In case you forgot to take your required minimum distribution (RMD) for 2014 there’s still hope in order to avoid the 50% (yes, that’s FIFTY percent) penalty of the amount not withdrawn. If you missed taking the RMD for 2014 here’s what you can do. According to the IRS the penalty may be waived if you can establish that it was due to reasonable error that you didn’t take the RMD and that reasonable steps are being taken to remedy the error. That is, take the 2014 RMD right away (or as soon as you can let your custodian know) and it might not be a bad idea to take the RMD for 2015 as well (just to be on the safe side). Once that’s done you or your tax professional need to fill out Form 5329 as well as a letter explaining the reason for not taking the RMD. […]
January, 2015:
Exploring free tax filing
Tax filing season is upon us! As you consider all of your options for filing your return this year, you might consider some of the exploring free tax filing for your return. Recently the IRS published their IRS Tax Tip 2015-06, which details information about two of the options for free tax filing that you might be able to take advantage of. The actual text of the Tip is below:
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Are YOU ready for retirement?
In this time of disappearing pensions, corporate downsizing, and high unemployment it becomes a great concern that many folks are still not saving enough for retirement. This may be due to a failure to realistically assess future costs or because we’re spending too much without saving – which is a hallmark of the baby-boom generation. Granted, there are plenty of good reasons why spending is out of control – with healthcare costs increasing all the time, for example. But I suspect that much more of the blame for our low savings balances is due to poor savings habits in the first place.
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How to Save More Without Making More
Here’s a pretty neat strategy that you can try if you’re looking to save a bit more for retirement, college or even paying down debt. It works like this: Whenever we’re out shopping or online shopping there’s always the temptation to purchase things we really don’t need. For example, I was at the store the other day and tried on a few pairs of jeans. Did I really need them? No. Did I want them? Of course. You may have seen yourself in a similar situation – wanting something but knowing you most likely didn’t really need it.
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Uncoupling File & Suspend
Note: with the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 into law, File & Suspend and Restricted Application have been effectively eliminated for anyone born in 1954 or later. If born before 1954 there are some options still available, but these are limited as well. Please see the article The Death of File & Suspend and Restricted Application for more details. By now you should be somewhat familiar with the File & Suspend strategy, where an individual files for Social Security benefits and then immediately suspends them. This strategy is often used so that the individual can enable other dependents’ benefits (such as spousal or children) based upon his or her record, while delaying receipt of his or her own benefits in order to accrue delay credits on his benefit. What you may not realize is that you don’t have to file & suspend at the same time. These […]
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Illinois’ Automatic Roth IRAs for Employees
Recently Illinois’ Governor Pat Quinn signed into law the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Plan. This plan provides an automatic Roth IRA via payroll-deduction for some employees who do not have an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan. Essentially this law will require employers with 25 or more employees to establish a payroll deduction program permitting the workers to defer earnings into a Roth IRA, beginning in June 2017. Employees will be automatically enrolled (hence an automatic Roth IRA), but the workers will have the opportunity to opt out of the program. The automatic enrollment includes a 3% salary deferral, but the employee can increase the deferral amount, up to the legal limitations (in 2015 it’s $5,500, $6,500 for folks over age 50). There is no company matching with this program.
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Debt Consolidation Loans Don’t Work (But You Might Get it to Work For You!)
You’ve likely heard or seen the commercials that urge you to consolidate your debt into “one low payment”. The concept makes logical sense and promises to free up some cash so it is easier to live paycheck to paycheck. The reason this usually doesn’t work is that it doesn’t address the real problem. The reason we get into this mess is because we have not learned how to spend within our income. What we need is a method to manage and organize our money so we make conscious decisions about how we spend it. A good book that I’ve used is “Your Money or Your Life” by Joe Dominguez. How to Get Started To get started you might try the following:
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Asset Allocation Vs Diversification
Asset allocation and diversification are not the same. Perhaps some readers may benefit from a brief explanation of the two and how it may impact your investments. An investor may have excellent diversification but poor asset allocation and vice versa. Let’s start with asset allocation. When we speak of asset allocation we’re talking about how we’re going to invest in a particular category of investments called asset classes. That is, we are choosing which assets are going to be in our portfolio. Generally, assets classes that investors may choose from are stocks (equities), bonds (fixed income), cash, commodities, and real estate.
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Social Security Filing Strategies for the Single Person
You can listen to this article by using the podcast player below if you’re on the blog; if you’re reading this via RSS, there should be a “Play Now” link just below the title to access the audio. If you’re receiving this article via email, there should be a “Download Now” link within the text of the message to retrieve the audio file. Most Social Security filing strategies are focused on married folks, or those who have been married and are now divorced or widowed. Single folks who have never been married seem to get short shrift – but it’s not because the decisions are any less important. The reason Social Security filing strategies for the single person are not often reviewed is because there are very few things that can be done strategically for the single person’s Social Security filing. We’ll go over the primary options for a single person […]
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Where to Start With Retirement Savings
Today, we have so many choices for our retirement savings that it can be difficult to choose which sort of account to contribute to. If you are fortunate enough (as many are) to have more than one type of retirement plan available to you, in what order should you contribute to the accounts? Right now, at the beginning of a new year, is an excellent time to start with retirement savings. Qualified Retirement Plans First of all, many folks who are employed by a company have some sort of tax-deferred, qualified, retirement savings account available. These accounts go by many names – 401(k), 403(b), 457, and deferred compensation. These accounts are collectively referred to as qualified retirement plans, or QRPs. QRPs do not include IRAs – this is another type if retirement savings account with some different rules. A QRP account is a good place to start when contributing to […]
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2015 IRA MAGI Limits – Married Filing Separately
Note: for the purposes of IRA MAGI qualification, a person filing as Married Filing Separately, who did not live with his or her spouse during the tax year, is considered Single and will use the information on that page to determine eligibility. For a Traditional IRA (Filing Status Married Filing Separately): If you are not covered by a retirement plan at your job and your spouse is not covered by a retirement plan, there is no MAGI limitation on your deductible contributions. If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is less than $10,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 55% for every dollar (or 65% if over age 50), and rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200. If you are covered by a retirement […]
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2015 MAGI Limits for IRAs – Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)
Note: for the purposes of IRA MAGI qualification, a person filing as Married Filing Separately, who did not live with his or her spouse during the tax year, is considered Single and will use the information on that page to determine eligibility. For a Traditional IRA (Filing Status Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)): If you are not covered by a retirement plan at your job and your spouse is not covered by a retirement plan, there is no MAGI limitation on your deductible contributions. If you are covered by a retirement plan at work, and your MAGI is $98,000 or less, there is also no limitation on your deductible contributions to a traditional IRA. If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $98,000 but less than $118,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 27.5% for every dollar […]
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2015 MAGI Limits – Single or Head of Household
Note: for the purposes of IRA MAGI qualification, a person filing as Married Filing Separately who did not live with his or her spouse during the tax year, is considered Single and will use the information on this page to determine eligibility. For a Traditional IRA (Filing Status Single or Head of Household): If you are not covered by a retirement plan at your job, there is no MAGI limitation on your deductible contributions. If you are covered by a retirement plan at work, if your MAGI is $61,000 or less, there is also no limitation on your deductible contributions to a traditional IRA. If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $61,000 but less than $71,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 55% for every dollar over the lower limit (or 65% if over age 50), and […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on 
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on 
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at 
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be 
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the 
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the 
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”.