Today we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the Intel Minimum Pension Plan (MPP). We'll cover: How the Intel pension plan works How your Intel pension plan benefit is calculated The steps you should take if you're retiring from Intel But first, grab your FREE resources (no email required!) 👇 Pension: Lump Sum vs. Monthly... Read More
SERPLUS or Mega Roth? Prioritizing Two of Intel’s Tax-Preferenced Savings Opportunities
Ideally, with each paycheck or bonus paid we would have all the cash flow we need to support regular cash-flow needs, achieve our larger financial objectives and optimize deferrals to tax-advantaged accounts and other tax savings opportunities. However, money is a resource, and like most resources it’s limited. We are forced to prioritize where we spend, the objectives we further,... Read More
The Impact of Relative-Owned 529 Plans on Financial Aid
While preparing to write my first blog, I was reminded of my time in college and how I would hope a lecture would be done earlier than the time allotted and not go over time. With that in mind, I want to keep the blog post concise but still provide you with all the necessary information on the subject. That... Read More
Navigating Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period
Every year, we get a lot of questions about Medicare open enrollment and who is eligible to make changes to their coverage. Below is a guide to help you navigate some of the questions we are frequently asked. When is Medicare open enrollment for 2021 coverage? The open enrollment period, or Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), runs from October 15 through... Read More
What’s Your Benchmark?
How did the market do today? Whether it’s NPR, the Wall Street Journal or small talk with your neighbor, most conversations about the stock market and economy inevitably reference either the Dow, NASDAQ or S&P 500. But are they appropriate measurements? What do they actually track? And most importantly, are they appropriate measure of performance? The investment benchmark industry is... Read More
Umbrella Insurance – Is It Right For Me?
This year has been a painful reminder to always plan for the unexpected. As it relates to personal finances, one could use this lesson to revisit the riskiness of their investments (i.e. stock vs bonds), the amount of cash set aside for emergencies or tweak the monthly spending to remove unnecessary costs. While all of these are worthy examinations, this... Read More
DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO REFINANCE MY MORTGAGE? THREE CUMULATIVE FACTORS TO CONSIDER – (PART 2 OF 2)
As with most financial decisions, when it comes to refinancing a mortgage there are near-term costs and benefits and long-term costs and benefits. In Part 1, I reviewed a four-step framework as a starting point to determine if refinancing a mortgage is beneficial. The focus of that framework is to assess first, whether a refinance made sense in light of... Read More
Tale of the Tape: SEP IRA vs Solo 401(k)
For our clients that work at Intel or other tech companies, a big piece of the puzzle is helping them manage the retirement plans sponsored by their employer. For other clients, whether they’ve transitioned into self-employed consultants or run a small business with their spouse, the burden is on them to set up and maintain their own retirement plans, and... Read More
Does It Make Sense To Refinance My Mortgage?
Because of the wide range of fees, and hassle involved with a re-finance, analyzing when a refinance would make sense can seem overwhelming, but answering these four questions to start really helps: What is the long-term objective for your house? What will you gain by refinancing? What does it cost to refinance? When is the breakeven? Once you know the... Read More
What Can I Do?
This week I was scheduled to write a market update. The short version is that in 2020 it was down a lot, then up a lot, and, and as a result, now down a little for the year. (For more thoughts on the market and if it’s a good time to invest, you can watch a reply of our 23/10... Read More