Last week, we discussed the two different types of employee stock options (NSO’s and ISO’s), which if you missed you can read here.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Volatility has certainly increased as investors weigh a strong economy and record earnings versus inflation that is rising faster than anyone would like.
Scott Miller, Jr.
Stock options are a popular way to attract and retain employees by giving them a sense of ownership in the company.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Every year, Wall Streets’s top strategist make a call of where they think the S&P 500 will finish. We wanted to share a summary of some of these target prices for 2022 and the strategist reasoning for it.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Over the past 120 years, the stock market has historically trended upwards, except 1929-1939, during the Great Depression. But throughout a given year, significant drawdowns are standard.
James Behr Jr
While 2022 is quickly approaching there is still time to sit down and ensure that you are making the most of your 2021 planning opportunities.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
After the severe impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis began to resolve over the follow decade, I began to anecdotally feel that something felt different about the market’s overall behavior.
Mike Weber, CFP®
Getting started in investing can be a slow and painful grind. It the beginning, it doesn’t even really matter how good at investing you are because the truly hard part is saving the excess cash to invest.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
September has lived up to its reputation as the worst month for the stock market. The S&P finished down -4.65% for the month. Since 1945, the S&P 500 has averaged a -.56% decline.
Chris Paleologus, CFP®
Typically, financial advisors recommend deferring income to a later date as a strategy to mitigate taxes.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
So far this year there has been a lot to be positive about from an economic perspective. Record amounts of monetary and fiscal stimulus has led to record consumer savings and wealth.
Chris Paleologus, CFP®
The first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) was listed on the American Stock Exchange (Amex) in 1993 creating a new investor revolution and a big win for all investors.
Mike Weber, CFP®
Financial planning can be complex and data intensive. At Blue Bell Private Wealth Management, our business model is simple. We offer two main services: financial planning and investment management on a fee-only basis.
Mike Weber, CFP®
I wanted to blog about this topic because of a recent discussion I had with one of our clients. The client wished to make a large donation to a charitable organization.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Whatever stage of life you are in or however old you are, if you want to be financially independent and enjoy one of the greatest phases of modern life,
Mike Weber, CFP®
With vaccine rollouts having such great success in the US, it is time to start thinking about going back to life as it was, as we regain a sense of normalcy.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Fascinating and surreal. This is how I would describe the recent social distortions of long-standing economic principles
Mike Weber, CFP®
Fairness and honesty…I think these are things that most of us want in our daily dealings.
Mike Weber, CFP®
A market correction is defined as a drop in stock prices of 10% or more from their most recent peaks. If prices drop 20% or more then it is referred to as a bear market.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
The 7-day moving average number of U.S. COVID-19 cases has fallen below 49,000 while the 7-day moving average number of deaths has fallen below 700 per day.
Chris Paleologus, CFP®
This is a question that we try to ask all our clients who are gearing up for retirement. You would be surprised how many times we hear an answer along the lines of “I haven’t really thought about it”.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
With the first quarter of 2021 already in the books, positive economic data points to a sustained recovery for the remainder of the year.
Chris Paleologus, CFP®
This blog may be my favorite one to write during our “age specific” financial advice blogs.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
In mid-February a positive retail sales report showed a full recovery back above pre-pandemic levels and an all-time high in notional terms.
Chris Paleologus, CFP®
If you are like most Americans, your 60’s will be spent transitioning from work-life to retirement.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
For the fourth quarter of 2020 GDP grew at an annual rate of 4%, which was a touch lower than most projections.
Chris Paleologus, CFP®
Each year, the Journal for Financial Planning prepares a compilation of important events and statistics revolving around the topic of personal finance.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
Every year we like to compile the S&P 500 predictions from various Wall Street analysts. Below is a chart with each strategist’s prediction for 2021 as well as their prediction from 2020.
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
While we transition from the current administration to the next, we continue to urge clients to “plan”
Alex LaRosa, CFP®
2020 will certainly be a year to remember (or forget). On the tax and retirement planning side of things it has presented us with some unique opportunities.
