Things To Do In SW Florida

By Jessica Fu, The Seattle Times

The draw of retiring overseas can be tempting, especially in the face of stubbornly high costs of living throughout the country.

But before you go, experts recommend thorough research and planning. Retiring abroad comes with complications, including lifestyle changes, immigration hurdles and disruptions to health care coverage.

Here are a few critical considerations, according to people who help Americans move abroad.

Map out a long-term plan

Evaluate what moving abroad would mean for your entire life, not just the cost of daily living.

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“You need to think about what’s important to you,” said Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living, a magazine about retiring overseas. “What kind of access you’ll have to health care and what the lifestyle is going to be like.” read more

A Hillsborough County circuit judge has ordered state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to stop sending claims disputes to arbitrators employed by the state.

Circuit Judge Melissa Mary Polo said that the plaintiff, Martin A. Alvarez, a Hillsborough resident, demonstrated a “substantial likelihood of success” in his claim that Citizens’ practice of ordering cases to be decided by the Department of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) violates policyholders’ constitutional rights to fair trials.

Citizens obtained approval in 2022 from the Office of Insurance Regulation, and later from the Florida Legislature, to add a provision to all new and renewing policies that allowed the company to divert claims disputes from the court and into binding arbitration.

Last year, Citizens’ Board of Governors approved paying DOAH $19.3 million to administer the program through 2027.

Policyholders who wanted Citizens coverage were not allowed to refuse the provision.

Since 2024, Citizens moved more than 1,300 claims to the DOAH courts. Prior to July 10, the company prevailed in 47 of 51 cases that advanced to a final hearing. read more

By JOSH BOAK and CHRISTOPHER RUGBER

WASHINGTON (AP) — For all of President Donald Trump’s promises of an economic “golden age,” a spate of weak indicators this week told a potentially worrisome story as the impacts of his policies are coming into focus.

Job gains are dwindling. Inflation is ticking upward. Growth has slowed compared with last year.

More than six months into his term, Trump’s blitz of tariff hikes and his new tax and spending bill have remodeled America’s trading, manufacturing, energy and tax systems to his own liking. He’s eager to take credit for any wins that might occur and is hunting for someone else to blame if the financial situation starts to totter.

But as of now, this is not the boom the Republican president promised, and his ability to blame his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for any economic challenges has faded as the world economy hangs on his every word and social media post.

When Friday’s jobs report turned out to be decidedly bleak, Trump ignored the warnings in the data and fired the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures. read more

Q. I am considering establishing a revocable trust. Should I include accounts that are jointly held?

A. This is a question you should discuss with an attorney with expertise with trusts. There are advantages and disadvantages. For example, one advantage would be avoiding probate. But there are disadvantages as well. For example, it would be complicated and expensive to change the terms of the trust, once established. You definitely need the advice of an experienced attorney before you include joint accounts in a revocable trust.

Q. In a recent column, you indicated that there was a tax disadvantage if you held money-market accounts in a state that assesses state income taxes on money-market income. I understand that you are allowed to obtain credit for the holdings in the money market account invested in U.S. government securities. Is that correct?

A. I ran your questions by Ed Slott, who is a CPA, and has expertise in this field. He agreed that you are allowed to receive a credit for securities issued by the U.S government that are held in the money-market account. Some financial institutions inform investors at year-end of the percentage of securities in their money market portfolio issued by the U.S. government. Other financial institutions, such as Vanguard, don’t spell that out for shareholders — but they do maintain this information and provide it to shareholders on their websites. The bottom line is that if you live in a state that assesses state income taxes on income from securities, and you have income from money-market accounts, you should ask your financial institution if it provides this information for you so you can minimize your state income taxes. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge.

“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”

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