December, 2023 - Financial Resources Group

Gifts That Keep Giving

December 24, 2023

The younger a child is when you contribute to their 529 plan, the longer the account has to potentially benefit from compound growth. In 2023, individuals can contribute up to $17,000 per year (and couples up to $34,000 per year) without eating into their lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. For older kids or grandchildren, you could also make tuition payments directly to the school. A benefit of doing this is that direct tuition payments are exempt from the gift tax, which may not be the case with 529 contributions beyond the annual gift tax exclusion. If you’d like more

Pre or Post-Retirement?

December 17, 2023

Most of us think of life insurance as a way to help the people who depend on us financially, or even just to help pay the debts we may have left for our end-of-life care, funeral, or burial costs. What few of us tend to consider is the simple fact that it’s generally best to buy life insurance as early as possible, and why you may want to lock in your policy before you retire. One of the main reasons is that purchasing sooner rather than later helps to avoid post-retirement insurability and affordability pitfalls. There are life insurance products

Types of Annuities: A Rundown

December 10, 2023

We’ve been asked what a variable annuity and a fixed annuity are. What are the differences between them? Essentially: A variable annuity’s value is based on the performance of a portfolio of sub-accounts; it offers the opportunity for higher returns and greater income than a fixed annuity, but there’s also a risk that the account will fall in value if there’s a market downturn. A fixed annuity, meanwhile, pays a specifically set, guaranteed interest rate on the account owner’s contributions. While you are guaranteed to receive income from it, a fixed annuity’s rate of return may be disappointing in comparison

Don’t Take the Bait

December 3, 2023

In 2022, social media-based scams cost Americans a total of $1.23 billion, a 54% increase since 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Typically, these sorts of scams start with someone claiming to be a mutual acquaintance of someone you know, or relative. Then, they either ask for financial assistance, or claim they can offer you help, such as providing a “new investment opportunity.” If you’re approached by someone online with an offer that seems “too good to be true,” it very well might be.