Category: Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Marvin Dutton

Author

It’s much easier than you think to lose money in your retirement savings.

Do you want to get the most out of your Social Security benefits? I’d be surprised if you didn’t. It’s only natural to expect more from a pension that will last the rest of your days. The following are six ways to maximize your Social Security benefits.

Verify your earnings history

Your Social Security payout is based on your past work history. Your benefits will be artificially reduced if your earnings history is incomplete.

Your earnings history may be seen by registering for an account with my Social Security. Form SSA-7004 can be used to get a copy of your earnings record from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Gather your tax returns, pay stubs, or any other proof, and call your local Social Security office if your income is missing from your record.

Compile your “side hustle” earnings

Taxes are due on the money you make from any secondary sources of income. If you fail to declare these earnings, you may face penalties from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Furthermore, you risk a smaller Social Security payout if you don’t declare all your income.

The IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, and Schedule SE commonly record self-employment income. Self-employment taxes, such as those for Social Security and Medicare, are calculated using Schedule SE.

Work for at least 35 years

This method uses an average of your prior wages to calculate your Social Security payment. The 35 years you made the most money are included in this average. If you’ve worked less than 35 years, the average computation utilizes zeros to fill in the missing years of your career.

For example, let’s assume you’ve worked for 30 years and earned $50,000 throughout that time. The 35-year average of $42,860 is based on an assumption of no income for five years. You might expect to earn $50,000 after 35 years of full-time employment, which is the average.

If you can, work for 35 years. In this way, you can avoid years where you have no income, reducing your wages and, as a result, your pension.

Wait until FRA

For Social Security purposes, your Full Retirement Age (FRA) is the age at which you are eligible for your entire pension without any reductions. Your Social Security payout will be smaller if you begin collecting it before your FRA. A percentage decrease is applied for each month your pension is expedited relative to full retirement age (FRA), and this deduction can be as significant as 30%.

Plan your income

Income limitations apply if you work and receive Social Security benefits before your FRA. Similarly, benefits are slashed if you go beyond certain limitations.

With a rise in your taxable income, you may experience a Medicare-related reduction in Social Security benefits. You may be subject to a higher or greater Medicare premium surcharge on your Social Security benefits if your taxable income (including investment income) rises. A Roth conversion or making a substantial investment gain can result in this.

Surcharges are added to your benefit two years after income is generated, making matters even more complex.

If you’re considering a Roth conversion, you might be willing to put up with a short-term reduction in your Social Security benefits in exchange for the long-term benefits. However, in some cases, timing your income may be able to reduce or prevent an additional penalty.

Repay debts

For delinquent obligations, Social Security may garnish your payments. Unpaid taxes, child support, alimony, and student loans to the Department of Education are among such obligations. Court-ordered victims’ restitution is another.

You must appeal garnishments directly with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It’s preferable to avoid these circumstances if you can, as you’ll almost certainly require the assistance of an attorney.

Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 2129517376

Marvin Dutton

Author

Social Security is a significant part of retirement benefits, even though you may not get as much as you want from it, so it’s essential to make wise choices. The outcomes of your decisions about your Social Security will have an effect on how you live your retirement. 

However, some people count solely on Social Security, not knowing that the benefits are approximately 20,000 dollars a year. Others who are wise retire with some money saved up already – the Social Security benefit can come in afterward as an “extra”.

Therefore, before you start getting your retirement benefits, be sure that you can confidently answer the questions below. 

1. When can I retire for good?

The question you’ll need to answer before getting Social Security benefits is easy to answer. At what point will you be financially confident enough to retire?

The answer varies according to an individual; it could be 65, 68, or between that time. This time is the age where full benefits based on your past earnings can start rolling in.

2. What time is best for you to receive Social Security?

There is no particular best time for everyone to receive Social Security, and the decision solely rests on you. You can start getting your Social Security funds as early as 62, and it could be as late as 70. 

Moreover, receiving the benefits early will cause you to get smaller checks in high quantity while receiving them later will give you an 8% increment until age 70. To help your decision, think about how long you want it to last. Waiting a little longer might be great for people with the gift of long life.

3. How much money do I need to live on when I retire?

The best solution is to plan out your retirement in detail. It would be best to calculate how much money you will need throughout your retirement – you should also figure out how you will get it. You may have to save extensively, rely on a pension, or secure an extra source of income.

When you get a rough picture of the money coming from your Social Security retirement benefit and an estimation of what you can save and get from pensions, you will know how and where to invest in new income sources/businesses. 

You can find an estimate for your future social security benefit by creating an account on the Social Security Administration (SSA) website.

It’s advisable to prepare for retirement, make the most of your Social Security retirement benefits, make more money, save as much as possible, and rest assured of a comfortable retirement.

Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 2129517376

If the insured person passes away, their loved ones are protected by life insurance. The protection offered by term life insurance is fundamental and momentary. The benefits of term life insurance are broken out in this lesson plan.

Insurance on a Term Basis

The coverage period for term life insurance is typically between 20 and 30 years. If the policyholder passes away due to a covered cause while the coverage is in effect, the insurer will pay a death benefit. No reward is paid out if the policyholder passes away.

