A 529 college savings plan offers many parents and future college students with an attractive option for socking away funds for tuition expenses. While the plan offers many benefits, the account holders don’t always understand the mechanics of how the plans work and how they can be used effectively. Find out if you understand the complete capabilities and limitations of these plans. Read More.
Many recent graduates continue to be encumbered with student loan debt. In fact, there are now $1 trillion of federal student loans that are outstanding, which is greater than all of the credit card debt owed by borrowers. If you happen to be building a nest egg either on your own merit or through a generous inheritance, paying off at least part of that student loan debt may be an option? Should you or should you invest it? Read More.
The cost of tuition continues to rise; albeit at a lower rate than in previous years. With that in mind, we thought it would be important to highlight a special provision for contributing to a 529 plan. Those that haven’t been saving for college may still benefit from this special relief. Read More.
Last year, the new cost basis reporting rules went into effect. This greatly impacted brokerage houses as well as taxpayers because of the time required to meet this new requirement. More paperwork is on the way. Specifically, in addition to stocks, you and your broker are now both responsible for reporting the cost basis of mutual funds shares, dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs) and most exchange traded funds (ETFs) for the sale of such securities during the 2012 tax year. Read More.
IBM recently announced plans to reduce the frequency of matching employee 401(k) contributions to only once a year. This will take place on December 31st of each year. While IBM is only the first company to announce the change, they did employ as much as 105,000 US workers as of 2007 (disclosed during a U.S. Congressional testimony). We expect IBM’s announcement to be the start of a trend in the employee benefits space. Will this impact your 401(K) plan in the future? Read More.
According to a recent study conducted by the Employee Benefits Research institution, 60% of respondents age 55 or more had less than $100,000 in retirement savings and 40% had less than $25,000. Of course, this is concerning to us considering the rising cost of medical and living expenses. However, those in their 50s can still plan for retirement. Read More.
As we approach the final month of the year, we need to look ahead to our 2013 budget. Your tax refund for the 2012 tax year should be heading your way about 7 to 10 days after you e-file your tax return, if you’re eligible. How exactly do you plan on spending your tax refund? Read More.
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