Insights
Articles on retirement decisions facing Long Island households.
Latest articles
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The service cliff in the Tier 4 teacher pension, explained
How the NYSTRS teacher pension formula changes at the service cliff, why months of credit can matter, and what to verify before you file to retire.
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Pension or the SUNY ORP: the one-time choice at Stony Brook
Some Stony Brook Medicine staff choose once between a state pension and the SUNY Optional Retirement Program. What each promises and where the rules live.
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The household that owes New York $721,694 and nothing to the IRS
A paid-off house, two retirement accounts, a brokerage account, a term policy and a Florida condominium. No federal estate tax at all. A New York bill of $721,694,…
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New York adds gifts back for three years, and never asks what you were thinking
New York has no gift tax, but it adds taxable gifts made in the last three years back into the estate, with four exceptions and one limit that…
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Medicare open enrollment starts October 15. The premium question was settled two years ago
From October 15 to December 7 you can change Medicare Advantage and Part D coverage for 2027. What you cannot change in that window is your income-related premium,…
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Turning 73 this year? Your first required withdrawal has two deadlines
If you were born in 1953 you reach 73 in 2026. The first required minimum distribution can wait until April 1, 2027, but waiting means two taxable withdrawals…
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The Social Security COLA is announced in October. Here is what it will and will not tell you
Every October, Social Security sets the next year’s cost-of-living adjustment from the third-quarter inflation figures. The number is worth knowing and easy to over-read. What is inside it,…
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A $20,000 Roth conversion New York does not tax: the pension exclusion before December 31
Each New York taxpayer 59½ or older may subtract up to $20,000 a year of pension, annuity and IRA income, and a Roth conversion qualifies. For a household…
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Rates went up this year. Your pension lump-sum offer probably went down
Corporate plans convert a monthly pension into a lump sum using IRS segment rates. Those rates rose through 2026, which makes next year’s lump-sum offers smaller for the…
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Retiring from NYSLRS in 2027? The application window is 15 to 90 days, and the option deadline is tighter than you think
The New York State and Local Retirement System accepts a service retirement application no more than 90 days and no fewer than 15 days before the date you…
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