Most of my clients are retired, which means I am managing some type of retirement account for
them. If they have a Traditional IRA and are age 73 or older, they must start withdrawing funds from
their IRA accounts. For anyone over age 73 and still working, you may still contribute to your
company retirement plan and not take an RMD form there. For anyone who fails to take the
required withdrawal, there is an IRS imposes an excise tax of 25% on the di􀆯erence between the
RMD amount you should have taken and the amount you actually withdrew. But did you know this:
The penalty is reduced to 10% if you withdraw the missed RMD amount and file the
appropriate paperwork within the “correction window,” which is generally within two years.
For those who have Inherited IRA accounts, you have 10years from the date of inheritance to
completely withdraw the funds and avoid penalty.

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As part of our regular interactions with our clients, we have everyone take a Risk Tolerance Quiz. It is a short quiz that allows us to look at the appropriate mix of equity funds and income funds for each client. Once we have their assets invested in their proper mix, we then review. This is not a “set it and forget it” process. We know that the markets are changing every business day, this impacts on the balances in each account. Every quarter we look at how this mix has shifted due to market fluctuations, then rebalance the accounts. This allows us to stay compliant with our clients’ wishes and hopefully bank some gains for them.

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“No Tax on Home Sales Act”: In July 2025, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced this
bill, which would eliminate the capital gains tax on the sale of primary residences. The exemption
would not apply to real estate investors or home flippers.
Currently, Under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, homeowners who have owned and used a
property as their principal residence for at least two of the last five years can exclude up to
$250,000 in capital gains. The exclusion is increased to $500,000 for married couples filing jointly.
While we do not plan to sell our home, many people do in retirement to move closer to family. Not
paying this tax could make that move much easier for a lot of people.

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Many of us have taken advantage of Autopay for a number of bills and services. What I have learned is that few people review their statements each month and may be paying for something they no longer have. Here is an example of what could have been a lot of money out the door if we had not been paying attention.

AT&T is in the process of terminating landlines across the area; we still had one until recently. There was a big lightning storm that knocked out our line. Since almost no one called on that line, it was a perfect time to terminate that service. We just received the third bill for that terminated line. If we did not pay attention to this former payment, we could have been charged $125/month for who knows how long! Please, make it a habit to check your statements.

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I have a number of clients retiring this year and next and they are all looking at their Social Security options trying to figure out when to start taking their benefit. I have always been a fan of delaying taking Social Security until age 70 due to the 8% bump added to your benefit each year your delay past the full retirement age for Social Security. But does that make sense for everyone? Let us look at a couple of factors:

What other sources of retirement income are available to supplement delaying taking Social Security at your full retirement age?

Do you have a spouse that will also receive Social Security? How do your benefits pay off each other when looking at full retirement age vs. delay?

How long will it take you to hit the break even point of delaying to get the higher benefit?

If you have questions regarding your Social Security options, please feel free to contact me at
n.hecht@financialgroup.com to receive a Social Security analysis.

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I often have discussions with my clients about having good cash reserves, whether they are in checking, savings, or money market accounts, it does not matter. Cash reserves prepare you for emergencies, so you do not have to panic. The best advice often comes from Warren Buffet. Here is what he has to say:

“Do not save what is left after spending but spend what is left after saving.”

My advice, listen to Warren!

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I have a lot of clients retiring this year, and many are asking about estate Planning Basics. Everyone should have at least these four items: a Will, a Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney, and Florida Medical Surrogate. What are these things? I will tell you.

A Will is basic. It states who gets what of your belongings. A will also invites Probate, which is the public record of your Estate. If you have a successor owner named on all of your financial assets, they will pass without going through Probate, I strongly recommend that everyone does that.

A Living Will is what I refer to as the “feed me – don’t fed me” document. This gives power to whomever you name to decide how much medical help you would receive such as CPR or a ventilator.

Durable Power of Attorney: This document allows you to appoint someone who will speak on your behalf if you cannot speak for yourself.

Florida Medical Surrogate: This will allow someone to approve medical procedures, surgical, or diagnostic procedures for you. Hopefully, you will discuss the level of care you are willing to go to with this person.

A qualified Estate Planning Attorney can put all of this together. I suggest doing this while you are happy and healthy so there is no emergency in making these decisions.

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When I meet with new clients, I always have them take of Risk Tolerance Quiz to help me determine the best mix of equity and income investments for them to have a long, successful retirement. A common mistake that many people make when they retire is moving a sizable percentage of their investments to cash or income investments. They think that they need to be safe as they start their retirement journey. What I remind them of is; they will hopefully live 25 or more years in retirement, and they will need growth from equity investments. Mutual funds invested in quality stocks can provide growth with more protection than buying individual stocks. Growth is what helps us stay ahead of inflation. Inflation can take a big bite out of our purchasing power.

No one wants to have to think about how every dollar is spent on retirement. If you want to take our risk quiz, contact me at n.hecht@financialgroup.com.

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I have had a number of clients questioning their RMD for this year. Why is it so much more than last year? Why do I have to withdraw the funds if I do not need them?

Here are some answers:
2024 was a particularly good year for the markets across the board. The end of year balances in most retirement accounts were percentage wise, more than in 2023. Your end of year balance is one factor in what your RMD will be, the other is your age. Here is an example of withdrawals for RMD based on a balance of $500,000:
Age Life Expectancy Factor Required Minimum Distribution
73 26.5 $18,868
74 25.5 $19,608
75 24.6 $20,325
76 23.7 $21,097
77 22.9 $21,834
78 22.0 $22,727
79 21.1 $23,697
80 20.2 $24,752

From this example you can see that even if your balance is the same each year, the factor for what you have to withdraw increases, so you take out more each year. This explains the how much. As for the why, the government wants its taxes, if you do not take your RMD by the end of the year, you will pay a penalty.

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Recently I had a client come in wanting to rollover an old 401k that he just found a statement for, he had left that job over 6 years ago. I am constantly telling people not to leave money at their old employer. Changes that can occur with a 401k that you no longer contribute to are:

The funds may change.
The charges may increase.
The provider managing the account may change.

This last point is how people end up losing track of their retirement accounts. My advice is: as soon as you change jobs either roll your 401k to a Rollover IRA, or into your new employers’ 401k.

If you think you may have lost an account, I recently read of a site in USA Today called National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits. Here is the web address for that site:

https://unclaimedretirementbenefits.com

Check it out, you never know what you may find.
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