Money Today That Matters Tomorrow
Many people are confused when it comes to what the official retirement age(s) are. Which is unfortunate, because this is key for figuring when you can access your retirement savings without penalty, and to figure out how much you need to save for retirement. Here then is a quick recap …
With stock markets booming, it is little surprising that 401K retirement plan balances are at record highs. In a recent study covering 20 million participants across nearly 23,000 corporate plans, the nations largest retirement plan administrator Fidelity Investments, found that the average 401(k) account balance was over $129,000 last year, up …
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: …
I have made a number of updates to popular topics on this site and in case you missed them, here is a quick recap with a link to the detailed information. 2011 Tax Rates and Brackets Following Bush-era Tax Cut Extensions With approval of a two-year extension to all the …
[Update] You can now see the most up-to-date 401K/403b, IRA and Roth IRA limits here
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 detailed articles:
The article below shows what options you have if you mistakenly over contributed to your employer 401k plan or IRA. Over Contributed to Employer Sponsored 401(k) Plan Firstly, congratulations on having reached your annual maximum contribution. But over contributing to your 401k (or IRA plan as discussed below) subjects you to the …
With longer life expectancies, a roller coaster stock market, and lessons learned from a post-pandemic world 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 a few of the simple tactics outlined here can …
Nothing is more significant over the long term from a financial planning aspect than ensuring you are setting aside and investing a sufficient amount of money to take care of your monetary needs in retirement. This can be easy to put off, especially if retirement is far away and taking …
We are more than halfway through the year and yet many major economic indicators are still showing the economy is not recovering as many would have hoped. Consumer confidence numbers showed that only 3% of people want to buy a car. These numbers are interesting considering previous tax credits targeted …
I receive a lot of questions on Individual retirement accounts (IRA) based on related posts I have written on this topic. 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 is your personal savings …
Thanks to 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 …
Trying to find the right investments for your 401k or IRA retirement plans can leave you feeling like you are lost in the middle of a maze. Your retirement plan provider (via your employer or directly) may offer a ton of investment options including stocks, stock funds, bond funds, and …
The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation today that includes a provision to expose hidden 401(k) fees that may be eating into Americans’ retirement savings. The provision was part of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213).
A majority of American workers rely on 401(k)-style plans to finance their retirements, but most do not know how much Wall Street middle men are taking from their retirement accounts. Just a 1-percentage-point in excessive fees can reduce a worker’s 401(k) account balance by as much as 20 percent or more over a career. Workers should have the right to know how much Wall Street intermediaries siphon off from their savings. Provisions included in H.R. 4213 regarding fee disclosure were based on the 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act, which was authored by Chairman Miller and approved by the Education and Labor Committee last year. Specifically, these provisions:
With rising prices and economic uncertainty, many Americans are still finding it hard to make ends meet and find that they are having to tap one of their most important and final saving vehicles – their company sponsored 401k or 403b (tax advantaged) retirement plans. There are 3 ways that …