Blog

Rich vs. Wealthy - Is There Really a Difference?

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, June 17, 2024

The terms "rich" and "wealthy" are often used interchangeably. But are they really the same? As the saying goes, "Money talks, but wealth whispers." Here are some of the differences between being rich and being wealthy in terms of money.

6 Telltale Signs You're Not Saving Enough for Retirement

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, June 10, 2024

As a young person, you imagine you have all the time in the world to save for retirement. You live in the present with the future a mere blip out on the horizon.

How to Navigate Retirement With a Disability

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, June 3, 2024

Nearly one in four Americans over the age of 65 has a disability.1 And when it comes to planning for retirement, taking your disability into account is vital.

Thriving Through Financial Stress: Lessons for High-Net-Worth Families

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

April is Stress Awareness Month, and there's no better time to reflect on and address the stressors that may impact our lives. Financial stress is an interesting challenge for high-net-worth individuals and families.

Employee Stock Ownership Plans for Executives

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) have emerged as a popular mechanism for companies to foster employee ownership and align the interests of employees with those of shareholders.

Navigating the Empty Nest: 10 Financial Tips for This New Chapter

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Having your children move out of the house, leaving you and your spouse with an “empty nest,” is a life-altering experience. It will likely not be a quick adjustment, but prepare yourself mentally, emotionally, and even financially.

Assessing Your Retirement Preparedness in the Modern Age

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Did you know, according to CNBC, more Americans are expected to turn 65 through 2027 than at any other time in history? This rapid population increase of older adults is often called the “Silver or Gray Tsunami."

The Hidden Gems of IRAs: 5 Little-Known Facts You May Not Know

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

When it comes to financial accounts like the IRA, details are everything. Look past the surface, examine it closer, and you may be surprised that numerous accounts, including your IRAs, contain hidden gems and little-known facts.

Retirement Planning Optimism is Finally Growing

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Sunday, April 14, 2024

This shift may make strategic guidance from financial professionals increasingly vital. In the evolving landscape of retirement planning, the recent months of 2024 have marked a significant shift in perspective for financial professionals.

Smart Strategies for Staying Ahead in Uncertain Markets

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Over the past few years, the market has appeared to be on a rollercoaster, providing investors with moments of excitement followed by heart-palpitating anxiety.

Is a 529 to Roth IRA Rollover Right for You? Here's What You Need to Know

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

If you have a 529 education savings plan, it can now be converted to a Roth IRA. Both plans are funded by after-tax money. Initially, the money put into a 529 plan had to be used toward education expenses.

Retirement Plan Limits for 2024

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Retirement savings limits are once again on the rise in 2024. Retirement Plan Limits for 2024 Many IRA and retirement plan limits are indexed for inflation each year. Several of these key numbers have increased once again for 2024. How...

Old 401(k) New Tricks: 6 Tips for Rolling Over Your 401(k)

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Old 401(k), New Tricks: 6 Tips for Rolling Over Your 401(k) The average American worker will change jobs more than once in their lifetime. While there are multiple options such as leaving your 401(k) in your former plan if allowed,...

Maximizing Wealth 5 Ways a Financial Professional May Propel High Earners Towards High-Net-

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Maximizing Wealth: 5 Ways a Financial Professional May Help Propel High Earners Towards High-Net-Worth Status  The journey to prosperity involves more than just a high income. It requires strategic planning, wise investment...

How to Prepare Your Finances for an Election Year

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

How to Prepare Your Finances for an Election Year Election years create a certain level of uncertainty regarding your finances and investments. During continued market volatility, an imminent election can make investors tense. All...

Feeling Bored? Reinvest in Yourself and Refire Your Passion Towards Your Retirement Goals

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Thursday, February 1, 2024

You are finally retired after a lifetime of hard work, juggling responsibilities, and managing stress. During the pre-retirement phase, you did some planning, excited with the prospect of checking off that long list of all the things...

Caring For Your Family Members While Preparing For Retirement

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Thursday, February 1, 2024

The newest generation of upcoming retirees is facing a more unique and prominent dilemma than past generations have experienced: caring for family members at the same time they’re preparing for retirement.

How Much of Your Income Should You Save?

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Saving money is a fundamental aspect of personal finance that can significantly impact your financial security and future goals. However, determining the ideal amount to put away isn’t a one-size-fits-all equation.

