Darla Mercado

Darla Mercado writes about retirement issues and products, including taxes, annuities and 401(k) plans. She welcomes feedback and tips from readers on interesting topics. Outside of the newsroom, Darla spends her time inline skating, biking, running and swimming. She Tweets at: @Darla_Mercado

Darla Mercado
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RETIREMENT TAX MAY 18, 2014
Tax strategies for high-net-worth retirees are aplenty

Simplifying strategies and balancing clients' assets across different accounts with different tax treatments can help HNW retirees.

RETIREMENT RETIREMENT PLANNING MAY 16, 2014
New Yorkers face grueling new state estate taxes

Changes have some considering switching states – but be warned that that takes careful planning

RETIREMENT RETIREMENT PLANNING MAY 14, 2014
DOL proposes 401(k) fee disclosure guide

The Department of Labor, headed by Thomas Perez, aims to assist plan sponsors understand costs after 2012 regulations pushed for more disclosure. The solution? A fee road map. Skeptics warn the map could be as complicated as the disclosure.

YOUR PRACTICE PRACTICE MANAGEMENT MAY 12, 2014
When love won't keep them together

With the number of late-life divorces expected to surge, advisers, attorneys and tax experts face new pressures to ensure sustainable retirement income for clients.

YOUR PRACTICE PRACTICE MANAGEMENT MAY 11, 2014
Goals-based planning takes flight

A confluence of changing client demographics and challenging investment environments has forced many advisers to shift their focus from being stock jockeys to holistic planners — and this evolution is bleeding into all of the advice channels.

YOUR PRACTICE WOMEN ADVISOR COMMUNITY MAY 04, 2014
Women CFPs satisfied with careers, but bias remains rampant

Gender bias is alive and well in the financial advisory industry, and though eliminating it will be a monumental effort, everyone can play a role to ensure aspiring women advisers thrive.

RETIREMENT RETIREMENT PLANNING MAY 01, 2014
Health savings accounts: Transforming health care, forcing hard choices

Advisers have found themselves helping clients figure out how to fund long-term retirement savings and short-term medical expenses, and it hasn't been easy.

RETIREMENT RETIREMENT PLANNING MAY 01, 2014
Mountains of paperwork make 401(k) transfers a tough hill to climb

Moving money from one record keeper to another so hard that some clients give up and stay put.

RETIREMENT RETIREMENT PLANNING APR 30, 2014
DeWaay settles with Labor Department over retirement plan recommendations

Adviser agrees to pay more than $500,000 over ERISA violations.

RETIREMENT RETIREMENT PLANNING APR 30, 2014
New flavor of outsourced fiduciary for retirement plans hits the market

ERISA 3(16) fiduciary plan administrator business is growing, but plan sponsors need to watch out for traps.