In this post, we provide actionable items that you can do to help reduce your tax bill in any season of life, as well as actions to take in the three phases of your financial life – working, at retirement, and in retirement. As humans, it’s in our DNA to crave action in moments of uncertainty. It’s the fight or flight... Read More
Everything You Need To Know About Intel Benefits
In a decade of working with Intel employees to help them understand their employer benefits and make smart financial decisions, we’ve analyzed nearly all the elements of Intel’s benefit package and documented most of it on our blog along the way. This post is meant to be a summary of all the tools, resources, and topics we’ve covered over the... Read More
Intel’s New HSA Plan at Fidelity
The new year kicks off a lot of exciting changes to the Intel benefits plan. We’ve written about changes to the 401k, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and SERPLUS (to name a few). What we haven’t touched on yet is the change to Intel’s HSA provider. As a reminder, an HSA is a Health Savings Account and is offered to employees... Read More
Two Checklists for Year-End Tax Planning
Checklists are a great tool for year-end tax planning so I’m writing to share two that we regularly use. Whether you’re a corporate employee, a business owner, or you are retired, it is likely that there are tax optimization opportunities to consider implementing before the end of the year. It is also likely that the optimization that is best for... Read More
Understanding Intel’s New Mega Roth 401(k)
At Cordant we have the opportunity to work with many current and former Intel employees. With this opportunity comes the responsibility of ensuring that their financial plans, planning strategies, and retirement assets are up to speed with the ever-changing employee and retirement benefits programs. This year, being no different, Intel has communicated changes that impact both current employees and qualified... Read More
Seeing Double: Understanding Intel’s QSERP Benefit
If you’re contemplating retirement, there’s a lot to consider. You may be asking yourself, how do I create an income stream in retirement? Am I being smart with taxes? Is there anything I’m missing? If you happen to be a long-tenured Intel employee, there are factors unique to Intel that need to be considered in order to answer these questions.... Read More
4 Steps To Take If Intel Offers A Voluntary Separation Package
Intel has from time to time offered separation packages to eligible employees as an incentive to retire, or at least to transition out of Intel. The most recent widely offered package was the Early Retirement Program (ERP) which Intel offered to eligible employees in 2016. While it’s unusual for a package to be offered to such a large number of... Read More
Preparing For The Worst: How To Make Sure Your Family Is Okay If Something Happens To You
A common concern we hear from many we talk with is: how do I make sure my family is taken care of if something happens to me? While not a fun topic to dwell on, being proactive is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your family—and there may even be benefits for you in doing so. As... Read More
Hood to Coast & Tax Planning: More in Common Than You May Think
This past weekend marked the 38th running of the epic Hood to Coast (HTC) relays. For locals in the Portland area, most of us have either run, volunteered or have friends participate in the HTC. For those not familiar, HTC is a relay race that starts in the Cascades on Mt. Hood, moves through the Willamette Valley and Portland, and... Read More
Should You Reduce Your Investment Risk When You Retire? The Four Factors to Consider
The common perception is that as you age, or more specifically as you approach retirement, you should reduce the risk in your investment portfolio. In most cases, this means reducing exposure to the stock market and increasing exposure to fixed income (i.e., bonds). The goal is to dampen the ups and downs with the understanding that the potential upside is... Read More