Managing Your Financial Future with Lucia Capital Group

If you’ve ever looked at your investment options inside your 401k plan (or other retirement plan at work), you might have felt overwhelmed by the number of choices. Even if your choices aren’t necessarily numerous, how do you know whether you should go all in with stocks, or maybe keep it safer with a blend of volatile and non-volatile assets? This decision is big, and going the wrong way can lead...

When it comes to saving for retirement, the decision to put your money into either a Roth or a Traditional IRA may be more complicated than you think.  Part of the decision involves your tax bracket today vs. your tax bracket at retirement, but there’s more to it than that. When is investing in a Roth IRA a better idea than a traditional?  On the other hand, who should consider a Traditional IRA o...

So you've made it to retirement, and, presumably, you've got a certain amount of money saved up that you'll need to tap into from time to time.  But you're concerned: you don't want to take too much, because you don't now how long you'll live, and thus have no idea how much is "too much" to take out. This is a common dilemma for retirees.  You need a ce...

So let's say your idea is to take your Social Security early, maybe age 62 or 63, and then wait until age 65 to begin your pension benefits.  You know what both your Social Security and pension payments will be, and so you set up your budget and your lifestyle accordingly. But then you find out, maybe too late, that your Social Security payments have been reduced -- or even eliminated -- once...

The topic of Social Security always brings with it many questions, which isn't surprising, given the complex nature of the program.  Beyond the most popular questions, though, are a few that may impact you, even if you didn't think to ask about them. Two of those topics are these:  Can I work and still collect a Social Security benefit? Can my  kids, or my ex-spouse, collect a benefit ba...

Have you ever heard the idea that stocks are too volatile for retired people to own?  There's even an old rule-of-thumb formula that tells you to decrease your stock holdings by 1 percent every year and replace them with bonds.  These generic "guidelines," though, are hardly prudent advice for most people, because everyone's situation requires a different approach. It may actua...

Real estate prices have been ticking up steadily over the past year or two, especially for mid-range single family homes.  And while many people find that the only way they can afford a new home is to take out a mortgage, there are also those who have either enough current gains or enough cash on hand to consider buying a home outright. Having the cash to pay for a home, versus investing that amou...

It would seem to make some sense that once you begin retirement retirement, your tax bill will tend to increase - at least in the early years.  The logic is that people normally have much, if not most, of their retirement funds in a company retirement plan (401k, 403b, etc.), which are all taxable upon withdrawal at ordinary income rates. But is this really the case?  Should retirees simply resign...

It's the most common question we get when we're discussing Social Security: what's the best age to start taking your benefits?  Naturally, everyone's situation is different, but there are general guidelines to determine if it's better to take them early, or to wait until later for a larger monthly benefit. But it's not as simple as just saying, "if you think you&...

Maybe you've noticed that real estate prices have been soaring over the past year or so.  And with the stock market gains we've experienced over that same period of time, you may have also seen a similar increase in the balances of your existing IRAs.   This has caused some people to wonder: if I want to buy real estate now, but I've only got my IRA funds available to do so, is it a...

When you're only a few years away from retirement, figuring out your basics -- income needs, expenses, activities -- is usually fairly easy.   In many cases, your current basics will be relatively close to those you'll require once you've stopped working. But how do you plan for all of that when you're much farther out from retirement - say, 15 to 20 years, or more?  How are yo...

Maybe you recently got a bonus from work, or -- perhaps even better -- an inheritance from a relative.  Whatever the case, if you find yourself with a lump sum of cash that you'd like to invest, a question should come to mind: do I invest it all at once, or do I phase it in over a period of weeks or months? Many may be fearful that if they invest the amount in a lump sum, the market will take...

Estate planning - it’s not just for the ultra rich!  While many people don’t have estates that are large enough to warrant an estate tax (which, for married couples, is in excess of $23 million for 2021), there are other aspects of estate planning that most individuals should be aware of. The one that perhaps affects the most people is where beneficiaries are concerned.  If you have assets that yo...

Have you heard that your Social Security benefits are always going to be taxed as income?  Have you heard that they'll be taxed at a 50% rate?  Or have you heard that your Social Security benefits are never taxed at all?  These statements (rumors, really) have made their way around the online world over the years, so that many people people have no idea what to believe anymore. The truth is t...

If you’re retired, or you’re approaching retirement, there’s a decent chance that you’ve got some money saved up in what’s known as a “qualified” retirement plan – meaning one that gave you a deduction going in, is tax deferred while it grows, and then will be taxable when the money comes out. In general, we’re talking about a 401k, 403b, or something your company set up that is not a government p...

Conventional wisdom, rules of thumb, standard advice - those are what the lazy person often resorts to when they don't have an answer for you, or they can't figure out what to do.  "Everyone else does it this way" is not always a good reason to pursue a strategy that may not be suitable for you and your goals. One common piece of conventional "wisdom" is in the Social...

One of the most common questions people ask us when they're considering the services of an investment advisor and/or financial planner is this: "what will this cost me in terms of fees?" The question of how much an advisor charges, not just for their own services but for the team and others working alongside him or her, is one that you absolutely must get an answer for.  And that an...

Taxes can be scary.  Whether you're anticipating a big tax bill this year, or you're fretting about a tax deadline that's coming up, or you're concerned that you're overpaying but can't find a way out of it.  On top of that, the tax code is insanely large and complicated. But oddly enough, the tax code also gives us some good things -- a few benefits that just may hel...

If you've been planning on working until a certain age (62? 65? later?), but you find that you are a) overwhelmed by stress at work, and b) a number of years short of that "required" age, are you still able to retire?  This is a question that financial advisors and planners deal with every day.  How do you know when you're really able to hang it all up?  Maybe your portfolio ba...

Of all the financial products available to consumers, it is the annuity that is perhaps the most misunderstood.  The initial concept of the annuity -- you give money to an insurance company, they pay you some, or all, of that money back (and maybe more) over time -- is rather simple.  But over the years they've become more complex, with more features, more options, and (yes) in some cases, mo...

Have you heard of the "Gift Tax?"  Many people are at least familiar with the term, but relatively few know how, when, or where it might be applied.  You probably give gifts all the time: some small, some not so small, and some maybe quite large, as for example a downpayment on a home for your son or daughter.  Generosity certainly has its benefits, but is there also a tax that someone s...

You may have heard that individuals with annual incomes that exceed certain thresholds cannot contribute funds directly to a Roth IRA.  This is true.  So how can someone with an income above the limits enjoy the potential tax benefits of a Roth? A simple strategy technique may allow you to do just that.   Tune in to the discussion between podcast host Johnny Dean and his guest, "Professor&quo...

What's your spending strategy in retirement?  Are you (or will you be) extra frugal, concerned about maintaining a steady, or even a rising, account balance in your portfolio?  Or do you have more than you need, with several sources of guaranteed income and/or enough socked away that you'll never outspend your projected lifespan? When asked why people spend the way they do once they&apos...

All marriages end in one of two ways: divorce or death.  If you live long enough with someone, eventually one of you will mourn the other.  And whether a spouse's passing comes as a surprise or not, there will always be a list of tasks that the survivor must deal with at some point.  But what are those tasks, and when do you have to perform them? Good questions.  And while everyone's sit...

You may have heard that Social Security provides a "survivor benefit," which allows a surviving spouse to continue to receive their deceased spouse's benefits.  The original intention (back in 1940) was to ensure that widows would not be left without a Social Security payment.  Today, though,  with many dual-working households (and thus two Social Security benefits), those same surv...