Fed’s Core Inflation Focus vs. Retirees’ Real World

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Do not dismiss energy or food prices when assessing the impact of inflation On September 13, 2023, it was announced that August saw inflation record its biggest monthly increase for all of 2023 as energy prices rose significantly....

5 Simple Tips to Help Retirees Pay Bills on Time Every Time

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, January 22, 2024

5 Simple Tips to Help Retirees Pay Bills on Time When you retire, life might not necessarily slow down; however, your daily and monthly routines might now be quite different. The responsibilities change from getting up and going to...

Is It Time to Benchmark Your Company's Retirement Plan?

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Is It Time to Benchmark Your Company's Retirement Plan? While your 401(k) plan may not have a chirping reminder, regular reviews, fee benchmarking, and a prudent process are key. Just as we routinely replace the batteries in our smoke...

Unlocking Tax Relief and Employee Appreciation: The Power of Profit Sharing

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Unlocking Tax Relief and Employee Appreciation: The Power of Profit Sharing Profit sharing is not just a tool to reduce your company's tax liability; it is also a powerful means of expressing gratitude towards your employees. As we...

5 Helpful Ways to Organize Your 401(k) Fiduciary Files

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

5 Helpful Ways to Organize Your 401(k) Fiduciary Files Discover top strategies for maintaining organized 401(k) fiduciary files with best practices for compliance and peace of mind. As a plan sponsor, one of your primary...

You’re About to Retire. Here are Some Tips to Stay Independent

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, January 15, 2024

You’re About to Retire: Here are 7 Tips to Stay Independent  Independence is important in retirement. The more independent retirees are, the more fulfilling their retirement is likely to be. However, living independently as...

Healthy Financial Behaviors for High-Net-Worth Individuals

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, January 8, 2024

Healthy Financial Behaviors for High-Net-Worth Individuals For high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), implementing healthy financial behaviors is crucial to maintaining their assets and growing wealth. Regardless of having significant...

8 Financial Wellness Tips to Help Manage Generational Wealth

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

8 Financial Wellness Tips to Help Manage Generational Wealth Asset management and financial wellness can help develop long-term confidence when wealth transfers from generation to generation. Understanding and implementing financial...

New Year's Resolutions to Implement Now

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, December 25, 2023

New Year's Financial Resolutions to Implement Now When it comes to New Year's Resolutions that include financial goals, writing them down and being visible is essential to your success. After you’ve written down what your...

Changing Jobs - Know Your 401k Options.

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, December 18, 2023

Changing Jobs? Know Your 401(k) Options If you've lost your job, or are changing jobs, you may be wondering what to do with your 401(k) plan account. It's important to understand your options. What will I be entitled to? If you leave...

A Retirement Countdown Checklist: 5 Steps to Consider Before Retirement

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, December 11, 2023

Whether you're hoping to retire soon or are just beginning to explore the idea of stepping back from your job, you're probably wondering how to make it happen. Will you have enough money? How will you spend your time? What will you do...

Year End Tax Planning for HNWI

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, December 4, 2023

Year-end Tax Planning for High-Net-Worth Individuals As the year’s end approaches, High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) must prepare for one of the most critical monetary tasks: year-end tax planning. Due to the nature of their...

'Tis the Season for Scammers 3 Steps to Spot Charity Fraud

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

'Tis the Season for Scammers: 3 Steps to Spot Charity Fraud  For many people, the holiday season is when you enjoy family and friends and give a little back to those in need. Charitable giving is its highest during the holiday...

4 Thanksgiving Lessons for a Feast-Worthy Financial Plan

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

4 Thanksgiving Lessons for a Feast-Worthy Financial Plan  Thanksgiving is a holiday for spending time with loved ones, being grateful, and perhaps enjoying a bit of overindulgence. There are many financial lessons to be had in...

Is Retiring Abroad a Smart Financial Move

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Is Retiring Abroad a Smart Financial Move? Researching and planning will ensure your golden years are truly golden With the rising cost of living, mounting health care expenses, and the relentless creep of inflation, retirement in the...

Your Traditional 401k Year End Review Checklist

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Your Traditional 401(k) Year-End Review Checklist A 401(k) plan is one of the most popular and effective techniques for saving for your retirement. A company will automatically withdraw and contribute money from each paycheck to your...

Are You Maximizing 401(k) Contributions?

