Kim 3/14/17 Kim 3/14/17

Should the Self-Employed Plan to Work Past 65?

Some solopreneurs think they will “work forever,” but that perception may be flawed. About 20% of Americans aged 65-74 are still working. A 2016 Pew Research Center study put the precise figure at 18.8%, and Pew estimates that it will reach 31.9% in 2022. That estimate seems reasonable: people are living longer, and the labor force participation rate for Americans aged 65-74 has been rising since the early 1990s.^1,2

It may be unreasonable, though, for a pre-retiree to blindly assume he or she will be working at that age. Census Bureau data indicates that the average retirement age in this country is 63.³

When do the self-employed anticipate retiring? A 2017 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies survey finds that 56% of U.S. solopreneurs think they will retire after 65 or not at all.⁴

Are financial uncertainties promoting this view? Not necessarily. Yes, the survey respondents had definite money concerns – 28% felt Social Security benefits might be reduced in the future; 22% were unsure that their retirement income and accumulated savings would prove sufficient; and 26% suspected they were not saving enough for their tomorrows. On the other hand, 54% of these self-employed people said that they wanted to work in retirement because they enjoyed their job or profession, and 67% felt working would help them remain active.⁴

Is their retirement assumption realistic? Time will tell. The baby boom generation may rewrite the book on retirement. Social Security’s Life Expectancy Calculator tells us that today’s average 60-year-old woman will live to age 86. Today’s average 60-year-old man will live to age 83. Leaving work at 65 could mean a 20-year retirement for either of them, and they might live past 90 if their health holds up. Even if these Americans quit working at age 70, they could still need more than a dozen years of retirement money.⁵

You could argue that an affluent, self-employed individual is hardly the “average” American retiree. Many solopreneurs own businesses; doctors and lawyers may fully or partly own professional practices; real estate investors and developers may have passive income streams. These groups do not represent the entirety of the self-employed, however – and even these individuals can face the challenge of having to sell a business, a practice, or real property to boost their retirement savings.

Successful, self-employed people over 50 need to approach the critical years of retirement planning with the same scrutiny and concerted effort of other pre-retirees.

Look at the years after 50 as a time to intensify your retirement planning. This is the right time to determine how much retirement income you will need and how much more you need to save to generate it. This is the time to evaluate your level of investment risk and to think about when to collect Social Security. This is the time to examine your assumptions.

Rep disclosures: Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

«RepresentativeDisclosure»

Citations.

1 - nytimes.com/2017/03/02/business/retirement/workers-are-working-longer-and-better.html [3/2/17]

2 - pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/07/number-of-older-americans-in-the-workforce-is-on-the-rise/ [1/7/14]

3 - thebalance.com/average-retirement-age-in-the-united-states-2388864 [12/24/16]

4 - transamericacenter.org/docs/default-source/global-survey-2016/tcrs2017_pr_retirement_preparations_of_self-employed.pdf [1/31/17]

5 - ssa.gov/OACT/population/longevity.html [3/9/17]

Kim 3/10/17 Kim 3/10/17

Little Things That May Help Your Retirement Saving

Over time, these seemingly small factors could make a major difference. Saving for retirement takes decades and demands the investment of significant amounts of your income. As this major effort unfolds, you should recognize that some subtle factors and seemingly minor decisions could end up making a sizable and positive impact on your financial future.

Your investment yield may be less important than the amount you save. Beating the S&P 500 feels great, but outperforming the market is not your foremost goal. Your real retirement saving objective is to accumulate sufficient assets – enough to provide adequate income in the “second act” of your life.

How much control do you have over your investment returns? The short answer is very little; market cycles, macroeconomic factors, and the behavior of institutional investors influence them profoundly. On the other hand, you have direct control over your savings rate. The more you pour into your retirement accounts, the more dollars you are giving a chance to compound.

As a hypothetical example, say two people have balances of $100,000 in their respective retirement accounts. Ariel earns a 10% annual return and puts $10,000 into the account at the start of every year for 20 years. David gets a 12% annual return from his account, but he never adds to its $100,000 principal during those 20 years. After 10 years, Ariel’s account balance is $434,638, while David’s is $310,585. After 20 years, Ariel has $1,302,775, while David has $964,629. Result: David falls behind, even while achieving a 2% greater return.

