Do your business owner friends and relatives know what a Section 162 Bonus Plan is and how it can help them grow their business by attracting and retaining key talent? Section 162 Plans are a very typical way that small business owners can bonus their key employees in order to recruit and retain top talent. It can be a TAX-FREE ROTH IRA alternative with no IRS contribution limits nor income limits.  But once an employer learns how they can supersize these bonuses — WITHOUT … Continue reading

On December 23rd, I passed the third and final exam for a one-year long course to earn the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation. At about $2,000 (for the 3-course advanced curriculum), plus over two hundred hours of coursework/studying plus passing 3 two-hour exams, I have now earned the RICP® designation. Of course, I’ll have additional continuing education (CE) requirements for the rest of my career too in addition to my CFP® and insurance license CE requirements too. It is … Continue reading

Generally there are two systems of property in the US. Most states use the common law system, but about 30% of Americans live in states that operate under Community property laws. .Specific laws vary among the nine “Community Property” states. However, the basic concept of those laws is that a husband and wife each own a 50% interest in what is labeled community property. One determining factor in the classification of a particular asset as community property is the time … Continue reading

As Thanksgiving of 2016 approaches, I encourage everyone to try and be more thankful throughout the year. Let’s try to be more grateful every day — even for the little things. I hope you enjoy my video! From my family to yours… Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! all the best… Mark

Last week I spent 2 days in Chicago both interviewing potential Federal benefit consultant firms and getting in-depth training about Federal Employee retirement benefits. Federal employees include all agencies and departments (CDC, DOD, ATF, FBI, CIA, IRS, SSA, DHS, the Military, Postal Service and so on).  Federal employee’s pension, retirement and health benefits can be very complicated based on whether they are considered military, CSRS (hired before 1984), FERS employees (or any combination) or have special programs like the postal service, air traffic controllers, federal law enforcement and firefighters). This is especially so … Continue reading