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Monday, October 30, 2023

Are You Maximizing 401(k) Contributions?   The more money that you can save when you are working, the easier it should be for you to retire and enjoy your golden years. Unfortunately, Social Security may no longer provide a...

A Fall Financial Checklist

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

A Fall Financial Checklist For many, autumn is the best time of year. The return of cool breezes, comforting foods, and pumpkins can be invigorating. It’s also a bookmark of sorts, especially for your finances—a perfect...

Understanding the Benefits of the Solo 401(k)

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Understanding the Benefits of the Solo 401(k) Empowering self-employed individuals for retirement confidence The Solo 401(k), also known as the Individual 401(k) or Self-Employed 401(k), is a retirement savings plan designed...

7 Changes to the FAFSA and How They Could Impact You

Jeffrey J. Hensler, AIF®

Friday, October 6, 2023

7 Changes to the FAFSA and How They Could Impact You Deciding on which college to attend is an exciting time. Still, it can also be stressful. The Department of Education has been working to simplify the Free Application for Federal...

The more money that you can save when you are working, the easier it should be for you to retire and enjoy your golden years. Unfortunately, Social Security may no longer provide a sufficient income to live on during retirement.

When it comes to saving for retirement, the options can seem endless. From 401(k) plans to IRAs, to Roth IRAs, health savings accounts, even life insurance policies, there are a variety of financial vehicles that allow you to set aside...

Everyone wants a comfortable retirement, but the road you take there will depend on your specific situation. When you invest, you assume a certain level of risk (but like everyone you’re hoping that your holdings will increase in...

Required for 2024 Luckily, the required changes for 2024 are minimal. Requirement Summary Long-term, part-time employees become eligible to participate in the 401(k) plan. Catch-up contributions are required to be Roth if the...

You can learn a lot from those who have come before you. For individuals interested in investing, especially those new to it, learning and applying the wisdom from people that have found techniques that worked for them is a great...

For part-time workers, saving for retirement can be a challenge. Many part-time employees are often excluded from 401(k) plans because they often don’t meet the plan’s eligibility requirements. This includes many students,...

Have you ever thought about what kind of golf partner best suits your game? Maybe you have an upcoming member guest or are considering joining a local four-ball league this summer? Turns out picking a golf partner is a lot like...

To compete for top talent, companies are looking for innovative ways to stand out in a competitive labor market. Employees are looking for beefed up benefits that support their social, physical, mental and financial well-being. Creating...

In late May 2023, Congress sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel saying that it will introduce legislation to correct several technical errors in the SECURE 2.0 Act. The letter, signed...

Financial education is becoming increasingly important in today's world, but is it worth the company's time and resources to provide such a service? Helping employees reduce financial stress can help improve wellness, retention and...

While fixed annuities are generally considered to be conservative instruments, variable annuities are investments with the growth potential necessary to outpace inflation, but generally carry a higher degree of risk.

Bank of America's Workplace Benefits Report recently revealed that a whopping 19 in 20 surveyed employers felt responsible for their employees' financial wellness.1 But because financial wellness is such a holistic concept,...

Retirement is a significant milestone in one's life, which requires careful planning and foresight to pursue a confident and stress-free transition. One effective way to plan for retirement is by adopting the Retirement Bucket Strategy.

Life insurance is essential in providing for beneficiaries upon your death, but it can also offer other tax advantages you may not know. For this reason, whole life insurance, also called cash value life insurance, is often used as a...

Retirement plan fees can take many different forms, making it difficult to determine whether they're reasonable. In this article, we'll discuss why fiduciaries need to pay careful attention to fees and how benchmarking can help you make...

Selecting and monitoring investment options for your company’s retirement plan is just one part of your fiduciary responsibility. How do you evaluate, benchmark and assess your plan and what other expertise or protection should you consider

Retirement plans can be as unique as your company and its employees. Yet many committees do not take the time to set specific goals for their plans. Without defined goals, it can be difficult to create an effective retirement plan that...

March is Women’s History Month, a month-long celebration of female empowerment1. This effort includes advocating for better representation in the workforce, pay parity and improved work-life balance. There are some specific steps that women

While retirement is a time to enjoy the things you have worked hard for in life, the next chapter may leave some a little anxious. Retirement doesn't mean you have to retire from the excitement in life.

