Welcome to our Video and Audio Podcast Review of our Q4 2023 Newsletter. For those on the road or just unable to grab the time to read, our podcast type review gives you the behind the scenes insight to our thoughts, observations and deep views of the entire Newsletter.
Click the Download button below, for a direct link to an electronic version (an early peek-good ole fashion paper versions are on their way to you shortly) and here for our Newsletter page
Rate Increase GOOD for Pension Plans and Pension Recipients
Special thanks to Milliman and Rebecca head of medial relations for allowing us the ability to reference this fantastic data… also sourced at the end of our post/article.
Here are the top 100 pension plans, a lot of names you likely know and maybe even have a pension with… At least one family member included in this.
With higher interest rates, something we have mentioned numerous times… Notice because of a rather complex future liability projection, pension plans for the most part are FINALLY funded….YAY
Don’t Fight the Fed! Wait, are we Fighting the FED? YEP
This unusual correlation especially when the blue line is going down, represents the FED (Federal Open Market Committee) pulling money from the economy or trying to slow the Economy.
Add higher rates, at the fastest pace ever….
Interesting that participants are fighting the FED, even though they regularly quote “Don’t Fight The FED!”
Stimulus still sloshing around in the Economy…
True-Up Reminders – 401k and the Like
In the year 2023 (Currently heading towards a close) the maximum amount WE (not including matching) can contribute is $22.500 and for those either age 50 or older or turning age 50 happily in 2023, you get a nice catch-up amount of $7,500 bringing your deferred amount to a whopping $30,000!
Pro-Tip – Contribute evenly throughout the year, with a terminal amount of maximizing in late November or early December.
Pro-Trick – Similar to rushing/upping your contributions near the end of employment to maximize levels, if you are new to an employer and wish to maximize your contributions for the year, dump all you can to maximize your contributions now, with the intention of dropping that contribution level down to a normal level (see Pro-Tip above) after the turn of the calendar.
Do Not Overfill Duplicate Plan Years
Remember, if you have contributed to a plan earlier in the year via another employer, your new employer will not be able to throttle your contributions back if you happen to go over the total annual limit. Reach out for help and clarity on this!
Be Aggressive in New Plans
Lastly, in new plans, starting from scratch with new contributions, allocation should be wide open and aggressive with the hope of choppy entry points as your contributions make up the majoring of the plan and will take advantage of the ups and downs in the early years of the plan.
Cyber Reminder- Tips and Tricks
If there’s one thing, for those of us with little time or patients for a long read that we would like you to take from this article it is that most cyber intrusions come from an e-mail that has a bad actor with a hot link click, do not click on that bad hot link!
The second thing and more encouraging, most cyber security situations are not extremely complicated and are allowed by a simple letting of our guards down- see above point!
Handy tip #1– Use an only known to you, phrase or password.
Handy tip #2– Do not ignore the recommended updates!
USB/Pen Drives a No No Avoid the USB/pen drive at all costs unless you absolutely, 100% know where it came from
RMD Age Changes and other Important Dates
RMD (Required Minimum Distributions)
One of the most important and likely most confusing due to the recent multiple updates is the adjustment of Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) They are now mandatory to commence for those aged 73. Those turning 75 after 2033, your new RMD age is 75. Recall, these just a few years ago, moved from age 70 1/2 to 72, now to age 73 and eventually age 75. No wonder we are all confused!
Social Security Mandatory Commencement Date reminder age 70
The current maximum age that you may defer commencement of Social Security still remains at age 70, well below the new younger thresholds that we hopefully are all feeling.
The earliest one may take Social Security remains age 62, with a 25% discount to the full retirement age (FRA) benefit amount AND has a maximum earnings level of $21,240 from W-2 or 1099 (working income) not pension, investment or other non working types of income.
Have a Great Fall! Talk after the turn of the Calendar!
The Secure Act 2.0 signed into law at dark 30 in December 2022 included a very confusing, ambiguous, and unimplementable as written rule, that mandated incomes over certain levels would not be allowed to make tax deductible catch up contributions to pre-tax plans… i.e. 401ks…and if desired would need to contribute catch up contributions to Roth – After tax contributions…
Last Friday, August 25, 2034 at 2:41 PM the following email hit the cell inbox-
Sketchy Roth Mandate Pushed to 2026
As mentioned above the Secure 2.0 included a poorly written rule mandating an income thresh hold for pre-tax catch up contributions…..
Without getting into the weeds, the law was written so hurridly and sketchy, it was literally impossible to implement as signed.
The general consensus was either clarity or a punt… Thank goodness we received the latter Friday afternoon….
