YOUR YEAR-END FINANCIAL CHECKLIST

Seven aspects of your financial life to review as the year draws to a close.

                       

The end of a year makes us think about last-minute things we need to address and good habits we want to start keeping. To that end, here are seven aspects of your financial life to think about as this year leads into the next...

  

Your investments. Review your approach to investing and make sure it suits your objectives. Look over your portfolio positions and revisit your asset allocation.

Your retirement planning strategy. Does it seem as practical as it did a few years ago? Are you able to max out contributions to IRAs and workplace retirement plans like 401(k)s? Is it time to make catch-up contributions? Finally, consider Roth IRA conversion scenarios, and whether the potential tax-free retirement distributions tomorrow seem worth the taxes you may incur today. Be sure to take your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from your traditional IRA(s) by December 31. If you don't, the IRS will assess a penalty of 50% of the RMD amount on top of the taxes you will already pay on that income. (While you can postpone your very first IRA RMD until April 1, 2015, that forces you into taking two RMDs next year, both taxable events.)1

  

Your tax situation. How many potential credits and/or deductions can you and your accountant find before the year ends? Have your CPA craft a year-end projection including Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The rise in the top marginal tax bracket for 2014 made fewer high-earning executives and business owners subject to the AMT, as their ordinary income tax liabilities grew. That calls for a fresh look at accelerated depreciation, R&D credits, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, incentive stock options and certain types of tax-advantaged investments.2

  

Review any sales of appreciated property and both realized and unrealized losses and gains. Take a look back at last year's loss carry-forwards. If you've sold securities, gather up cost-basis information. Look for any transactions that could potentially enhance your circumstances.

Your charitable gifting goals. Plan charitable contributions or contributions to education accounts, and make any desired cash gifts to family members. The annual federal gift tax exclusion is $14,000 per individual for 2014 and 2015, meaning a taxpayer can gift as much as $14,000 to as many individuals as you like in each year without tax consequences. A married couple can gift up to $28,000 tax-free to as many individuals as they prefer. The gifts do count against the lifetime estate tax exemption amount, which climbs to $5.43 million per individual and $10.86 per married couple for 2015.3

    

You could also gift appreciated stocks to a charity. If you have owned them for more than a year, you can deduct 100% of their fair market value and legally avoid capital gains tax you would normally incur from selling them.4

Besides outright gifts, you can plan other financial moves on behalf of your family - you can create and fund trusts, for example. The end of the year is a good time to review any trusts you have in place.

Your life insurance coverage. Are your policies and beneficiaries up-to-date? Review premium costs, beneficiaries, and any and all life events that may have altered your coverage needs.

Speaking of life events...did you happen to get married or divorced in 2014?Did you move or change jobs?Buy a home or business? Did you lose a family member, or see a severe illness or ailment affect a loved one? Did you reach the point at which Mom or Dad needed assisted living? Was there a new addition to your family this year? Did you receive an inheritance or a gift? All of these circumstances can have a financial impact on your life, and even the way you invest and plan for retirement and wind down your career or business. They are worth discussing with the financial or tax professional you know and trust.

 

Lastly, did you reach any of these financially important ages in 2014? If so, act accordingly.

Did you turn 70½ this year? If so, you must now take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your IRA(s).

Did you turn 62 this year? If so, you're now eligible to apply for Social Security benefits.

Did you turn 59½ this year? If so, you may take IRA distributions without a 10% penalty.

Did you turn 55 this year? If so, and you retired during this year, you may now take distributions from your 401(k) account without penalty.

Did you turn 50 this year? If so, "catch-up" contributions may now be made to IRAs (and certain qualified retirement plans).1,5,6

The end of the year is a key time to review your financial well-being. If you feel you need to address any of the items above, please feel free to give me a call.

Citations. 1 - irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/RMD-Comparison-Chart-%28IRAs-vs.-Defined-Contribution-Plans%29 [4/30/14] 2 - tinyurl.com/o7wqk7z [3/27/14] 3 - forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2014/10/30/irs-announces-2015-estate-and-gift-tax-limits/ [10/30/14] 4 - philanthropy.com/article/Donors-Often-Overlook-Benefits/148561/ [8/29/14] 5 - nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/getting-retirement-money-early-without-30168.html [12/2/14] 6 - turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Tax-Planning-and-Checklists/Tax-Tips-After-January-1--2015/INF12070.html [12/2/14]

Sincerely, Bill Morrissey, CFP® and Tammy Prouty, CFP® Sound Financial Planning, Inc.

Primary Office 425 Commercial St., Ste 203 Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Phone: (360) 336-6527 info@soundfinancialplanning.net Secondary Office 650 Mullis St., Ste 101 Friday Harbor, WA 98250 (360) 378-3022 www.soundfinancialplanning.net

PLEASE READ THIS WARNING: All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received or otherwise recorded by the Sound Financial Planning, Inc. corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival, monitoring and/or review, by and/or disclosure to, someone other than the recipient. This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("intended recipient") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible and delete the message without reading it or making a copy. Any dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or any of its content by any person other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. has taken precautions to screen this message for viruses, but we cannot guarantee that it is virus free nor are we responsible for any damage that may be caused by this message. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or notice filed, or excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Follow-up and individualized responses that involve either the effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, as the case may be, will not be made absent compliance with state investment adviser and investment adviser representative registration requirements, or an applicable exemption or exclusion. This information should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. WE WOULD LIKE TO CREDIT THIS ARTICLE'S CONTENT TO MARKETING PRO INC.

