Are treasury bills a good investment for retirement savings?

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: Making investment decisions for your retirement savings is all about balancing opportunity cost and risk. Treasury bills (T-bills) issued by the U.S. government are considered among the safest investments in the world, so risk should never be a significant deterrent. However, the return on

Are variable annuities subject to required minimum distribution (RMD)?

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: Variable annuities are insurance contracts that provide tax-deferred growth of assets that can later generate a guaranteed income stream, thus making them popular vehicles for financing retirement. Like other investment products, variable annuities can be held as either qualified or non-qualified for tax purposes.

Benefits of a 401(k) for the Self-Employed

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: If you are employed by a company that offers a 401(k) plan, it is best that you go through your employer to fund it, since you will accumulate savings faster. However, if your employer does not offer a plan or you are self-employed, you

Calculating PV of annuity in Excel

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: Calculating the present value of an annuity using Microsoft Excel is fairly straightforward. However, you have to know the annuity’s terms: its interest rate, payment amount and duration. Also, the assumption here is that you’re dealing with a fixed annuity. Variable annuities offer a rate

Can a 401(k) be used for a house down payment?

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: A 401(k) retirement plan can be tapped to raise a down payment for a house. You can either borrow money or make a withdrawal from your 401(k). Withdrawing From a 401(k) The first and least advantageous way is to simply withdraw the money outright.

Can a person who is retired continue to fund an IRA?

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: For the purposes of contributing to an IRA, compensation (i.e. earned income) does not include income from a pension, an annuity or Social Security. Generally speaking, you must have earned the income by performing services (i.e. work) or received it as alimony and/or a

Can a simplified employee pension (SEP) IRA be converted to a Roth IRA in the same manner that a Traditional IRA can?

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: Yes. An SEP IRA can be converted to a Roth IRA. As you may know, an SEP IRA is just a Traditional IRA that receives employer SEP contributions. Once the SEP contributions are made to the account, they immediately assume the identity of regular

Can a spouse who is not named as a beneficiary receive assets from an IRA?

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: It depends. Generally speaking, the designation of beneficiary form dictates who receives the assets from the individual retirement account (IRA). Therefore, no one else is entitled to receive any share of the IRA unless the named beneficiaries choose to disclaim their portions. However, if

Can a variable annuity be rolled into an IRA?

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: You can roll qualified variable annuities – those established with pre-tax dollars – over into a traditional IRA. Qualified annuities are often set up by employers on behalf of their employees as part of a retirement plan. Non-qualified variable annuities – those established with

Can an individual contribute to both a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA in the same year?

July 7, 2024 No Comments

A: Yes, you can contribute to both a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA in the same year. The total contribution into both cannot exceed $5,500 for individuals under 50, or $6,500 for those 50 and over. For example, a person 49 or younger can

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