Not to worry, we have a good memory and will be on it in 2026, but for now the heat as expected, but starting to worry, if off! Yay
Once again not surprising with the afore mentioned COLA adjustment on Social Security…. Retirement contribution limits were also adjusted by a large amount….
We find ourselves reviewing this amount so frequently and getting confused as the calendar turns as well as being in the next tax year but making contributions for the prior…. we are going to have a special tab here on our blog moving forward that will have two years data. The IRS Release.
So here we go!
Retirement Contribution Limits
401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, increased to $22,500 (2023), up from $20,500 (2022)
Catch up for those over 50 is increased to $7,500 (2023), up from $6,500 (2022)
Total max 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans including catch up is $30,000 (2023) up from $27,000 (2022)
limit on annual contributions to an IRA increased to $6,500 (2023), up from $6,000 (2022)
IRA catch up for those age 50 and greater remains $1000
Annual Gift Exclusion amount increased to $17,000 (2023) from $16,000 (2022)
This takes care of the great majority of retirement plans…but for the record we do not like the formatting and will wait to post the new page once a more comprehensive and better formatted list is completed….
Have a “Fresh of the Presses IRS Retirement Increased Limit” Day!
With a pending holiday week coming up in the next several and as mentioned before many on Wall Street seem to be getting their kids back to school. We thought it a timely time to remind everyone to check those retirement contribution run rates….
Great time to review your contribution levels
Midway through the third-quarter, is a good time for all of us to review our retirement contribution levels. If our intent is to max out your 401(k), or other retirement plan, take a peek and see if you’re on track to achieve this goal.
If you have any questions certainly shoot us your latest paycheck and we can do the calculations, but here are roughly where we should be on our contributions to the regular and ketchup 401(k) levels.
Ideally your year to date (YTD) contribution levels for your 401(k) regular withholding by yourself should be about $13,500 in order to meet the $20,500 regular filing maximum by the end of the year and if our goal is to achieve the $27K catchup for those 50 and older we should be at about the $18,000 level today. Both of these should be our individual YTD withholding amounts. We know there are matching and employer contributions … but the rules are set for us as an individual at the $19,500 regular maximum and $27,000 catch-up maximum.
Two quick reminders… if you have changed employers it is our job to keep up with the maximum amounts as mentioned here because our new employer will not know our prior contributions… Lastly we like to max fund early our contributions if we know we are not going to be at our employer the full year…. Especially if we may be going to another place that may not have a plan or may have a mandatory waiting period..
There are variances in certain situations, most of which we have already discussed, but those that we have not recently …
Welcome to our Video and Audio Podcast Review of our Q2 2022 Newsletter. For those on the road or just unable to grab the time to read, our podcast type review gives you the behind the scenes insight to our thoughts, observations and deep views of the entire Newsletter.
BREAK IN – We are trying a new format of articles that are shorter, and hit a very wide variety of topics that should interest all ages and chapters…. Let us know what you think?
Click the Download button below, for a direct link to an electronic version (an early peek-good ole fashion paper versions are on their way to you shortly) and here for our Newsletter page
All about the Stimulus Base Effects and the Coming Comparable (Hurdles)
In our main article, a somewhat follow up article to our Q 1 2022 Newsletter Main Article “Anatomy of a Slowdown” we review the base effects we as an economy are about to have to hurdle.
Sale of many companies exploded higher, similar to the one below, but now must be digested..
Look Back Tax Savings – Spousal IRA – SEP – HSA , These can be done before your filing due date of April 18 to Possible Lower Your 2021 Taxes
With tax season officially underway, actually nearing an end, the official filing date for non-extension regular Form 1040 Filers is April 18th, 2022 (this year) for year 2021 tax filings, just a few weeks out. There are a few tax saving ideas that even with the turn of the calendar can be implemented to possibly help last year’s income taxes.
Self Employed Pension plan-the SEP as it’s commonly called is a great vehicle to offset income that is not of the W2 type, think consulting income.
The Spousal “Qualified IRA” is another handy tool to use if one of the spouses does not have any form of a retirement plan.
The HSA. One of the great parts of the HSA is you only need a high-deductible health insurance plan
Estate and Gift Planning Update – Annual Gifting Amount – Estate Tax Update
Annual Gift amount upped to $16k per person
Estate Tax Stands at $12.06 million per person or $22.12 million per couple
“Last year certainly garnered many headlines of possible changes in much of the estate tax laws. In all fairness we fielded many questions and thankfully once again stuck to our mantra of until it is law, one should be very careful at making preemptive adjustments. There certainly can be changes in the future, but again short of knee jerk reactions, we tend to like for law mandates to be made for reaction, rather than rumors. “
Financial Planning/Retirement Planning Trick for those Early in the Workforce – Roth contribution for young working
Helping a new worker contribute to a Roth and an early age to jumpstart a retirement program…
From the Article…
“Most likely if a young worker is making a very nominal amount, and possibly still living at home, they will not have the cash flow to contribute to any type of retirement plan. But if someway somehow they can make a Roth contribution at least up to their earnings at a very young age the long term positive consequences of this can obviously be fantastic.”
