The most popular posts of 2020 are...

With a tumultuous 2020 now behind us, we decided to take a look at the blog posts that resonated with you the most throughout the year. Here’s a roundup of the posts that you found the most entertaining, helpful, informative, and inspiring throughout 2020. 

 1. Roth Conversion Cheat Sheet For Financial Advisors [Free Handbook]

As markets recover, converting part of a client's traditional IRA into a Roth IRA can offer significant long-term tax benefits. Any of the recovery would be tax-free. In addition, smaller Roth conversions early in retirement can reduce later RMDs, spreading out the  tax liability more evenly throughout retirement. So, we've gathered everything you need to know about Roth conversions into one place to make it easier for you to help clients take advantage of this strategy. 

2. FinPlan Friday: SECURE Act

The SECURE Act includes some significant changes to retirement income planning and presents an opportunity for advisors. Learn more about the SECURE Act in this FinPlan Friday discussion with Joe.

3. New Taxes in Retirement Marketing Kit

We know that times are really tough for a lot of people, especially our older population. That’s why we are giving our Tax Clarity® subscribers  some new resources for free. We've created an extensive marketing kit with downloads, templates and videos to help you communicate with clients and prospects. 

4. Essential Definition: The Tax Torpedo and 4 Ways to Avoid It

Retirement planning involves much more than just investing your clients’ money and targeting a retirement age. The amount of money your clients have at their disposal is affected by several different factors, including how and when they claim Social Security benefits and the taxes they’re forced to pay on disbursements from various retirement funds. Poor planning can cause your clients’ retirement to be disrupted by the dreaded “tax torpedo.” Here’s how smarter long-term planning can help them avoid this disaster scenario.

5. 8 Valuable Financial Advising Tools

Financial services is an increasingly tech-driven industry, and it is taking place on multiple levels. Advisors recognize the importance of engaging their client base through email, social media, online account management, and other digital channels. But their clients are also expecting advisors to leverage innovative wealth management tools that improve their ability to analyze risk, plan for various retirement scenarios, and optimize tax impact to minimize their burden over time. As a financial advisor, technology is your foundation for reaching new clients and retaining your existing ones. Here are some of the most essential tools that can benefit your firm and deliver value to your client base.

6. 15 Shareable Facts for Financial Advisors to Stress Patience to Clients

When market volatility strikes, it is normal for investors to grow anxious about their holdings. But market swings and economic downturns are a normal part of investing. Trouble only starts to develop when investors make impulse decisions and overreact to these market swings. If you’re looking for some extra support to encourage clients to stick to their strategy, here are 15 charts and facts that will help keep their eyes on the long run.

7. Keep These 3 Considerations in Mind When Calculating Social Security Income for Your Clients

Social Security calculations involve a number of variables that are affected by your clients’ financial health, their retirement age, and other income sources they plan to have during retirement. As financial circumstances change over time, Social Security income projections need to be amended to account for  their expected future earnings. Here are three things to keep in mind when calculating Social Security benefits for clients based on their evolving retirement plans.

8. How to Develop a Roth Conversion Strategy for Your Clients

Roth conversions are a great way for financial advisors to help their clients manage tax obligations in the short term while also reducing overall taxes paid during retirement. As a financial advisor, your job is to recognize when a Roth conversion can benefit your client’s wealth management strategy and to identify the specific conversion strategy that will help your client achieve their financial goals. Each Roth conversion strategy should be developed specifically for each of your clients. Here’s a road map for approaching this process.

9. FinPlan Friday: Tax Techniques for Down Markets

In a bear market, there are a few techniques advisors can use to alleviate the burden on clients. Roth conversions can be particularly valuable because the funds will  recover tax-free. Learn more about the best tax techniques for down markets in this FinPlan Friday discussion with Joe. 

10. Five Reasons You Should Offer a Taxes in Retirement Webinar

Around the world, normal business operations have been disrupted. Financial advisors face the same struggles as everyone else. Social distancing has made it impossible to hold in-person client meetings, and advisors who host educational seminars to find new prospects have been unable to do so.

But with change, good or bad, opportunities arise. This new environment has created an opportunity to try educational webinars. Webinars can be just as effective as in-person seminars to help you attract prospects, if you do them correctly.

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