Category: Retirement Planning

This blog discusses content from CBM’s Maximizing Social Security Benefits and Avoiding Mistakes webinar. To watch the webinar click here. Previous webinars can be found here. Like the content? Get alerts about future webinars here. Anyone who gets a paycheck knows that Social Security exists, by the little tax line. But do you know how it works? An important part of financial planning is knowing where your money is going and what you will get in return. This post discusses… Read more ›

For married people with large estates, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) brings welcome relief from federal estate and gift taxes, as well as the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. Here’s what you need to know and how to take advantage of the favorable changes. Estate Planning Tips: Estate and Gift Tax Basics The TCJA sets the unified federal estate and gift tax exemption at $12.92 million per person for 2023 (up from $12.06 million for 2022). For married couples,… Read more ›

The 2022 mid-term election has shifted the scales in Washington, D.C., with the Democrats no longer controlling both houses of Congress. While it remains to be seen if — and when — any tax-related legislation can muster the requisite bipartisan support, a review of certain provisions in existing laws may provide an indication of the many areas ripe for action in the next two years. Retirement catch-ups at risk The SECURE 2.0 Act, enacted at the tail end of 2022,… Read more ›

After months of negotiations, Congress finally passed the long-awaited Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0). This part of the omnibus funding package builds on the SECURE Act of 2019 and contains major changes in the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules and other retirement plan provisions. Here are five major taxpayer friendly changes that will kick in over the next few years. 1. Increased Starting Age for RMDs Traditional IRAs, individual retirement annuities, and accounts in… Read more ›

Many job seekers and others assume that not-for-profit organizations offer fewer or less-generous fringe benefits to employees than for-profit companies. But that’s not necessarily true. According to a recent survey by the Nonprofit Times, 87% of nonprofit employers offer a health insurance plan. But as the Kaiser Family Foundation has found, only 49% of private for-profit companies with three to nine workers offer health insurance coverage to workers. Larger for-profit companies generally do offer health insurance and other benefits. So… Read more ›

On December 23, 2022, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The sprawling year-end spending “omnibus” package includes two important new laws that could affect your financial planning: the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) 2.0 Act (also known as SECURE 2.0) and the Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act. Bolstering Retirement Savings (SECURE 2.0) The original SECURE Act, enacted in 2019, was a significant bipartisan law related to retirement savings. In the spring of 2022, with an… Read more ›

Does your organization have a succession plan in place? And, if it does, is it well documented? Some not-for-profits delay detailed succession planning, thinking of it as a project they’ll get to “someday.” But that’s a mistake. Like making future plans in your private life, creating a succession plan for your organization is a necessity. And the earlier you start planning, the better. You’ll come across information that needs to be documented for the successor — and you might also… Read more ›

As Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell recently reported, the Inflation Reduction Act has created deductions for energy-efficient construction especially concerning the Section 179D deduction for commercial buildings and the Section 45L credit for residential homes. The Inflation Reduction Act has created additional adjustments in 2023 taxpayers should be aware of including to the standard deduction and other provisions. More recently on Friday, October 21, the IRS also announced a generous increase in the 2023 annual contributions to a 401K account. Read… Read more ›

Young adults who start their careers weighed down by college debt have a tough time buying a home or maxing out a retirement plan. That’s why, in 1996, Congress added Section 529 to the Internal Revenue Code. It created a new tax-advantaged college saving vehicle. More than two decades later, “529 plans” now collectively hold around $320 billion in assets.A lesser-known alternative, with its own set of pros and cons, is the custodial Roth IRA. Even if you’ve already started… Read more ›

Get the most from Social Security. Younger retirees face a harsh penalty for working part-time. For every $2 earned over $19,560 in 2022 (up from $18,960 in 2021), you lose $1 in Social Security benefits. In the year you reach full retirement age, a higher earnings threshold applies. Your benefits will be reduced by $1 for every $3 of earnings only when earnings exceed $51,960 in 2022 if you reach full retirement age (up from $50,520 for 2021). After you… Read more ›