| Financial and wealth management news for the retirement community |  |
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- Retirees seek to hedge on health care costs by remodeling homes
Some seniors who want to avoid the average $3,200 monthly cost of an assisted-living facility are investing money now to make their homes more accommodating. Changes include grab bars in bathrooms, nonslip floors, and making electrical outlets and light switches more wheelchair accessible. "We avoided nursing homes for our parents, and we want it to be the same for our kids," said Richard Hayman who is spending $110,000 to transform his Maryland home. Bloomberg Businessweek
(11/29)     
| Industry Update | | |
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- Commentary: Converting an IRA to a Roth carries risks
Before converting a traditional IRA to a Roth in response to a potential tax-rate increase, it's important to consider several "downside issues," Michael Kitces writes. A large conversion could increase the client's tax rate more than a future increase would, he writes. It's also possible that tax changes could affect income and value-added taxes in a way that would make a conversion unfavorable, he writes. It's usually better to convert most of an IRA, rather than all of it, to a Roth, Kitces writes. Nerd's Eye View blog
(11/29)
- Survey: 24% of boomers say they will be able to handle LTC costs
Baby boomers expressed less confidence than did members of Generation X about their ability to finance long-term care for their parents and themselves, according to a report by the Insured Retirement Institute. Among Generation X respondents, 28% expressed confidence about meeting long-term-care costs, while 24% of baby boomers expressed such confidence. In contrast, 37% of baby boomers and 34% of Generation X respondents said they will be able to finance their own medical expenses in retirement, according to the report. National Underwriter Life & Health
(11/29)
- Survey: Generation Y leads in seeking investment advice
Eighty-four percent of Generation Y is seeking financial advice, compared with 76% of all Americans, a Merrill Edge study says. Many of those born between 1979 and 1991 have entered the workforce at a time of economic turmoil. "They want to take action," said Alok Prasad, head of Merrill Edge. Reuters
(11/29)
| Financial Literacy | | |
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- Online calculator can help make sense of 401(k) costs
Lincoln Trust's online Personalized Expense Ratio Calculator can help 401(k) participants figure out what they're really paying for their plans and how that stacks up against other plans. A five-step process calculates the benchmark cost of plans. "If the participant does all these calculations and says, 'I'm only paying 2% for my retirement plan; that sounds pretty good,' when they realize the benchmark for that size plan was 87 basis points, they might think very differently about their fees," Lincoln Trust's Tom Gonnella says. AdvisorOne
(11/29)
| On the Economy | | |
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| Building Your Practice | | |
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- How to help clients own their decisions
Advisers must understand how clients think about money and guide them to better financial decisions, United Capital CEO Joe Duran says. The company offers practice tools meant to help advisers empower their clients. "They rent me, but they need to own their decisions," Duran says. Financial-Planning.com
(12/3)
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--Lou Reed,
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