Matt Bloom - Financial Advisor: Wells Fargo Advisors

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Matt Bloom - Financial Advisor: Wells Fargo Advisors, Financial service, 5613 DTC Parkway, Suite 1000, Greenwood Village, CO.

CFP® Professional with 20 years of experience helping successful professionals simplify financial complexity through wealth planning, investment management, retirement planning, and thoughtful long-term decision-making.

11/03/2026

Your child should not need a credit file yet.

But waiting until they apply for their first credit card to look at it can be years too late.

I have seen parents discover that someone used their child's Social Security Number to file a fraudulent tax return. In other cases, a child's identity has been used to open accounts that the family knew nothing about.

The problem is that neither you or your children are regularly checking your children's credit reports, applying for loans, or reviewing tax filings. This is a weakness many scammers prey on because it is not something that would even occur to most people. Children's information can be misused for years before anyone has a reason to notice.

We are just coming off Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the risks are becoming more difficult to ignore.

Artificial intelligence did not create identity theft, but it is making scams easier to personalize, more convincing, and less expensive to carry out on a large scale.

Protecting a child's identity may require some paperwork, but a few steps are worth considering:

-Check whether a credit file already exists with Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.
-Request a free credit freeze from each bureau. For children under 16, a parent or guardian can generally do this on their behalf.
-Consider an IRS Identity Protection PIN to help prevent someone from filing a federal tax return using the child's Social Security Number.
-Keep the freeze confirmations and identity documents somewhere secure so the freeze can be lifted when the child eventually needs credit.

Monitoring can alert you after suspicious activity appears but a freeze can make it more challenging for someone to open an account in the first place.

Do it before someone else establishes unnecessary credit for them.

10/29/2026

For decades during your working years, saving money feels responsible. Then retirement arrives and using that money feels irresponsible, even when your plan says otherwise.

I have seen this become one of the most difficult parts of the transition into retirement.

People spend their careers learning to save consistently, delay gratification, and avoid unnecessary withdrawals. A growing account balance becomes a source of progress and security.

Then the paycheck stops and withdrawals begin.

Even when a vacation, a new car, or gift to family fits comfortably within the plan, watching the balance decline can feel like a failure.

The same discipline that helped them build wealth can make it difficult to use that wealth.

A wealth plan can help determine what someone can reasonably afford. It cannot instantly undo habits reinforced over an entire lifetime. That requires a different kind of adjustment.

This does not mean spending without limits. It means recognizing that preserving every dollar indefinitely is not the only measure of financial success.

For lifelong savers, retirement requires a new skill: learning to use money thoughtfully without feeling as though they are losing control of it.

10/27/2026

My wife and I are updating our estate plan.

One thing this process has reinforced is that an estate plan can still be legally valid - and no longer reflect the life you are living.

Many people never create an estate plan. Others complete one, place the documents somewhere safe, and assume the work is finished.

But an estate plan captures your wishes and circumstances at a particular moment in time.

Since then:
-Children may have grown.
-Family relationships may have changed.
-The people named as guardians, executors, trustees, or agents may no longer be the right choices.
-Health care concerns or caregiving responsibilities may have changed.
-Laws may have changed.

Updating these documents is not particularly enjoyable. It requires thinking through incapacity, death, guardianship, and other situations most of us would rather believe are far in the future.

In that way, it reminds me of buying life insurance. You hope your family will not need it anytime soon but taking the possibility seriously is part of protecting the people who depend on you.

An estate plan should not simply describe the family and financial life you had when the documents were signed.

It should reflect the life you have today.

The peace of mind comes from knowing that if something unexpected happens, the people you love will not be left to make every difficult decision without guidance.

10/22/2026

Every quarter, I receive two the three phone calls from individuals trying to locate a retirement account from a job they left years ago.

They remember contributing. But they no longer remember who has the money or where to find it.

Maybe the former employer merged with another company or the plan provider changed. Perhaps you moved and forgot to update your address of record so the statements stopped arriving or maybe the account was simply forgotten during a job change.

The search has gotten easier.

The Department of Labor now offers a free Retirement Savings Lost and Found database. After verifying your identity through Login.gov, you can search for private-sector and union retirement plans associated with your social security number.

The database can provide contact information for the plan administrator so you have a place to begin.

There is an important limitation: finding a plan in the database does not necessarily mean money is still owed to you. The benefit may have already been paid, rolled over, or converted into an annuity. The plan administrator must confirm what, if anything, remains.

The tool also does not search for IRAs, government retirement plans or certain plans maintained by religious organizations.

Because anything involving "lost money" can attract scams, use only the official DOL site. They will not charge you a fee for this service.

You have worked hard to save. Make sure you don't lose track of it.

10/20/2026

Historically, employees could always choose whether they wanted to make pre-tax or Roth 401(k) contributions.

Starting this year, that is not the case for everyone.

Under SECURE 2.0, certain higher-paid employees age 50 or older must make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis.

For 2026, the rule generally applies to employees who earned more than $150k in wages last year.

The regular 2026 contribution limit is $24,500. Those contributions may still be made pre-tax, Roth, or through a combination of the two, depending on the plan. The Roth requirement applies to catch-up contributions made after reaching this limit.

That distinction can affect take-home pay. Roth contributions do not reduce current taxable income, so employees expecting all contributions to be pre-tax may see a different tax impact than anticipated.

Employees should confirm whether this rule applies to them, how their plan will administer it, and whether payroll elections or withholding will need to change.

