(770) 632-2674
info@raydunlap.com

Blog

Friday, March 29, 2024

New Bill Would Raise Social Security Payroll Tax Cap and Eliminate Taxes on Benefits A new bill introduced earlier this year in the House of Representatives would eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits for seniors...

Monday, February 12, 2024

Happy Valentine’s Day!  As you know, Valentine’s Day is centered around the concept of love.  But what is love, exactly?  Is it a bouquet of roses?  A box of chocolates?  Candy hearts and greeting...

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Recently I attended a workshop in Marina Del Rey, California.  Now, these “industry” conferences can be somewhat tedious at times, as we learn about how new legislation will impact the financial planning business . . ....

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Uncle Sam Wants You to Help Stop Bogus Medicare Advantage Sales Tactics   After an unprecedented crackdown on misleading advertising claims by insurers selling private Medicare Advantage and drug plans, the Biden administration...

Monday, November 27, 2023

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are perhaps the single best savings vehicles that Congress has ever given us. But too many people don’t understand them and how remarkable they are.  So, let’s look at the rules as they...

Show All

Thursday, October 26, 2023

I suspect that most of us would agree that good health comes from simple but important changes in our lives, like exercising more and eating more plant-based foods and whole grains.  Interestingly though, Dan Buettner, author of...

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Estate Planning Observations When we think about Estate Planning, we primarily focus on making sure that our Wills are up-to-date and that we have Powers-of-Attorney in place should we become incapacitated and need assistance managing...

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Some States Are Trying to Ease the Burden of the High Cost of Long-Term Care  Perhaps the greatest threat to a successful retirement is the extraordinarily high cost of convalescent care.  According to Genworth Financial, the...

Thursday, July 27, 2023

I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

For the great majority of us, when we turn 65 Medicare becomes our health insurance plan.  And, retirement for some means traveling . . . and traveling to overseas’ destinations becomes very desirable!  But, what a lot...

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

“Here we go again.”  That’s a line from Return of the Jedi, delivered by C-3PO just before he and his friends prepare to go out on another harrowing adventure.  In the movie, poor C-3PO was referring to...

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

  It has been 15 years since Bernie Madoff was arrested by the FBI for perpetrating the single largest Ponzi Scheme fraud in United   States history.   By some estimates, he swindled over $60...

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

As a woman in the workforce, surrounded by an extraordinary team of female co-workers, I am forever grateful to the courageous women who paved the way for us. Their tireless efforts and tenacity benefitted not only women, but...

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

  What do you think of when you see that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner?  When I was in grade school, Valentine’s Day meant       going to the store with my mom and trying to...

Thursday, January 26, 2023

The SECURE 2.0 Act has been signed into law by President Biden. This new legislation provides a bunch of changes designed to give Americans a leg up when it comes to retirement readiness.  And, while the majority of the act...

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Big Changes for 2023 Every year some of the rules that govern our investment accounts can change, and we’re going to see some fairly significant changes for 2023.  Let’s go through them so that you can be...

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

My hometown of Rochester, New York was, for the longest time, a “Company Town.”  Many of you may be familiar with that phrase, but, for those of you who are not, it refers to a city where one firm is the dominant...

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

You may have read or heard about the new Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2023 of 8.7%.  This represents the largest COLA since 1981.  This is a direct response to the inflationary economy we’re...

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

The Recession Question . . . If I wanted to see if it was raining in, say, Zimbabwe, all I’d have to do is load my favorite weather app and I’d know within seconds.  Similarly, if I wanted to find out if the...

Thursday, August 25, 2022

The day after I graduated from High School in 1972, my parents sat me down to inform me that “they were done.”  They said that, now that I was 18, and an adult, that I was on my own.  That, if I wanted to go on to...

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Teenage Part-Time Jobs . . .We were all teenagers at one point, and I’ll bet a lot of us had some kind of a part-time job, either during the school year, or, especially over Summer Vacation. 