Several different insurance providers offer term life insurance. Certain employers do not need medical examinations. Policyholders are the ones who decide the coverage they want. It might be a few thousand dollars to pay for the funeral expenses or a million dollars or more. Insurers base the premiums they charge policyholders on the likelihood that the policyholder may pass away. Usually, people who are young and healthy have lower insurance costs. The person who owns the insurance may choose one or more people to receive the death benefit. The death benefit is larger, but the premiums are higher. If the policyholder passes away due to an event covered by the plan at any point during the plan term, the beneficiary will receive the death benefit. Beneficiaries are exempt from paying taxes on this money.

Whole as opposed to Term

There is a significant difference between term and whole life insurance regarding cost, purpose, and coverage. The duration of term policies is not permanent. If the policyholder does not pass away within the policy term, the beneficiary receives no death benefit. Insurance expenses affect premiums. Whole life insurance is more expensive than term life insurance. Value is not added to the currency by term policies. They can neither be cashed out nor invested in. The benefits of whole life insurance are permanent. A death benefit is always paid out if the insurance policy is still current. This is an excellent option for a parent who has a disabled child who will need permanent coverage. There is the potential for cash accumulation with whole life insurance. Investments. Policyholders have the option to borrow against their policies or cash them in.

Permanent vs. Term

Temporary coverage is provided by term life insurance. Permanent life insurance protects the rest of one’s life. The most common kind of life insurance is permanent whole life insurance. The term “universal life” refers to both permanent and temporary life insurance. The security provided by universal life policies is permanent. Nevertheless, both the premiums and the benefits upon death are negotiable. You have the option of using the cash value of your insurance to pay your premiums and increase the amount of the death benefit.

Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 2129517376

Variable life insurance is a type of permanent (cash value) life insurance that allows you to divide your premium payments among subaccounts, similar to mutual funds. Even if you transfer money from one subaccount to another, the growth is tax-free. Usually, you’ll pay life insurance premiums at regular intervals, which is a type of dollar-cost averaging.

If your subaccounts perform well, you can continue to pay the same premium amounts while your cash value and death benefits increase.

Alternatively, you can reduce future premium payments while maintaining insurance coverage. As a result, variable life insurance allows you to profit from the stock market’s long-term development. Furthermore, you’ll benefit from the permanent life insurance tax advantages.

The policy has no income tax on investment income. You can withdraw a part of your cash worth without paying income tax. When you want the funds in your policy’s cash value, you can withdraw them tax-free until you reach the amount you paid in premiums. After that, you can take advantage of tax-free policy loans.

After your death, your beneficiary will receive a tax-free settlement.

The bottom line is that variable life insurance may give tax-free retirement income to you and an income-tax-free death payout to your loved ones, provided you use the policy carefully.

Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 2129517376

Life insurance is one purchase that you make in the hopes of never needing it. However, some people refuse to purchase life insurance for one primary reason: they believe it isn’t worth the money to pay for something they will ideally never use.

However, that line of reasoning is incorrect since, while we all hope never to need life insurance, the truth is that you can never tell when disaster will strike. Without a plan in place, you could leave your loved ones in a situation where they can’t afford to live independently.

According to a recent ConsumerAffairs poll, 29% of respondents believe purchasing a life insurance policy isn’t worth the money. But here are several reasons why you should consider getting insurance.

 If You Have Dependents

Let’s say you’re offered $100 monthly in premiums for a 30-year term life insurance policy covering $500,000 in coverage. That’s $1,200 a year you could be spending on the insurance coverage you’ll hopefully never have to use.

You may believe that it’s best to save that $1,200 instead of paying it yearly as a premium. However, saving $100 every month for 30 years will get you $36,000. And if you died at that time, your loved dependents would have had a lot less than $500,000.

That also implies that you’ll be alive for the next 30 years to save that money.

The entire point of life insurance is to safeguard your loved ones against the unforeseeable. Under the same assumptions, if you died in five years, your family would have $6,000 in savings left behind. This may not even cover the expense of a burial.

Even if it appears to be an unnecessary expense, you should purchase life insurance. If you ever end up needing it, it may more than pay for itself.

How to Save Money on Life Insurance

Some individuals believe that whole life insurance isn’t worth the money, which may be true in some cases (although several benefits come with whole life insurance).

Whole life insurance offers protection for the rest of your life. It also builds up a monetary value over time. However, it can be more expensive than a term life insurance policy, which only offers coverage for a specified time (typically, 20 to 30 years).

Whole life insurance can be unreasonably expensive, to the point that many policyholders are forced to cancel or surrender their coverage owing to a lack of financial resources. Your loved ones will be unprotected if you cancel your policy.

Because term life insurance is cheaper, there’s a good chance that you can afford to pay the premiums each year to make sure that your family has the protection they need if you die.

The last thing anyone wants is to put their dependents in a financial situation where they can’t support themselves. Buying a life insurance policy is an excellent way to protect yourself from such a situation.

Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 2129517376