Articles

Alzheimer’s one day may be predicted during eye exam

By WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE It may be possible in the future to screen patients for Alzheimer's disease using an eye exam. Using technology similar to what is found in many eye doctors' offices, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have detected evidence suggesting Alzheimer's in older patients who had no

Top five TCJA tax planning opportunities for individuals in 2018

By Shaun Hunley There are no fewer than 130 new tax provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, according to Shaun Hunley, a technical editor of PPC products for Thomson Reuters Checkpoint in the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters, but with tax practitioners starting to focus on helping clients address the act’s impact, he

Can a Special Needs Trust Pay for Housing Without Reducing SSI Benefits?

Trustees of special needs trusts generally have wide discretion in determining whether to distribute funds to trust beneficiaries. But if the person with disabilities receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI), careful precautions should be taken before any trust funds are used to pay for housing costs. For the year 2018, federal guidelines set the maximum monthly SSI benefit at $750

3 reasons IRAs have edge over 401(k)s when it’s time to tap your nest egg

By Adam Shell, USA Today For most working Americans, the savings vehicle of choice is a 401(k). But a flood of retirement savings dollars moving from these employer-sponsored plans to IRAs suggests that retirees or workers nearing the end of their careers favor individual retirement accounts when it's time to tap the cash they've amassed. Older Americans

Proving That a Transfer Was Not Made in Order to Qualify for Medicaid

Medicaid law imposes a penalty period if you transferred assets within five years of applying, but what if the transfers had nothing to do with Medicaid? It is difficult to do, but if you can prove you made the transfers for a purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid, you can avoid a penalty. You

The Little-Known Tax on Roth 401(k) Distributions

Employee retirement savings plans come in two main flavors: the traditional 401(k) and the Roth 401(k). The benefit of a Roth 401(k) over a traditional 401(k) after retirement is that distributions from a Roth 401(k) are tax-free, but there is a little-known situation where distributions can be taxed. Contributions to a traditional 401(k) are made