ACCENTUATING THE POSITIVE

Retiring? Saving for retirement? Here's some good news.

Are 90% of articles written about retirement pessimistic? Sometimes it seems that way. Repeatedly, we are reminded that most baby boomers haven't saved enough for the future.

There's no denying this, but the media is giving short shrift to other, more positive developments that may be improving the economic and retirement outlook for many Americans. Here are a few worth noting.

401(k) savings have rebounded tremendously from Great Recession lows. For older savers, the recovery is especially pronounced. Fidelity just released its latest Quarterly Retirement Snapshot. Looking over account data from its retirement plans, it says that the average Q3 401(k) balance for employees who had contributed to their accounts for at least ten straight years was $241,800, compared to just $130,700 in Q1 2009 when the recession was ending. That's an 85% increase.1,2

Data from Principal Financial Group points out similar gains. Earlier this year, it noted that the average balance in its 401(k) plans had risen nearly 70% since the market trough of 2008. Also, new research from the Investment Company Institute shows that if an employee made consistent per-paycheck contributions to a 401(k) during 2007-12, the balance on such accounts increased an average of 6.8% annually (and this is not even considering the great year the market had in 2013).3,4

Incomes finally seem to be rising. This recovery has been marked by a lack of wage growth - a factor that has made it shallower than many analysts expected. That may be changing at last, as the Census Bureau's employment cost index increased 0.7% for Q2. That is solid, in fact it is the biggest quarterly boost seen in six years.4

Hiring has picked up in some crucial industries. ADP's latest employment change report shows October payrolls swelling by 28,000 workers in the construction industry and 15,000 in the factory sector. There were 5,000 new hires at businesses with more than 500 workers, 102,000 new hires at small firms and 122,000 fresh hires at medium-sized companies.5

Americans aren't living on margin as much as they once were. In 2008, total U.S. credit card debt reached $866 billion. In 2013, that fell to $660 billion.4

Fewer Americans are letting consumer debt linger. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says the latest debt delinquency rates are the lowest in more than six years - the 90-day-plus delinquency rate was at 4.8% in Q2. During 2010, it reached 8.7%. Additionally, overall household debt declined $18 billion in the second quarter, and mortgage debt decreased $69 billion.4,6

Medicare spending didn't rise in the last federal budget year. It was flat for FY 2012-13 and while that may not hold true in successive years, it is certainly interesting. According to Medicare actuaries, fewer Medicare recipients than forecast went to hospitals for care during that budget year, and many of those who did used cheaper services. (Per-beneficiary Part A spending fell for a second consecutive year in FY 2012-13; enrollment in Part C plans expanded.)7

This lack of an annual spending increase led Medicare's trustees to adjust their forecast of when Medicare's main trust fund might run dry. It is now projected to do so in 2030, four years later than previously estimated.7

Baby boomers may be in for a more enjoyable retirement than the media assumes. This summer, T. Rowe Price surveyed recent U.S. retirees and found that 89% were somewhat or very satisfied with their quality of life. This level of retirement satisfaction surfaced even though the average respondent was now living on 66% of his or her pre-retirement income, with 85% of respondents saying that they didn't require as much money as they once did to maintain their standard of living.8

There you have it: a roundup of good news about the economy and the outlook for retirement. Stay positive and plan actively for your future.

Citations. 1 - istockanalyst.com/business/news/7063858/fidelity-s-quarterly-retirement-snapshot-average-balances-increase-year-over-year-record-contributions [4/29/14] 2 - blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2014/04/29/older-savers-pull-ahead-in-the-401k-race/tab/print/ [4/29/14] 3 - blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2014/06/03/survey-401k-savings-rates-spiked-in-2013/ [6/3/14] 4 - bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-05/how-to-stay-optimistic-about-retirement-read-this-article.html [8/5/14] 5 - thestreet.com/story/12941709/1/adp-report-shows-hiring-picking-up-job-growth-in-right-places.html/ [11/5/14] 6 - newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html#2014/q2 [11/4/14] 7 - bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-28/medicare-s-financial-condition-improves-on-reduced-costs.html [7/28/14] 8 - news.investors.com/investing/073014-711065-people-adjust-to-lower-income-in-retirement.htm [7/30/14]

Sincerely, Bill Morrissey, CFP® and Tammy Prouty, CFP® Sound Financial Planning, Inc.

Primary Office 425 Commercial St., Ste 203 Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Phone: (360) 336-6527 info@soundfinancialplanning.net Secondary Office 650 Mullis St., Ste 101 Friday Harbor, WA 98250 (360) 378-3022 www.soundfinancialplanning.net

 

PLEASE READ THIS WARNING: All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received or otherwise recorded by the Sound Financial Planning, Inc. corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival, monitoring and/or review, by and/or disclosure to, someone other than the recipient. This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("intended recipient") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible and delete the message without reading it or making a copy. Any dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or any of its content by any person other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. has taken precautions to screen this message for viruses, but we cannot guarantee that it is virus free nor are we responsible for any damage that may be caused by this message. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or notice filed, or excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Follow-up and individualized responses that involve either the effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, as the case may be, will not be made absent compliance with state investment adviser and investment adviser representative registration requirements, or an applicable exemption or exclusion. This information should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. WE WOULD LIKE TO CREDIT THIS ARTICLE'S CONTENT TO MARKETING PRO INC.