Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Retirees should make sure that they start taking required minimum distributions from their tax-deferred retirement accounts, or they will face a tax penalty that is 50% of the RMD amount, according to this article on Motley Fool. They should consider holding some of their retirement funds in a Roth account, as withdrawals are not subject to taxes. A portion of their Social Security benefits may also be taxable depending on their annual income. Unlike when they were still working and their employer withheld an amount for their taxes, retirees need to make estimated tax payments to the IRS.
Retirees who reach the age of 70 1/2 have the option of donating their required minimum distributions from their traditional IRA by turning the withdrawal into a qualified charitable distribution, according to this article on Kiplinger. Retirees who opt to donate their RMD directly to a charity will not face any tax liability, as the withdrawal will be excluded from their taxable income.
The MyRA program, which was created by the federal government to help workers with no workplace retirement account to build their nest egg, will be terminated, after the government spent $70 million and saw only 20,000 people signing up for the program within 21 months, according to this article on MarketWatch. Experts say that the program is a great concept, but the problem could be in the execution. “Winding down myRA really makes no sense. The program wasn’t a panacea to the retirement crisis; but it certainly helped people who used it,” says an expert.
A senior who reached the age 66 and initially opted to defer his Social Security retirement benefit may file for the benefit and avail of the six months retroactive benefits to address his financial woes, according to this article on Forbes. He also has the option of suspending the benefit after taking the back pay, but the retroactive benefits could mean permanent reduction in benefits. That's because he would not earn delayed retirement credits for the six months he collected the payouts.
Summer is a great time for baby boomers to review their financial portfolio and determine whether they are still on track in achieving their retirement goals, according to this article on Fox Business. “Hitting the halfway point of the year is a great time to give your finances a check-up,” says an expert with TD Ameritrade. “Investors who get into the habit of reevaluating their investments mid-year have the opportunity to make necessary adjustments and be better prepared heading into the second half of the year."
