Ever since a legal secretary named Ida May Fuller received the first retirement benefit check in 1940, women have been counting on Social Security to provide much-needed retirement income. Social Security provides other important benefits too, including disability and survivor benefits that can help you and your family members. 1. How does Social Security protect...Continue Reading

Social Security was originally intended to provide older Americans with continuing income after retirement. Today, though the scope of Social Security has been widened to include survivor, disability, and other benefits, retirement benefits are still the cornerstone of the program. How do you qualify for retirement benefits? When you work and pay Social Security taxes...Continue Reading

What would you do with an extra $10,000? Maybe you’d pay off some debt, get rid of some college loans, or take a much-needed vacation. What if you suddenly had an extra million or 10 million or more? Now that you’ve come into a windfall, you have some issues to deal with. You’ll need to...Continue Reading

You vaguely remember signing a form every year at college registration time. Now that you’ve graduated, it’s all become painfully clear — those forms were promissory notes detailing your student loan obligations. Your loans aren’t going away, and you’ll want to repay them as quickly as possible. So whether you have a small sum or...Continue Reading

FMP Wealth Advisers Review by AdvisoryHQ[1] With locations in Austin and Beaumont, Texas and Lake Charles, Louisiana, FMP Wealth Advisers has been providing personal wealth management services since 1987. They also have the distinction of being one of the first fee-only financial advisory firms. As one of the best fee-only financial planners in Austin, FMP employs a...Continue Reading

If you don’t want the money, you can always disclaim (refuse to accept) the inherited IRA or plan funds. But if you’re like most people, you will want the money. Your first thought may be to take a lump-sum distribution, but that’s usually not the best idea. Although a lump sum provides you with cash...Continue Reading

There’s no doubt about it — going through a divorce can be an emotionally trying time. Ironing out a divorce settlement, attending various court hearings, and dealing with competing attorneys can all weigh heavily on the parties involved. In addition to the emotional impact a divorce can have, it’s important to be aware of how...Continue Reading

The new tax law has made it a little more difficult to decide how you make your gifts to charity. Here’s why: The standard deduction has increased from $12,000 to $24,000. So, what does that mean to you? On your tax return you can deduct the larger amount of the standard deduction ($12,700 for married...Continue Reading

FMP Wealth Advisers is a fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firm that provides solutions to comprehensive financial planning, investment management, qualified plans, and private investments. Milton Hixson founded FMP Wealth Advisers in 1987 as one of the first fee-only personal wealth management firms. FMP has since grown into a 14-person client-focused team that helps...Continue Reading

As you may have noticed by the advertisements, a currently popular trend in retirement planning is to calculate “your number.” This refers to the amount of savings you need to have at retirement. From a marketing perspective, “your number” attracts consumers who prefer simplicity and an easily defined goal, but from a financial perspective, “your...Continue Reading