In light of the high inflation of 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has increased the amounts you can contribute to retirement savings in 2023.

The amount you can contribute to a 401(k) has increased to $22,500, an increase of $2,000. The limit for IRA contributions is $6,500 up to $500.

Increase in retirement savings

If you have a retirement savings plan, whether it’s a 401(k), 403(b) most 457 plans, or the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), you can now save $22,500 $ during the calendar year. That’s up from $20,500 for 2022.

401(k) or similar plans are often considered an effective way to save for retirement because your money can grow tax-free. Matching employers can also help. Often, your employer will encourage you to save by matching all or part of your contributions up to a certain level. Additionally, since contributions to a 401(k) plan generally do not incur income tax, contributing to a 401(k) plan can also reduce your current tax bill.

Boost for IRAs

There is effectively a double boost for IRA savings in 2023. The amount you can save in an IRA plan increases from $6,000 to $6,500. Additionally, as income tax thresholds have increased, so have income limits for IRA contributions.

Similar to a 401(k), an IRA can be another tax-free way to save for retirement. If you use a traditional IRA, retirement withdrawals may be taxed, but contributions may be tax-deductible when you contribute. If you use a Roth IRA, you pay tax on the money that comes in, but retirement withdrawals should then be tax-free.

Phasing out traditional IRA contributions

For single taxpayers, the traditional IRA contribution phase starts at $73,000 and for married people filing jointly, the phase-out now starts at $116,000 if you have a workplace pension plan and $218,000 if you don’t have one.

Phasing out the Roth IRA contribution

For a Roth IRA, the 2023 single taxpayer phaseouts start at $138,000 of income. For married people filing jointly, it’s $218,000.

High inflation therefore has an advantage in that you may now be able to save more tax-free for your retirement in 2023.

Life as a GP can be tough, but here’s Professor Candid with some handy tips to help you get through the day.

GP TIP #305: If you see a complicated patient with multiple intertwined health issues, then don’t think about charging anything other than a 23.

GP TIP #315: When in doubt, charge a 23.

GP HACK #457: Always plan your escape route. It can be a zipline, a tunnel or a Scooby-Doo secret door.

GP HACK #732: If you have a void in your life, try filling it with gin.

GP TIP #35: If you’re stuck in a rut, try doing something completely different. Why not spend the night at IKEA, hidden in a fake Swedish jewel apartment pretending your name is Anders Jonas Ångström. The next morning, when the lights come back on and the staff find you reclining in a swivel chair, smoking a pipe in a cashmere sweater, I guarantee you’ll have a very different outlook on life.

GP HACK #567: Life is short and everything dies. It’s a very useful quote – pin it on your wall and reference its wisdom throughout the consultations.

GP HACK #217: Keep a shoebox full of wasps available on your desk. When you’ve had enough, remove the lid and run out of the room.

GP TIP #21: Keep your face straight. If a patient tells you they’ve had a bad weekend and want all known orifices cleaned, including the throat, anus, nose, and vagina, it’s important to remain expressionless. Don’t make the face you would if someone had just asked you to smell their armpits.

GP TIP #329: Remember, you are not here to judge. Except when you are.

GP HACK #6211: Never laugh at a patient. If they tell you they were accidentally baptized by 7th-day Adventists or they need a replacement diazepam script because an opossum stole the original, or they don’t believe in science because “you can prove anything with facts, can’t you doc”, don’t laugh!

GP HACK #212: Not being able to see through your otoscope because it’s clogged with years of other people’s earwax is a badge of honor. Not being able to hear anything through your stethoscope because it’s clogged with your own earwax is equally honorable.

GP HACK #322: You may think GPs are young, impressionable and eager to learn from you. Do not be mistaken ! They are here to take exams and pay their mortgage. They don’t want you telling them they have to keep a box of wasps in their bedroom and spend the night locked in IKEA.

