Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Investors are advised to assess themselves and their motivations to avoid making wrong financial moves, writes an investment advisor for Kiplinger. Clients can be categorized as a gambler, a speculator, an investor, a risk manager or a combination of these types. Clients approaching or already in retirement should be a risk manager who focuses on risk tolerance, writes the expert. "With little or no time to recover, a large loss can destroy your nest egg."
Clients will be better off paying off student loan debt if the interest rate is significantly high, but they should continue contributing to their retirement plan enough to get their employer's match, according to this article on TheStreet. They should also avoid deferring retirement saving in favor of student loan repayments, as this would mean missed opportunity of earning from tax-advantaged compounded growth in retirement accounts. "In the early earning years, I tend to recommend Roth IRA to clients if we assume their income will be higher in later years so we lock in lower tax rates on those dollars saved," says an expert.
Cash-strapped retirees in 24 states have the option of taking property tax deferrals to free more income and improve their retirement prospects, according to this article on CNBC. This strategy allows them to defer their property tax bills until they sell their homes or pass away. "It's important for a state like Massachusetts, because it's such a high-tax state. It's sort of kept as a state secret, because right now it diminishes that tax revenues that the cities and towns get," says Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research.
Contributing to retirement accounts is one of the legal tax shelters that clients should use to minimize the tax bite, according to this article from U.S. News & World Report. Taking advantage of workplace benefits and contributing to health savings accounts are also legal strategies that can help taxpayers reduce their tax bill. Homeownership and launching a business are other options that enable clients to qualify for valuable tax deductions and boost tax savings.
