<a href=http://www.rockwoodfinancial.com/cgi-bin/cginews.pl?record=101>Getting Today’s Best Returns from a Home Renovation</a>
Pay Close Attention to So-Called “Default” Investments
One of the provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 was to allow companies to automatically enroll their employees in their companies’ 401(k) plans, but it wasn’t until last October that companies got guidance on the categories of investments they had to choose for their workers’ contributions.
The decision contained a controversial provision. The Labor Department decided to prohibit stable-value funds or guaranteed investment contracts (GICs) from the choices, because many experts find them too conservative for younger investors.
More...
It’s Time to Start Thinking About the Estate Tax Again
Back in 2001, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act triggered a gradual increase in the dollar threshold of estates subject to the estate tax. In tax years 2007 and 2008, estates valued at more than $2 million may be taxed as much as 45 percent, while in tax year 2009, the threshold will increase to $3.5 million. The year after that, the tax will be repealed for a year.
However, in 2011, unless Congress acts, the party’s over. The estate tax will be reset at up to 55 percent on estates at a significantly lower threshold – $1 million. More...
Do Income Replacement Funds Make More Sense Than Annuities?
It’s getting to be the case that virtually any standalone investment product sold to individuals can be repackaged into a mutual fund. It makes a lot of sense – everyone already knows what a mutual fund is, and all that’s left to explain is the objective, availability of capital, specific risks and fees.
Such is the case with income replacement funds that aim to replace annuities as a way for retirees to manage their spendable assets during the years they expect to be in retirement. More...
Getting Today’s Best Returns from a Home Renovation
It’s a much different picture renovating a home in 2007 than in 1997. Fueled by huge gains in the price of real estate, homeowners a decade ago were tapping home equity with little care since prices were expected to keep climbing, more than covering the cost of such improvements.
Today, with the slowdown in real estate and the widening damage in the subprime loan market, home prices aren’t rising much – and falling in some places. And lenders tend to be a lot choosier these days about who to do business with. So before considering a home renovation, it makes sense to make sure your financial house is in order: More...
Other articles: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26]
Rockwood Financial Group