Monday, March 14, 2022

For various reasons, the state of a woman’s financial security often depends on her marital status. A study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office says that women’s household income dropped by 41 percent after divorce

Monday, February 7, 2022

What is a stock, exactly? How does it compare to other kinds of investments? Even folks with a lot saved for retirement aren’t always sure

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Recently there were a couple of articles in the local newspaper about three elderly residents who were fleeced financially . . . and it reminds me of the fact that Senior Scams are, unfortunately, becoming more and more prevalent

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

I recently started a new series of blog posts called “Questions You Were Afraid to Ask.” Each month, we will look at a common question that many investors have but feel uncomfortable asking. Because, after all, when it comes to your finance

Monday, November 15, 2021

When we were kids, most of us were taught that “The only bad question is the one left unasked.” As a financial advisor, I’ve found that statement to be proven true time and time again. Every day, my clients ask me...

Friday, September 3, 2021

You’ve no doubt heard the phrase, “If something looks too good to be true, you need to be skeptical.” Well, this is certainly the case when it comes to Elizabeth Holmes, and the company she founded – Theranos....

Thursday, August 5, 2021

One of the simplest rules for Social Security spousal benefits is also one of the trickiest. The rule is that, in order for a spousal benefit to be paid, the other spouse must have filed for his or her own benefit first. Let’s...

Thursday, July 1, 2021

To honor and acknowledge the upcoming holiday, I decided to take a break from my typical financial-related blog post, and, instead, decided to share a little piece of American lore that, to me, reflects just how important it is to...

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

According to Bankrate, a website dedicated to helping people take control of their finances, 50% of Americans are putting a percentage of their retirement savings at risk to help their adult children financially. The impact of this...

Monday, May 10, 2021

A career is always a remarkably interesting journey. Some people know at an early age what they want to be when they grow up. I wanted to play second base for the New York Yankees . . . but, shockingly, that didn’t happen! And,...

Thursday, April 1, 2021

About a year ago, Congress passed the CARES Act, a massive $2 Trillion stimulus package designed to help boost the economy as it struggled from the impact of COVID-19. The bill was generally considered a success – but we still...

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

First, there has been a plan discussed to replace the current tax deduction for both IRA and 401(k) plan contributions with tax credits. This is a very novel approach to try and encourage Americans to save more for their future...

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

President Joe Biden’s promise to tax the wealthy may include an increase in how dividends and capital gains are taxed. He has called for those making more than $1 million annually to pay the same rate on investment income, such...

Friday, January 15, 2021

Every January, it’s customary to look back at the year that was. What were the highlights? What were the lowlights? What events will we always remember? Most importantly, what did we learn? Here’s the problem, though: How...

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Unfortunately . . . yes! Let’s start with the OASDI (the “Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance” program) report that came out at the very beginning of 2020, before the pandemic really gained a foothold. It...

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

In the course of my work and my personal reading, I come across several cited statistics that I find enlightening, infuriating and sometimes, just plain entertaining! I thought I would share some of the more memorable ones here...

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Every year, the IRS compiles a list of the twelve most-common tax frauds, and, unfortunately, one of the more sobering realities of any pandemic is that it tends to give rise to new disturbing tax scams. The 2020 IRS list that just...

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Well, I’m sure by now you’re about as tired as I am talking, reading and listening to anything related to Covid-19 . . . . . so, let’s not start there. OK, then, how about politics? After all, I hear there’s an...

Monday, May 4, 2020

As of Friday, April 24, the Internal Revenue Service said it had issued 88 million payments to individuals across the country. It plans to send out more than 150 million payments as part of the overall Economic Impact Payments program...

Saturday, April 25, 2020

At the end of 2019, Congress passed the most sweeping change to retirement rules in over a decade.1 Known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act), this legislation went into effect on January 1,...

Monday, March 30, 2020

Many of you may know that the tax deadline has been delayed until July 15th, and you may be somewhat familiar with some of the other emergency legislation that has recently been enacted, but I wish to use this forum to help you...