OPINION
Owners of private campgrounds from across the country traveled to Orlando, Florida for fifteen of the biggest annual conventions of the year, hosted by the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds ( ARVC) last week and Kampgrounds of America (KOA) this week. But while the most important topic on the ARVC agenda was electric vehicles (EVs) and how they “are poised to become a major factor in the future of outdoor hospitality” , the elephant outside the room was staunchly ignored, even though he was literally pounding away. the door to be recognized.

Coming into its meeting, the ARVC had just received an object lesson from Hurricane Ian on how a rapidly changing climate is upending the industry’s traditional business practices. Several dozen Florida campgrounds had been closed by Ian’s rampage, some permanently. Would even an organization as stubborn as the ARVC notice a growing existential threat to its members, not just in Florida, but across an entire country plagued by extreme drought, flooding, and wildfires? How to deal with skyrocketing costs and unavailability of property insurance, best practices in areas prone to fire or flooding, how to determine when it no longer makes sense to rebuild – all that and a whole host of other urgent matters could and should have been in the program of the ARVC.

But no. They do not have. Instead, as Tropical Storm (and briefly Hurricane) Nicole pounded the Atlantic coast, canceled all flights out of Orlando, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands, and killed at least two. , ARVC convention attendees were treated to the usual amenities promotion smorgasbord. and revenue-enhancing topics: best practices for generating additional revenue, the importance of ADA-compliant websites, “Scooters and Bikes and Golf Carts – Oh My!” Trade association agendas, after all, are driven by vested interests that have something to sell.

Electric vehicle charging is a hot topic at the RV convention

Indeed, the big topic of the day was the impending wave of electric vehicles – ironically, a wave propelled by climate change – as congress-goers were urged to start installing EV charging stations, even if not only gradually. Although evidence of market demand is still thin, the ARVC has made the most of what it has, saying that 57% of respondents to a survey it conducted last summer said the Availability of an EV charging station would be important to them when choosing a campground.

Well, sort of. The survey received limited attention on the convention floor, perhaps because of 32,271 potential respondents, only 581 chose to answer and only 457 were chosen for most data points. Additionally, the 57% response regarding the importance of EV charging stations came from 18 campers who already own an EV and another 28 who said they plan to buy one next year. It is a thin reed on which to float expectations, torn from a larger raft of dubious usefulness. As the polling company itself acknowledged, “it’s unclear how those who responded to the survey might be different from those who didn’t.”

For campground owners trying to get ahead, however, the caveat isn’t necessarily one of capital costs. Level 2 charging stations, which can charge an EV overnight, are relatively inexpensive: expect $500 for equipment and possibly a similar amount for installation. (Level 3 “fast” chargers, on the other hand, are commercial grade and therefore in an entirely different price category, starting from a minimum $20,000 per loader. That hasn’t deterred some speakers from pushing them anyway.) Assuming, therefore, that a campground wanted to dabble in the world of electric vehicles with half a dozen Level 2 chargers, it could doing it for around $6,000, which would win ‘n’t break anyone’s bank.

The larger and largely unresolved issue, however, was how campgrounds will be able to recoup their “fuel” costs. Since the amount of EV traffic in RV parks is still nominal, most campgrounds that allow EV charging, either through an RV cradle or through a dedicated charger , are currently absorbing the cost as loss of goodwill. Once this nominal expense becomes a growing impact on the bottom line, however, the inevitable question will become how RV parks can begin to charge for the energy they donated.

The answer, alas, is “it depends”.

Electricity sales, unlike gasoline, are monopolized by electric utilities operating under rules that vary from state to state, with billing practices that vary from utility to utility. ‘other. Most states, for example, don’t allow power dealers to make a profit doing so — all they can do is pass on their costs. A workaround proposed by a convention panelist, whereby campgrounds charge for kilowatts consumed at utility rates, but then add a “convenience fee” to allow electric vehicles to plug in, seems like a magnet. on trial for any public service jealously defending its territory. Meanwhile, seven states are still regulating electric vehicle charging as the exclusive field of power companies, as described in a recent Politico article.

