ANNUITY SALES In March of 2005 in our article The Perfect Mark we chronicled two cases of banks taking advantage of senior citizens through the use of local branches and tellers. The scam perpetrated by Citizens Bank was as dubious as they come. Tellers at the bank earned compensation on a point system by referring […]
What if Congress in their infinite ability to pander and demagogue decided on passing a law setting a minimum price on used cars? For arguments sake let’s say $20,000. Here is the deal…If you have an old rust-bucket VW van that still reeks of a popular contraband and want to trade it in for the […]
Earlier this past year I was at a dinner party hosted by my friends and Godparents to my daughter, the Corcoran’s. Dinner parties at the Corcoran’s are great fun unless of course you are dieting. It is nearly impossible to articulate the quality and quantity of food that is served at Corcoran events but, put […]
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 was signed into law on August 17, 2006 (PPA). The PPA brings some of the most widespread and significant changes to pension law since the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Not only does the PPA deal with pension plans, but defined contribution plans as well as […]
The Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) is one of the most useful tax-deferred retirement plans available to small companies. The SIMPLE allows for the employer and key employees maximum contributions while not necessitating the same from other workers. Self-employed individuals may have SIMPLE plans as well as small-business owners with less than 100 […]
According to the Vanguard Center for Retirement Research and the Wharton School’s Pension Research Council, Americans are letting their retirement nest eggs sit without any proper attention. The study finds that investors do not do enough to diversify their savings. The extensive study looked at more than five million people with employer-sponsored defined contribution plans […]
I love watching my son build sand castles. The determination in his face while turning over buckets of sand, the carving of tunnels with his plastic shovel, the intricate moats to keep the “bad guys” out, is priceless. I realized something while watching my son spend so much time and effort on his castle. Stephen […]
I couldn’t believe my eyes this past month when I saw the infamous Henry Blodget being quoted as expert on American Online and their new foray into making their service free. This guy has more lives than Jason Voorhees. I cannot understand for the life of me why the Wall Street Journal would go to […]
In a story reminiscent of the classic Tommy Flannigan Pathological Liar character on Saturday Night Live played by Jon Lovitz. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Frank S. Marone, pathological liar extraordinaire. This guy would give old Tommy Flannigan a run for his money. The New York Post reported that a former Merrill Lynch stock […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission held it’s first ever Senior Summit on July 17 to discuss what we have been reporting on and warning people about for years, the widespread abuse of senior citizens by crooked brokers and so-called investment advisors. SEC chairman Christopher Cox actually used some of the fire and brimstone language that […]