Advisor News Insight |
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News • AFRs • Recommended • Tools • Requirements • Featured • CE |
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INDUSTRY NEWS |
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Annuity Planning |
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Indexed Annuities Could Move Into Retirement Plans SoonAnnuity issuers could get a big new opportunity this year: Federal regulators could bless use of indexed annuities and variable annuities as “qualified longevity annuity contracts” and “qualified default investment alternatives” for retirement plans. Insurance regulation specialists at a Deloitte strategy center talk about the possibility in an insurance sector outlook report. (Allison Bell, Senior Reporter, ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, 01/21/2026) |
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Estate Planning |
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Estate-Planning Techniques in Volatile MarketsThis article explores key estate-planning strategies designed to provide stability, protect assets and ensure your client’s financial intentions are honored, regardless of what the market may bear, especially in down markets with high interest rates. Fluctuations in interest rates may materially affect the appropriate timing for implementing certain estate-planning strategies. Each month, the Treasury issues the short-term, mid-term and long-term applicable federal rates based on established interest rates. The Internal Revenue Code Section 7520 rate (120% mid-term AFR) is an important element to monitor for sophisticated estate-planning strategies for its use in calculating charitable contribution deductions and transfer taxes. Importantly for charitable trust planning, IRC Section 7520(a) allows a taxpayer to elect the Section 7520 rate for either of the two months preceding the month of the transfer. (Martin Behn, Partner, and Justin Hilton, Associate, Lathrop GPM, 04/23/2025) |
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Generation-Skipping What?Most clients are unfamiliar with the generation-skipping transfer tax. Yet for families seeking to transfer wealth to grandchildren or more remote descendants, the GST tax can impose a severe burden, especially considering this applies in addition to the estate tax. The GST tax operates as a backstop, ensuring wealth can’t escape taxation simply by skipping a generation. To better assist their clients, financial advisors should be familiar with the basics of the GST tax and the associated risks. (Samuel M. DiPietro, Senior Associate, Spencer Fane, 12/23/2025) |
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Who Will Inherit Gene Hackman’s $80M Estate?Details of late actor Gene Hackman’s will have been revealed, but there appear to be more questions than answers regarding who will get his rumored $80 million estate. The actor is said to have left his entire estate to his wife Betsy Arakawa, who was found dead alongside Hackman in their Santa Fe, N.M. home last month. News outlets report conflicting details regarding who stands to inherit Hackman's fortune. He leaves behind three adult children from a previous marriage. (Anna Sulkin Stern, Legal Editor, Trust & Estates Magazine, 03/19/2025) |
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IRA Planning |
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The Widow’s Tax Trap and RMDsPeople worry about taxation in retirement. In particular, they worry about the taxation of required minimum distributions (RMDs), especially after the death of a spouse. Widows find themselves in the single tax brackets after decades of enjoying the more favorable married filing jointly tax brackets. Widows and widowers finding themselves as single taxpayers is often referred to as the Widow’s Tax Trap. (Sean Mullaney, Financial Planner, President, Mullaney Financial & Tax, Inc., 01/05/2026) |
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Retirement Planning |
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Rethinking What Retirement Really MeansThe 2025 Annual Retirement Study from Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement captures this shift with unusual clarity. Americans’ confidence in their ability to financially support the life they want has dropped sharply over the past five years, even as retirement remains a top financial priority. The disconnect is striking people who care deeply about retirement, yet feel increasingly unprepared to navigate it. For advisors, this moment represents both a warning and an opportunity. (Allianz, 06/2025) |
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Roth IRA Planning |
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Making Sense of the Roth 401(k)-To-Roth IRA Rollover RulesOne of the most common retirement account transactions – rolling over Roth 401(k) funds to Roth IRAs – is also one of the most complicated tax-wise. That’s because the rollover involves two five-year holding periods, one for the Roth 401(k) distribution/rollover and the other for the eventual Roth IRA distribution. When you withdraw from a Roth IRA that contains dollars previously in a Roth 401(k), there are three pieces to consider. (Ian Berger, JD, IRA Analyst, Ed Slott and Company, LLC, 01/14/2026) |
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Social Security Planning |
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Revisiting the Social Security Claiming Puzzle: Behavioral Preferences as Rational Explanations for Early ClaimingNearly one-fourth of Americans claim Social Security at age 62, while only one-in-ten wait until age 70—a pattern that has long puzzled economists who argue delay is financially optimal. This paper develops a series of dynamic programming models to examine whether early claiming reflects mistakes or rational responses to preferences overlooked in standard analyses. (Derek Tharp, Associate Professor of Finance, University of Southern Maine, 12/18/2025) |
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Special Needs Planning |
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ABLE Updates for 2026For years, ABLE accounts have served as a unique estate and special needs planning tool for individuals and families. The rules are complex and ABLE accounts do have limitations. Beginning January 1, 2026, the ABLE Adjustment Act amended a section the ABLE Act to raise the cutoff age to 46. So, people who become disabled before 46 now qualify for ABLE Act accounts. This change presents new opportunities and possibilities for countless individuals and families across the country. (Brandon Yim, Fleming & Curti, PLC., 01/04/2026) |
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Tax Planning |
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A Guide to Restricted Stock Units (RSUs): Key Points You Must KnowRestricted stock units (RSUs) are the most common type of equity compensation granted by companies. While RSUs are a valuable benefit for employees, they require planning. Help your clients to understand their vesting schedule, tax planning, and help them plan what they will do with the shares after they are delivered, among other key points covered by this article. (Editorial Team, myStockOptions, 01/2026) |
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Three Tax Law Changes To Factor Into Your 2026 PlanningThe One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, ushered in significant federal tax changes. Below are several key provisions ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families and individuals should consider as they evaluate their tax and estate planning strategies for the new year. (Angelica Russell-Johnson, Senior Associate Wealth Strategist, and Les Carter, Partner & Advisor, Gresham Partners, LLC, 01/15/2026) |
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Watch Out for These 6 Tax Traps in 2026Here are six potential tax traps for advisors and clients to be aware of as we head into tax filing season and prepare for the year ahead. To be sure, there is more to financial planning than avoiding taxes, and some of these tax hits can’t be avoided. But forewarned is forearmed. (Roger Wohlner, Financial Writer, 01/20/2026) |
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What the new tax bill means for Roth conversionsKey takeaways.
