Dear Garden State Trust: I understand that you are a “corporate fiduciary.” What is that exactly? Aren’t you just a different flavor of stockbroker or financial planner? —Shopping For Advice Dear Shopping: “Fiduciary” is a legal term that describes the duties that one party owes to another in a business relationship. A fiduciary duty is…
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SECURE Act 2.0
When a software creator such as Apple or Microsoft makes changes to their main platform or operating system, they either adjust the number before the decimal of the system or afterward. One might expect, when going from Windows 10.1 to 10.2, to have minor incremental changes, but going from 10 to 11 to have more…
IRA Contributions By the Elderly
Dear Garden State Trust: I have read that the age limits on IRA contributions have been removed. I’m 71, so does it really make sense for me to make an IRA contribution now? —Retired Saver Dear Retired: Probably not, but more of your financial information is needed to be certain. The tax benefits for IRA…
Opportunity Costs in Retirement
A recent working paper “HOW MUCH LIFETIME SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS ARE AMERICANS LEAVING ON THE TABLE?” from the National Bureau of Economic Research takes lots of data, including the spending and taxation of families, and suggests: “More than 90 percent should wait till age 70. Only 10.2 percent appear to do so. The median loss…
Plan For Possible Incapacity
Dear Garden State Trust: Recently, a friend of mine was suddenly taken ill. Her recovery is slow, so we are trying to do all that we can to help out. A court appointed a guardian to handle her finances because, we gather, she hadn’t made any formal arrangements. From our conversations, we knew that the…
A Story for Veteran’s Day
Recently an associate recounted for us a family experience that we would like to share. My Dad was born in 1929, so he was too young to be drafted for World War II. His Uncle Ray, a farm boy, did serve. Ray was posted to Europe, but I don’t know how much fighting he did.…
Interest Rates
Dear Garden State Trust: How much higher do think interest rates will go? Inflation has already damaged my household budget this year, and higher interest rates on my debts will just make it worse. Isn’t there a chance these interest rate increases could trigger a recession or worse? —Wounded Already Dear Wounded: Interest rates will…