The House voted late Tuesday and President Obama signed Wednesday, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. In an effort to keep you as up-to-date as possible, below is a synopsis of some of the key pieces of the new legislation that may be most relevant to you, our valued client. Tax Brackets: The bill permanently retains the 10 percent, 15 percent, 25 percent and 28 percent income tax brackets from the Bush tax cuts. It keeps the 33 percent and 35 percent income tax brackets from the Bu...  Read more...

All of us woke up this morning to one of the enduring miracles of modern civilization; the orderly vote and acceptance of our national leadership in the most powerful country in the world.  The papers were delivered to your driveway.  The bakeries opened early to make doughnuts.  People went to work on time.  It is simply what we do as Americans. In our heart of hearts each one of us is hoping that this great Democracy will continue to grow and prosper.  We must pull t...  Read more...

What are you doing about the changes coming in the tax laws?  The changes coming in 2013 are less than 16 weeks away.      Because our elected officials are having trouble coming to a consensus,  the chances for a 1- year extension of the current tax code or any type of major reform by year- end is slim. I recently attended a local Chamber luncheon where a well-known Senator addressed the audience and stated: “Washington can’t agree on anything at this point...  Read more...

Recently, the Center for Retirement Research of Boston College published a paper entitled, "The Pension Coverage Problem in the Private Sector". The theme of the article was that only 42% of private sector workers are covered by any type of employer-provided retirement plan. This leads to the conclusion that a substantial percentage of workers retire entirely dependent on Social Security. For low income earners the figure is 75%. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that a common retirement a...  Read more...

As the saying goes, the only things certain in life are death and taxes. Unfortunately, for those with sizable income and/or sizable estates, those two things often go hand in hand. And, unless Congress acts before year end, a big, game-changing tax increase is on the horizon for those who earn over $200k (filing individual) and heirs of individuals with sizable estates.  To be specific… Ordinary Income: The current top rate is 35%. The 2013 rate is scheduled to be 39.6%...  Read more...

I hope you will agree that anyone who travels to Scottsdale, AZ in June, where temperatures routinely flicker around 100 degrees, is dedicated to his work. There couldn’t be another reason. In Scottsdale a week ago for the annual M Financial marketing meeting, I was prepared for fresh thinking and insights from both outside speakers and many of our own people. Yet what I came away with was so much more that I felt elated in the special way that only occurs when something highly unusual – and qu...  Read more...

Almost everywhere we look these days, we’re seeing big numbers – the nation’s deficit and debt, total student loans outstanding, the underfunding of municipal pensions, our over-extended entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Where it’s all going is anybody’s guess, but at the risk of overload, I’m going to share one more big number with you – one that has clear relevance to all of our futures.     A 65-year-old couple retiring this year will need $240,00...  Read more...

Recently, a good friend of HORAN’s gave us an update on some of the estate planning provisions contained in President Obama’s proposed budget for 2013.   The budget, if passed intact, would permanently restore the estate and gift tax rates to those that were in effect in 2009 and curtail or eliminate several very popular estate planning techniques. Below is a summary of the proposed changes: The current estate tax exemption would decrease from $5.12 million to $3.5 million. ...  Read more...

Recently, I was reading a publication from UnitedHealthcare entitled, ‘Top Ten Health Care Trends’ by Jack Uldrich. It was fascinating. Listed below are just four of the ideas outlined in the paper.  It confirmed our thinking that health care will be vastly improved using technology.  New advances in Genomics will allow us to look within ourselves to really explore personalized medicine.  Robotic-assisted procedures are rapidly increasing and they are valuable because...  Read more...

Fixed returns on investments are reaching historic lows. Many of our clients who are in the distribution phase of life want a portion of their assets in fixed type investments so the portfolio is not subject to the ups and downs of the market.   But with returns so low, how do you balance risk and reward with the need to create a livable income from the portfolio? Paul Sullivan, reported in the New York Times on January 28th, “When Safe Bonds don’t Yield Enough to Retire On,” t...  Read more...