“If a 17 year old was somehow able to get $6000 in a Roth (one time!) and earn 8% a year at age 66 he/she would have about $191,000. If that same 17 year old were somehow able to get $6000 a year until he or she was 23, (five years), and had the same 8% compounding until he or she was 66 there would be a nest egg of just under $1,000,000. That $1,000,000 would not be subject under current tax laws, to mandatory required minimum distributions (RMS;s) nor again under current tax laws would it be taxable income upon distribution.”
As a reminder this is a high level Financial Planning Education like overview starting with the basics of and we will continue into advanced topics in order of Planning Importance.
Retirement Planning
The most important parts of retirement planning are very easy and as follows:
Start Early
Save as much as you can especially when you are young as compounding is your friend, do not worry about the amount, just save!
Don’t overthink your investment options, just allocate as available and save save save…
Starting out with a healthy savings percentage of our earnings at an early age will lead to eventual maxing out of your retirement plans, forcing you happily into other savings vehicles thereby balancing your eventual portfolio with pre-tax retirement savings and after tax buckets of investments.
Continued high percentage earnings savings will also ultimately create the habits of not living on all that you are earning. This is especially important as we get closer to retirement and create just darn good habits.
There will likely be times in our lives when we may not be able to save as much on a percentage of our earnings as we would like, but constant top of mind savings habits will garner success in the long term, don’t let life’s curve balls distract your long term savings effort, you can do it!
Early savings should be very aggressive as the corpus of your savings are the actual savings component. All equity type of investments especially during the first 5-10 years are not out of the realm of possibilities, again your continued contributions dominate the investment during these early stages. As your retirement savings and for that matter other investments grow in size adjustments are necessary especially as we near retirement.
While there are talks of optimal retirement allocations, it’s not unusual to find inferior investment options in retirement accounts. Not to worry, don’t throw your employer or your plan under the bus … the most important item in your retirement savings program is the actual deferral of your hard earned work and the broad allocation! Be aggressive in the beginning and slowing down the allocation as it matures in size and our chapter nears retirement.
Weather 401, IRA, Sep- (Simplified Employee Pension), Roth.403b. 401A or any other retirement vehicle, the vehicle is not as important as participation!.
We will help you optimize from a tax standpoint which vehicle is best. and of course with the allocations as well!
Welcome to our Video and Audio Podcast Review of our Q1 2022 Newsletter. For those on the road or just unable to grab the time to read, our podcast type review gives you the behind the scenes insight to our thoughts, observations and deep views of the entire Newsletter.
Click the Download button below, for a direct link to an electronic version (an early peek-good ole fashion paper versions are on their way to you shortly) and here for our Newsletter page
In our main article, we review the last three drawdowns/slowdowns/recession for examples of how fast they occurred and the extremely fast recovery as can be seen by the main graph below.
We are not calling for a major slowdown/recession or the like, but we wanted to remind ourselves as well as everyone else, the last three drawdowns were not normal.
Longer drawdowns are the norm, and in the Newsletter Article we also go deeper into the Great Financial Crisis of 07-09, which was also not normal… it was much larger and much longer than the normal.
The past decade and a half have had it’s scary moments, but they did not last very long and were quickly attacked by the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) to give support in the system, fortunately very successfully. This may not always be the case, hence a reminder of the Umbrella use during sun shining times!
New Retirement Contribution Maximums, Best Practice, Tips and Tricks
The new retirement maximums are out at the IRS Website .
Again in our Newsletter article we remind those of smooth contributions throughout the year, UNLESS you have knowledge that may have you severed from your 401k some time during the year, in which a neat trick is to accelerate you contribution level in order to max that 401k out before you leave!
IRAs
2022
2021
2020
2019
401(k), 403(b), Profit-Sharing Plans, etc.
