Retirement Planning

It’s not unusual anymore to see a retirement plan comprise more than 50% of a client’s net worth. Whether the plan is an IRA, 401(k), 403(b) SIMPLE, SEP or other retirement plan, our goal is to help you protect, preserve and pass on what you have worked so hard to accumulate.

Many of our families express concern on how to protect retirement plan assets from being used to satisfy maintenance and support orders in divorce, creditor issues, and bankruptcy or lawsuits. These assets are historically protected for the original owner, but not always for the person to whom the asset is being transferred. We can help you design a plan that will address all of these issues and insure that your retirement plans are safe and pass according to your wishes.

A final thought here. BE CAREFUL! Naming the correct beneficiary on a retirement plan is not a simple matter. There are many options and tradeoffs. If the correct beneficiary is not named, there can be significant negative income tax ramifications. Even naming beneficiaries without careful consideration or providing planning flexibility can have significant tax consequences to these types of assets. We will discuss with you the beneficiary options and the planning tools available to insure that no unintended results occur.