Those nearing retirement often think about the places they’ll go and the things they’ll do with all their new-found free time. Before dreaming of what they’ll do, however, soon-to-be retirees need to determine when they’ll make some major decisions leading up to that time.

Nearly 70% of all married female Baby Boomers will experience widowhood.¹ Death is a natural part of life, but that doesn’t preclude it from having a jarring impact on the surviving spouse, especially when it comes to her finances.

Despite market volatility in recent months and the resulting dip in investor confidence, the typical investment portfolio is still far more valuable than it was 10 years ago, and the Dow has nearly tripled.¹

Raising a family is exponentially more expensive today than in the past; costs rose 40 percent alone in the first 10 years of the new Millennium and, as of 2015, an average of $233,610 was spent to raise a child until he or she reached age 18, not including college.¹ As the cost of living increases, those figures will only continue to rise.

It’s a question that confounds some clients, and probably has them turning to you for guidance: Do I save for retirement or for my child’s college education?

Social Security is going bankrupt! It’s an often-repeated statement and widely held belief, particularly among those at or approaching retirement age — it’s also not true.¹ While the program will effectively deplete its asset reserves by paying out more to beneficiaries than it generates starting in 2018 and through 2034,¹ benefits will likely still be available to qualified retirees, albeit reduced by about 25 percent.²

Just like their financial situations, each client’s personality is unique. Some you have a terrific rapport with; others are more challenging. While there are times when stepping away from a client relationship is warranted — when a client is a liability risk or verbally/physically abusive, for example¹ — “firing” clients based solely on personality clashes isn’t necessarily a good business practice. However, simply gritting your teeth and tolerating a difficult client probably isn’t enough either.

No matter the goal — whether trying to lose weight or gain financial freedom — writing down a plan greatly increases its likelihood of success, anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more than when not written down.¹

The numbers are alarming. In the past five years nearly 3.9 million records were stolen from cyberattacks and breaches — equating to 158,727 per hour, 2,645 per minute and 44 every second of every day.¹ Paired with the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the anticipated 200 billion devices that will be connected to it by 2020, the wariness about and likelihood of encroachment increases exponentially.¹

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released cost of living adjustments (COLA) affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for the 2019 tax year.