September 2026

Annuities and pensions get compared constantly, but most people asking this question aren’t actually deciding whether to buy an annuity. They’re deciding what to do with a pension they already have, usually a one-time choice between a lump sum and a monthly payment for life. That’s a pension election, and it’s a different decision than […]

Once you’ve decided guaranteed income makes sense for your retirement plan, the next question is which annuity type actually fits. Before John Shedenhelm’s team recommends any specific contract, they run it through six questions, starting with the one most buyers never think to ask: what’s the guaranteed-minimum illustration, not just the projected one? Start Here

Wealth transfer strategies used to start with one question: how do we get assets out of the estate before tax applies? Now, with a $15 million per person exemption, we start with a different question first: would gifting this asset now actually cost your family more in income tax than it saves in estate tax?

Estate planning strategies to reduce estate taxes look different than they did a decade ago. With the federal estate tax exemption now a permanent $15 million per person, most families don’t actually have an estate tax problem anymore. The bigger risk today is usually income tax and losing the step-up in basis, not the estate

Minimizing taxes when you sell your business depends more on decisions made in the letter of intent than on anything your CPA can do at closing. Purchase price allocation, the line item that decides how much of your sale price is taxed as capital gains versus ordinary income, is negotiable, and it belongs in the

Business exit planning should start three to five years before you actually sell, not the year you decide you’re ready. John Shedenhelm’s team uses a simple gut check to see if an owner is starting late: can you take a two-week vacation without the business falling apart? Why So Many Owners Wait Too Long Most

Choosing between a SEP IRA, a solo 401(k), and a defined benefit plan comes down to one question before any other: how many employees do you have? John Shedenhelm’s team sorts every business owner into a plan type by headcount first, then refines from there based on income and savings goals. Why Headcount Comes Before

Financial planning for business owners starts with one question most owners have never really answered: where does the business end and your personal wealth begin? Before John Shedenhelm’s team builds a plan for a business-owning client, they run a simple two-column test to find out. Why Business Owners Need a Different Kind of Plan A

A backdoor Roth conversion lets high earners get money into a Roth IRA even when their income is too high to contribute directly. It works by contributing to a non-deductible traditional IRA, then converting that money to a Roth. Before we ever recommend one, John Shedenhelm’s team checks a single number first: your total pre-tax