Archive for August, 2018
Wednesday, August 29th, 2018
September Checklist:
• Begin preparing the applicable safe harbor notices to employees, and plan for distribution of the notices between October 2 and December 2 (calendar-year plans).
• Distribute the plan’s Summary Annual Report by September 30 to participants and beneficiaries, unless an extension of time to file Form 5500 applies (calendar- year plans).
• Send a reminder memo or email to all employees to encourage them to review and update, if necessary, their beneficiary designations for all benefit plans.
Tags: benefits, checklist, finance, money, saving
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Thursday, August 23rd, 2018
Municipal Bonds
These are debt securities that are created when a state, county or municipal government embarks on a new project like a new school, water treatment plant, or road, and looks for investors to help finance it. Municipal bonds are exempt from federal income taxes and many are issued with exemptions from state and local taxes, meaning that investors keep more of the income generated from the securities.
Tags: debt, finance, investors, Municipal Bonds, securities
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Financial Terms To Know: Municipal Bonds
Tuesday, August 21st, 2018
As featured in Bernews.com.
I think I speak for most people when I say that at some point in our life we put something on our credit card and didn’t pay it off in full, leading to a vicious circle of recurring payments and mounting interest on the balance! Most of us get “stung” once and learn the lesson of how to use a credit card sensibly, but unfortunately some of us don’t learn and we begin to develop an unhealthy relationship with our credit card.
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Tags: credit card, debt, interest rate, money management, payment, repayment
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2018
2017 may be the last year that tens of millions of Americans got a tax break for donating to their favorite charities. That’s because the new higher standard deduction of $24,000 per couple ($12,000 single) that President Trump signed into law last December means that only a tiny percentage of taxpayers likely will take itemized deductions, such as those for charitable donations. Still, many donors will continue to give, because the main goal of charitable giving is doing some good.
Tags: charity, deductions, donations, tax break
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Does It Still Make Sense To Give To Charity?
Tuesday, August 14th, 2018
General financial education, in addition to education specific to 401(k) plans, can encourage employees to save more for retirement. Topics like budgeting, debt management and reduction, and finding ways to save on household purchases may allow employees to feel more confidence in contributing more of their income to the plan. In turn, that can lead to improved retirement readiness. (more…)
Tags: 401k plan, budgeting, financial education, income, life insurance, retirement, saving
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Friday, August 10th, 2018
For the next 18 months, Americans with high medical bills will be able to continue to write off expenses exceeding 7.5% of their income. To claim the deduction, filers must itemize. However, now that the standard deduction has been increased to $12,000 for individuals, $24,000 for joint filers, it may make sense to simply claim the standard deduction, according to the AARP.
Tags: deductions, expenses, medical bills, tax law
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on New Tax Law Preserves Medical Deduction
Monday, August 6th, 2018
The dust hasn’t yet settled, but a few things about the new tax law seem clear. Employees will likely begin to notice a difference in their paychecks as early as February, and some projections put the average worker’s additional spendable income at about $2,000 per year.
(more…)
Tags: financial education, income, retirement plan, saving, tax law
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Thursday, August 2nd, 2018
• Begin preparing for the distribution of the plan’s Summary Annual Report to participants and beneficiaries by September 30, unless a Form 5500 extension of time
to file applies (calendar-year plans).
• Submit employee census and payroll data to the plan’s recordkeeper for mid-year compliance testing (calendar- year plans).
• Confirm that participants who terminated employment between January 1 and June 30 elected a distribution option for their plan account balance and returned their election form. Contact those whose forms were not received.
Consult your plan’s financial, legal or tax advisor regarding these and other items that may apply to your plan.
Tags: August, census, checklist, payroll, plans
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