Robert H Louis

November 28, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

In a prior article, I discussed options for retirement plan and IRA distributions. This is a complex subject, one that requires the coordination of financial and tax planning. While some people will outlive their retirement accounts, many will not, leaving a balance to be distributed to beneficiaries.

By Robert H. Louis

11 minute read

August 28, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

This article and another to follow later in the year review some of the basic rules of retirement distributions. Start with Social Security benefits. As discussed previously, there are options as to when you begin receiving Social Security benefits, basically from age 62 to age 70.

By Robert H. Louis

8 minute read

May 23, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

I recently spoke at a Pennsylvania Bar Institute program titled "Retirement Planning for Attorneys," for which Bill Adler of Harrisburg and I were the course planners. We have done this program a number of times, and I have done similar programs for the Pennsylvania Bar Association and various estate planning councils with Lancaster lawyer Dick Greiner. I have spent a lot of time talking with, as well as to, lawyers thinking about retirement, and lawyers who have retired and lived to tell about it. Based on a large number of such discussions, there is a chasm between those approaching or already at retirement ages, but who are still working, and those who have retired.

By Robert H. Louis

8 minute read

February 17, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

I once asked a retired partner from my firm what surprised him most about retirement. He said it was the amount of time he spent on the telephone dealing with health insurance issues.

By Robert H. Louis

10 minute read

November 28, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

I had the honor of attending the 25th anniversary of a client in the chemicals and coatings business last week. One of the speakers noted that the company's work in reproductive technology could be directly traced to the birth of 20,000 children: quite a legacy. But the story of this company illustrates what I've been writing about for a while: the meaning of retirement today.

By Robert H. Louis

8 minute read

May 24, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A long-term project of the U.S. Department of Labor resulted in the issuance in April of new rules on who is considered a fiduciary of retirement plans and IRAs. Fiduciary status is important because it imposes a high standard of behavior when dealing with investors. Since the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in 1974, there has been continual litigation on the requirements imposed on fiduciaries, and ­significant recoveries for those whom courts find had not been treated properly.

By Robert H. Louis

6 minute read

April 21, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

How should we advise business owners to prepare for retirement and for the transition of business ownership? The answer to this question probably calls for types of expertise in addition to those provided by lawyers.

By Robert H. Louis

8 minute read

December 21, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

There are really two issues that are causing this problem, not only in the law firm referenced in the report, but in many others.

By Robert H. Louis

6 minute read

December 21, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

There are really two issues that are causing this problem, not only in the law firm referenced in the report, but in many others.

By Robert H. Louis

6 minute read

September 22, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

One important characteristic of the generation currently approaching retirement that distinguishes it from earlier generations is the amount of discretionary wealth controlled. Earlier generations participated more broadly in defined benefit pension plans, which provide a monthly payment but do not put the funds producing the pension benefit under the retiree's control for investment purposes. The advent of 401(k) plans changed the retirement landscape to one in which retirement assets are in the form of accounts, as contrasted to a monthly payment.

By Robert H. Louis

4 minute read