The end of the year is a great time to do a review of your finances. Things that tend to change at the beginning of each year are contribution limits and taxes. If retirement planning and financial stewardship is a priority to you, then doing an annual review is vital.
The question of paying off your house or not is one that seems to be a constant debate among people approaching retirement. In fact, it’s a good question for anyone with a mortgage. The way I see it, there are two perspectives that need to be evaluated to come up with an answer to this question.
I have written before about Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and how wonderful they are, but with open season on the horizon I thought it was time to freshen up on our HSA knowledge. There are a few characteristics of HSAs that most people aren’t aware of. Not all pretax accounts and contributions are created equal...
Everyone loves tax free money, but sometimes it’s hard to pay more today for a future benefit. Roth conversions definitely fall in the camp of delayed gratification - but could be a useful planning technique for many federal employees.
Most people are aware that they will be required to take money out of their qualified accounts when they get older. But as with anything in life, the timing is what matters. Do you just start blindly taking withdrawals when you hit 70 ½?
The FERS annuity is the foundation of the federal employee retirement plan. While some federal employees may know how to calculate their FERS annuity, I have found that there are four elements of FERS that people fail to grasp.
If you knew how to potentially save a couple thousand dollars a year, would you do it? If yes, then I would recommend looking in to bunching your expenses. The concept of bunching your expenses has been around for a long time, but I believe has become more applicable with the new tax law.
Dave makes two big assumptions that I believe can be devastating to an individual’s retirement
Many studies about retirement fears show that retirees’ biggest fear is running out of money. Running out of money as a valid fear for retirees, but should it be a valid fear for federal retirees?
Paying for college can easily be one of the biggest expenses that parents will incur during their lifetimes. Although it is likely to cost a significant amount of money, it isn’t much different from other major purchases that
The main purpose for a survivor annuity is for married FERS employees to have the option to leave an income stream to their surviving spouse. In other words, you can leave a benefit at your death (sound familiar?). The reason for the SA is quite simple – many spouses can’t afford to lose an income of $2,000 a month
I receive questions weekly asking what I do and how I help federal employees, so I have finally decided to put together some case studies to demonstrate how federal employees can benefit from advice.
Money is just money, right? Well, not exactly when it comes to retirement income. It’s not as straightforward as you would think. There are a number of things different about retirement income compared to your regular paycheck. Many of the changes will benefit federal employees, but not all. For example, taxes are just one of the things that will be different in retirement.
Ask a high income earner who works in the medical field and they’ll likely say that taxes are one of their biggest financial concerns. Accounts like a Traditional IRA, 401k, 403b, deferred comp and Roth IRAs (aka “tax shelters”) give investors tax benefits for investing in them. Does that mean that a regular taxable account is bad for medical professionals?
Searching for the right college for your children is a very overwhelming task. There are many things to consider and address when looking for the right college for your kids, but there is one major mistake that can set up children and their families for an overwhelming financial struggle.
