That First RMD from Your IRA What you need to know. When you reach age 70½, the Internal Revenue Service instructs you to start making withdrawals from your traditional IRA(s). These withdrawals are also called Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). You will make them, annually, from now on.1 If you fail to take your annual RMD or take out less than the required amount, the I.R.S. will notice. You will not only owe income taxes on the amount not withdrawn, you [...]
How Medigap Choices Are Changing Plan F is fading away, and Plan G may gain more popularity. Soon, two types of Medigap policies will no longer be sold. Seniors who enroll in Medicare in 2020 or later will be unable to buy Medigap Plan F or Plan C. These are the two Medicare Supplement policies that cover Medicare’s Part B deductible (currently $185).1,2 This change impacts new Medicare enrollees. If you already receive Medicare and you already have Plan F [...]
What the SECURE Act Could Mean for Retirement Plans If passed, it would change some long-established retirement account rules. If you follow national news, you may have heard of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. Although the SECURE Act has yet to clear the Senate, it saw broad, bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. This legislation could make Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) a more attractive component of retirement strategies and create a path for more [...]
Diversification, Patience, and Consistency Three important factors when it comes to your financial life. Regardless of how the markets may perform, consider making the following part of your investment philosophy: Diversification. The saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” has real value when it comes to investing. In a bear or bull market, certain asset classes may perform better than others. If your assets are mostly held in one kind of investment (say, mostly in mutual funds or [...]
Getting a Head Start on College Savings The hows and whys of college savings. The American family with a child born today can expect to spend about $233,610 to raise that child to the age of 18. And if you’ve already traded that supercharged convertible dream for a minivan, you can expect your little one’s college education to cost as much as $198,000.1,2 But before you throw your hands up in the air and send junior out looking for a [...]
