Knowledge Bank

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(3-6 months) An emergency fund is money that is readily accessible (typically in a savings or money market) when an unexpected event occurs. Setting aside 3-6 months of your household income is recommended.

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($1,000,000) In general, maintaining 10x your annual income in life insurance is a reasonable amount. Situations may vary and you should take into account debts that you would want or need to be paid in the event of your death, beyond that, how much of your income would need to be replaced and any other important considerations such as high school and college tuition.

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($49,870) The average annual tuition cost for in-state students at a public, four-year college was $21,950.

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False. Any person concerned with protecting assets for their loved ones should have an estate plan. Estate plans reduce the time and expense of probate and help ensure privacy. Helpful tip: Estate plans are needed if you want your heirs to be able to retrieve information or assets from digital platforms such as Facebook or any other online service where you keep a user name and password.

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(Over $40,000) The Rule of 72 is a simple way to determine how long an investment will take to double given a fixed rate of interest. In this case a $20,000 loan with a 10% interest rate with no payments would double in 7.2 years.

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According to Investopedia, a 65 year-old couple retiring in 2019 can expect to spend $285,000 on healthcare and medical expenses throughout retirement (assuming retirement lasts to age 80). Helpful tip: Dental care can be one of the biggest blind spots for retirees as original Medicare doesn’t cover this expense.

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(1,500) According to U.S. News and World Report, the average Social Security benefit for a retired worker in January 2020 is $1,503. It’s important to know your individual benefit. Keep in mind delaying the age in which you start to collect will increase your monthly amount. Helpful tip: Visit www.ssa.gov to estimate and determine your benefit.

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(28 out of 34 years) The market’s down years have an impact, deciding to stay invested or exiting the market can go a long way in determining the degree of impact on your portfolio.

Helpful Tip: Some employers offer short- term and long-term disability insurance as an employee benefit however benefits are capped and can be taxed. Individual disability insurance can also be purchased from private insurers. Social Security disability can be very difficult to qualify for. Helpful tip: It’s important to review your fixed monthly expenses to ensure you can cover them in the event of a disability.

Helpful Tip: Budgeting is a very important tool that can be utilized to identify wasteful spending while at the same time determining an amount of discretionary income that can be directed towards savings programs.

Helpful Tip: It’s important to outline your financial goals and periodically review them throughout the course of the year to make adjustments and increase your probability of success

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Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Historical performance is no guarantee of future results All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.