With an estimated 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring every day, retirement is a top-of-mind concern for many Americans. Even CPAs who aren't financial planners will find themselves facing retirement questions from their clients. That's why we decided to dedicate this issue of the JofA to the topic of retirement.
As CPA financial planners have experience creating retirement plans for their clients, we invited four of them to serve as guest editors for this issue. They drew upon their expertise to guide the development of several articles on retirement, including an overview of retirement plans for employers of small businesses, an outline of financial planning software for retirement purposes, and a look at offering clients advice on charitable giving. The Last Word column features Ted Sarenski, CPA/PFS, a noted expert on Social Security and a past chair of the AICPA Elder Planning Task Force, whose practice focuses on middle-class clients.
Two guest editors also served as authors this month: Marianela Collado wrote the Tax Practice Corner column on individual retirement plans for the owners of small businesses, and Ross Riskin wrote an article on combining retirement planning with education planning.
We hope you find this issue useful and thought-provoking.
Meghana Bagdai, CPA/PFS, is a partner at Clifton, N.J., financial planning and business consulting firm Mirani, Bagdai, Thakkar, and Associates, where she provides services in the areas of accounting, tax, business planning/consulting, estate planning, and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act compliance. Before joining the firm in 2003, she worked for KPMG in India. She received an AICPA Personal Financial Planning Standing Ovation Award in 2017. She lives in Clifton with her husband and 8-year-old daughter. She enjoys reading and attending spiritual meetings.
Marianela Collado, CPA/PFS, is co-owner of and senior financial adviser at Tobias Financial Advisors, a boutique, fee-only financial planning firm in Plantation, Fla. She has more than 15 years of experience in tax and financial planning. Prior to joining Tobias Financial, she was a principal at Bessemer Trust. She has been quoted in various financial and nonfinancial media outlets including CNBC, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. In 2017, she was one of 16 CPAs nationwide to receive an AICPA Personal Financial Planning Standing Ovation Award. She lives with her husband and three very active sons in Weston, Fla. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with the boys on and off the baseball and soccer fields.
Shane Mason, CPA/PFS, is a tax supervisor specializing in high-net-worth individuals and international taxation at Raich Ende Malter & Co. in New York City. Previously, he was with PwC in Austin, Texas. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and enjoys reading, podcasts, biking, and exploring New York City. He is obsessed with coffee, professional credentials, and sailboats, in that order.
Editor’s Note: Shane Mason left Reich Ende Malter & Co. in December 2017, after this issue went to press, to focus on his solo practice, Mason Tax LLC.
Ross Riskin, CPA/PFS, is the founder of the American Institute of Certified College Financial Consultants. He is also the managing member of college planning practice Riskin Advisory LLC; vice president of Riskin & Riskin PC; and director of finance programs and assistant professor of accounting and finance at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Conn. He lives in Bethany, Conn. He enjoys playing golf and guitar, and attending concerts in his spare time.