A second variable is what’s known as the “application fee,” which many owners don’t encounter, but some business owners, including those who own campgrounds, know all too well. Demand charges are intended to compensate utilities for providing sufficient delivery infrastructure to meet peaks in demand caused by businesses with highly variable consumption, such as campgrounds. The power charge is a base charge that is multiplied by the kilowatts consumed at peak demand each month and added to the cost per kilowatt of the electricity itself.

The problem for campground owners is that there is no standard application fee across the country: these fees vary wildly from utility to utility. A relatively modest power load in one service area may be excessively high in an adjacent area. And while level 2 charging stations are not consumption black holes like level 3 stations, they can nevertheless add a noticeable boost to peak demand that will have a disproportionate effect on the final bill.

Campground owners, for these and other reasons, should abandon any idea of ​​installing Level 3 charging stations altogether. that application fees are up to 80% of the cost” of operating Level 3 charging stations. And those stations, remember, cost tens of thousands of dollars for hardware alone.

Sorting through such cost complexities requires a lot of study and perhaps the advice of a consultant – anything but ensuring that electric vehicles will remain a convention staple for some time to come, because there is money to be made by selling things. Too bad it’s not so true for the company to take on the elephants, no matter what destruction they cause. This requires real leadership, a rare commodity.

PREVIOUSLY FROM ANDY…

Andy Zipser is the author of Rent landthe story of his family’s experiences owning and operating an RV park in Virginia, and Turn the dirt, a step-by-step guide to finding, buying, and operating an RV park and campground. Both books are available in bookstores or on Amazon.com.

##RVT1078b

]]> https://lost-worlds.com/eric-publishes-letter-offering-support-and-recommendations-for-secure-2-0/ Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:29:56 +0000 https://lost-worlds.com/eric-publishes-letter-offering-support-and-recommendations-for-secure-2-0/

ERISA’s industry committee released a letter to Congress that detailed its recommendations and views on a set of pension reform bills dubbed “SECURE 2.0.” In the letter, ERIC said it hopes to see a pension reform bill passed by the end of the year.

SECURE 2.0 refers to a bill passed by the House, called Securing a Strong Retirement Act, and two Senate bills that have passed their respective committees, but have yet to receive a full vote. The Senate bills are called the Enhancing American Retirement Now Act (EARN) and the Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg Act (RISE and SHINE). All three bills aim to increase Americans’ access to retirement plans in a variety of ways.

The original SECURE Act was the Every Community Setting Up Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019.

The latest legislation aims to improve Americans’ ability to save for retirement. For example, provisions in the EARN and SSRA bills are intended to facilitate repayment and retirement savings for workers with student loan debt. The bills would allow workers to have their wages deducted to pay off their loans and have their employer match that amount as a pension contribution. ERIC supports this proposal and hopes to see a version of it in the final bill.

Another common obstacle to saving is worrying about needing money for an emergency, and not having it available quickly since he is in a retirement plan and subject to a tax penalty. for early withdrawal. The EARN, RISE, and SHINE bills have early withdrawal provisions that make it easier to withdraw money from a plan in certain situations. ERIC also supports this proposal.

The ERIC letter also supported simplifying the disclosure of fees and summary plan statements, as well as tax incentives for plan participation. He also backed a provision found only in the EARN bill that would allow overfunded pensions to use the extra money on health and life insurance benefits for participants in the scheme until 2032. The current expiry of this provision was set at 2025 by previous legislation.

All three bills allow well-funded plans to waive the clawback of overpayments if the overpayment is the fault of the retiree. ERIC hopes to see this provision in the final legislation.

A proposal missing from the three bills suggested by ERIC was for Congress to create a “lost and found” plan. Some employers have large and complicated pension plans and sometimes have trouble finding missing participants. He recommends that Congress require the creation of a database of retirement accounts so that workers and retirees can find their former employers and access their retirement funds.

The letter also expressed disapproval of SSRA Section 314 “which moves away from electronic delivery of plan information.” Section 314 of the SSRA requires that participants receive certain information in the form of paper documents from time to time.

