Understanding How Retirement Distributions are Taxed

During retirement, is it best to take distributions from IRAs, Roth IRAs or personal brokerage or savings accounts? The decision of "Which account?" is an important one with many factors to consider.

Retirement Planning, Tax, Financial Planning, RetireeErin Campbell, CPA/PFS, CFP®February 5, 2020financial planning, IRA, retirement distributions, Retirement Planning, Roth IRA, tax planning, distribution planning

What Should I expect from my Social Security Retirement benefits?

Social Security was originally intended to provide older Americans with continuing income after retirement. As people approach retirement, they generally have questions about Social Security and the benefit it provides.

Retirement Planning, Eldercare, Pre-Retiree, RetireeErin Campbell, CPA/PFS, CFP®January 21, 2020retirement distributions, Retirement Planning, Social Security

Have You Reviewed Your Beneficiary Designations Recently?

Have you confirmed the beneficiary designations of your 401k, IRA, or life insurance policies recently? If not, you should! Find out why.

Estate Planning, Retirement Planning, Mid Career Professional, Pre-Retiree, RetireeChip Hymiller, AIF®, CFP®December 10, 2019Estate Planning, Retirement Planning, 401k, Roth IRA, IRA, Retirement Plans, insurance, life insurance, Deferred Compensation

What is the biggest difference between mutual funds and exchange traded funds?

While both mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) can be effective tools when creating a diversified portfolio, it is important to understand attributes of each of these investment options.

Investments, Mid Career Professional, Pre-Retiree, Retiree, TaxChip Hymiller, AIF®, CFP®November 26, 2019total return, investment planning, investments, investing

What do commission-free trades mean for you?

Brokerage firms Charles Schwab & Co. and TD Ameritrade recently announced that they would stop charging brokerage commissions on trades for exchange traded funds and even stocks. Some of you may have wondered what impact this will have on you and also will we (Beacon) make any changes to your portfolio as a result.

Company News, Education, Mid Career Professional, Pre-Retiree, RetireeChip Hymiller, AIF®, CFP®November 22, 2019Trading, IRA, Roth IRA

Why Invest Globally?

You will note in the table below that over the last year the S&P 500 (U.S. stocks) has outperformed its international counterpart by more than 22%! This disparity in performance becomes even more magnified when considering 10 year and 15 year performance numbers. In fact, U.S stocks have outpaced foreign stocks by about 2.5% annually for the last 15 years! So why is it important to take a global perspective when investing for the long term?