Bob Carlson

Bob Carlson is editor of the monthly newsletter and web site, Retirement Watch and managing member of Carlson Wealth Advisors, L.L.C. He also is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fairfax County Employees' Retirement System, which has over $3 billion in assets, and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System, which oversaw $42 billion in assets, from 2001-2005. He was appointed to the Virginia Retirement System Deferred Compensation Plans Advisory Committee in 2011.

His latest book is Personal Finance for Seniors for Dummies, published by John Wiley & Co. in 2010 (with Eric Tyson). Previous books include Invest Like a Fox…Not Like a Hedgehog, published by John Wiley & Co. in 2007, and The New Rules of Retirement, as published by John Wiley & Co. in the fall of 2004.

He has written numerous other books and reports, including Tax Wise Money Strategies, Retirement Tax Guide, How to Slash Your Mutual Fund Taxes, Bob Carlson’s Estate Planning Files, and 199 Loopholes That Survived tax Reform. He also has been interviewed by or quoted in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, Barron's, AARP Bulletin, Money, Worth, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the Washington Post, and many others. He has appeared on national television and on a number of radio programs. He is past editor of Tax Wise Money.

 Carlson is an attorney and passed the CPA Exam. He received his J.D. and an M.S. (Accounting) from the University of Virginia and received his B.S. (Financial Management) from Clemson University. He also is an instrument rated private pilot. He is listed in several recent editions of Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.

Analyst Articles

The ability to handle lifetime medical expenses is the key to a financially sustainable retirement. Yet, medical expenses also are the wild card in retirement finance, because they are the hardest expenses to estimate. To handle the issue, you need a systematic approach to planning. Read More

It’s no wonder that survey after survey shows long-term care expenses are among the top worries of Americans in or near retirement. You could have a dynamite estate plan yet have most of your estate pay long-term care expenses instead of going to your loved ones. It doesn’t have to be that way. Read More

Having an estate plan is important, but it means only part of your job is done. Sometimes having a plan that isn’t current is worse than not having a plan at all.Having an estate plan is important, but it means only part of your job is done. Sometimes having a plan that isn’t current is worse than not having a plan at all. Read More

Don’t conclude as many have, that you don’t have to worry about taxes in your estate planning because of the high federal estate tax exemption. Taxes should figure in your estate plan as much as ever, but in a different way. Read More

Many people believe that estate planning is all about tax planning, and that’s a big mistake. A lot more is involved in an estate plan, and overlooking the non-tax issues can cause problems for you and your heirs. Read More

Many people want to leave some of their hard-earned wealth to their children or grandchildren, but they don’t want the wealth wasted or have negative effects on their loved ones. There are ways your hard-earned wealth can benefit loved ones without putting the wealth at risk. Read More

Roth IRAs remain one of the most neglected tax and financial planning opportunities. Even many of those who convert their traditional IRAs to Roths don’t take advantage of all the strategies available to maximize tax-free wealth. Read More