In March 2020, the Federal Government passed the CARES Act. This act, a result of the massive COVID-19 pandemic that has infected over one million Americans, was responsible for the establishment of a variety of federal aid designed to assist individuals throughout the country in getting through unemployment and the ongoing pandemic. The most well-known component of the CARES Act was its direct cash payment. These payments, which began to be sent in April, supplied individuals with $1,200 if they had previously filed as individuals making up to $75,000, $112,500 if they filed as the head of households or $150,000 …

The history of the stock market is littered with examples of times when the market takes a dive downwards. However, there are a lot of reasons to believe that the latest market dive is one of the more extreme that most people have ever seen. Thus, it makes all the sense in the world that a lot of investors are on edge or nervous about market conditions right now. The Search For Alternatives No one likes to lose money, and it is particularly painful when it comes as suddenly as the most recent market crash came. Thus, many investors have …

It appears the novel coronavirus is causing more than just damage to people’s health. This situation is causing some people to experience serious financial harm from scammers. They are taking advantage of individuals for their money. These are individuals who are well-intentioned and often uninformed. Scams There have been many different types of coronavirus scams created. The bottom line with all of them is they’re designed to get your money or your information in order to get to your money. Too many people have a desire to help those who have been hurt by the coronavirus. Their good intentions do …

 The pandemic has some rethinking retirement plans, as this event has a lot worried about their post-career years.  The sentiment of US citizens aged 65 and older echoed across the nation is that they have worries about their decisions regarding retirement now that the pandemic has seeped into the country. Concerns over too much togetherness and fears of boredom surfaced in the last few months. This has prompted seniors to wonder if they’ve saved enough for a decent pension and how would a retirement fare if the “togetherness” we’re experiencing at home during the pandemic lasted for the rest of …

If you’re still someone waiting and wondering about the status of your Stimulus Check, we are here to help you understand it all. The following information will focus on what you need to know about the stimulus checks the government will be sending out in the weeks to come. Who is Getting Stimulus Checks? In Mid April, the IRS started sending out stimulus checks to all American taxpayers who fall within the stimulus check guidelines. What people are looking for is clarification about who should be expecting a payment. First, all American taxpayers 18 years of age or older who …

Countless Americans are worried about the impact that Covid-19 will have on the health of their families and friends, and indeed their own well-being. However, there is another concern that could  impact you. In preparing for retirement, investors should prepare for all sorts of investment environments, and that includes downturns like Covid-19. While it may seem out of the ordinary, remember that it has been less than 15 years since the last financial downturn, and while the growth seen over the past ten years has been substantial, it is now clear that it is sandwiched between two bear periods. Therefore, …

Medicare recently announced the expansion of its telemedicine program to benefit seniors while they stay at home during the Coronavirus pandemic. This expansion will allow millions of senior Medicare participants to adhere to the public health advisory to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic, and still, be able to connect with their doctors virtually to obtain care for their medical issues or new concerns they may have. In this way, a diabetic patient instead of making a follow-up doctor’s visit in person will be able to safely connect with his doctor via Skype. If a patient suspects he may have …

With yesterday’s 5% decline in the stock market, we are officially in a bear market.  Just a few short months ago, economists were saying that recession was no where in sight and that we’d see growth across global economies. However, the Covid-19 virus, which has resulted in the death of over 3,000 people globally, has sparked large-scale quarantines and lead to a drop in manufacturing and production, as well as the food, entertainment, tourism and travel-related industries. This will lead to a slow down in our economy, and may even lead to a recession. The virus, and fears of a …

When thinking about retirement, you should make sure to have a clear understanding of savings vs. income. When thinking about retirement, many think about a particular savings amount that they would like to reach. This type of thinking comes from how general purchases are made. If you want to buy a computer, you would save the amount of money that you would need to buy a computer. However, saving for retirement is not as easy.  The issue with retirement planning is that you do not know how exactly your investments will perform. You also do not know how long you …

With the passage of the SECURE Act in December 2019, current and future retirees can expect to see significant changes which are likely to impact their tax planning for retirement. Most notably, perhaps, is the increase in the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age from 70 ½ to 72. For affluent retirees – and soon-to-be retirees – affected by the new RMD age, both the increase in the RMD age and the proposed new life expectancy tables on which individual RMDs are based are a bit of a double-edged sword. Since annual RMDs are simply a calculation of the total amounts …