Our Weekend Word

Many of us can remember a time when retiring was easy. Just hang up your hard hats, chalk, lab coats or any other tool of the trade and let your pension and social security carry you to the promised land… but that isn’t the case anymore.  As life expectancies grew so did the financial burden pension plans put on companies.  In the 80’s and 90’s companies started migrating to self-directed retirement plans, like 401(k)s.

Take a sip of water before this one folks, it’s gonna be a little dry.

In 1966 when Star Trek first hit the air it was an amazing and fanciful look into the future of technology and space travel. One of the most beloved crewmembers on the ship was Commander Spock. He used his Vulcan Mind Meld to impart his wisdom on crew members and enemies alike. Spock used his mind control for good, but today we see a sickeningly real ability to do what seemed as impossible as having an alien crew member in the 60’s.

You gotta love the names the media comes up with for things anymore. This one reminds me of some kind of breakfast casserole. Back to the point, I’m sure some of you have seen this word popping up on the news. What “Brexit” refers to is that on June 23^rd the U.K. will vote on whether or not to stay in the European Union (get it; Britain, exit). U.K. residents cite many reasons for wanting the split, namely trade regulation, control over immigration, and individual sovereignty.

Now that May is here and my seasonal allergies are in full bloom with the flowers, those of you who frequent investment reading surely see articles mentioning the fabled “Sell in May and Go Away” adage.

Most people know about some of the tax breaks you get for buying/owning a home but most don’t know about “Topic 701”.  IRS Topic 701 basically states that you may exclude up to $250,000 of capital gains from the sale of your house if you’re single, and that number goes up to $500,000 for a married couple.

Spring is in the air and college graduation season is set to kick off in May. I know that not many of you getting this are in this age band, but this is a good one to send to a family member or friend who is. First off, Congratulations! Your hard work has paid off and you’ve achieved higher education, but life may follow an unfamiliar path from this point on.

We have spent the first few months of this newsletter focusing on market centric pieces but as things have stabilized and the elections heat up timely pieces become harder to come by.  This is where the age old adage “No news is good news” rings true.

As per the US economic score card for March:

Tax deductions and employer matches for retirement plans are like that perfect shot you get when you’re hunting. Once the right time passes by there’s no way to get it back.

Letting these powerful savings tools go unused could be leaving some serious money on the table.

To Roth, or not to Roth? That is the question. And an extremely common one from new retirement savers at that. As with most planning questions the answer to whether someone should have a Roth IRA depends on an individual’s set of unique circumstances and which IRS stable they’re herded into that decides what they’re allowed to do and when.