2022
2021
2020
2019
Annual Compensation
305,000
290,000
285,000
280,000
Elective Deferrals
20,500
19,500
19,500
19,000
Catch-up Contributions
6,500
6,500
6,500
6,000
Defined Contribution Limits
61,000
58,000
57,000
56,000
IRA Contribution Limit
$6,000
$6,000
$6,000
$6,000
IRA Catch-Up Contributions
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
Traditional IRA AGI Deduction Phase-out Starting at
Great News for corporate and similar retirement plans as we get a 5% (actually 5.13%) bump in contribution limits…yay
Not sure what happened to the cost of living adjustments (COLA) for regular IRA’s, Roth’s and our catch up provisions as they are stuck once again at the same levels? Maybe they are only going to increase them every four years which puts an increase next year? Maybe they (IRS) does not want to confuse us? Either way, here are the updated rules from the IRS latest release for year 2022 !
The following from this IRS.GOV announcement and hot links are live back to the IRS website if you have deeper questions on each subject!
Deferral limits for 401(k) plans
The limit on employee elective deferrals (for traditional and safe harbor plans)is:
$20,500 in 2022 ($19,500 in 2021 and 2020; and $19,000 in 2019), subject to cost-of-living adjustments
Catch-up contributions for those age 50 and over
If permitted by the 401(k) plan, participants age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can also make catch-up contributions. You may contribute additional elective salary deferrals of:
$6,500 in 2022, 2021 and 2020 and $6,000 in 2019 – 2015 to traditional and safe harbor 401(k) plans
Deferral limits for IRA Roth
For 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019, the total contributions you make each year to all of your traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs can’t be more than:
Retirement plan at work: Your deduction may be limited if you (or your spouse, if you are married) are covered by a retirement plan at work and your income exceeds certain levels.
No retirement plan at work: Your deduction is allowed in full if you (and your spouse, if you are married) aren’t covered by a retirement plan at work.
These charts show the income range in which your deduction may be disallowed if you or your spouse participates in a retirement plan at work:
In this updated post from a few years ago, we remind how easily it is to overfund a 401k plan and why, while it is not the end of the world, it is not a good tax situation….
Should you accidentally over fund your retirement plan … what occurs is a double taxation!
You do not get the deduction for the contribution
You will likely pay taxes on the eventual distribution
Job change is the most likely reason for overfunding!
Murphy’s law being applied, the form just arrived last week….about two weeks after our post…..
Reason for receipt:
Rollover of a 401k or the like to an IRA – Most frequent
Contribution to an IRA
Contribution to a SEP
One of the most confusing parts of this form is that even though you may have made a qualified contribution for a prior year i.e. 2020, if you made that contribution in 2021, depending on the type of contribution the Form 5498 MAY show your contribution in year 2021.
Capital Market Comments
Inflation or No Inflation
In this part two post, “The Smartest Guys in the Room” post we discussed via interest rate futures graphs the movement after FOMC dot plot adjustments and the interest rate markets….
This is an updated Graph of the 2 year US Treasury, which is holding lower, (higher yield) possibly due to faster expected rate increases!
This is the ultra long 30 Year Treasury, which continues to trend higher (lower Yield) possible pricing less inflation from the above mentioned expected shorter term rate increases!
Ok…that’s a wrap for the June review…. Hello July!
The most common type of Retirement Plan, the 401k in 2021 has a maximum deferral amount of $19,500 with a catch up provision for those age 50 or greater of $6.500 for a total of $26,000 again in year 2021.
Why You Do Not Want to Overfund Your Retirement Plan
Should you accidentally over fund your retirement plan … what occurs is a double taxation!
You do not get the deduction for the contribution
You will likely pay taxes on the eventual distribution
This is not the end of the world, especially if a very small dollar amount, but you still do not want this to happen…
How Does Overfunding a 401k Occur ? – Job Change
While it may seem puzzling at first, upon second thought the most common reason for overfunding a retirement plan is a job change.
It is impossible for your new employer to know your prior contributions, so an accidental overzealous withholding that throws you over the annual maximum will not be allowed from a IRS tax standpoint.
If you change jobs mid year, be sure to carefully determine your prior withholdings and monitor you new withholdings throughout the year as the burden is on us the employee to keep ourselves in check with the maximum.
For those gainfully employed at the same employer we have not seen an accidental over allowance in a very long time, so most employers have systems set up to automatically stop your contribution once the maximum is achieved. Should your employer merge with another company or change administrators, it is a good idea to make sure they pick up your prior contributions, which can be achieved by checking your paycheck’s ytd retirement plan withholdings after the change.
The good news is there are ways in certain cases to unwind this overpayment, but they are frequently very complicated, may create a tax issue for the IRS to review, and in some cases just not available.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, please consult your financial advisor prior to investing!
Background
The is the vocal portion of J.K. Financial, Inc. a Dallas Texas Based Fee Only Total Wealth Financial Planning Firm. Founded by John Kvale, a Dallas Texas Fee only Financial Planner and Total Wealth Manager.
