Declining ability to take care of one’s self is a rising concern, especially as life expectancy increases. The prospect of spending time in a care facility is not something anyone desires; however, it will be a fact of life for some. As such, prudence demands that long term care provisions be addressed in any financial […]

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) became popular with the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. Some basic premises drove IRAs creation. (Other rules may apply): Some individuals could contribute money into an IRA account on a pre-tax basis, i.e. the money contributed into the IRA would not be taxable income at the time earned. Money in […]

We have discussed retirement planning in previous a pervious blog that may be seen here.  The primary question usually associated with retirement is “Do we have enough money to retire?” Asset levels, income, and anticipated expenses are, of course, prime components to the answer of that question. However, there are other factors to consider; we […]

A major benefit of trust planning in the past was the ability to shelter assets from estate taxes. There have been changes in the estate tax law (with the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012) that has eased the estate tax burden significantly. First, the amount exempted from estate tax was raised (currently $5.25 million […]

Last year (2013) was a time of significant corporate stock buy-backs. Corporate management used about $750 billion (some of which was borrowed at historically low interest rates) to repurchase shares of their company stock. The last time such levels of buy-backs were done was in 2007—remember what happened in 2008? Buy-backs reduce the number of […]

There is considerable discussion in the investment profession concerning the compensation of advisors for investment advice. What is the difference and does it matter? That’s the subject of this discussion. Fee Only Fee only compensation means the advisor is compensated by a flat fee or percentage of assets under management (annually); compensation may also be […]

Retirement planning involves covering estimated expenses in retirement from known resources. Those resources may include pensions, Social Security benefits, earnings from investments, part-time work, or any combination of the above. Estimating expenses in retirement can be a more “interesting” exercise. Many pre-retirees can make a reasonable estimate of basic living expenses (usually in today’s dollars […]

The “talking heads” on the financial news networks broadcast a seemingly never-ending stream of numbers and discuss the implications of those numbers on the investment market. While we at Paragon Financial Advisors do not presume to be economists, there are some numbers which definitely warrant following. Some of the major ones follow:Gross Domestic Product (GDP)The […]

There is much discussion in Washington these days about “entitlement reform.” An obvious example includes the Social Security system. A question that often arises in this area is “When should I begin to draw my benefits?” That question is critical since the benefits one receives is reduced if taken before “full retirement age” (which is […]

Paragon PerspectivesAs 2013 draws to an end, we want to use our final newsletter to say “Merry Christmas,” “Happy New Year,” and “Thank You” to our readers.  We are privileged to work with you and we truly appreciate the opportunity to do so.   We have included in this issue some items that are intended […]