Make sure that you grab the “3 Tips To Help You Sit Pretty In Retirement” eBook from www.Makara-Assoc.com.

…be doing when it comes to Retirement Planning.

That is completely fine because planning for retirement is complicated!

There are many different factors to consider for a retirement plan.

3 of the most important are:

1. A Social Security Plan
2. A Retirement Asset Plan
3. A Personal Savings Plan

So here are 3 Tips for you to get started on  your own retirement plan.

Tip 1 – Social Security Planning: How much will I get & when shall I start taking it?

Tip 2 – Retirement Planning: Did you know the income you use in retirement has BIG tax implications?

Tip 3 – Personal Savings Plan: It’s all about the Cash Flow!

Hopefully these 3 tips have given you a good idea about what you should be focusing on when planning for retirement.

There are a lot of different factors that can affect your personal retirement plan. But you will, at least, want to make sure that you have a good plan that takes these 3 factors into account.

It is your future that’s at stake! So don’t take any chances.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about retirement planning, or if you think I can help you in any other way, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

The basis of a good Personal Savings Plan is not to have a fancy piggy bank! It’s to have mastery over your Cash Flow.

To make sure you are on track you should have the following:

• Emergency Savings (for illness or disasters)
• Short Term Savings (for normal expenses)
• Long Term Investment Savings (for retirement)

Hopefully this is already in place. Now you just need to take a look forward to your future preferences in retirement such as:

• Where you Retire (the state you retire to)
• When you Retire (your age and your life expectancy)
• How much Retirement Savings you hope to have by the age you decide.

These preferences will directly affect what you plan on doing during your Retirement (relaxing or working).

Cash Flow Planning should also take into account Tax Considerations as this will be part of your monthly cash out flow. If you do not plan correctly, you will need to withdraw additional funds or trim expenses from your monthly budget.

Is your Cash Flow making you feel unstable?

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about a Personal Savings Plan, or think I can help you in any other ways, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

you have Pensions, IRAs, Annuities, and 401k’s – Think you’re all set?

You’re not!

The IRS is going to be taking some of your hard earned cash!

Why would they do that? Well, when you start taking your retirement assets as income, the IRS collects tax on your income.

Taxes, along with hundreds of other variables could affect your cash flow. Here are just a few examples:

• Tax-ability of the income source
• Withdrawal rate and tax consideration
• Asset allocation conversion of each pool of dollars or inflation
• Rate of return on your investments versus percentage of assets withdrawn each year
• Characteristics & features of your Retirement Investment Models (Pensions, IRAs, Annuities, and 401k’s)

All of these examples will have a direct impact on how long your assets will last in retirement. It’s important to review this with your Tax Planner.

Knowing the rules of retirement planning are extremely important, as well as managing all of these variables listed above. Miscalculations can cause costly trouble later in retirement when your ability to correct them are limited.

Feeling wobbly about this yet? That is because retirement planning is like sitting on a 3 legged stool.

Everyone has the same goal in retirement planning: Not to outlive their assets.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about Retirement Plans, or think I can help you in any other ways, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

you could visit a fortune teller and peer into that crystal ball…

But, there is an easier way to find out what your Social Security income will be!

You can start your Social Security planning NOW by locating one simple item:

• Your annual social security statement (and your spouse’s, if applicable).

If your statements are lost or not available, the social security web site has a social security planning calculator, that will estimate your projected monthly income payable at age 62. You can check for your full retirement age at www.ssa.gov/retire2/retirechart.htm.

These government web sites can be tricky, so if you need any help or have any questions, about Social Security planning just give me call.

If you think I can help you in any other ways, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

…and what you need to do NOW to make sure your retirement money doesn’t run out?

It is a tricky process of planning, much like sitting on a 3 legged stool.

You need to consider each of the 3 legs of the stool very carefully or else you will end up on your backside

The 3 legs of the stool are:

• Social Security Planning
• Pension & Retirement Planning, and
• A Personal Savings Plan.

This can turn out to be a tricky balancing act, but preparation is the key. Retirement planning will bring up questions such as:

• How much income will I need in retirement?
• Will social security be there when I retire?
• When should I start taking social security 62? 65? 67? 70?
• Will the stock market be in free fall or on a bull run?

These questions will need to be answered before you decide whether your retirement planning will be to go boating, traveling, or to the golf course.

All three legs need to be strong for the stool to support you and your monthly cash flow needs, wants, and desires.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Retirement Plans, or think I can help you in any other ways, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

the 2009′s highest income tax rate was 35%, so:

If your estate was larger than the 2009 exemption amount of $3.5 million you may have been able to save 10% in estate taxes by converting to a Roth IRA.

This is a complex issue and should be reviewed with your legal and tax professional(s) but should not be over-looked when making the Roth conversion calculation decision.

As with any tax law change the financial news publications do a good job of giving the basic’s, however tax law changes always require digging deep into the law change to bring out the additional tax savings and long-term cash flow opportunities.

The Roth conversion is no different; this law change could be the biggest in your life-time.

The options are limitless and require you and your tax professional to stand back and review them all.

Some could affect your family’s finances 70, 80 or even 100 years for a Roth conversion completed in 2010, depending on your age.

Think of the tax-free compounding affect on any assets for that length of time, not to mention the other benefits mentioned above.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about Roth IRA’s, or think I can help you in any other ways, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

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This information is based on facts, assumptions and representations as stated and authorities that are subject to change.  We will not update this information for subsequent legislative or administrative changes of future judicial interpretations.

LEGAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER:  The information within this post is for informational and educational purposes only and is not tax advice and should not be used as such.  The facts of each individual situation can have significantly different outcomes when applying tax law.  The hiring of a CPA is an important decision not to be based solely on advertisements.

Meaning distributions for you and your beneficiaries are tax-free.