Congressman Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, of the House Financial Services Committee, told a conference hosted by the Investment Adviser Association that he expects SECURE 2.0 to pass this Congress, most likely during the ‘lame duck’ period between November and January.

The full letter is available here.

By Andrew Keshner

Workers aged 50 and over will notably benefit from the new 401(k) contribution limits for 2023.

Days after the Internal Revenue Service announced major inflation-related increases in tax brackets and standard deduction payments for 2023, the tax agency is announcing sweeping increases in the amounts of money savers can deposit in retirement accounts.

People can contribute up to $22,500 into 401(k) accounts and $6,500 into IRAs in 2023, the IRS announced Friday.

For 401(k)s, this is an increase of nearly 10% over the $20,500 contribution limit in 2022. For IRAs, this is an increase of more than 8% over the 2022 $6,000 limit.

As additional context, the tax year 2023 income tax brackets indexed to inflation and the standard deduction have operated at around 7%.

When the IRS increased 401(k) contribution limits last year, there was an increase of about 5%.

“Given the inflation we’ve been experiencing recently, the early announcement of this increase is encouraging,” said Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement products at Fidelity Investments, after the IRS released the caps. contribution for 2023.

According to research by Fidelity, seven out of 10 people are “very concerned” about the impact of cost inflation on their retirement readiness, Assaf noted. “Every dollar counts, and this increase will give Americans the ability to set aside a little more to help fund their retirement goals,” she said.

Older workers can save even more

The 2023 contribution limits that apply to 401(k) plans — plus 403(b) plans, most 457 plans, and the federal government’s savings plan — are even higher for low-income workers. 50 years and over.

Catch-up contribution limits are increased from $6,500 to $7,500, the IRS said. Combine catch-up contributions with regular contribution limits, and workers 50 and older can save $30,000 for retirement in these accounts in 2023, the agency said.

Income phase-outs increase with respect to possible deductions, credits and contributions

Tax rules may allow people to deduct contributions to traditional IRAs as long as they meet certain conditions, related to issues such as workplace pension plan coverage and annual income. Above the phase-out ranges, the deductions do not apply if a person or their spouse has a work-based retirement plan, the IRS noted.

For 2023, a single taxpayer covered by a workplace pension plan has a phase-out range between $73,000 and $83,000. This represents an increase from a range between $68,000 and $78,000 in 2022.

For a married couple filing jointly “if the spouse contributing to the IRA is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is increased to between $116,000 and $136,000,” the report said. ‘IRS.

If an IRA saver doesn’t have a work plan but their spouse is covered, “the phase-out range is raised to between $218,000 and $228,000,” the agency noted.

There are also changes coming for the Roth IRA, which people fund with after-tax money and can then draw down tax-free later.

Also read: Here’s when to choose a Roth IRA over a traditional account

Roth IRA contribution limits also jump to $6,500. Retirement savers who put money into their 401(k) also can’t put pre-tax money into a traditional IRA, but they can contribute to a Roth account.

Nonetheless, eligibility to contribute to Roth IRA accounts is income-tested, subject to phasing-out ranges.

In 2023, the income phase-out range on Roth IRA contributions climbs between $138,000 and $153,000 for individuals and those filing as head of household. (That’s up from a range between $129,000 and $144,000, the IRS noted.)

With a married couple filing jointly, next year’s elimination range increases to $218,000-$228,000. That’s a step up from this year’s range of $204,000 to $214,000.

The resource ceiling surrounding savings credit, which is aimed at low- and low-income households, has also been raised. The credit allows taxpayers to claim 10%, 20%, or half of contributions to qualifying retirement plans, including a 401(k) or IRA. Credit income limits are increasing, the IRS said.

The 2023 income limit will be $73,000 for married couples filing jointly, $54,750 for heads of families and $36,500 for individuals and married individuals filing separately, according to the IRS.