As a retirement plan sponsor, you are a valuable member of a team that includes your recordkeeper, third party administrator (TPA), financial wellness provider and retirement plan advisor. Each member must uphold their roles and responsibil

Learn what to expect when changing recordkeepers to avoid unpleasant surprises.Change can be exciting but is sometimes stressful. However, transitioning to a new 401(k) recordkeeper shouldn’t be a taxing experience. In this...

Entrepreneurs tend to be natural risk-takers but this doesn't mean committing to uncompensated risk. A wise entrepreneur considers their potential exposure before leaping into a new business venture, moving forward only on those...

After a lot of excitement, Congress finally passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act which included several new retirement plan legislations. The SECURE 2.0 and other provisions strive to expand access to retirement plans, increase

Take some time this month to learn about the contributions of black businesses, inventors, and activists throughout America's history. Some of the most powerful statements can be made by aligning your finances with your values.

Improving return by minimizing taxesAlthough we are all obligated to pay our fair share of taxes, few of us would be pleased to pay taxes unnecessarily. Because taxes lower the actual return on your investments, you should be...

Bank of America's Workplace Benefits Report recently revealed that a whopping 19 in 20 surveyed employers felt responsible for their employees' financial wellness.1 But because financial wellness is such a holistic concept,...

Points to think about as you contemplate giving to others and causes. Any endeavor worth undertaking, especially one that may affect others, deserves our careful consideration before we begin. When contemplating charitable giving,...

A financial wellness program can be an extremely valuable benefit, learn how it can help employees reduce stress while improving workplace productivity.

You don't need to wait until the end of the year to look for ways to minimize your tax liability. Tax planning should take place throughout the year to have you prepared well ahead of tax season. Here are six ways to minimize your tax...

If you're considering giving back to society or a cause as part of your financial planning, there are many ways you can do so. You can make an impact while receiving tax benefits by including philanthropic giving as part of a holistic...

As we approach the end of the year, you may want to review areas that may impact your wealth and estate planning next year. In this year-end planning guide, we examine four critical areas to consider that may affect your finances

As you near age 65, you may start to think about Medicare. How do you sort through your coverage options? When (and how) do you enroll? And what if you have other health insurance? Here is some information to help you

Financial planning is an important part of securing your current lifestyle as well as preparing yourself for what you wish to do in your eventual retirement. And while this importance may look different during each stage of...

You're about to receive a distribution from your 401(k) plan, and you're considering a rollover to a traditional IRA. While these transactions are normally straightforward and trouble-free, there are some pitfalls you'll want to avoid...

According to the College Board, the most recently published figures of the average annual cost of tuition and fees at a public university for the 2021-2022 school year was $10,740 for in-state students and $27,560 for out-of-state...

A beneficiary is the person or entity you name (i.e., designate) to receive the death benefits of a life insurance policy. Some states require that your beneficiary have an insurable interest in your life or be related to you (at least...

The team at SCS recently had a team outing where they made their way to T-Mobile Park for the Wednesday night game. The Mariners and the Yankees battled it out, but in the end our very own Mariners took the win with a score of 4-3. It...

Financial capacity – the ability to manage your finances in your own best interest – involves everything from paying bills to reading a brokerage statement and weighing an investment's potential risks and rewards. And...

Last week was epic for market-watchers. A Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike, a much anticipated gross domestic product (GDP) report, and the busiest week of earnings season got most of the headlines. There was even a surprise out of...

All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, and there can be no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful. And asset allocation and diversification alone cannot guarantee a profit or eliminate...

In golf, as in finances, there are a few rules of thumb that may improve your game: keep a level head, avoid traps, practice before trying something new and stay the course. Applying lessons from the golf course to your financial life...

The need for regular saving and investing spans many life stages. Through the years, your goals will change and your strategies will shift, but don’t be alarmed. You’re just progressing through the normal stages of life,...

A bear market is officially here thanks largely to stubbornly high inflation. For many of us, it has probably felt like a bear market for a while now, but the S&P 500 Index didn’t close more than 20% below its January 3 record...

It’s important to be task driven at work, but your mental and physical well-being should never suffer because of your daily tasks. Here are some questions worth asking yourself during a work day.How are you fueling your body?A...

If you have always thought estate planning was just for those nearing retirement or already retired, think again. If you own a home, it is important to have a plan in place. Without a will or other arrangements that allow your home to...