As we begin a new year, we’re excited to see how the Lord will work in His Kingdom. Recently, my oldest son was baptized along with several other young people at our church. As a father, with tears of joy I was reminded of God’s faithfulness to complete the work He has started (see Philippians 1:6).

In my last post, I shared the story of my aunt and uncle, who have ministered faithfully throughout their lives—and who have prepared carefully for their financial future. In this post, Timothy A. Stephenson, professional fiduciary and guardian at Southwest Florida Advocates, encourages us to consider the cost of failing to prepare.

My father used to say, “You never retire from the work of the Lord.” He taught me—and many others—that ceasing work for the last 20 or 30 years of one’s life (or more!) is not a biblical idea. Throughout Scripture we read about Sabbath rest, but not once do we read about retirement. The concept is a fairly recent invention, popularized in industrialized nations in the last 150 years or so.

Most IRA and retirement plan limits increase for 2019. On November 1, 2018, the IRS announced the 2019 IRA and retirement plan limits. Many of the key limits are increasing for 2019, including the IRA contribution limit and the employer-sponsored retirement plan deferral limit…

In this edition of Alliance Financial Care, I’m interviewing Joseph Padilla, Vice President for Development with The Orchard Foundation, about charitable gift annuities (CGA). We specifically want to address how ADF investors can increase your fixed return anywhere from 4.6% to 9%…

Back in the spring, I covered the importance of beneficiary designation here. Naming a beneficiary for your traditional IRA or employer-sponsored retirement plan may be one of the most important financial decisions you ever make. The beneficiary (or beneficiaries) you name will receive the funds remaining in your IRA or plan after you die, so you should certainly consider your loved ones' future needs. However, choosing the right beneficiary is often more complicated than that. 

I still remember getting the call back in 1981 at Ivory Coast Academy in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, that my mom was involved in a near-death car accident. God spared her life and has used her mightily, but she never imagined being confined to a wheelchair for the next 36 years. Even with today's medical miracles, it is a real possibility that you, your spouse, or a loved one could experience difficulty with handling your own medical or financial affairs and need help. A serious illness or accident can happen suddenly at any age. 

A beneficiary designation is one form of a will substitute. It allows you to transfer certain assets, such as the proceeds of a life insurance policy or a retirement plan (e.g., an IRA, 401(k), or 403(b)), without going through probate. The person or entity you choose to receive the proceeds is called a beneficiary. If you're single, you can choose anyone you wish as the beneficiary. If you're married, the law may restrict your choice. You can also name a charitable institution, your estate, or a trust as the beneficiary of many retirement plans.

Joint ownership is an arrangement where two or more persons share ownership of property. This arrangement allows someone else to have immediate access to your property and to use it to care for you if you become incapacitated.

”How much can I safely withdraw?” It’s a question I hear a fair amount. During your working years, you most likely set aside funds in retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401(k)s, or other workplace savings plans, as well as in taxable accounts. Your challenge now is to convert those savings into an ongoing income stream that will provide adequate income throughout your retirement years.

Over the last six years, I have done a seminar for our returning missionaries to help start a conversation between adult children and their parents on the topic of elder care based on a collection of resources and using the cross-cultural context. When I look ahead to retirement, I find myself in the “sandwich generation” – a group loosely defined as people in their 40s to 60s who are “sandwiched” between caring for both children and aging parents.

While more than 15 major pieces of tax legislation have been enacted into law since the year 2000, the current tax planning environment has been heavily shaped by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, passed in January 2013, and the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, passed in late 2015. Together, these legislative acts made permanent a number of significant tax provisions that had previously existed only in temporary form. Therefore, 2016 planning takes place in a relatively stable tax environment, although there is some degree of uncertainty regarding the potential availability of specific provisions heading into the 2017 tax year.

Growing up as an Alliance missionary kid in West Africa, I learned from an early age about Kingdom investing. I watched and participated as my parents and other missionaries gave their time, their resources, their very lives for Kingdom work — and I saw the Kingdom returns. But this kind of work with eternal returns doesn’t only happen overseas.

This quarter’s topic addresses several risks when it comes to your retirement income. It’s not uncommon to overlook some of the factors that can affect how much you’ll have available to spend. For example, consider how your retirement income can be impacted by investment risk, inflation risk, taxes, and catastrophic illness or long-term care that may keep you from enjoying the retirement you envision. In this article, we will look at those first three areas.

Financial professionals typically recommend that you review your retirement savings plan both annually and when major life changes occur. If you didn’t revisit your plan in 2015, this may be an ideal time to do so. This past year saw greater stock market volatility, which may require you to re-examine your risk tolerance. Risk tolerance refers to how well you can ride out fluctuations in the value of your investments.