Don’t Miss:Opinion: It’s harder for me to watch my 529 balance than my 401(k) because I go to college. Here are some tips for parents on a similar schedule

-Andrew Keshner

(END) Dow Jones Newswire

10-23-22 1256ET

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Governor Glenn Youngkin has adopted a new strategy in trying to contain thousands of teaching vacancies across Virginia. He wants to hire more educators for the state’s 1.25 million students in public schools from K-12, and the government has bet that lowering the licensing bar will reduce the shortfall. to win.

He should reevaluate that bet.

Youngkin signed an executive directive last month allowing the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue licenses to teachers certified in other states. The recruitment and retention bonus grants will target divisions with high and persistent teacher vacancy rates.

The administration has also just launched an advertising and social media campaign to encourage people to “become a teacher”.

A pre-pandemic Oct. 1, 2019 “snapshot” of school staff found 1,063 vacant teaching positions in Virginia, a Department of Education spokesperson told me via email. This compares to October 1, 2021, a total of 2,563 – the most recent data available. States across the country face similar teacher shortages.

The government, however, should have consulted more with critics of the proposals it announced last month. It does not attack the problem at its root. Plus, he risks lowering the standards just to get more body in front of the classroom.

One of his first initiatives, a teacher whistleblower line – the euphemism is “whistleblower line” – has also had a chilling effect. More on that later.

Critics rightly say his proposals don’t address the underlying reasons why educator recruitment and retention is such a tough sell here. Low wages, a chronic problem in Virginia, are likely the main reason.

Virtually all teacher salaries are the No. 1 factor in leaving the profession, James J. Fedderman, president of the 40,000-member Virginia Education Association, told me this week. He noted that the state also ranks near the bottom in most teacher compensation surveys.

The Virginia Mercury previously cited a 2019 analysis by the Economic Policy Institute that ranked Virginia last in the nation in terms of “teacher pay penalty,” referring to the weekly wage gap between teachers and others. college-educated professionals. Business.org ranked Virginia 49th this year (behind Arizona and Washington, DC) when comparing the average teacher salary to the average salary for all jobs in the state.

Charles Pyle, the state’s DOE spokesman, noted that Youngkin had signed a budget with a 5% salary supplement beginning August 1 and another 5% supplement beginning July 1, 2023. The budget also includes a $1,000 bonus for each teaching and support position.

It’s a start, but there’s a lot of catching up to do for teachers here. It should be noted that federal pandemic money will pay for the increases. Could the state have done it on its own?

The spending priorities are particularly infuriating considering how wealthy Virginia is compared to other states. For example, Virginia is one of the top 10 states for household income, but ranks 41st for state funding per student.

Another issue is preparation. Some career changers who enter education do not have the experience of being in front of the classroom.

This could mean they are more likely to quit after a few years. A recent Gallup poll found that K-12 workers have the highest levels of burnout of any industry in the country.

Kim McKnight directs the Center for Teacher Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University and runs an extension of VCU’s teacher residency program called RTR. Students are paid for a year to partner with experienced educators in hard-to-staff schools. They therefore receive practical training and funding.

“You learn alongside an expert,” McKnight told me on Wednesday. “It’s not just about getting them here, it’s about keeping them here.”

Fedderman noted that teachers face a lack of respect from officials. “Teachers don’t have the autonomy to teach the truth in the classroom,” he said.

It looks like a swipe at Youngkin’s exposure of critical race theory, which he used to help win the 2021 gubernatorial election. His first executive order banned CRT, even though schools K-12 don’t teach it in Virginia.

Back to the snitch line. Earlier this year, Youngkin, a Republican, announced the launch of an email address to report violations of parental rights and “inherently divisive practices in schools.” Educators, state Democrats and celebrities have criticized the tactic. The news media sued the administration’s refusal to release recordings about it.

The move evoked decades-old tactics in communist countries, where neighbors spied on neighbors in places like East Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin. It is deplorable.

Fedderman told me he was not aware of any teacher firings or resignations because of the whistleblower line. Instead, he noted, “People saw it for what it is: a divisive tactic to pit parents against teachers.

