Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Q&A

Q&A: Federal estate tax exemption

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Dear Liz: You mentioned that the federal estate tax exemption limit this year is $5.49 million per person. Can I double that if married?

Answer: Essentially, yes. Married couples can double the amount that can be given or bequeathed to heirs tax free. If one spouse doesn’t use up his or her exemption, the surviving spouse can use the remaining amount in addition to the surviving spouse’s own exemption.

You also should know that you can leave an unlimited amount of money to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen. (The rules for non-citizen spouses are different and could fill a whole column on their own.) This is known as the unlimited marital deduction.

Q&A: What to do when a financial planner gives bad advice

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Dear Liz: I personally like my fee-only financial advisor, who has been managing my portfolio (gained as inheritance) for the last six years. But she has me invested in bonds and gold only and insists that we wait until stock prices fall to get back in the stock market. We have been waiting for six years! My portfolio was not making much but now is declining with projections of interest rates increasing and the new administration’s potential financial implications. My current balance is only half of what it could’ve been had I stayed in my previous portfolio, set up by my previous advisor, of 60% stocks and 40% bonds. Is it time to change advisors again, or should I continue to trust my advisor’s advice? I’m one to five years away from retirement.

Answer: Your advisor is trying to time the market, despite ample evidence that market timing doesn’t work. You’ve missed out on a lot of growth, and your portfolio could take an outsized hit because bond prices suffer when interest rates rise. Big investments in gold are also problematic, given how volatile the prices of this commodity can be.

Increasing your stock exposure now comes with its own risks, of course, since the long-running bull market could end at any time. Still, you almost certainly will need the inflation-beating growth that only stocks can offer if you want a comfortable retirement. If your advisor isn’t willing to admit that she blew it, then you may want to start interviewing her replacement.

Q&A: Will paying off collections help credit scores?

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Dear Liz: I have a question about clearing up collections on my credit reports. I used a credit repair company that did help me with most of the setbacks on my credit reports, but I still had collections that were recent and my scores were going up and down. The credit repair company left me to deal with the collections. Will it hurt my scores if I pay them off, and is there a way to get them off my report for good?

Answer: Paying off the collections shouldn’t hurt your scores, but probably won’t help them either. You can try to negotiate with the collection agency to stop reporting the collection accounts in return for payment, something known as “pay for delete” or “pay for deletion,” but debt experts say few agencies will agree to do that.

Plus paying off collections is more complicated than it may seem. Many agencies pay pennies on the dollar for collection accounts, which means virtually anything you pay them is pure profit. That means you should be able to negotiate a significant discount of 50% or more if you can pay in full.

However, not all collectors are ethical. Some pretend to own debts they actually don’t, so any payment to them is money down the drain. Other agencies will re-sell any debt you don’t pay in full to another collection agency, which means more collection calls.

Before you attempt to settle any collection account, visit DebtCollectionAnswers.com and download the free e-book written by consumer advocates Gerri Detweiler and Mary Reed.

Q&A: These heirs worry their parents aren’t doing enough to minimize estate taxes

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Dear Liz: My parents, ages 75 and 76, have established an irrevocable gift trust for my five siblings and me. Wonderful! With the single trust, they have maxed out their lifetime gifting exemption. What else can they do with their other investments to minimize the inevitable estate taxes that will come with their deaths? They have lived a frugal life of caution and reserve, but before their nest egg can be distributed to their heirs, the government will extract millions of dollars.

Answer: If your parents maxed out their lifetime gift exemption, that means they contributed more than $10 million to the trust. It also probably means they employed an estate-planning attorney, since such trusts aren’t typically do-it-yourself projects. If that’s the case, the attorney probably has reviewed with them their other options for minimizing taxes.

They could, for example, give each sibling $28,000 ($14,000 from each parent) each year — and make similar gifts to each sibling’s spouse and children, if they were so inclined. This annual exemption limit is separate from the lifetime gifting exemption they’ve already used. If each of you is married with two kids, that would move $672,000 out of their combined estates each year.

Another way to move money out of their taxable estate, either now or at their deaths, is to donate to charities.

If they opt not to take further steps, you can take comfort in the fact that the top estate tax rate is 40%, which means the bulk of their estate will still reach their heirs. Also keep in mind that you’re in rare company — only about two estates out of 1,000 are large enough to trigger an estate tax return, now that exemption limits have been raised to $5.49 million a person.

Q&A: Social Security benefits for children

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Dear Liz: My older brothers-in-law signed up for Social Security benefits at 62 and then suspended their benefits so that their children, who were under 18, could receive 50% of their checks. Is this process still available at age 62 for those with children who are below the age of 18?

Answer: In order for family members to receive spousal or child benefits based on the primary earner’s work record, that primary earner has to be receiving his or her own benefit.

In the past, people who had reached full retirement age — which used to be 65, is now 66 and is rising to 67 — had the option of immediately suspending their applications so their family could receive benefits while their own continued to grow. The “file and suspend” option was not available to people who applied for benefits before their full retirement age. And now it’s no longer available period, thanks to Congress.

If you do apply for your benefit early, keep in mind that your checks — and your children’s checks — will be subject to the earnings test. That reduces Social Security benefits by $1 for every $2 you earn over $16,920 in 2017. (The earnings test goes away at full retirement age.) Your benefit also will be reduced to reflect the early start.

Also, there’s a limit to how much a family can receive based on the worker’s record. The family maximum can be from 150% to 180% of the parent’s full benefit amount.

If you’re still working and your children will be younger than 18 by the time you reach full retirement age, it may make sense to wait until then to apply. To know for sure, though, you should use one of the calculators that takes child benefits into account, such as MaximizeMySocialSecurity.com.

Q&A: Advice for an investing newcomer

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Dear Liz: I am not versed at all in money matters. I have no clue where to invest or even if I should invest. I have $5,000 squirreled away that I am totally comfortable investing for 12 months because I feel I would have no need for it before then. Can you make a suggestion where I should put it to make a safe return?

Answer: An FDIC-insured bank account.

Investing requires a longer time horizon and a willingness to risk losing some of your principal. If you can’t do either, you need to stick with low-risk, low-reward options.