The Anchor Archive
Clear, in-depth thinking on retirement income, tax strategy, Social Security, estate planning, and the decisions that shape a secure retirement, from the advisors at Anchor Financial Group.
LatestQualified Small Business Stock Tax Exclusion: What Changed
The qualified small business stock tax exclusion lets eligible shareholders exclude some or all of their gain from federal tax. The rules just changed.
Fee-Only vs Fee-Based vs Commission Advisors: How Each Is Paid
Fee-only advisors are paid only by you. Fee-based advisors can also earn product commissions. Here is how to tell the difference and why it matters.
Retirement Income Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor
Eight questions to ask a financial advisor about retirement income: what pays the bills, how it is taxed, what breaks it, and what your spouse keeps.
Family Business Succession Planning: What a Will Misses
Family business succession planning covers who owns the business, who runs it, what it is worth, and who pays the tax. A will only transfers ownership.
Social Security Claiming Strategies Eliminated: What Works
The Social Security claiming strategies eliminated by a 2015 law are file-and-suspend and the restricted application. Several others still work.
Family Business Estate Planning: 7 Questions to Ask Now
Family business estate planning starts with three questions: who takes over, what the business is worth, and who pays the tax. Everything else follows.
Social Security Claiming With Dependents: A Family Guide
Social Security claiming with dependents changes your math: a minor or disabled adult child can add family benefits, shifting the best claiming age.
Social Security Spousal Benefit Strategy for Couples
A Social Security spousal benefit strategy for married couples usually pairs one early claim with one delay to 70, since that sets the survivor benefit.
Retirement Red Zone: Sequence Risk in the 5 Key Years
The retirement red zone is the five years before and after you retire, when sequence risk can do lasting damage to your lifetime income.
Should You Move to a No-Income-Tax State in Retirement?
Nine states have no broad income tax and four more exempt most retirement income. Whether a move helps depends on your total tax and cost of living.
Senior Deduction 65 and Older: Roth Conversion Timing
The senior deduction 65 and older is a temporary $6,000 write-off that phases out as income rises, so a Roth conversion can quietly cancel it.
Tax Strategy When Selling a Business: A Pre-Exit Checklist
Tax strategy when selling a business has to be built before the letter of intent. Most of the useful levers close the moment deal terms are signed.
Sequence of Returns Risk Example: Two Identical Portfolios
A sequence of returns risk example shows it plainly: two identical portfolios, the same returns in a different order, and very different results.
Backdoor Roth IRA: A Step-by-Step Guide for High Earners
A backdoor Roth IRA lets high earners who exceed income limits fund a nondeductible traditional IRA, then convert it to a Roth for tax-free growth.
How to Build Tax-Efficient Retirement Income Streams
Tax efficient retirement income comes from drawing across account types in a deliberate order, not from one big pot or one account at a time.
RMD Tax Planning at Age 73: Avoiding a Bracket Jump
Required minimum distributions at age 73 add taxable income you can't avoid. Smart RMD tax planning strategies before age 73 can help reduce the bracket impact.
Social Security Claiming for Married Couples: What Still Works
A married couple's Social Security claiming strategy still works by coordinating who files when, spousal benefits, and survivor protection after the 2015 rule changes.
S-Corp vs LLC (Schedule C): Which Cuts Owner Tax?
For S-Corp vs LLC tax savings, the S-Corp election can reduce self-employment tax on some profit, but only above a certain income, and only if you pay yourself a reasonable salary.
How to Build a Protected Income Floor Before You Retire
A protected income floor in retirement means covering your essential expenses with income that does not depend on the market. Build it in four steps.
Beyond the 4% Rule: High Net Worth Withdrawal Strategy
The 4% rule is a starting reference, not a plan. A retirement withdrawal strategy for high net worth households starts with taxes, not a percentage.
HSA Tax Strategy for High Earners: Fund It After the 401(k)
An HSA tax strategy for high earners works because contributions, growth, and qualified withdrawals can all be tax-free: fund it even after maxing your 401(k).
Will Your Estate Plan Work the Way You Intended?
Your estate plan will work as intended only if it is reviewed against current law, your assets are titled correctly, and your documents match your real goals.
Estate Planning for Business Owners: 6 Basics to Have First
Estate planning for business owners means putting a will, trust, powers of attorney, buy-sell terms, beneficiary alignment, and a valuation baseline in place before a sale.
Proactive Tax Planning: How to Owe Less Next Year
Proactive tax planning looks forward to legally reduce next year's tax bill, while compliance only files what you already owe after the fact.
Social Security Delay and RMD Interaction: Why Both Can Backfire
The Social Security delay and RMD interaction can backfire because delayed benefits and required withdrawals often land in the same years, stacking taxable income.
Estate Planning Checklist Before Retirement: 8 Checkpoints at 60
An estate planning checklist to work through before you retire: will, trust, powers of attorney, beneficiaries, business succession, taxes, long-term care, and coordination.
How to Coordinate Your CPA, Advisor, and Attorney
To coordinate your CPA, advisor, and attorney, give one fiduciary lead full visibility into all three, so tax, investment, and estate decisions work together.
SEP IRA vs. Solo 401(k): Which Saves You More in Taxes?
A Solo 401(k) usually allows self-employed owners a larger tax-deductible contribution at the same income than a SEP IRA, but the SEP IRA's simpler setup fits owners with employees.
0% Capital Gains Bracket: The Retirement Income Limits
For 2026, long-term gains are taxed at 0% if taxable income is at or below $98,900 married filing jointly, $49,450 single, or $66,200 head of household.
Social Security at 62, 67, or 70: A Tax-Smart Claiming Guide
There is no single right age. For high earners, a smart Social Security claiming strategy weighs longevity, taxes, and how your benefit fits your whole income plan.
What Is a Fiduciary Advisor? Definition and Why It Matters
A fiduciary financial advisor is legally required to act in your interest under the Investment Advisers Act. Which advisors that covers, and how to check.
Sequence of Returns Risk: Protecting Retirement Income
Sequence of returns risk in retirement means a market drop early in retirement can do lasting damage. The fix is structure: a protected income floor plus a growth layer.
Fiduciary vs Reg BI Best Interest: How to Tell the Difference
Fiduciary duty and Reg BI both require acting in your best interest. What differs is when the duty attaches, and which documents tell you which applies.
Multi-Family Office vs Financial Advisor: What's Different
In a multi-family office vs financial advisor, the difference is coordination: one fiduciary team manages tax, investments, retirement, and estate.
Tax Compliance vs Tax Strategy: What's the Difference?
Tax compliance is filing what you owe by the rules. Tax strategy is planning ahead to legally reduce what you owe. You need both, but most people only have one.
Can You Avoid Taxes on IRA Withdrawals? How to Reduce Them
To reduce taxes on IRA distributions, you control which accounts you draw from, when you draw, and how you sequence withdrawals across tax years.
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