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January 29, 2015

Retirement Saving Tips

Saving for retirement can seem like a daunting task at times. How in the world am I going to be able to save enough to live off of when I stop working? There are many ways to help your savings grow as well as avoid tax expenses. Here are the top 10 ways to save on taxes with your retirement money.Savings Chris Novinger

401(k)
Employees defer payment on their income taxes through traditional 401(k)’s up to an amount of $18,000 a year. This money is pre-tax from your paycheck so when you take it out when you are retired, hopefully the tax rate is low, because thats when you’ll pay it.

IRA
Another form of tax deferral, up to $5,500 doing so on your own in an individual retirement account. Contributions are not due until April 15, so contributions can be made right up until tax filing to cut your tax output or boost your refund.

Roth IRA
The exact same contribution limits as a regular IRA but the taxes are paid before savings. You are essentially making a bet that the tax rate is better now than what it will be when you retire.

Roth 401(k)
Structured parallel to the Roth IRA, you pay taxes during the year but do not get hit with taxes when you remove your money during retirement.

Catch Up Contributions
When you read the age of 50 you can extend your maximum dollar amount of contribution by $6,00 in a 401(k) and $1,000 in an IRA. This offer only lasts 20 and a half years as the catch-up contribution loophole closes at 70 ½ .

Savers Credit
Those households or tax filers that meet a certain criteria can be eligible for savers credit on top of tax deduction on retirement accounts. The maximum credit that a single filer can receive is $1,000 and married couples is $2,000.

Steer Clear of Early Withdrawal Penalty
Those who withdrawal money from their 401(k)’s or traditional IRA’s get hit with a 10% penalty absent first time home buying or college payment.

Take out the minimum withdrawal when the time comes.
The IRS calculates the minimum withdrawal from your accounts based on the value and your life expectancy. If you fail to withdrawal what they demand, you will be hit with a 50% tax upon next removal from the fund

Delay 401(k) withdrawals if you are working
If you are employed after 70 ½ and own 4% or less of the company you’re employed by, you can delay your 401(k) withdrawals from that company, but not from previous jobs.

To read the original article, click here.

 

December 22, 2014

Differences Between Roth and Traditional IRA’s

When looking to decide where to place money for retirement, if an individual is not seeking professional help there are certain alternatives that are present. Many times, the toss up between traditional and Roth IRA’s comes to the forefront of the decision. Much of the confusion comes from the lack of knowledge of each individual fund and what benefits each contain.RIRA

There is a certain number of limits regarding income according to age for each fund. For those who are younger than 70 years old, Roth IRA’s have eligibility income restrictions for $129,000 for a single tax filer. For married couples you must have less than $191,000 combined gross income level to be eligible to contribute to Roth IRA’s.

The tax benefits offered by both funds vary in time at which you are taxed. Traditional IRA contributions are tax deductible for state and federal filings during the year of the contribution but at the point of withdrawal they will be subject to regular tax rates. Roth IRA’s provide no tax deductions for the year of contribution but are tax free at the point of withdrawal. So you are either paying taxes on the way out of the the fund (traditional), or paying taxes on the way in (Roth).

The decision you should be making is whether or not the tax rate will be higher when you retire or when you contribute to the fund. That should be the indicator for you to base your decision on.

Withdrawals are also different for each fund. Traditional IRA’s mandate that minimum withdrawal be made by the time the owner reaches the age of 70 ½. Roth IRA’s do not need to be distributed to anyone beyond the lifetime of the owner. This IRA is optimal to pass along and transfer to next of kin.

Added Benefits and Eyebrow Raising Items:

Traditional IRA:
Contributions over the year are tax deductible for that year’s filings. Lowering adjusted gross income. Up to $10,000 can be withdrawn without the normal 10% early penalty for qualified first time homeowners. These are taxable though.

Roth IRA:
Roth contributions, not earnings can be withdrawn at any time without penalty even before the age of 59 ½. For first time homeowners, after 5 tax years of contributions, you can withdraw up to $10,000 of Roth earnings if qualified.

To read more of the original article, click here.

November 13, 2014

Nine ways to save for retirement

Retirement planning is a constantly looming overcast whenever a paycheck is handed over. How will one know how much to save? How much will one need when they are retired? The questions are endless, but thanks to USA Today, and an article by Nanci Hellmich, here are 9 simple ways to plan for retirement.Saving_money

Budget:
The word budget brings with it a negative connotation in today’s society. One that is associated with constriction, and monotony. While it does imply some degree of responsibility, a budget does not have to be a ball and chain. It is merely a way to keep yourself on track to be able to live comfortably when senior-citizenship sets in. Allocating portions of each paycheck to what needs to be paid for keeps the bills paid, food on the table, money in the bank, and peace of mind constant.

Reduce Spending:
Eating out, taking taxi’s, all forms of luxury can be expensive over time, when inexpensive alternatives are present. Pennies you save on a daily basis can add up over time to big dollar signs in the future.

Credit Card Traps:
Making minimum payments on credit card are ways for these companies to suck the most profitable amount of money out of every borrower. The longer you have to take to pay back credit debt the more you pay in total with interest.

Look For Better Interest Rates:
Saturation of the credit card market has led to a competitive playing field for these companies. This only benefits the customer, do not think twice about calling your credit card company and asking for a better rate.

If you find you’re digging yourself into a hole, stop digging:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing, over and over, and expecting a different result. In a financial scope, if you find yourself in a great deal of debt you will need to curb the behavior that got you there. This may be curbing a shopping inkling, or reducing vacations.

401(k)
If you have a matching 401(k), allocate money to the fund! This is the best case scenario, for what you put in, employers will match it. An added bonus is that these contributions are not taxable.

Sell Your Idle Things:
Everyone has those old college texts or pairs of jeans they haven’t fit into since 20 lbs. ago. Sell these dormant things instead of throwing them away, it is a great to generate extra income.
“If you fail to plan you are planning to fail”:
Put together an emergency fund to hedge against whatever life has to throw your way. This could be anything from an injury, to a household appliance failing, it is always nice to be prepared.

Cook:
Cooking is not just financially responsible, through less eating out, it can also be healthier. Buying food in bulk is a great way to say and cooking is a great way to bring a household together daily.