Valerie Schmitz, CEPA, CPFA President
Welcome to our Web site, where you’ll find a wealth of information in the form of newsletter articles, calculators, and research reports.
We hope your visit will help you understand the opportunities and potential rewards that are available when you take a proactive approach to your personal financial situation. We have created this Web site to help you gain a better understanding of the financial concepts behind insurance, investing, retirement, estate planning, and wealth preservation. Most importantly, we hope you see the value of working with skilled professionals to pursue your financial goals.
We’re here to help educate you about the basic concepts of financial management; to help you learn more about who we are; and to give you fast, easy access to market performance data. We hope you take advantage of this resource and visit us often. Be sure to add our site to your list of "favorites" in your Internet browser. We frequently update our information, and we wouldn’t want you to miss any developments in the area of personal finance.
Newsletters
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HOT TOPIC: Rescuing America’s Safety Net
This article looks at the current fiscal outlook for the Social Security and Medicare programs and presents some potential changes that might help to strengthen them.
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New RMD Rules Give Retirement Savings More Time to Grow
This article explains the rules for required minimum distribution from tax-deferred retirement accounts with an emphasis on the new provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act.
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Why the EPA is Focusing on “Forever” Chemicals
In March 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first federal limits for six types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in public drinking water.
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SECURE 2.0 Makes It Easier to Give and Receive
The SECURE 2.0 Act modified the rules for qualified charitable distributions to allow funding a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust from an IRA.
Calculators
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Taxable Equivalent Yield
Calculate the rate of return you would have to receive from a taxable investment to realize an equivalent tax-exempt yield.
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Roth IRA Conversion
This calculator can help you determine whether you should consider converting to a Roth IRA.
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Cost of Retirement
Use this calculator to estimate how much income and savings you may need in retirement.
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Impact of Inflation
Estimate the future cost of an item based on today’s prices and the rate of inflation you expect.