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Divorce and Retirement Savings¶
Dividing Retirement Assets Often, substantial amounts of marital assets are tied up in pensions or other retirement funds. If you and your spouse have your own employer-sponsored plans, you may each elect to keep your own. But if one spouse doesn't have their own retirement savings, the funds may…
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Critical Retirement Choices¶
The idea of retiring isn't new. People who grew too old or too ill stopped working and stayed home long before pensions and Social Security. But as people live longer, the retirement experience takes on a different meaning. Not only can you expect more years of retirement than of adolescence, but…
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Individual Retirement Accounts¶
Roth vs Traditional There are two types of IRAs: a traditional IRA and the Roth IRA. The main difference between them is when you pay taxes. A traditional IRA is tax deferred. This means that can contribute money before it's taxed, and you don't owe taxes on those contributions or yo…
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Social Security Basics¶
What You Contribute If you’re in the Social Security system—and more than 96% of the workforce is—you usually contribute 7.65% of your salary every year, 6.2% for retirement and disability benefits and 1.45% for Medicare coverage. Your employer contributes an equal amount, and if you’re self-employ…
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Transitioning to Retirement¶
The Critical Factors When making key choices for your retirement, the things that you should consider include your age and health, if and how you need to provide for your family, and what other sources of income you'll have. Or, if it’s your employer’s financial health you’re concerned about, you…
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The Cost of a Mortgage¶
Since monthly payments spread the cost of a mortgage loan over an extended period, it’s easy to forget the total expense. For example, if you borrow $200,000 for 30 years at 6% interest, your total repayment will be around $431,680, more than two times the original loan. What seems like minor diffe…
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Making a Down Payment on a House¶
What is a Down Payment? A down payment is a percentage of the home’s purchase price that you pay upfront. In other words, the down payment is the part of what you pay to buy a house that is not included in your loan amount; instead, you owe it at the time of the purchase. The amount that you’ll nee…
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Working with a Mortgage Lender¶
Applying for a mortgage is a big endeavor. Most lenders require you to complete a mortgage application—a comprehensive financial statement. The information you provide on your application determines whether you qualify for a loan and how much you can borrow. The key numbers are your regular income,…
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Buying a Home¶
When making the decision to buy, there is a lot to consider. Start by defining your goals. Consider where you want to live, the features you're looking for, what you can afford, and a realistic date for having the money you'll need. Then apply your knowledge to making this key decision. The Cost of…
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Registration Opens for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund on Friday April 30, 2021 at 6 AM PST!¶
ARB clients in the food and beverage industry may wish to take advantage of the RRF to assist in payroll costs and/or operations expenditures. Per SBA’s website the RRF was established by the American Rescue Plan Act to provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss…
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