Q4 2023 J.K. Financial, Inc. Newsletter … Good News on Interest Rates for Pensions and Pension Recipients, What? … Don’t Fight the FED Are we Fighting the Fed? Yes … Important True-Up Reminders for Year End Deadlines i.e. 401k … Handy Cyber Tips and Tricks … RMD Age Date Changes and Others … By John Kvale CFA, CFP …
Welcome to our Video and Audio Podcast Review of our Q4 2023 Newsletter. For those on the road or just unable to grab the time to read, our podcast type review gives you the behind the scenes insight to our thoughts, observations and deep views of the entire Newsletter.
Click the Download button below, for a direct link to an electronic version (an early peek-good ole fashion paper versions are on their way to you shortly) and here for our Newsletter page
Let’s get going! We hope you enjoy!
Q4 2023 Newsletter
(YouTube)
Rate Increase GOOD for Pension Plans and Pension Recipients
Special thanks to Milliman and Rebecca head of medial relations for allowing us the ability to reference this fantastic data… also sourced at the end of our post/article.
Here are the top 100 pension plans, a lot of names you likely know and maybe even have a pension with… At least one family member included in this.
With higher interest rates, something we have mentioned numerous times… Notice because of a rather complex future liability projection, pension plans for the most part are FINALLY funded….YAY
Don’t Fight the Fed! Wait, are we Fighting the FED? YEP
This unusual correlation especially when the blue line is going down, represents the FED (Federal Open Market Committee) pulling money from the economy or trying to slow the Economy.
Add higher rates, at the fastest pace ever….
Interesting that participants are fighting the FED, even though they regularly quote “Don’t Fight The FED!”
Stimulus still sloshing around in the Economy…
True-Up Reminders – 401k and the Like
In the year 2023 (Currently heading towards a close) the maximum amount WE (not including matching) can contribute is $22.500 and for those either age 50 or older or turning age 50 happily in 2023, you get a nice catch-up amount of $7,500 bringing your deferred amount to a whopping $30,000!
Pro-Tip – Contribute evenly throughout the year, with a terminal amount of maximizing in late November or early December.
Pro-Trick – Similar to rushing/upping your contributions near the end of employment to maximize levels, if you are new to an employer and wish to maximize your contributions for the year, dump all you can to maximize your contributions now, with the intention of dropping that contribution level down to a normal level (see Pro-Tip above) after the turn of the calendar.
Do Not Overfill Duplicate Plan Years
Remember, if you have contributed to a plan earlier in the year via another employer, your new employer will not be able to throttle your contributions back if you happen to go over the total annual limit. Reach out for help and clarity on this!
Be Aggressive in New Plans
Lastly, in new plans, starting from scratch with new contributions, allocation should be wide open and aggressive with the hope of choppy entry points as your contributions make up the majoring of the plan and will take advantage of the ups and downs in the early years of the plan.
Cyber Reminder- Tips and Tricks
If there’s one thing, for those of us with little time or patients for a long read that we would like you to take from this article it is that most cyber intrusions come from an e-mail that has a bad actor with a hot link click, do not click on that bad hot link!
The second thing and more encouraging, most cyber security situations are not extremely complicated and are allowed by a simple letting of our guards down- see above point!
RMD Age Changes and other Important Dates
RMD (Required Minimum Distributions)
One of the most important and likely most confusing due to the recent multiple updates is the adjustment of Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) They are now mandatory to commence for those aged 73. Those turning 75 after 2033, your new RMD age is 75. Recall, these just a few years ago, moved from age 70 1/2 to 72, now to age 73 and eventually age 75. No wonder we are all confused!
Social Security Mandatory Commencement Date reminder age 70
The current maximum age that you may defer commencement of Social Security still remains at age 70, well below the new younger thresholds that we hopefully are all feeling.
The earliest one may take Social Security remains age 62, with a 25% discount to the full retirement age (FRA) benefit amount AND has a maximum earnings level of $21,240 from W-2 or 1099 (working income) not pension, investment or other non working types of income.
Have a Great Fall! Talk after the turn of the Calendar!
John A. Kvale CFA, CFP
Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com
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Posted in Debt - Debt Management, Donald Capone, Economy, FOMC, Forecast, General Financial Planning, Interest Rates, Investing/Financial Planning, Jen Hill, John Kvale, Market Comments, Newsletters, Personal, Podcast, Video
Tagged 401k, Bonds, Cyber, Fight the Fed, Interest Rates, Milliman, Newsletter, PBO, Pension