Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ reached another set of all-time highs, driven by constructive rhetoric on global trade and positive second-quarter earnings results from influential companies such as Alphabet.  The S&P is up 8.6% year to date, while the NASDAQ is up...
Getting Ready for Retirement Checklist

Getting Ready for Retirement Checklist

If the word “retire” is becoming your new mantra, we suggest you make a retirement checklist before you receive your last paycheck. It’s never too early (or too late) to start planning your retirement. So why not start now, using the handy checklist below. 10 Steps...

Last Week in Chicago

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Last week in Chicago, the Ed Slott and Company team hosted another successful 2-day advisor training program. A sellout crowd of over 260 financial professionals from across the country joined us for some intense IRA and retirement...
Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary

U.S. equity markets were little changed for the week; that said, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ were able to forge another set of all-time highs. A busy Q2 earnings calendar saw 12% of the S&P 500 report earnings.  Earnings from several large banks came in better than...
The Most Important Ages of Retirement

The Most Important Ages of Retirement

Retirement is a series of milestones that arrive as you age. Here are the ones you should know about. The retirement clock doesn’t start the day you stop working. It’s better to think of this period of your life as a range of important dates and milestones...

How Trump Accounts Work

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law on July 4, 2025, includes a new savings vehicle for children called “Trump accounts.” The rules surrounding these accounts are complicated, and many media outlets are reporting...

3 Retirement Account Takeaways from OBBBA

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). This mammoth domestic policy and tax law is hundreds of pages long and will impact many people in all kinds of ways. What...
Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary

A barrage of tariff letters sent to over 20 countries by President Trump yielded very little movement in the financial markets.  Trump announced that there would not be additional extensions to negotiations and that tariff levels sent in these letters would go into...

OBBBA: No IRA Changes, but More Roth Conversions?

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Hopefully Ed Slott and Company is your trusted, go-to source for all things IRA and retirement plan related. Let’s be clear about the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025” (OBBBA), enacted on July 4. There is no “SECURE 3.0” in this...

How Company Plan Loans Work

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Most company retirement savings plans, such as 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans, are allowed to (but not required to) offer plan loans. According to a survey by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, as of the end of 2022, 52% of 401(k)...
Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary

The holiday-shortened week produced another week of gains for US equity indices.  The S&P 500 was up 10.6 % in the 2nd quarter, while the NASDAQ composite rose 17.8%.  Trump’s reconciliation bill was passed by the Senate and subsequently approved by the House,...
Planning to retire in 2025? Do these 7 things now

Planning to retire in 2025? Do these 7 things now

A wonderful retirement is the goal of many people, and you want it to come off without any major snags. But retirement plans always face challenges, whether it’s the volatility of the markets, the affordability of healthcare or the risks posed by inflation. Plus,...

Pro Rata, Not “Double Tax”

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst The pro-rata rule dictates that when an IRA contains both non-deductible (after-tax) and deductible (pre-tax) funds, then each dollar withdrawn (or converted) from the IRA will contain a percentage of tax-free and taxable funds...