Worksheets, references, and a plain-English glossary.

Print-friendly planning tools.

Each link below opens a page designed to print cleanly from your browser (use ⌘P / Ctrl-P → "Save as PDF" to keep a copy). No downloads required.

The terms that come up most often.

Twenty terms that show up across our conversations. If a word in a recommendation isn't clear, it should be here. If it's not, please ask.

AGI / MAGI

Adjusted Gross Income / Modified AGI. The tax-return numbers that drive eligibility for many tax provisions, including Roth IRA contributions and IRMAA Medicare premium surcharges.

Asset allocation

The mix of stocks, bonds, cash, and other categories in a portfolio. Usually the single biggest driver of long-term return and volatility, more than individual security selection.

Beneficiary designation

The form on file with a retirement account or insurance policy naming who inherits the asset. Beneficiary designations override your will for those specific accounts.

BrokerCheck

FINRA's free public record of registered investment professionals. Anyone can verify Alan's record at CRD #4213860.

Custodian

The institution that actually holds your investment assets. For Alan's clients, that's Charles Schwab & Company. The advisor advises; the custodian holds.

Fiduciary

A legal standard requiring an advisor to act in the client's best interest. Applies to advisory engagements (RIA activity), not necessarily to all brokerage transactions.

IRMAA

Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. A Medicare premium surcharge that kicks in when your income (two years prior) crosses certain thresholds. Cross by one dollar and the surcharge applies for the full year.

Lump sum vs. annuity

The pension election choice between taking a one-time payout (lump sum) versus a monthly check for life (annuity). One of the most consequential single decisions in a working life.

NUA

Net Unrealized Appreciation. A tax provision that lets long-tenured employees with employer stock in a 401(k) pay ordinary income tax on the cost basis only, with appreciation taxed at lower capital-gains rates.

QCD

Qualified Charitable Distribution. A direct IRA-to-charity transfer (available at 70½+) that satisfies your RMD without the income ever showing on your tax return.

RIA

Registered Investment Adviser. A firm registered with the SEC or state regulator to provide investment advice. Held to the fiduciary standard for advisory work.

RMD

Required Minimum Distribution. The annual amount you must withdraw from tax-deferred retirement accounts starting at age 73 (under SECURE Act 2.0). Failure to take the full RMD triggers a 25% penalty.

Roth conversion

Voluntarily moving money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) to a Roth IRA. You pay tax on the converted amount in the year of conversion; the money then grows tax-free with no future RMDs.

SECURE Act 2.0

The 2022 retirement-account legislation that raised the RMD age (to 73, eventually 75), expanded Roth options inside employer plans, and adjusted many inherited-IRA rules.

Sequence of returns

The order in which investment returns happen. Doesn't matter during accumulation; matters enormously during retirement withdrawals — bad early returns can permanently damage a portfolio.

Standard deduction

The flat deduction available on a federal tax return without itemizing. Since 2018 it has been high enough that most retirees no longer itemize, which changes the math on mortgage interest and charitable deductions.

Tax-deferred vs. tax-free

Traditional IRA / 401(k) money is tax-deferred — you didn't pay tax going in but will when you withdraw. Roth IRA / Roth 401(k) money is tax-free — you paid tax going in and pay nothing on growth or withdrawal.

Term vs. permanent insurance

Term life: covers a fixed period (10, 20, 30 years) at lower cost. Permanent (whole, universal, variable): covers your whole life and builds cash value; higher cost. Different tools for different goals.

Variable annuity

An insurance contract whose value varies with market sub-account performance, often with optional living-benefit riders. Distinct from fixed annuities, which guarantee a stated interest rate.

Will vs. living trust

A will directs how assets pass at death; a living trust holds assets during your lifetime and directs them at death (with the benefit of avoiding probate). Different tools for different families; not mutually exclusive.