Kingdom Guard Financial Group

10/18/2026

MYTH: “Whatever my will says is what happens to my accounts.”

FACT: Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and TOD/POD accounts typically override what's written in your will. An outdated beneficiary form can undo years of careful estate planning.

When did you last check your beneficiaries? Let's review them together.

10/17/2026

Honest poll:

A) Yes, and it's current
B) I have one, but it's old
C) I've been meaning to get one
D) I don't have one at all

Wherever you land, next week is a great time to fix it — it's National Estate Planning Awareness Week

Vote below!

General education only. We do not provide legal services.

10/16/2026

Quick reminder as AEP continues: your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums can be higher based on your income from two years prior, thanks to IRMAA.

It's one more reason retirement income decisions and healthcare planning need to be looked at together, not separately.

Want your income and Medicare costs reviewed together? Let's talk.

10/15/2026

If you own investments outside your retirement accounts, an investment that’s down isn’t only bad news. Before the year ends, it may be worth a closer look.

What tax-loss harvesting is: You sell an investment in a regular (taxable) account that’s worth less than you paid for it. That creates a loss on paper, and that loss can offset gains you’ve taken elsewhere that year. Under current federal rules, if your losses are bigger than your gains, you can use a limited amount (up to $3,000 for most filers) against your regular income. Any loss left over can carry forward to future years.

Three things people often don’t know:
1. It only works in taxable accounts. Losses inside retirement accounts don’t count for this.
2. The wash-sale rule. If you buy the same or a “substantially identical” investment within 30 days before or after you sell, the loss is disallowed for now. This can apply even when the repurchase happens in a different account you control.
3. Timing. To count for this tax year, the sale has to happen by the last trading day of the year.

The honest part: This often delays taxes more than it erases them. If you buy something similar to stay invested, your new starting cost is lower, so a future gain could be bigger. Selling may also mean stepping away from an investment you still want to own. And for some people, especially in lower tax brackets, the benefit may be small or nothing at all.

For the households we do planning with, this is part of a review we do every fall, before the year closes, so it gets looked at alongside everything else in the plan.

Save this one for your year-end to-do list, or share it with someone who has investments outside their retirement accounts.

Neither United Planners nor its financial professionals render tax advice. Please also consult with your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.

10/14/2026

Most people saving for retirement know how much they've saved. Very few know how much of it will still remain after taxes, for them or for the people they leave it to.

Every dollar you set aside for later lands in one of three tax buckets:

Bucket 1: Tax later. This covers most workplace retirement plans and traditional IRAs. You skip the tax now and pay income tax when the money comes out.

Bucket 2: Tax now, not later. These are Roth accounts. You pay the tax up front. Later, withdrawals can come out tax-free, as long as you meet the rules.

Bucket 3: Tax as you go. This is a regular investment account or savings. You pay some tax each year, and you can usually get to the money with fewer strings attached.

Having money in more than one bucket gives you more choices about where each withdrawal comes from in retirement.

But there's a final layer most plans skip: what happens when these accounts pass to your heirs. Each bucket is treated differently.

Tax-later accounts: Your heirs generally pay income tax on what they take out. Under current rules, many heirs have to empty an inherited account within about 10 years. That can land a large tax bill during their own working years.
Roth accounts: These often pass with withdrawals that can be tax-free for heirs, if the rules are met. Timing rules can still apply.
Regular investment accounts: Under current rules, these generally get a new starting value when they're inherited. That can shrink or wipe out the tax on growth that built up during your lifetime.

So two accounts with the same balance can be worth very different amounts to the people who inherit them.

The honest part: No bucket is "the good one." Setting things up for your heirs can mean paying more tax yourself today, and your own retirement has to come first. Not everyone's goal is to leave money behind, and that's okay. These are today's rules, and your situation is your own.

When we build a plan, we look at all three layers: how you save, how you'll draw it out, and how it would pass on.

If you'd like to talk through how your accounts fit together, you're welcome to call our office at 814-208-4080.

Withdrawals from a Traditional IRA prior to age 59 ½ will be subject to ordinary income tax and may also incur a 10% penalty tax unless an exception applies. Contributions to a Roth account may be subject to income limitations. You may take nontaxable withdrawals from a Roth IRA if you are at least 59 ½ and the account has been held at least 5 years. Otherwise, earnings withdrawn may be subject to ordinary income tax and a 10% penalty.

10/13/2026

That risk questionnaire you filled out asked how you feel about risk. It probably didn’t ask what your situation can actually handle. Those are two different things, and mixing them up causes a lot of trouble.

Risk comfort is how you react when your account drops during a rough stretch. Do you sleep fine? Do you check the app five times a day? Do you want to sell everything?

Risk capacity is what your life can absorb. That depends on:
When you’ll need the money
How steady your income is
Whether you have emergency savings set aside
What else you own

These two don’t always line up. Someone with a long timeline and a steady job might have plenty of capacity but very little comfort. Someone who loves a big swing might need that money in three years, so they have high comfort but low capacity.

Why this matters: A plan you abandon in the middle of a bad market isn’t much of a plan. Selling in a panic turns a drop on paper into a real one, and deciding when to get back in is its own hard call.

A few honest questions to ask yourself:
Have you been invested through a big drop before? What did you actually do, not what you think you’d do?
When will you need this money?
Could you cover a surprise expense without touching your investments?

The tradeoff: Picking a calmer, lower-risk mix usually means giving up some growth potential over time. Picking a higher-risk mix means bigger swings along the way. No mix removes risk. It just changes which kind you’re carrying.

When we help someone set their investment mix, we look at both sides: how you feel about risk and what your situation can handle. We put more weight on what you’ve actually done in past rough markets than on how you answer a questionnaire.

What’s harder for you: watching your account drop, or sitting on the sidelines while it climbs? Tell us in the comments.

Send a message to learn more

10/10/2026

For a lot of retirees, home equity is one of the largest — and most overlooked — assets in the entire plan.

Whether it's downsizing, a HELOC, or a reverse mortgage, real estate can play a real role in a withdrawal strategy. It doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing decision.

Curious how your home fits into your bigger plan? Let's talk.

10/09/2026

Honest question: would having a guaranteed paycheck for life — on top of Social Security — help you sleep better at night?

A) Absolutely, peace of mind matters
B) Not really, I'd rather have full market flexibility
C) Depends on the cost/trade-off

No wrong answer here — it's genuinely a personal call.

Vote below — curious where our community lands on this one.

10/08/2026

If a big chunk of your retirement plan is “sell the business,” you need an actual valuation — not a guess based on what you've heard other businesses sold for.

Valuation methods vary widely by industry, and the number matters enormously for tax planning, timing, and your realistic retirement date.

Haven't had your business valued recently? Let's start there.

10/07/2026

An umbrella policy sits on TOP of your existing home and auto insurance, adding extra liability protection once your regular limits are maxed out.

It's inexpensive relative to the protection it provides — and it can be the difference between an accident being a headache or a financial catastrophe.

Curious if you have enough liability protection? Let's review it.