By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s, Retirement & Education Planning
A key feature of the CARES Act was improving access to retirement account assets for those who suffered adverse financial consequences because of the coronavirus COVID-19 – access that otherwise would not have been available. As a result, in 2020 coronavirus-related distributions were introduced.
Coronavirus-related distributions are available to you if:
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
Unlike years past when you may have been dreading that there are a mere seven weeks remaining in the year, you may be happy to see this one end. The year 2020 has been a year like none other. It has been a leap year, an election year, and of course, the year when the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work,
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
Having the details of your personal and financial life made public would be horrifying for most people. Yet, I see it all the time with IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement account assets. Two common situations that can cause your private financial matters to be made public are not naming a beneficiary and forgetting to update your beneficiary designations after divorce.
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
With the first round of stimulus checks delivered and another round being discussed in Congress, now is a good time to review ways to make the most of the income you have received. For many, the stimulus checks were a welcome relief – calming anxieties over how to pay bills such as rent, mortgages, and utilities or provide food to put on the table.
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
The year 2019 may feel like a lifetime ago, but if you haven’t yet filed or paid your federal income taxes for 2019, that deadline will be here before you know it. After the coronavirus reached pandemic status in March, one of the first announcements from the IRS was the extension of the 2019 federal income tax filing and payment deadlines to July 15,
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
College Refunds and 529 Plans
Recently, colleges and universities have begun issuing partial refunds for spring 2020 semester expenses. With campuses closing to in-person classes and the transition to online learning, more schools may be expected to follow suit. As a result, many students and parents receiving refund checks have questions about whether these refunds can be put back in to the student’s 529 plan and if it is a good idea to do so.
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
This time last year, many taxpayers were shocked to discover that despite getting income tax refunds in the past – and changes in the tax laws that promised reduced income tax rates, a doubled standard deduction, and an increased child tax credit – they owed money to the IRS! Were you one of those unhappy taxpayers?
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
If you find your spring holiday plans disrupted by the coronavirus, you may be encouraged that the federal government has planned another type of holiday appealing to retirement account holders.
The holiday? In addition to the federal stimulus checks, small-business loans and tax breaks making the headlines, the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed March 27 also makes available some relief for retirement account owners.
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
Until recently, the phrase “social distancing” was not part of our everyday vocabulary. These are unprecedented times we are living in. Many Americans are struggling not only with the fear and anxiety of a pandemic, but also with the financial stresses caused from reduced work hours, lower paychecks, and homes full of loved ones who must be fed and cared for.
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
If you have filed your tax return and are anxiously awaiting your income tax refund, have you decided what you will do with it? Last year the average federal income tax refund was $2,869[1]. The majority of IRS refunds are processed within three weeks, so you have a little time to decide if you will save it or spend it.