This will need to be reviewed with your legal and tax professional(s) as each individual situation will be different.

No required minimum distributions with Roth IRAs’ provide additional assets that can continue to grow tax-free after age 70 ½.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about Roth IRA’s, or think I can help you in any other way, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

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This information is based on facts, assumptions and representations as stated and authorities that are subject to change.  We will not update this information for subsequent legislative or administrative changes of future judicial interpretations.

LEGAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER:  The information within this post is for informational and educational purposes only and is not tax advice and should not be used as such.  The facts of each individual situation can have significantly different outcomes when applying tax law.  The hiring of a CPA is an important decision not to be based solely on advertisements.

…review your 401(k) plan(s), because some will allow distributions while you are still employed.

You can convert a distribution directly from a 401(k) into a Roth IRA, be sure not to overlook this option.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about Roth IRA’s, or think I can help you in any other ways, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

———-

This information is based on facts, assumptions and representations as stated and authorities that are subject to change.  We will not update this information for subsequent legislative or administrative changes of future judicial interpretations.

LEGAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER:  The information within this post is for informational and educational purposes only and is not tax advice and should not be used as such.  The facts of each individual situation can have significantly different outcomes when applying tax law.  The hiring of a CPA is an important decision not to be based solely on advertisements.

the IRS views them as one pool of assets for tax purposes.

If you elect to do a Roth conversion you must review, with your tax professional, your pre-tax dollars being held in your traditional IRA(s), SEP and SIMPLE plan(s) to reduce your tax liability.

Each conversion will have different outcomes, but ultimately your conversions tax liability will depend on your 8606 (tax form number to report conversions) ratio.

By increasing the percentage of after-tax dollars could lessen your tax liability.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about Roth IRA’s, or think I can help you in any other ways, contact me, or give me a call at (239) 384-9688.

- Mark

———-

This information is based on facts, assumptions and representations as stated and authorities that are subject to change.  We will not update this information for subsequent legislative or administrative changes of future judicial interpretations.

LEGAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER:  The information within this post is for informational and educational purposes only and is not tax advice and should not be used as such.  The facts of each individual situation can have significantly different outcomes when applying tax law.  The hiring of a CPA is an important decision not to be based solely on advertisements.

Payroll Tax Forgiveness for Hiring Unemployed Workers:

The HIRE Act provides relief form the employer share of OASDI (a.k.a. social security or FICA tax) taxes on wages paid by a qualified employer with respect to certain covered employment.  Covered employment is limited to service performed by a qualified individual in a trade or business of a qualified employer, or in the furtherance of the activities related to the purpose or function constituting the basis of the employer’s exemption under Code Sec. 501.  This provision applies to wages paid beginning on the day after enactment and ending on December 31, 2010.

A qualified individual is any individual who:

1.  begins work for a qualified employer after February 3, 2010 and before  January 1, 2011.  Employers will need to review new hires back to February 3, 2010 for eligible employees and obtain signed affidavit.  However, eligible wages are after March 18, 2010 not February 3, 2010.

2.    certifies by signed affidavit (under penalties of perjury) that he or she was employed for a total of 40 hours or less during the 60-day period ending on the date such employment begins.  Affidavit can be found at the IRS.gov, Form W-11.  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw11.pdf.

2.    is not employed to replace another employee of the employer unless such employee separated from employment voluntarily or for cause; and

4.    is not a related party.

Employees who qualify for the OASDI forgiveness in the first quarter of 2010 will receive the benefit through a credit toward general second quarter 2010 OASDI liability; they can’t stop paying the 6.2 percent OASDI tax immediately on wages paid to new hires.  After the first quarter, however, the employer does not match the 6.2 percent tax as wages are paid, employer can reduce weekly or semi-weekly deposits.  1.45 percent Medicare tax is not part of the HIRE Act, employers need to continue depositing Medicare tax are required.

A qualified employer may not receive the work opportunity tax credit or FICA tip credit on wages paid to an individual during the one-year period beginning on the hire date for the same wages used to qualify for the forgiveness of payroll tax.  However, an employer may elect out of the payroll tax forgiveness, therefore for each employee hired, all possibly credits will need to be calculated for best possible benefit.

Business Credit for Retention of Certain Newly Hired Individuals:

Under the HIRE Act, an employer’s general business credit is increased by the lesser of $1,000 or 6.2 percent of salary for each retained worker that satisfies a minimum employment period.  Generally, a retained worker is an individual who is a qualified individual as defined for purposes of the provision for payroll tax forgiveness.  However, the credit is available only with respect to such individual, if the individual:

1.    is employed by the employer on any date during the tax year;

2.    continues to be employed by the employer for a period of not less than 52 weeks; and

3.    receives wages for such employment during the last 26 weeks of such period that are at least 80 percent of such wages during the first 26 weeks of such period.

Therefore, an employer will qualify for the full $1,000 credit for each new hire with a salary over the 52 week period of at least $16,129.  An employer that hires some part-time new employees, in addition to full-time employees, is entitled to the full $1,000 credit, if, of course, the part-time or full-time employee decides to stay for 52 weeks.

Because payroll taxes are deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense, employers may have a correspondingly smaller business expense deduction on their 2010 tax returns.  By combining the benefit of the business credit for new hires with the forgiveness incentive, employers in the highest brackets will realize a net tax benefit of just over 4 percent of wages paid to qualified new employees, up to the $106,800 social security maximum wage base.  Therefore, for the maximum $6,621.60 tax forgiveness for the new hire, a net benefit of approximately $4,504 would be realized.

If you have any questions regarding the hiring incentives under the HIRE Act, please feel free to contact me at (239) 384-9688 or by visiting the Contact page on my web site.

Thank you,
Mark

PS – Complete information, questions and answers are available here on the IRS web site.