Wealth Planning

Understanding the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Key Tax Changes

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law H.R.1, commonly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). This sweeping legislation addressed the scheduled expiration of tax provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) while introducing new tax measures and tweaking existing rules. Here’s what you need to know. Income […]

Tax Benefits of “Bunching” Charitable Giving

Every year income taxpayers need to decide between taking the standard deduction or itemizing. For those that itemize deductions, a strategy to combine two years’ worth of charitable giving into one year has been a financial planning consideration for years. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 made this strategy even more relevant. […]

Maxwell R. Pray, CFA

Still Waiting for Final RMD Regulations for Inherited IRAs

The Internal Revenue Service has again postponed releasing final rules on required minimum distributions for inherited individual retirement accounts. Because of the delay, some beneficiaries of IRAs inherited after 2019 won’t be penalized for not taking required minimum distributions in 2023. <br> BACKGROUND There have been many important legislative changes for retirement accounts over the past few […]

Clifford Swan

Opportunities for Maximizing Education and Retirement Accounts

The cost of education has never been higher. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the cost of education has increased by two times the inflation rate since 2000. Despite the increase in education costs, tax-advantaged 529 savings plans, which are the primary savings vehicle for education, have been underfunded by most Americans. Concerns […]

George E. Hasbun, CFP®

Tax and Retirement Updates

Updated March 2, 2023 to reflect the updated California tax deadline.  NEW BEGINNING AGES FOR RMDS The SECURE Act that was signed into law at the end of 2019 changed key rules around Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Notably, the age to begin taking required minimum distributions increased from 70.5 to 72. The Act also eliminated […]

Clifford Swan

Update: Charitable Gift Annuities More Attractive As Payout Rates Rise Again

Now is a good time for those wanting to give to consider establishing a charitable gift annuity. At its core, a CGA is an arrangement whereby assets are given to a charity in return for the charity’s promise to make lifetime payments of a fixed amount to a beneficiary, who is often the donor. This […]

Lloyd K. Wong, CFA
Jennifer I. Maqueda

Gift Annuity Payout Rates Are Increasing

There are many ways to support charitable causes financially. There are outright cash donations, bequests in an estate, different types of charitable trusts, as well as charitable gift annuities. Today, we will focus on the latter. “The promise of a reliable income stream is often attractive to donors.” Charitable gift annuities, or CGAs for short, […]

Lloyd K. Wong, CFA

Social Security as an Inflation Hedge

Inflation is top of mind in the investment community. As my colleague Dan Mintz discusses in his corresponding article, inflation is historically high. At Clifford Swan, we have strategies to preserve and grow our clients’ wealth in an inflationary environment. Our approach to disciplined stock picking, as described by Dan, is one of them. In […]

Erica S. White

3 Pillars for a Happy Retirement

Clifford Swan partner Lloyd Wong recently spoke on this topic as a guest on gerontologist Mary Winners’ “Visionary Aging” podcast.What do a fitness tracking device, a budget, and an appointment calendar have in common? They are all tools to motivate you and monitor your progress towards securing a successful retirement. “We believe it is best […]

Lloyd K. Wong, CFA

Different Ways to Give

Philanthropy is top-of-mind for many of our clients during the holiday season. In this theme, we are pleased to republish an article that Ken Dike, our Executive Director of Planned Giving Services, wrote for one of our nonprofit clients. Ken explains the differences between charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts and answers common questions […]

Kenneth H. Dike

Does Cryptocurrency Belong in Your Portfolio?

Cryptocurrencies have entered the mainstream. What began as a white paper written by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” has morphed into several cryptocurrencies currently valued at approximately $2 trillion dollars. Bitcoin is the first and most well-known cryptocurrency and is gaining momentum worldwide. In fact, The President […]

George E. Hasbun, CFP®

A New Era in Death and (Estate) Taxes

They say nothing in life is certain, except for death and taxes. While neither is avoidable, there may be certain ways to mitigate the impact of taxes at death. President Joe Biden’s recently proposed “American Family Plan” highlights funding the legislation through increased income and capital gains tax on the wealthiest and highest earning Americans.What […]

Carlota B. Venegas, CFP®, CDFA®

Goodbye to the Stretch-IRA and Hello to Testamentary Charitable Gift Annuities and Testamentary Charitable Remainder Trusts

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) that went into effect at the beginning of 2020 aims to expand, preserve, and encourage retirement savings*. Surviving spouse of the deceased owner, Minor child of the deceased owner, Disabled person, Chronically ill person, and a Person that is not more than ten years younger […]

Kenneth H. Dike

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