Roth IRA

How You Can Get a 14% Effective Tax Rate Like Mitt Romney and Other Super-Rich Americans

0 comments

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife paid a 14% effective income tax rate in 2010 on nearly $22 million of income. Given the marginal federal income tax rate for anyone making over $35,350 (single) or $70,700 (married) is higher than 15%, it is pretty clear that the Romney’s are paying way below what [...]

Read the full article →

Using Your Roth IRA as an Emergency Fund

5 comments

Have you considered using your Roth IRA as an emergency fund? In this era of tight budgets, a lot of people are finding it difficult (if not impossible), to save for retirement and maintain an emergency fund. Because of this, it’s become trendy to recommend using your Roth IRA as a sort of de-facto emergency [...]

Read the full article →

2012 401K, IRA and Roth IRA Contribution and Income Deduction Limits

7 comments

[Updated with 2012 details] 2012 tax advantaged retirement plan contribution limits have officially been released by the IRS, with slight increases over 2011 limits; due mainly to cost of living adjustments (COLA). Further with increases in income phase-out thresholds, more people can benefit from employer and self-managed retirement plans.  The table below summarizes key changes [...]

Read the full article →

Contributing to an IRA and Roth IRA if You Already Have a 401K

4 comments

This is the kind of question I get fairly often and one that I actually had to recently sort out for myself. To determine if and how much you can contribute to multiple tax advantaged accounts you need to meet differing modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) limits and qualifications as discussed below. IRS tables and links to [...]

Read the full article →

6 Things You Should Be Doing With Your 401K and Individual Retirement Accounts

2 comments

When the economy and stock markets tanked many people stopped contributing to their employer sponsored 401K or self managed IRA plans. However, with markets back up strongly and the economy improving, folks must not forget to restart or continue saving for their financial futures. This includes taking the following actions: 1. Start saving —Now! Why? [...]

Read the full article →

2011 401k, 403b, IRA Contribution and Income Limit Changes from 2010 Officially Released by IRS

11 comments

The IRS has released the latest 401k, 403b, IRA and other retirement/thrift plan contribution and income limits. With COLA remaining unchanged again this year, 2011 plan limits have also remained largely unchanged for the third year in a row. Income thresholds have marginally increased over last year. Here is a summary of the main changes with links to more [...]

Read the full article →

Check For IRA and Roth IRA Excess Contributions To Avoid a 6% Tax Penalty

1 comment

Even though the average IRA contribution is $3,798, many Americans are still contributing too much to their traditional IRA or Roth IRA account without realizing it. The combined limit for a traditional and/or Roth IRA accounts is $5,000 ($6000 if you are over 50). For married couples, the combined limit is $10,000 ($11,000 if only one [...]

Read the full article →

10 Ways to Boost Your Retirement Savings Starting Now

4 comments

With longer predicted life expectancies, a roller coaster stock market, and more pending job losses, it’s more important than ever to find ways to boost your retirement savings now. Although there may be many obstacles to doing so, even just the few simple tactics outlined here can go a long way to increasing your bottom [...]

Read the full article →

The Best Retirement Plans for Young Workers

5 comments

It’s not breaking news that you should be saving for retirement. Most employed people understand this fact, so hopefully, you are setting some cash aside for your golden years despite the tough economic climate. The tricky part of retirement financial planning is figuring out how much you should actually save and where it should go. [...]

Read the full article →

Am I Saving Enough Money For Retirement and How Much You Should Be Putting Away in 401K or IRA Accounts

18 comments

Nothing is more significant over the long term from a financial planning aspect than ensuring you are setting aside and investing a sufficient amount to take care of your monetary needs in retirement. This can be easy to put off, especially if retirement is far away and taking care of your personal finances is low [...]

Read the full article →

How and Where to Open an IRA or Roth IRA Account and Factors to Keep in Mind

9 comments

I receive a lot of questions on Individual retirement accounts (IRA) based on related posts I have written about. One question that seems to come up often, is how to actually open an IRA account and where is the best place to do so. An IRA (individual retirement account) is your personal savings plan for retirement, offering [...]

Read the full article →

Roth 401k and IRA Retirement Plans Conversion Limits and Rules

5 comments

[Updated] With the recent approval of the Small Business Jobs Act, 401(k) plan participants are now permitted to convert their traditional employee sponsored retirement accounts over into Roth 401(k)s. The change will give many people the ability to better plan for retirement by mitigating tax impacts and leverage benefits currently available via Roth and Traditional [...]

Read the full article →
Page 1 of 212