“We should be a collaborative and cohesive unit” so that the children become the best they can be, the union leader added.

In effect. Youngkin’s directive on hiring teachers might help boost the numbers, but he will have to do a lot more to keep teachers in the classroom.

Ending the snitch line should be part of the package, comrade.

by Roger Chesley, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a grant-supported network of news outlets and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact editor Sarah Vogelsong with any questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.

Seahawks and Panthers win, Pam Pack falls on Homecoming in Beaufort County

Posted at 10:39 p.m. on Friday, October 14, 2022

Alight Solutions released September updates to its 401(k) index, noting that with stocks posting their worst month since March 2020, “markets have seen a flight to safety among 401(k) plan investors. )”.

All but two trading days during the month saw net trading activity shift money from equities to fixed income, Alight says. Stable value funds accounted for 80% of net inflows and money market funds received another 15%. Half of the net outflows came from funds at maturity.

On average, 0.012% of 401(k) balances were traded daily, compared to an average of 0.009% last month. Investors preferred to shift assets into fixed income funds for 19 of the 21 trading days. Trading inflows went mostly to stable-value, money market and bond funds, while outflows came mostly from target-date funds, large US stocks and mid-size US equity funds, Alight said.

After reflecting market movements and trading activity, the average equity asset allocation declined from 68.3% in August to 67.2% in September. Additionally, new contributions to equities declined from 68.5% in August to 68% in September.

In its observations for the third quarter, Alight notes that the see-saw stock prices had 401(k) plan investors trading starts and stops. While Wall Street posted gains at the start of the quarter, trading was light and saw silver move into equities. However, as stocks fell in the second half, trading activity increased and money flowed into fixed income securities.

There were five trading days above normal in the quarter, compared to 17 days above normal in the second quarter. Net transfers for the quarter represented 0.24% of balances. Data from Alight shows that 42 of the 64 trading days in the first quarter saw net trading dollars shift from equities to fixed income.

According to the index, a “normal” level of relative transfer activity is when the net daily movement of participant balances, as a percentage of total 401(k) balances within the index, is between 0, 3 times and 1.5 times the average daily net. activity for the last 12 months. A day of “high” relative transfer activity corresponds to a day where the net daily movement exceeds twice the average daily net activity. A day of “moderate” relative transfer activity is when the net daily movement is between 1.5 and twice the average daily net activity of the previous 12 months.

There are more reasons to use an IRA than you might think.

Key points

• IRAs are well-known vehicles for saving and investing for retirement.
• However, some of the most useful features of IRAs are not widely known.
• You have a few options for using IRA funds early, and you may be eligible for other IRA tax relief in addition to those you may already be familiar with.

There are a few characteristics of Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRAs, that are common knowledge. Many people know that these are places where you can save money and invest it for retirement, and it’s also well known that some IRA contributions can be tax deductible.

However, there are some features and benefits of IRA investing that many people are unaware of. Here are three of the most exciting benefits of opening and investing in an IRA that you may not yet know about.

1. You can contribute to an IRA even after the end of the year

For 2022, you can contribute up to $6,000 to your IRA, or $7,000 if you’re 50 or older. Since it’s already October, if you’re just getting started, it can seem daunting trying to maximize your contribution (and potential tax breaks) in just a few months.

However, it is important to note that you have until the tax deadline to pay your contributions. This means your 2022 contributions can be made anytime up until April 15, 2023. You can open an IRA now and have over six months to make your 2022 contributions to your account – a much more reasonable timeframe for many. people.

2. There are several ways to use your IRA funds early

You generally cannot withdraw money from your retirement plan without penalty until you reach the age of 59½. And that is certainly true when it comes to IRAs. But you might not know that IRAs have a few special rules that might allow you to use your money sooner.

To start, you are allowed to make a one-time withdrawal of $10,000 from your IRA to help pay for the purchase of a first home. It doesn’t even have to be your home — if you want to help your child buy their first home, for example, you can use money from your IRA to do so.

