Retired Couple
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New Tax Rules for Retirees

If you are at or approaching the age of 70, you need to be aware of some changes that Congress made to the tax laws, effective starting in 2020. These changes will have direct impacts on you and the decisions you make related to your retirement…
Examine Will or Trust
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Is Your Will or Trust Up-to-Date?

When was the last time you or your attorney reviewed or updated your will or trust? If it was before the passage of the 2017 tax reform legislation, or the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), your documents may be out of date. Among the many changes…
Retired Couple
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70-1/2 or Older? Avoid an IRS Penalty by Taking the Correct Retirement Plan Distribution

If you are age 70-1/2 or older and have a traditional IRA, a 401(k), or a SEP IRA, the tax law requires you to take at least a minimum amount – referred to as the required minimum distribution (RMD) – from those accounts each year. The tax…
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Would a Mid-Year Tax Checkup Benefit You?

If you are inclined to procrastinate until the end of the year or, even worse, until tax-filing season to worry about your taxes, you may be missing out on opportunities to reduce your tax and avoid certain penalties. The following are some…
Retired Couple
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Worried You Don't Have Enough Saved for Retirement? You're Not Alone

According to one recent study, the average retirement age in the United States was 62 years old as of 2017. Currently, the minimum age necessary to collect Social Security is 62, while 66 is largely considered to be "full retirement…
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IRA Missteps to Avoid

If you have an IRA account or are considering one, there are a number of potential missteps you will want to avoid. Some of them can lead to unwanted taxes and penalties, and of course, we are talking about your retirement funding, so it is…
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Minimizing Tax on Social Security Benefits

How much (if any) of your Social Security benefits are taxable depends on a number of issues. The following facts will help you understand the taxability of your Social Security benefits. For this discussion, the term “Social Security…
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Important Things to Know About IRAs

The individual retirement account (IRA) is one of the favored ways to save money for retirement. There are two types of IRAs: the traditional IRA and the Roth IRA. The annual maximum that an individual can be contributing between the two types…
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What Is an RMD?

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are required distributions from qualified retirement plans. RMDs are commonly associated with traditional IRAs, but they also apply to 401(k)s and SEP IRAs. The tax code does not allow taxpayers to keep…