Personal financial planning news and resources

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June 1, 2015

Treasury provides information and online sign-up for new myRA accounts

The Treasury Department began providing information about myRA retirement savings accounts for individuals and employers and an electronic application.

June 1, 2015

Americans fear running out of money in retirement

Health care costs are contributing to concerns.

May 20, 2015

SEC proposes new reporting requirements for investment companies and advisers

Rules proposed by the SEC are designed to improve the reporting and disclosure of information by investment companies and investment advisers.

April 29, 2015

Updated FAQs now available for AICPA PFP standard

New additions to a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) resource can help practitioners who practice in the areas of estate, retirement, risk management, and investment planning to comply with Statement on Standards in Personal Financial Planning Services No. 1.

April 29, 2015

68% of Americans are unhappy with the way they financed college

More than one-third of Millennials wish they had delayed going to school in order to save more money first.

April 21, 2015

As cyberbreaches rise, consumers alter spending, browsing habits

The percentage of Americans who have fallen prey to an information security breach has risen to 25% from 11% the previous year, a new AICPA survey found.

April 16, 2015

Americans’ financial happiness on the rise

Americans’ financial well-being improved this quarter, as indicated by a 6.5-point rise in the AICPA’s Personal Financial Satisfaction Index (PFSi).

April 13, 2015

Goodman earns award for PFP service

Michael Goodman, CPA/PFS, founder of Wealthstream Advisors Inc., received the 2014 Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award.

April 9, 2015

How do Americans define personal financial prosperity?

Although homeownership often is depicted as the American Dream, a new AICPA survey shows that being able to afford a comfortable retirement is considered the best sign of financial success.

April 8, 2015

Americans fear running out of money in retirement

More than half of CPA financial planners say their clients’ biggest concern about retirement planning is running out of money, according to a new AICPA survey.

March 1, 2015

Other people’s money

Seemingly disparate services such as investment advisory, bill-paying, and estate planning all have a common denominator: the CPA’s involvement with other people’s money.

March 1, 2015

Financial planning

A decrease in loan delinquencies, coupled with an increase in job openings, has boosted Americans’ satisfaction with their finances, a new AICPA economic index revealed.

February 1, 2015

IRS fills in details of one-a-year IRA rollover rule

Under transition relief, the Bobrow aggregation rule disregards certain distributions occurring in 2014.

January 20, 2015

Details of the president’s State of the Union tax proposals

The president aims to increase capital gains taxes for higher-income taxpayers in order to pay for various education, child care, and retirement benefits for middle-income taxpayers.

January 15, 2015

Americans’ finances rebounding in the economic recovery, AICPA PFS Index finds

The AICPA released a new economic barometer, the PFSi (Personal Financial Satisfaction Index), which weighs a variety of economic factors to calculate the financial standing of a typical American.

January 1, 2015

Defined contribution plans can offer deferred annuities to older participants

The IRS confirms that target date funds restricted by age can comply with nondiscrimination requirements.

January 1, 2015

Financial planning

Data security and regulatory oversight are the top factors contributing to rising investor confidence in U.S. stock exchanges, according to a Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) pulse poll. Seventy percent of investors responding to the CAQ’s 2014 Main Street Investor Survey said they have a great deal, quite a bit,

January 1, 2015

Tax-efficient investing in gold

Whether as bullion, coins, funds, stocks, or derivatives, gold holds an age-old fascination. Smart investing takes into account how gains are taxed.

January 1, 2015

QLACs protect against outliving retirement savings

With longer retirements due to increasing life expectancies, today’s retirees have to worry about outliving their retirement savings.

January 1, 2015

Charitable trusts and the streamlined exempt-status application

It is not unusual for a tax adviser to suggest that a client involved in estate tax planning leave some assets to a charity.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

4 ways solo practitioners can stand out

Five years ago, a grieving Angel Zhen started his own CPA firm with no clients and no revenue. Today, he has 300 clients, $600,000 in revenue and 12 weeks of annual vacation. In this JofA article, he shares how he set up his firm and how you could do the same.