A small change in how contributions are classified could have a meaningful effect on an employees paycheck and tax planning.

Wells Fargo Advisors does not provide tax or legal advice.

10/15/2026

One of the most common reasons parents hesitate to fund a 529 plan is simple: "What if my child doesn't go to college?"

It is a reasonable concern given the day and age we are living in.

But it is increasingly based on an outdated understanding of what a 529 can be used for.

A 529 is no longer simply a bet that your child will attend a traditional four-year college.

Depending on the circumstances, funds may be used for things such as:
-Vocational schools and other eligible postsecondary institutions.
-Registered apprenticeship programs
-Certain professional credentials and continued-education expenses
-Qualified elementary and secondary education expenses.

Under specific requirements, a portion of unused 529 funds may also be rolled into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary.

This does not eliminate the risk of overfunding the account, and it does not mean every available use will be appropriate for every family.

But it does change the planning conversation.

Children do not always follow the path their parents imagined when the account was opened. One may attend a four-year college. Another may pursue a trade or an entirely different form of education.

So instead of trying to guess if you think your child will go to college, a more useful approach would be to help your child prepare for whatever path comes next.

A 529 cannot remove all of the uncertainty but it may provide considerably more flexibility than many families realize.

#529

10/13/2026

I've been getting more questions about how the SECURE Act may affect the IRAs clients leave to their children.

A common assumption is that you have 10 years to empty an inherited IRA.

That may be true - but it may not tell the whole story.

The rules depend on factors such as:
-Who inherits the account;
-Whether the beneficiary is an eligible designated beneficiary;
-Whether the owner had begun required minimum distributions;
-Whether the account is traditional or Roth.

Some beneficiaries may have flexibility during the 10-year period. Others may need to take annual distributions.

The difference can create important tax-planning opportunities. Withdrawal timing may affect tax brackets, Medicare premiums, other income, and the ability to spread taxable income across multiple years.

Planning may also begin while the owner is still alive. Depending on the circumstances, it may be worth considering:
-Whether to begin withdrawals early;
-Whether partial Roth conversions make sense;
-How future required distributions affect taxes;
-Whether today's planning could reduce the tax burden for the next generation.

Two people can inherit similar IRAs in the same year, both be told they have 10 years, and still face different requirements.

The 10-year rule gives you a deadline. It does not, by itself, tell you when to withdraw, how much to take, or how to manage the tax consequences. Those decisions will vary person to person.

Wells Fargo Advisors does not provide tax or legal advice.

10/08/2026

Childcare is EXPENSIVE. But some working parents may now be able to pay for more of it with pre-tax dollars.

The annual dependent-care FSA limit increased from $5,000 to $7,500 per household for 2026. For married couples who file separately, the limit is lower. And in the coming weeks, we should soon hear about the new limits for 2027.

A dependent-care FSA allows eligible employees to set aside money from their paycheck before taxes to pay for qualifying care that allows them - and when applicable, their spouse - to work or look for work.

Depending on the circumstances, eligible expenses may include:
-Daycare and preschool;
-Before and after-school care;
-Summer day camp;
-A nanny or other in-home caregiver.

For families already spending well above $7,500 each year on childcare, the higher limit may create additional tax savings but the election is not automatic.

Open enrollment is around the corner so it may be worth confirming:
-If your employer's plan adopted the higher limit.
-How much you think your family expects to spend on eligible care next year.
-Whether both spouses satisfy the applicable earned-income rules.

Health insurance usually receives the most attention during open enrollment but for working parents, the dependent-care FSA may deserve an equally close look.

10/06/2026

Filing the FAFSA does not commit you or your child to borrowing a dollar.

Yet some families skip it because they have already decided they do not want student loans.

I think that is a mistake - not because every family should borrow, but because choosing not to file may also mean giving up the opportunity to be considered for aid that is not a loan.

Completing the FAFSA can help determine eligibility for grants, work-study, federal student loans and certain aid offered by states and colleges.

It is not a loan agreement.

Once the available aid is presented, your family can evaluate each option. You may accept certain forms of assistance, decline every loan offered or borrow less than the available amount.

You may ultimately decide that borrowing is not right for your family.

But why make that decision before you know what your options are.

Choosing not to borrow is one decision.

Choosing not to learn what may be available is another.

10/01/2026

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate.

That does not mean every rate you earn will rise or every rate you pay will change.

One of the most common misconceptions about a Fed rate increase is that all interest rates move together.

The Federal Reserve influences rates across the economy, but it does not directly set the rate on your savings account, CDs, mortgage, credit cards or lines of credit.

Each can respond differently.

For example, a fixed-rate mortgage will not change. An adjustable-rate mortgage may but only when it reaches a scheduled adjustment and according to the terms of the loan.

An existing CD will keep the same rate until it matures but new CD offerings may reflect the changing rate environment.

The rate on a savings account may also change, but not necessarily by the same amount or on the same schedule as the Fed's increase.

Instead of asking, "what does the Fed's decision mean for interest rates?", a more useful exercise is to look at the next 12 months and determine where you could be affected:

Which loans can reset? Which CDs will mature? Are any major purchases or borrowing needs approaching?

The headline tells you what happened to one rate.

The more important work is determining which of your rates and which of your upcoming decisions could actually be affected.

Address

5613 DTC Parkway, Suite 1000
Greenwood Village, CO
80111

Telephone

+13032009518

Website

https://fa.wellsfargoadvisors.com/Stude-Bloom/index.html

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