Hopefully you already know this – if you have a loan from your 401(k) plan and you leave employment, either on your own or if you’re terminated, the loan is considered a distribution from your plan, and therefore taxable. It’s important to note – this only applies when you leave employment. Here’s an example: you [...]
Tax Scams You Need to Know About
Each year, the IRS produces a list of tax scams that they have uncovered – which they call the Dirty Dozen. Unfortunately, this Dirty Dozen doesn’t star Lee Marvin (or any of the others), and it’s nowhere near as much fun to help you while away a Sunday afternoon. No, these are illegal activities that [...]
Payback When You’ve Earned Too Much
In an earlier post, we talked about the Social Security Earnings Test, which is applied when you are receiving your benefit early (before Full Retirement Age) and you earn over certain limits. Briefly, in the years before the year you reach FRA, when you earn salary in excess of the limit, the Social Security Administration [...]
Your Retirement Plan and Where You Live
We’ve covered a lot of ground with regard to how various tax laws impact your retirement plans: pensions, IRAs, 403(b) and 401(k) plans. But we’ve primarily focused on the US income tax laws (the IRS) affect your plans – and there are many nuances that you need to take into account with regard to state [...]
Your Turn!
Over the course of the past 6+ years, I’ve blathered on and on at this blog, pretty much based upon what I wanted to share with all of you, dear readers. I’ve based some of the topics on what I hear from my clients, and other topics just based on what I found interesting about [...]
Your Account(?) at Social Security
One of the biggest misunderstandings about the Social Security system is that each individual has a specific “account” which holds all the money you’ve had withheld from your paycheck over the years. Nothing could be further from the truth… as we’ve mentioned before on this blog, the Social Security system is a pay-as-you-go system (largely) [...]
The 2010 Roth Conversion Opportunity
Time is swiftly running out to take advantage of the unique opportunity for deferral of tax payments on Roth IRA Conversions in 2010. In case you’re not up-to-snuff on this, in 2010 all taxpayers with traditional IRAs or qualified retirement plans that are eligible for rollover have the opportunity to convert the account (or part [...]
Tax Credits for Home Improvement
There were some changes made to the tax law regarding energy efficient improvements to your home, as a part of the ARRA of 2009. This credit is known as the Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit, and it increased some of the tax credits you could receive for making energy efficient home improvements. The credit is available [...]
Medicare supplements versus Medicare Advantage plans
Note from Jim: I’m off on vacation this week, and so have recruited some help from my friends… today’s post is from Steven Young, CFP®. Steven operates his Fee-Only Financial Planning practice out of Springfield, Missouri. You can few more about Steven at his website, Steven Young Financial Planning. As efforts to improve the Medicare [...]
What Does A Fidelity Target Date (Freedom) Fund Invest In?
Note from Jim: I’m on vacation this week – hope you enjoy the following post from my friend and colleague, Roger Wohlner, CFP® who writes at the blog Chicago Financial Planner. Roger operates his Fee-Only financial planning practice out of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Fidelity is one of the largest providers of 401(k) plans and like [...]
And if you've come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed "advisor's advisor".
