Year-end spending package tackles retirement planning and more

On December 23, 2022, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The sprawling year-end spending “omnibus” package includes two important new laws that could affect your financial planning: the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) 2.0 Act (also known as SECURE 2.0) and the Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act. Bolstering retirement savings The original SECURE Act, … Read more

Congress eyes further retirement savings enhancements

In 2019, the bipartisan Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) — the first significant legislation related to retirement savings since 2006 — became law. Now Congress appears ready to build on that law to further increase Americans’ retirement security. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Securing a Strong Retirement Act … Read more

IRS Guidance: Coronavirus-Related Distributions and RMD Rollovers

The CARES Act was enacted in an attempt to mitigate the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other things, it extends favorable tax treatment to qualified individuals who take so-called “coronavirus-related distributions” (CRDs) from IRAs, 401(k) plans and certain other retirement plans. Specifically, the CARES Act waives the 10% early distribution penalty for CRDs … Read more

Social Security Benefits Changing May 1

Individuals ages 66 to 70 must act fast to save thousands of dollars. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 made a major change to a popular Social Security benefit collecting strategy. The two big changes were for Restricted Applications and Voluntary Suspension, sometimes known as File and Suspend. This strategy allows the higher earning spouse … Read more