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Financial help from your 401(k) – How the CARES Act helps retirement plan participants
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020, and includes provisions to assist retirement plan participants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, through financial help. The new law provides distribution and loan relief to participants if you have been diagnosed with coronavirus disease or if you have experienced adverse financial consequences due to the pandemic on account of being quarantined, furloughed, or…
Video: How to understand and handle market volatility related to the coronavirus
Gain perspective about the confluence of events affecting the markets, including the coronavirus. What are the drivers of current volatility? Where do markets and diversified portfolios stand now? How does this market compare to the many volatile markets in the past? See how bad markets have strong recoveries. See why panic is not an investment strategy. See how an even bigger drop would still leave investors with solid medium-term average…
6 work from home tips we’ve learned so far
With the shelter in place in effect in Northern California since last Tuesday, and more places to come soon, many of having had to shift from going to the office to working from home. WealthStep is well set up to operate as a virtual office, and should not experience any interruptions. Here are a few remote tips we hope will help you. Make your life easier Upgrade your Internet service: Now…
Markets react to coronavirus: how to weather the challenges ahead
It’s been a difficult week and a half for investors, as the uncertain trajectory of COVID-19 upset people’s sense of well-being, public health systems and the financial markets. Coronavirus and its economic fallout, coupled with the Saudi/Russia oil tension, have created a unique mix of anxiety that makes markets particularly volatile. No one can predict what will happen over the short term, but we have confidence, based on past experience,…
How we’re thinking about coronavirus
The public’s concern about coronavirus (COVID-19) is increasing. As is often the case, concerns are frequently magnified by what’s called “negativity bias,” an evolutionary mechanism in the brain to minimize risk. More often than not, people over-react to potential risks. But sometimes the reaction is warranted. Regarding coronavirus, it is too soon to tell how justified these worries are, and the appropriate level of concern at any point in time…
Longevity’s ripple effect: Why Gen X cannot count on inheritances for their retirement
As if Gen X (now age 40 – 55) didn’t have enough to think about in midlife, they also need to be careful about including any expected inheritance in their retirement planning. While there is much talk about a great transfer of wealth in America in the coming 25 years, with estimates anywhere from $30 – $65 Trillion, this estimate and its timing is by no means a sure thing….
Q4-2019 Quarterly Context Webinar
What should you be training your brain to do now, given the longest bull-market ever? What are people doing with their better physical state later in life? Where are we in the business cycle now? What is the “Fed pivot” and how are market returns projections changing for the next 10 years? What does “growth recession” mean and is that the new normal? Where does the 2019 market return…
The SECURE Act: What individuals and business owners need to know
Business owners, especially smaller employers, now have more incentives and options to offer retirement savings plan. Individuals have additional opportunities to grow their retirement savings. Signed in to law by the President on December 20, 2019, The SECURE Act (‘Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement”) brings the most significant pension reform in more than a decade. The goal of the legislation is to promote retirement savings and affects both individual investors…