Do you have a friend or loved one who receives Social Security and is unable to manage her payments? If so, you can request that the Social Security Administration (SSA), the government agency that disburses Social Security, name you as the representative payee for that person. Being a representative payee gives you the power and the responsibility to manage that money for your friend or loved one. (The Office of Personnel Management and the Railroad Retirement Agency also appoint representative payees, and the responsibilities are basically the same.) As a representative payee, you only have the power to handle the Continue Reading
Some Social Security Beneficiaries Can Get Retroactive Payments — But at a Cost
If you need a lot of cash on hand upon retirement, Social Security offers a lump-sum payment option that’s worth six months of benefits. However, it comes at a cost. It is important to understand the details before agreeing to the payment. If you have waited beyond your full retirement age (66 for those born between 1943 and 1954) to begin collecting Social Security benefits, you have the option of asking for back payments. The maximum that Social Security offers is six months’ worth of retroactive payments in a lump sum. The downside is that by taking the lump sum, your Continue Reading
How Your IRA Can Benefit Both Your Heirs and Charity
Do you want to use your IRA to help a charity, but also benefit your heirs? Instead of leaving your IRA directly to your children, you can leave it to a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) while still benefiting your children. With the SECURE Act making changes to rules about inherited IRAs, this may be an attractive estate planning option. Under the SECURE Act, when a non-spouse inherits an IRA, the beneficiary must withdraw all of the assets in the inherited account within 10 years (with some exceptions, such as if the beneficiary is disabled or chronically ill). There are no required distributions during those 10 Continue Reading
Make Sure Your Beneficiary Designations Match Your Estate Plan
Many types of property and investments pass outside of probate and allow you to designate who will receive them after your death. It is important that these designations are kept up to date and are consistent with the rest of your estate plan. When you open up an investment account or retirement plan or buy life insurance, the company encourages you to name beneficiaries who will inherit the property on your death. The choice you made at the time may not have taken your estate plan into consideration. To review your beneficiaries, get a copy of all of your beneficiary Continue Reading