Get Your Paperwork Right!
Is your paperwork up to date? It could be quite costly if it isn’t. Continue reading Get Your Paperwork Right!
Tag Archives: retirement account
Rolling Over to an IRA Can Give You More Investment Options
I want to start out by stating that this post is not meant to knock employer retirement plans. Such plans can be a great way to get started in saving for retirement or as another source of retirement savings. However, if you do reach a point where rolling a 401(k) or other employer plan into an IRA is a real opportunity/thought, then you should strongly consider doing so. First off, if you are still working and your 401(k) isn’t a huge amount, you could save yourself some serious tax money down the road if you convert to an IRA, especially Continue reading Rolling Over to an IRA Can Give You More Investment Options
Feeling Charitable? QCDs are Still a Thing in 2020
There’s been a lot of talk over the past few weeks about how the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) has provisions impacting IRAs (no RMDs for 2020) and other retirement accounts (waives early distribution penalties for multiple, common retirement accounts). However, there’s been little talk about how the legislation may impact Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs). Why is that? Well, it’s because the CARES Act doesn’t impact QCDs. Yes, that’s right; QCDs will work the same this year as they did in previous years. So if you were thinking about making a charitable contribution from one of Continue reading Feeling Charitable? QCDs are Still a Thing in 2020
Thinking About Next Year’s Contributions
We are less than a month away from 2020, which means you need to start thinking about your future retirement account contributions for the upcoming 12 month period. If you have more than one retirement account, this may include deciding when and how much you will contribute to each account. For example, if you have a traditional IRA and plan to max out your contributions, will you be making the contribution in one big lump sum or do you plan to spread that contribution out throughout the year in smaller sums. If you have a retirement account with your employer, Continue reading Thinking About Next Year’s Contributions
When Does the 365 Rule Start?
If you have an IRA, you are probably familiar with the one rollover per year rule it comes to rollovers between the same type of IRA (i.e. traditional to traditional IRA). As stated, the rule only allows one rollover per year between the same type of IRA, regardless of how many IRAs you have. If you have 3 traditional IRAs, you only get one rollover between them all. That’s it. It’s important to know when that 365 day period begins. It does not begin when the money ends up in the final retirement account, but rather when the distribution from Continue reading When Does the 365 Rule Start?
Knowing How Hardship Withdrawals Work
Life can be unpredictable. Do you know how you will handle that unpredictability? For example, if you were faced with a sudden, substantial medical bill or your home was damaged in a storm, do you know where the money to pay for those expenses will come from? If you’re financially savvy/smart, you probably have an emergency fund set aside to help with those expenses. However, if you don’t have such money set aside or the costs are more than your emergency fund, you may need to find other financial resources to tap into. While I strongly discourage it and will Continue reading Knowing How Hardship Withdrawals Work
Pay While You Save for Retirement
Paying down your debts should be an important retirement savings plan. Yes, I know it’s not saving, but it’s vital to your retirement plans. First off, the sooner you pay off your debts, the sooner you can start diverting more money into your retirement accounts. That money going towards debt payments will be much more useful in an IRA or a 401(k). Secondly, your debts won’t go away in retirement and you don’t want them to eat away at your nest egg only you actually get to retirement. Also, keep in mind that debts often involve interest and that the Continue reading Pay While You Save for Retirement
Getting Real About Real Estate Investing With Your IRA
Did you know that you can invest in real estate with your IRA? However, it’s not as simple as just buying property with IRA money. There is a lot of thought and consideration that should go into such as decision as the rules for using an IRA to invest in land are limiting and leave very little room for error. First off, you need to make sure you have the right IRA for such an investment. Most Roth and traditional IRA custodians do not allow investments in real estate, thus it’s highly likely you will have to set up a Continue reading Getting Real About Real Estate Investing With Your IRA
Would You Delay Your RMD If You Could?
Did you know that some employer 401(k) retirement plans allow you to delay taking your required minimum distribution (RMD) if you are still working at 70½ and own less than 5% of the company? Doesn’t that sound enticing? If you have a 401(k) with your current employer, you should check to see if delaying your RMD is an option and whether it is right for you. If you envision yourself working well into your 70s, that may be viable option. It should be noted, however, that this delayed RMD option only works with your current employer and not plans you Continue reading Would You Delay Your RMD If You Could?
What’s Your Financial Projection?
When you plan for retirement or review your savings, do you have a document that clearly compares all your retirement resources and what they will contribute to your retirement? If you have multiple retirement savings accounts, it might be wise to have a document (or Excel spreadsheet) that contains information about each account, including the value of each account, any rates associated with the accounts, and how much you contribute yearly to each account. Having these documents and spreadsheets can help you track how likely you are to meet your retirement goals and, if you are off-track in doing so, Continue reading What’s Your Financial Projection?