PRESS RELEASE Amherst, NY: Level Financial Advisors has hired Jacob Schurr as a Financial Planning Associate at the fee-only investment management and financial planning firm. He will assist in client meetings, preparing financial plans and researching strategies to help clients save money, reduce taxes, and improve their financial lives. He will also contribute to the firm’s financial planning and investment committees and work on special projects while preparing for CFP® certification in the near future. Mr. Schurr received his Bachelor of Science in finance from Canisius College in 2020 and is currently working toward the expected completion of his MBA in December of 2021, also at Canisius. Prior to joining Level, Mr. Schurr worked as a Financial Services Representative for Financial Partners of Upstate New York. Mr. Schurr is a member of the Western New York Prosperity Fellowship of the Prentice Family Foundation and also participated as an analyst for the Golden Griffin Fund at...

PRESS RELEASE Amherst, NY: Level Financial Advisors has hired Catherine O’Brien as a Client Services Specialist at the fee-only investment management and financial planning firm. She will assist the firm’s client services department with various administrative activities including working with clients on daily requests, deepening client relationships, and assisting the company’s financial advisors with meetings and paperwork. She will also have responsibilities for greeting visitors to the Amherst office. Ms. O’Brien received an associates degree from Erie Community College in 2018 and is currently enrolled at the University of Buffalo where she is pursuing a degree in business administration. Prior to joining Level, Ms. O’Brien worked as the Membership Director for YMCA Buffalo Niagara.  She also worked in various roles with the organization beginning in 2013 until joining Level. Ms. O’Brien has served as the Membership Chair for YMCA’s Professional Network, Chapter 7 and received a certification of appreciation from the United States Marine Corps...

REVISED - 6/22/2021 Visitors to our offices are no longer required to wear masks.  Visitors to our offices for in-person meetings will be required to undergo a temperature check only, following CDC Guidelines.   We will no longer require health questions during visits. Those with a temperature of 100.4 or higher will not be allowed to attend their meeting in-person.  We will politely ask visitors to go back to their vehicle and call us from their cell-phone at 716-634-6113 to make arrangements to reschedule the meeting or conduct it via phone or Zoom. All employees of Level are required to submit to a temperature check each day. Other precautions we have taken to ensure the health and safety of our visitors and employees include (revised May 20, 2021): In-person meeting disinfection process that documents and ensures all conference room surfaces are cleaned prior to and after meetings. Limiting the number of staff that work in...

In the past few installments of this blog, we’ve been exploring the idea of a checklist of critical tasks to accomplish 5 to 10 years before retirement.  I’ve been using the analogy of the checklist an airline crew uses in preparing their aircraft for landing during the last few minutes of the flight.   In last month’s article, we considered the need to create an intentional and detailed vision of the unique retirement we want to experience.  So let’s assume you were successful and have your vision firmly in mind- now what? Well, this leads us to a natural and logical next step which is to determine if our vision is financially sustainable.  This is the part where we calculate the future cost of our dream retirement and make sure that it can be supported by our financial resources.    Back in the day, this type of calculation required some “spread-sheeting” wizardry given...

Today, after 20 years, we wish our receptionist Sheila Bergman a wonderful and happy retirement! THANK YOU for all you have done for our clients and the entire Level family! Congratulations!!!...

With all that has happened in 2020 you may ask if there anything you need to be aware of when filing your taxes for 2020? Is there anything that might be different? The short answer is yes. There are a few items that retirees should be reminded when filing. 1) An IRS extended deadline 2) waived 2020 RMD’s 3) Charitable donation write offs 4) and stimulus checks. Extended Deadline Due to the ongoing pandemic, the IRS has made the decision to extend the 2020 individual tax filing deadline. The deadline is now May 17th 2021. Individuals can also delay federal income tax payments till May 17th 2021 for the 2020 tax year without penalty or interest. The same is true for the NYS tax return. Most other states have matched the federal filing deadline, but if you do not live in NYS, you can use the link here to check with your state tax agency. Waived Required...