(Fidelity® Wealth Management, 01/16/2026) |
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Practice Management |
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Amid Speedy AI Adoption, RIAs Seek Guidance From Their Firms, Schwab SaysAs artificial intelligence swiftly spreads across the advisory practice, there remains one critical area of financial advisors’ workflow that AI has yet to infiltrate in any meaningful way – investment decisions and financial planning. And it could be a while before the nascent technology breaches that wall. Indeed, in its recent polling of 533 independent registered advisors, Charles Schwab found that 63% of them now use AI in some capacity, more than doubling the percentage who told Schwab in 2023 they were utilizing the technology. (Christopher C. Williams, Senior Writer, Financial Advisor Magazine, 01/26/2026) |
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Your Client Has Been Hacked Big Time--What Do You Do Now?Thousands of families are attacked every day by cybercriminals. Cybercrime has become so pervasive that the average U.S. citizen is far likelier to be victimized online than offline. We see this almost daily, because someone shows up on our doorstep looking for help. Although our business is preventive, our culture is about protecting families from online thugs, so we help these lost souls on a pro-bono basis regardless of whether they are one of our clients. Among the people in their 60s or 70s we usually see, the damage from a breach varies but can often be in the $500,000 area. What steps do you take? (Mark Hurley, CEO of Digital Privacy & Protection, and Marcus Anderson-Valencia, Partner-in-Charge of Breach Remediation, Digital Privacy & Protection, 01/06/2026) |
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ASSUMED FEDERAL RATES (AFRs) |
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§7520 Rate for February is: 4.60% |
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RECOMMENDED READING |
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ADVISOR TOOLS |
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Free 2026 Federal Income Tax and
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Financial / Insurance Calculators & WebsitesDiscover a wealth of online calculators and informational websites tailored to your needs. Our extensive resources cover essential areas such as financial planning, retirement calculations, investment analysis, and insurance needs assessment, empowering you to provide comprehensive guidance and services to your clients. |
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STATE REQUIREMENT UPDATES |
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FEATURED COURSE(S) |
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CE Credits
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B.E.S.T. CE PROGRAMS |
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CFP® Ethics CE WebinarJoin Us for Our Upcoming Live Webinar and
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Webinar Consists of the Following2-hour live webinar presentation: CFP Ethics A Practical Application of CFP Board’s Code and Standards (Course#: 277681) - No exam required. This webinar is approved by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. and fulfills the requirement for CFP Board approved Ethics CE. It is designed to educate CFP® professionals on CFP Board’s new Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. This webinar presentation does NOT include state insurance CE credit. |
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Pricing Options
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NOTE: Additional fee includes CFP Board fee of $1.25 per credit hour/per student. If you add IAR CE credits, there is also an additional IAR’s governing board filing fee of $3.00 per credit hour/per student. (IAR CE credits are approved in the states that have adopted the NASAA Model Regulations.) Registering includes the following three web pages: (each may open in a separate window)
NOTE: Do not close any of your web pages / browsers |
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CFP®: This webinar is approved by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. and fulfills the requirement for CFP Board approved Ethics CE. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP®, and CFP® in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. IWI: Investments & Wealth Institute® (IWI) has accepted this CFP® Ethics webinar for 2 hours of CE credit towards the IWI certifications. (CIMA®, CPWA® and RMA®) NASAA (IAR) Disclaimer: “NASAA does not endorse any particular provider of CE courses. The content of the course and any views expressed are my/our own and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASAA or any of its member jurisdictions.” |
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IAR Ethics Virtual Super CE ProgramJoin Us for Our Upcoming Live Webinar and
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Program Consists of the Following:
This presentation is designed to present financial and insurance professionals with the ethical practices and standards required when conducting business in their state. This course is designed to meet the mandatory 6-hour CE credit requirement under the Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Investment Adviser Representatives (IARs). Requires you to spend 6 hours of reading and reviewing the self-study course material PRIOR to taking the exam. The 60-question exam requires an invite code that is given to all attendees during the live webinar presentation. To receive CE credit, advisors must obtain a passing grade of 70% or higher. If the exam is not passed on the first attempt, students have two (2) additional retakes for a maximum of three (3) attempts. |
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Pricing Options
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NOTE: Additional fee includes IAR’s governing board filing fee of $3.00 per credit hour/per student. If you add CFP CE credits, there is also an additional CFP Board fee of $1.25 per credit hour/per student. (IAR CE credits are only available for states that have adopted the NASAA Model Regulations.) NASAA (IAR) Disclaimer: “NASAA does not endorse any particular provider of CE courses. The content of the course and any views expressed are my/our own and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASAA or any of its member jurisdictions.” |
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