Independent financial advice: IRA, Social Security, income tax, and all things financial
The IRS produces a list each year of the “dirty dozen” tax scams that they and taxpayers deal with.
I’ve kept track of these over the past several years, so I’ve included the changes to rankings from 2012 to this year for those items in the list that continue to be listed. Topping the list this year is phone scams, which was first listed in the dirty dozen in 2014, at #2. Keep reading…
Traditionally when we think of investing our minds turn to stocks, bonds, mutual funds or real estate. While these may or may not be the best investments for an individual’s portfolio there is one investment that is almost always the right choice for any individual – human capital.
Human capital is an individual’s worth of their own potential. Coined by economist Theodore Schultz, human capital can be invested in like any other asset in order to add value to an individual’s life through earnings, health, and quality of life. Keep reading…
In this blog we’ve covered the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) from many different angles. Here we’ll go into some more depth on the actual calculation of the WEP, including how some of the factors are determined.
As you are likely aware, the Windfall Elimination Provision or WEP impacts your Social Security benefit when you are receiving a pension based on work where Social Security tax was not applied to the earnings. The point of WEP is ostensibly to act as an offset, since the reason no Social Security tax was applied to the earnings is because the pension is intended to replace Social Security benefits for that worker. WEP impact is applied as a reduction to the first bend point of the calculation of the Primary Insurance Amount. (Calculation of the PIA is explained further here.) Keep reading…
With 2014 over and 2015 well on its way you may be finding yourself gathering all of your 2014 tax information and getting ready to file your income taxes. Some folks will be expecting refunds while others will woefully dread writing out a check to the IRS.
If you find yourself in the group of folks that will be writing a check to Uncle Sam, here are some tips to reduce your tax burden for 2015.
Since the Affordable Care Act has been in place for over a year now, it’s important to understand what affects the health care law will have on you and your tax situation.
Recently the IRS issued a Health Care Tax Tip (HCTT-2015-06) which details how the health care law can effect you. The actual text of the Tip is reproduced below: Keep reading…
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. And to quote my parents, “Don’t let it happen again!”
More information regarding required minimum distributions can be found here.
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: Keep reading…
Photo courtesy of David Marcu on unsplash.com
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.
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.
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 actions can be decoupled – in other words, you could file for benefits at any time that you’re eligible, and then later (as long as you’re at least at Full Retirement Age) you could suspend your benefits.
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. Keep reading…
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.
To get started you might try the following:
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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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 below. Keep reading…
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.
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 retirement savings. For the purpose of clarity, when I refer to a QRP, I am referring to all of these types of accounts (401(k), 403(b), 457, etc.). Understand, though, that unless I specifically include them, reference to QRPs does not include traditional or Roth IRA accounts. Keep reading…
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.
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 plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $10,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2015. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
If you are not covered by a retirement plan but your spouse is, and your MAGI is less than $10,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 55% for every dollar over the lower limit (or 65% if over age 50), and rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
Finally, if you are not covered by a retirement plan but your spouse is, and your MAGI is greater than $10,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2015. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
If your MAGI is less than $10,000, your contribution to a Roth IRA is reduced ratably by every dollar, rounded up to the nearest $10.
If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200. If your MAGI is $10,000 or more, you can not contribute to a Roth IRA.
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.
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 over the lower limit (or 32.5% 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 plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $118,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2015. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
If you are not covered by a retirement plan at your job, but your spouse IS covered by a retirement plan, and your MAGI is less than $183,000, you can deduct the full amount of your IRA contributions.
If you are not covered by a retirement plan but your spouse is, and your MAGI is greater than $183,000 but less than $193,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 55% for every dollar over the lower limit (or 65% if over age 50), and rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
Finally, if you are not covered by a retirement plan but your spouse is, and your MAGI is greater than $193,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2015. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
If your MAGI is less than $183,000, you are eligible to contribute the entire amount to a Roth IRA.
If your MAGI is between $183,000 and $193,000, your contribution to a Roth IRA is reduced ratably by every dollar above the lower end of the range, rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
If your MAGI is $193,000 or more, you cannot contribute to a Roth IRA.
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.
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 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 plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $71,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2015. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
If your MAGI is less than $116,000, you are eligible to contribute the entire amount to a Roth IRA. If your MAGI is between $116,000 and $131,000, your contribution to a Roth IRA is reduced ratably by every dollar above the lower end of the range, rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
If your MAGI is $131,000 or more, you cannot contribute to a Roth IRA.
Admittedly, this is a pretty deceiving headline. We see headlines like these every day in the newspapers, TV and from colleagues at work. The truth of the matter is that there are certainly going to be assets classes that will behave horribly while other asset classes do extremely well. The point is, neither you nor I (or anyone else) will accurately be able to predict which ones will do better than others.
For every person that says stocks will have a meteoric rise in 2015 there will be just as many that will say to avoid them. You’ll have others saying that bonds are doomed while others will sing their praises. Buy gold, sell gold; buy real estate, sell real estate. The point is no one knows which asset classes will do well and which ones will fall.
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Phone 630-40-DUCKS (630-403-8257)
jim@blankenshipfinancial.com
Twitter: BlankenshipFP / Financialducks
Facebook: Jim Blankenship
LinkedIn: BlankenshipFP
Amazon: Author Page
Jim provides expert guidance for
your Retirement, Education Funding,
and Income Tax issues and concerns.
In addition to this blog, you’ll find Jim’s writings all around the internet, as he is a regular contributor to Forbes.com, TheStreet.com, and FiGuide. Several other sites also republish his work.
He has also written five books on Social Security, IRAs, 401(k) plans, and Medicare. See below for more on the books.
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
Phone 630-40-DUCKS (630-403-8257)
sterling@blankenshipfinancial.com
Twitter: SterlingRaskie
LinkedIn: SterlingRaskie
Sterling provides expert guidance for your Retirement, Insurance, Education Funding, Investments and Income Tax issues and concerns.
In addition to this blog, you’ll find Sterling’s writings all around the internet. Sterling is also an adjunct professor teaching courses in math, finance, investments and insurance.
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on Amazon at this link. This book includes all of the updates to retirement plans with passage of the SECURE Act.
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on Amazon at this link.
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at this link. This book is narrowly-focused on divorcee Social Security strategies and rules. It is also available in a Kindle version.
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be purchased by clicking this link. The book is also available on Kindle, which you can find at this Kindle version link.
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the paperback version, or the Kindle version.
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the Amazon ordering page.
In case you hadn’t already noticed, this blog doesn’t have much to do with ducks – or any waterfowl for that matter.
No, what we’re doing here is talking about all things financial; getting your financial house in order. Here in the Midwest, “getting your ducks in a row” implies organization, which is one of the outcomes of having a better understanding of your financial life.
I hope you find the answers you’re looking for among the articles here, and perhaps a smile. If you can’t locate your answer, drop me an email or give me a call – we’ll see what we can find for you.
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”.
