How COVID-19 could affect health spending
Being aware of national trends can help financial professionals assist their individual and business clients prepare for future health spending needs.
Personal Financial Planning
Recent developments for municipal bond investors
Munis remain as popular as ever, but states’ fiscal woes from COVID-19 and other trends could alter the investing landscape.
One CPA financial planner’s approach to retirement
Mackey McNeill, CPA/PFS, founder of Mackey Advisors, based in Bellevue, Ky., developed a process for encouraging clients to discuss the nonfinancial aspects of retirement.
Talk about more than money when readying clients for retirement
Discussing the nonfinancial side of retirement with clients gives them a better idea of what to expect and gives CPA financial planners insight into how much they might spend.
Underemployment spurs record drop in financial satisfaction
The AICPA’s Personal Financial Satisfaction Index saw a record drop of 55% over last quarter. A 244% rise in underemployment was the factor most responsible for the decline, followed by drops in the CPA Outlook Index and job openings.
How CPA financial planners can succeed with alternative fee models
Financial planners who use hourly billing, subscription fees and other alternatives to the AUM billing model shared their experiences at the ENGAGE conference.
Show clients empathy in uncertain times
Two experienced CPA financial planners offer tips for reaching out to clients and helping to calm their fears.
The SECURE Act’s changes
Practitioners can advise on the most sweeping retirement reforms since 2006.
Ask the expert: Investing with an eye on taxes
Duncan Gates is Avantax’s Strategist–TSI Advisor Experience. In this role, he is responsible for providing education on tax-related topics and concepts, advisor training, and distribution of the Tax-Smart Investing platform.
RIC shareholders can take Sec. 199A deduction for REIT dividends
The IRS issued final regulations allowing regulated investment companies (RICs) to report qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) dividends as Sec. 199A dividends to their shareholders.
Medicare changes in response to COVID-19
Recent changes to Medicare due to the pandemic include COVID-19 testing coverage, telemedicine coverage and a requirement that Part D plans provide a 90-day supply of covered drugs upon request. Medicare will also cover a vaccine if one is developed.
Amid uncertainty, financial planning clients stick with long-term plans
On average, only 30% of CPA financial planners’ clients have made changes to their financial plans due to the pandemic, according to the latest AICPA Personal Financial Planning Trends survey.
Rollover relief for required minimum distributions
The IRS provides relief for taxpayers who had already taken required minimum distributions (RMDs) in 2020 before the CARES Act suspended the RMD requirement for 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on taxpayers and the stock market.
Guidance on how to take CARES Act distributions from qualified plans
The IRS released guidance on how taxpayers can take coronavirus-related distributions from qualified retirement plans as authorized by the CARES Act.
Steps to take to prepare for a recession
Establishing an emergency fund is the tactic that CPA financial planners most recommend Americans take to help prepare for a downturn.
Preparing for future health needs
As trusted advisers in their clients’ lives, CPAs can play an important role in long-term health planning.
Why Roth conversions still make sense after the SECURE Act
Changes brought on by the SECURE act have added new wrinkles to the planning process that must be considered by IRA owners and CPA financial planners.
Look before you leap into a 529 plan
Circumspection is called for in funding students’ higher education.
Financial planning strategies for depressed asset values
Consider these financial planning strategies in a period of low interest rates and high volatility.
Forensic accountants team up to fight elder abuse
Forensic accountants play a key role in an innovative approach to combating elder financial exploitation in a program that is spreading nationally.
