Entries by Briant Sikorski

Money Matters: Annuity Options: Choices Abound for Today’s Retiree

As the earliest baby boomers begin to enter retirement, the various income guarantees and other living benefits offered through variable annuities (VAs) are gaining in importance.

Yet before you rush to add a VA to your retirement funding scheme, take some time to understand what VAs have to offer in a general sense and to sort through the host of optional features and their associated fees and investment risks.

Money Matters: Divorce and Your Finances

Keeping an eye on your financial health during a divorce is essential. Even the most amicable divorce can have a significant impact on your finances. Knowing the laws that govern the division of assets during a divorce is an important first step in protecting your financial health throughout this difficult period. This article outlines some important topics to consider on how divorce may affect your finances.

Money Matters: What’s the Best Way to Give Money to Children and Grandchildren?

There are several ways you might consider gifting money to your loved ones. In 2017, the IRS allows you to give up to $14,000 annually (or $28,000 if you give jointly with your spouse) in cash, investments and/or property to each of as many people as you’d like without triggering gift taxes (This limit may be adjusted for inflation in future years).

Money Matters: Are Your Kids Hurting Their College or Job Prospects on Social Media?

Everything doesn’t need posting.

Picture an admissions officer at an elite university, weighing whether that school should accept your child in its next freshman class. A quick Instagram or Facebook profile search discourages that academic gatekeeper. Your kid doesn’t get into that great college, all because of what was posted online.