Akron Life February 2022

FINANCIAL PLANNING

CONTINUE BUILDING What changes once you reach your 40s and 50s? “It’s more of the same, but it starts to take on a little more intensity looking at the second half of life,” George says. “What does investing look like? How about these retirement plans?” He recommends paying off any remaining debts and looking into any retirement plans that are offered through your job. Common options are 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts and Roth IRAs, and they should be considered in refer ence to what the tax rates are projected to be in the year you will retire. But more impor tantly, George says to find out if your employer matches retire ment plan contributions.

“If there is a match, we always, if at all possible, at least par ticipate to the point of the maximum match,” George says, offering the example of an employer matching 50 percent of your contribution. “I’m not getting a better return on any investment anywhere else. Let me take the free money. And let me start it at early as I can.” ENJOY IT Finally, your hard work pays off. Once you reach retirement age, know what you have saved and what your spending is likely to look like. “Out of my resources — secured retirement funds, investments — can I create a stream of fixed income to meet my fixed expenses?” George says. “Then do I have money left over?”

Set aside funds for things that may come up as you age, like health care costs, health insur ance, nursing home care and end-of-life planning. But remem ber that those aren’t the only reasons to set money aside. “It’s not all gloom and doom,” George says. “Is it now time to take that world trip that I wanted to take? Is it time to now go travel across the coun

try because that’s where the grandkids are?” Even if you haven’t been con sistent with planning, it’s never too late to start. It can benefit both you and your family down the road. “It doesn’t matter where you are,” George says. “There’s no better time to get started off on the right foot than now.”

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TAXWISE CHARITABLE GIVING STRATEGIES FOR RETIREES

DO WELL WHILE DOING GOOD WITH A QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTION A charitable giving strategy that can be useful for retirees who have excess income is the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). If you are taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your IRA or other retirement plan, a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) can help reduce your taxable income. QCDs are donations made directly from your IRA to your chosen charity. While the gif t amount doesn’t qualify for a charitable deduction, it won’t be considered taxable income either. It enables you to deduct the amount transferred to charity from your taxable income, even if you would not otherwise be itemizing deductions. For example, Jane Smith has an IRA with a $10,000 RMD. She directs $1,000 from her IRA to her favorite charity and takes the remaining $9,000 RMD. On her income tax return, she will report only $9,000 of taxable distributions from this retirement account. QCDs also count toward satisfying your RMD for the year if it has not already been met. Reducing your taxable income also may be useful for non-tax reasons, such as calculating your Medicare premiums. CONSULT YOUR FINANCIAL AND TAX ADVISORS The Financial Advisors at W3 Wealth Management can help you develop a tax-advantaged gifting program using strategies customized to your personal and business financial plan and goals. W3 FINANCIAL GROUP | 330.836.3805 | W3FINANCIALGROUP.COM Fee-Based Planning of fered through W3 Wealth Advisors, LLC, a State Registered Investment Advisor. Thi rd Par ty Money Management of fered through Valmark Advisers, Inc. , a SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Secur it ies of fered through Valmark Secur it ies, Inc. Member FINRA , SIPC. W3 Global Account ing provides only tax and account ing. W3 Financial Group, LLC, W3 Wealth Advisors, LLC and W3 Global Account ing are separate ent it ies from Valmark Secur it ies, Inc. and Valmark Advisers, Inc. This mater ial has been prepared for informat ional purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be rel ied on for, account ing, legal or tax advice. The ser vices of an appropr iate professional should be sought regarding your individual situat ion.

DOING WELL WHILE DOING GOOD

W3FINANCIALGROUP.COM 330.836.3805

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