A window of opportunity
“You never want to waste a low bracket, especially now with historically low rates and large brackets — 12%, 22%, 24% brackets — hundreds of thousands of income can fall under those brackets. If you have a large growing IRA, that’s the opportunity to throw in that Roth conversion.”
– Tax expert Ed Slott, in a 9/10/26 interview with Morningstar’s Christine Benz. He highlighted the opportunity many new people have in early, low-income years of retirement to convert money in a traditional IRA to a Roth. Read more at bit.ly/3VGHphP.
Don’t press the panic button
“That was just really shocking.”
– Martha Shedden of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts, in a 8/31/26 article in Financial Advisor. She was reacting to a survey of nearly 200 analysts, indicating that some 75% of clients want to claim Social Security benefits early because they fear future benefit cuts. She said that in most cases, people would be better off waiting. Read more at bit.ly/4cYK3FL.
Not your father’s target-date fund
“The problem is that we designed this whole system just to...maximize account value, and then you get to retirement, we hand the money back to you and say, ‘Good luck.’”
– Nick Nefouse, BlackRock’s global head of retirement solutions, in a 9/16/26 article in the Wall Street Journal. BlackRock and others are remaking target-date funds to incorporate annuities and alternative investments. Read more at bit.ly/3T0lmC6.
Rich in good deeds
“Dolly Parton was never a billionaire because she never allowed herself to become one. The singer/songwriter/actress was too busy giving away money and offering opportunities to the people who needed her support.”
– Columnist Jennifer Ashley Wright, in an 8/26/26 Observer article about the “Queen of Country,” who passed away recently at age 80. Parton grew up in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, living with her parents and 11 siblings in a home without electricity or running water. Read more at bit.ly/4gLnipI.
