Blog FWJ

The aging of the Baby Boomer generation means that their children and grandchildren who are currently Gen Xers or Millennials. Some estimate this coming transfer of wealth to be in the $30 trillion range. If you are a financial advisor working with clients who suddenly come into a significant inheritance, how do you help them invest this money to ensure they have a solid retirement nest egg? Take Time to Plan Those inheriting a significant sum of money should take a step back and come up with a plan for the money. As their financial advisor, you need to ensure that clients don’t rush into doing something ill-advised with this new found wealth. Does the client have debts to pay off? Are they on track with their savings for retirement and other life events such as college for their kids? This is the time to do a financial plan with the client to determine what their priorities are and how this money fits. Retirement should be a priority for most clients. Given increasing longevity and th...

Social Security benefits are a significant income source for many retirees—and for some, they're the only source. How significant an income source it is, however, is determined by several factors that are under retirees' control. If you're nearing retirement (or are already in retirement) and haven't yet collected Social Security benefits, make sure you fully understand the ins and outs before you fill out your application to receive money. Here are some top tips you can use to get the most out of your well-deserved Social Security benefits. Delay Receiving Benefits Delaying receiving benefits is the top and the most common way to maximize the money you receive. Generally, the longer you wait after you reach full retirement age (FRA), the more money you can get every month. Full retirement age varies depending on when you were born and is defined by the Social Security Administration as "the age at which a person may first become entitled to full or unreduced retir...

If you don’t think that money can be a stumbling block on the quest for true love, maybe you just haven’t watched enough romantic comedies. From the 1930s to the present, rom-coms are chock full of marrying for money (or breaking up based on the lack of it), lavish expenditures, bankruptcies, rich fathers, maxed out credit cards and — lately — student loans and post-Recession economic woes. Just as in the movies, it doesn’t seem to matter whether the stress in your relationship comes from having too much money or not having enough. In fact, according to a 2015 survey by SunTrust bank, nearly half of couples — regardless of income — reported that their spending habits were different from their partner’s. That discrepancy may understandably cause relationship stress. Over a third of survey respondents claimed that money was at the root of their problems. That gives financial advisors a front-row seat on couples’ money drama: from clashing expectations and different values to circumstance...