Will you pay higher taxes in retirement? Do you have a lot of money in a 401(k) or a traditional IRA? If so, you may receive significant retirement income. Those income distributions, however, will be taxed at the usual rate. If you have saved and invested well, you may end up retiring at your current…
Read MoreThe IRA that changed the whole retirement savings perspective. Since the Roth IRA was introduced, it has become a fixture in many retirement planning strategies. The key argument for going Roth can be summed up in a sentence: Paying taxes on your retirement contributions today is better than paying taxes on your retirement savings tomorrow.…
Read MoreIs it okay to retire today? Many baby boomers shelved notions of retiring during the past few years. Layoffs, the decline in home values, the crushing bear market of 2007-09 – those memories were just too fresh, and their economic effects were still being felt by many households. In 2015, boomers seem a bit less…
Read MoreCFP Board Gives Tips on How to Control Retirement Spending As millions of Americans prepare for and enter retirement, it’s natural for many of us to feel worried or concerned about how much money is needed to live comfortably. Despite all of the apprehension, there are a few reasons to smile. In fact, recent research into…
Read MoreFinancially, many of us associate April with taxes – but we should also associate April with important IRA deadlines. *April 1 is the absolute deadline to take your first Required Mandatory Distribution (RMD) from your traditional IRA(s). *April 15 is the deadline for making annual contributions to a traditional or Roth IRA. Let’s discuss the…
Read MorePlan to put yourself steps ahead of your peers. If you have a young, growing family, no doubt your to-do list is pretty long on any given day. Beyond today, you are probably working on another kind of to-do list for the long term. Where does “saving and investing” rank on that list? For some…
Read More2015 will bring COLAs, changes & something new. Each year, the retirement benefits landscape looks a little different, and next year is no exception. Here’s a look at what will change, what might develop, and even what won’t change for 2015. The 401(k) contribution limit expands $500 to $18,000 next year. The catch-up contribution limit…
Read MoreA solo 401(k) lets a self-employed individual set up a 401(k) plan combined with a profit-sharing plan. You can create one of these if you work for yourself or if you own a small business with just 1-2 full-time employees including yourself (the second FTE must be your spouse). Reduce your tax bill while you…
Read MoreSocial Security benefits are increasing 1.7% in 2015. This marks the fourth straight yearly cost-of-living adjustment, following a 1.5% COLA for 2014. Next year, the average monthly Social Security payment for a single retiree increases by $22 to $1,328. The average retired couple will get $2,176 per month in 2015 (a $36 monthly increase). A…
Read MoreNow or later? When it comes to the question of Social Security income, the choice looms large. Should you apply now to get earlier payments? Or wait for a few years to get larger checks? Consider what you know (and don’t know). You know how much retirement money you have; you may have a clear…
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