The Ballast Roth Manifesto: Why We Believe Roth is for the 99% AND the 1%

Ballast team

Join us for a live discussion about Roth savings on January 27th, 2022 at 4 PM on ballastplan.com/live. Our advisors will be discussing this article and answering any questions.   One of the biggest mistakes a retirement investor can make is to believe the common wisdom that Roth savings are only for low income-earners. Yes, […]

Optimizing Required Minimum Distributions

Ballast team

Key Takeaways The IRS made a retiree-friendly tweak to its RMD schedule for 2022 When to best take retirement distributions can be opposite for two similar investors Engage Us: We do our best work when we know your updated situation     We’re only a week into 2022 and I have already spent a few […]

Retirement Saving Myths and Misconceptions

We are fortunate to have a very educated and knowledgeable client base, but we are consistently surprised by the myths and misconceptions clients and prospects bring to the conversation. Below I have listed my Top 7 Myths and Misconceptions About Retirement Savings; it is by no means a complete list but highlights the most common […]

Balancing Saving and Giving

Most of our clients aspire to be financially self-sufficient.  As those clients age, we notice some amount of transition into wanting to benefit others with accumulated resources.  This giving can range from donations to charities of interest to paying for a grandchild’s education to helping a friend in need.   We have been fortunate since the […]

Finding the Best Order for Funding Retirement

Ballast team

With a task as important as funding your retirement, determining which accounts to fund and in what order should not be taken lightly.  Whether it’s a company plan, individual retirement account or taxable account, there are a lot of ways to save for retirement.  So how do you decide where to put each dollar you […]

Determining a Retirement Savings Rate

As we meet with new families, we continually hear the same two questions: 1) are we making good decisions with the money we earn and 2) are we saving enough for retirement?  These questions are typical whether a person is 35 years old or 55 years old.  According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. […]

Insight Into Fixed Income + Timing of Social Security

When entering retirement, the question of how to structure income can be the most influential factor in determining a family’s long-term financial well-being.  Several factors such as income source, inflation, and sequence of returns present risks and opportunities for retirees.  Today’s Atheneum discusses how we might explore retirement income with John and Jane Smith.  They […]