You are also authorized to withdraw any amount from your penalty-free IRA to help pay for college expenses. In fact, many people who already have retirement plans at work open IRAs specifically for this purpose. The tax benefits are similar to 529 savings plans (especially if you use a Roth IRA), but there’s the added option of just using the money for your own retirement if your child doesn’t need it. of all.

It should also be noted that these early withdrawal exemptions are exclusive to IRAs. Qualified retirement plans like 401(k), 403(b), and 457 accounts do not. And while these withdrawals are penalty-free, withdrawals for first-time home purchases and college expenses from traditional IRAs are considered taxable income.

Roth accounts also enjoy a special early withdrawal privilege. Account holders are permitted to withdraw their Roth contributions, but not investment profits, at any time and for any reason.

3. You may be able to get another one tax relief

Technically speaking, this applies to any type of retirement account, but if you don’t have a retirement plan as part of your job, you might not be aware of it.

It is well known that contributions to a traditional IRA can be tax deductible and withdrawals from the Roth IRA can be tax exempt. But there’s another tax benefit called a retirement savings contribution credit (informally known as a savings credit) that many people don’t know about.

You can read an in-depth discussion of credit if you’re interested, but the short version is that savings credit is an income-based tax benefit that can essentially give you up to $2,000 in free money to reward you with. have invested for retirement. For 2022, married couples with adjusted gross income (AGI) up to $68,000 may qualify, and for single filers, the maximum is $34,000.

The bottom line is that IRAs aren’t just great ways to save money and build wealth over time. They can offer great tax advantages (especially if you have a low to middle income), they have flexible contribution deadlines that allow you to maximize your savings, and the money in your account can be more flexible than you expect. thought.

Sound Income Group, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based diversified financial services firm with approximately $1.7 billion in total assets under advisement, announced the creation of its income-focused wealth management platform for independent financial professionals.

Sound Income Group consolidates three businesses—Sound Income Strategies, Retirement Income Store and Advisors’ Academy—under one parent company, with each business operating as tightly-knit subsidiaries.

Sound Income Strategies is an independent registered investment adviser, focusing exclusively on fee-based advisory income solutions. The company also offers its income advisory solutions as a third-party asset manager to wealth management firms that want to deliver sophisticated income strategies to their finance professionals without the costs and complexities of organically building these abilities.

Each of the constituent companies of Sound Income Group was founded by David Scranton. Each company will seek to support independent finance professionals with a mission to provide personalized income solutions and resources to investors across the country.

The Retirement Income Store enables entrepreneurial financial advisors to provide personal retirement planning services to clients through a franchise model. The Retirement Income Store is a field marketing office that provides its franchisees with a clear regional market, turnkey marketing programs, and comprehensive support tools and resources to grow their businesses. By becoming a franchisee, advisors avoid the start-up hassles and brand-building challenges of starting their own business.

Advisors’ Academy helps independent annuity producers achieve high growth and success as income specialists for their clients. The company simplifies the business of independent annuity producers by consolidating all of their work on a single platform while offering personalized coaching, mentoring and growth strategies. Advisors’ Academy helps advisors achieve their Series 65, teaches them how to manage fixed income and other income-generating investments, and educates them on best practices for marketing, closing new business, and operating efficiently.

In a similar vein, Sound Income Group also announced the hiring of two senior wealth management executives with leadership experience at Investacorp and Merrill Lynch. Scranton will be the CEO.

Patrick Farrell will serve as president of Sound Income Group. Farrell is a 35-year veteran of the financial services industry who previously served as CEO, President, COO and CFO at Advisor Group-owned Investacorp. He began his career as an accountant and CPA at Arthur Andersen & Co.

Rana Chander will serve as Chief Operating Officer for Sound Income Strategies and Chief Technology Officer for Advisors’ Academy. Chander has over 20 years of wealth management experience and was previously COO and CIO for Investacorp Inc. Previously, he was Vice President of Global Database Technology for Merrill Lynch .