Thanksgiving week, 2018 was an interesting one for the stock market. The S&P dropped 3.8% for the week putting us officially into a market correction. We closed the week down 10.2% from our last market high. This Thanksgiving week was the worst week since 1939. Monday, November 26, 2018 did see the S&P rebound (up […]

October 2018 marked the 10th year of the longest bull market in history. In 2017, the stock market (S&P 500) moved placidly upward; in fact, the market set record highs over 100 times since the Presidential election in November 2016. This year, 2018, has given investors pause to think, however. In late January, the S&P […]

Time does fly—and with it, some potentially significant tax benefits. There are actions which, if taken in October 2018, can have consequences on taxes—even 2017 retirement plans. We will discuss some of the general rules here; you should discuss the specifics of your situation with your tax professional. Roth IRAs Conversions–Individuals who converted a traditional […]

The single greatest expenditure that most individuals face is taxes. Google “tax freedom day” and you’ll find the number of days you work during the year just to pay taxes. In 2017 that day was April 23; or 114 days (about 1/3 of the year) before you begin to keep what you earn. The Tax […]

Social Security benefits are a component in the retirement planning of most Americans. However, those benefits pose questions for both younger and older employees. Younger employees are faced with the long term viability of the system (see our previous posting of “Social Security, Medicare, and You”. Older employees are faced with the question of how, […]

Each year the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds provide a report on the financial status of these programs—current and projected. The information below is from a summary of the 2016 Annual Reports www.ssa.gov, Office of the Chief Actuary, 2016 Trustees Report-Jacob J. Lew, Sec. of the Treasury and Managing Trustee, and […]

The World Economic Forum produced a white paper entitled “We’ll Live to 100-How Can We Afford It?” (Lead Author, Rachel Wheeler, Project Lead, May 2017) The basic premise of this white paper was the status of world-wide retirement plans and potential problems and reforms necessary to address those problems. The disclaimer in the white paper […]

You’ve probably heard by now that Equifax, one of the four major credit reporting agencies, experienced a security breach resulting in the exposure of the personal information of 143 million Americans between May and July of this year.   While Paragon does not have a relationship with Equifax, we feel that it is important to […]

Hurricane Harvey has come—but hasn’t gone. This storm is one the Gulf Coast will remember for a long time. A sudden strengthening category 4 hurricane trapped between high pressure areas dumping a year’s worth of rain in several days is not something one plans for. However, it happened and we’re left with the cleanup.Priority One–Are […]

It is no secret that returns in the capital markets (stocks and bonds) have been volatile (and below historical averages) for the past few years. Some market “experts” are predicting that those lower returns will be the “new normal” for some years to come. If that prediction is correct, individuals must save more to maintain […]