According to a recent AARP survey of baby boomers, four out of five members of that generation plan on working after they retire from their jobs. Some will do so out of necessity to make up a shortfall in savings, for instance, or to patch...

The 2001 tax reform act built uncertainty into the estate-planning process. Under the act, estate tax rates decrease until 2009. The estate tax disappears for one year in 2010. In 2011, the rates and exemptions revert to 2001 levels. Adding to the...

For years, many opponents have seen the notion of Social Security privatization as a thinly veiled make-work project for Wall Street. Trillions of dollars, they said, would flow into stocks and mutual funds, producing a huge windfall for...

Investors are happy to think about retiring but are reluctant to contemplate what comes next. Such are the separate findings from surveys from AXA Financial and PNC Advisors. The AXA study showed that Americans are more confident about their...

Business people of a certain age probably can remember a plaque that secretaries everywhere once displayed with pride: Poor planning on your part does not constitute an automatic emergency on my part. It's a saying financial advisors should...

Under several Internal Revenue Code sections, the property a person transfers will remain in his gross estate if he retains certain rights or powers over it. There is is an exception for transfers made for a bona fide sale for an adequate and full...

In an expos published in 2003, The Boston Globe reported that officers and directors at scores of foundations were themselves the principal beneficiaries of their foundations' assets, receiving compensation packages that sometimes surpassed what...

The qualified personal residence trust, or QPRT,1 has faded in popularity due to declining interest rates (lower interest rates make QPRTs more expensive), stock market losses (which make clients less rich), and the prospect of estate tax repeal ...

Estate planners are finding the revocable living trust (RLT) to be an increasingly popular and useful tool. Some, however, are guilty of overstating the benefits of the RLT, and this can confuse clients and lead to some embracing RLTs for the...

Making a profit in smaller qualified retirement plans has been difficult for advisors because of high costs. However, it's gotten easier in the past couple years, thanks to the emergence of shares, or retirement shares. Advisors using A shares...