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Rubric for Assessment
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the Rubric for Assessment.
Topic Resources
- Why you should opt for Social Security lump sum payments Link
- Social Security ‘break-even’ calculations can be misleading Link
- America Is Running Out of Family Caregivers Link
- What Is The Best Age To Apply For Social Security? Link
- Benefits of Tax Planning, today and tomorrow Link
- Implication of behavioral finance Link
- Financial Navigating in the Current Economy Link
Essay Topics
- Why are employees who chose to not participate in their employer sponsored retirement plans creating the biggest barrier to a successful retirement. (Retirement Planning)
- What are the most egregious mistakes individuals make that impact their ability to accumulate wealth? (Financial Security)
- Why are so many lump sum inheritances/windfalls squandered shortly after receipt? (Estate Planning and Behavioral Finance)
- How to set healthy financial boundaries for adult children. (Personal Development/Elder Abuse)
- What are the pros and cons to taking Social Security early versus delaying this benefit? (Retirement Planning/Tax Planning/Cash Flow)
- How can individuals benefit from tax planning? (Tax Planning)
- Studies indicate individual investors earn a rate of return that is often less than the actual return of their investment holdings. What can an investor do to change this phenomenon? (Investment Planning)
- What are the investment biases that can lead to a poor investment and what can an individual do to avoid/minimize the impact of these biases? (Behavioral Finance)
- How does an individual use rational and irrational decisions to select investments? (Investment Planning)
- What are the pros and cons of different ways to create an investment portfolio? (Investment Planning)
- Influences to consider when designing an investment portfolio and how they are prioritized. (Investment Planning)
- Other (Alternative topics may be submitted to VFA for consideration. All alternative topics must relate to financial planning or investment advisory topics and be approved in advance by VFA to be eligible to participate in the 2018 challenge.)