It can reveal hidden flaws and help you improve the plan. Why do companies request specialized audits of their 401(k)s? After all, the standard annual audit that large companies routinely attach to Form 5500s may seem adequate. Yet a specialized audit may reveal things that have gone unnoticed for years, or conditions that should be [...]

While the idea of retirement has changed, certain financial assumptions haven’t. We’ve all heard about the “new retirement”, the mix of work and play that many of us assume we will have in our lives one day. We do not expect “retirement” to be all leisure. While this is becoming a cultural assumption among baby [...]

A cottage industry of condescending books doesn’t address the real issue. Why do we cling to the myth that women don’t understand money as well as men? If you look at the personal finance books out right now, some of the titles might convince you that women need “special help” when it comes to figuring [...]

With more Americans living into fragility, POAs and other advanced directives are becoming more important. The point of the POA. A Power of Attorney is a legal instrument that delegates an individual’s legal authority to another person. If an individual is incapacitated or mentally incompetent, the POA assigns a trusted party to make decisions on [...]

A new perception has taken hold: “an independent financial advisor” is better. Times have changed – and so have financial advisors. Today, people don’t want financial advice from a salesman. Instead, they want a relationship with a financial professional who is candid, trustworthy and thoroughly educated, who provides personalized financial consulting for each client. That [...]