Investment account fees can take a toll. Account fees are little things, but their impact over the years can be enormous on a retirement saver. This is why you may want to place your invested assets into accounts with minimal fees, annual fees of well under 1%.

Everyone talks about the several hundred dollars a year you can save (and invest) by swapping out your daily, flavored latte for a regular cup of joe, but you might as well keep ordering lattes. The money lost to lattes pales next to the money you could potentially lose to account fees. Demos, a public policy think tank, estimates that high expense ratios and administration fees on investments in a typical workplace retirement plan may cost a middle-class, dual-income household as much as $155,000 in retirement assets over a lifetime.

What you avoid doing may help your effort as well. Resist the impulse to deviate from your long-term retirement planning and investing strategy without careful examination. Be wary of the emotional reactions to headlines or market disruptions, those little voices urging you to get out of the market or tilt your portfolio one way or another. Refrain from siphoning down the money in your retirement accounts and using those dollars for another purpose. Stick to your plan, ride through the turbulence, and avoid making a quick, impetuous decision that might do your retirement funds more harm than good.

On that note, remember that tuning out the noise is okay. The financial world is a noisy place, a place of non-stop trading and information flows. Any notable news development becomes a front page (or home page) item. It may seem risky to accept so much of this breaking news passively, with no reaction on your part as an investor or a saver – but passivity has its virtues. A little passivity – in your temperament, in your investment approach – may leave your retirement savings in surprisingly good shape over the long run, compared to the savings of someone who reacts to every temperature shift in the market climate.

Pay attention to these little things as you pursue big financial objectives. In hindsight, you will likely be glad you did.

Rep disclosures: Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

«RepresentativeDisclosure»

Citations.

1 - bankrate.com/finance/investing/saving-money-or-investing-more-important-over-time.aspx [6/25/16]

2 - forbes.com/sites/arielleoshea/2016/08/08/3-common-saving-mistakes-you-can-fix-right-now/ [8/8/16]

Kim 2/28/17 Kim 2/28/17

Little Things That May Help Your Retirement Saving

Over time, these seemingly small factors could make a major difference.

Saving for retirement takes decades and demands the investment of significant amounts of your income. As this major effort unfolds, you should recognize that some subtle factors and seemingly minor decisions could end up making a sizable and positive impact on your financial future.

Your investment yield may be less important than the amount you save. Beating the S&P 500 feels great, but outperforming the market is not your foremost goal. Your real retirement saving objective is to accumulate sufficient assets – enough to provide adequate income in the “second act” of your life.

Investment account fees can take a toll. Account fees are little things, but their impact over the years can be enormous on a retirement saver. This is why you may want to place your invested assets into accounts with minimal fees, annual fees of well under 1%.

What you avoid doing may help your effort as well. Resist the impulse to deviate from your long-term retirement planning and investing strategy without careful examination. Be wary of the emotional reactions to headlines or market disruptions, those little voices urging you to get out of the market or tilt your portfolio one way or another. Refrain from siphoning down the money in your retirement accounts and using those dollars for another purpose. Stick to your plan, ride through the turbulence, and avoid making a quick, impetuous decision that might do your retirement funds more harm than good.

On that note, remember that tuning out the noise is okay. The financial world is a noisy place, a place of non-stop trading and information flows. Any notable news development becomes a front page (or home page) item. It may seem risky to accept so much of this breaking news passively, with no reaction on your part as an investor or a saver – but passivity has its virtues. A little passivity – in your temperament, in your investment approach – may leave your retirement savings in surprisingly good shape over the long run, compared to the savings of someone who reacts to every temperature shift in the market climate.

Pay attention to these little things as you pursue big financial objectives. In hindsight, you will likely be glad you did.

Rep disclosures: Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

«RepresentativeDisclosure»

Citations.

1 - bankrate.com/finance/investing/saving-money-or-investing-more-important-over-time.aspx [6/25/16]

2 - forbes.com/sites/arielleoshea/2016/08/08/3-common-saving-mistakes-you-can-fix-right-now/ [8/8/16]

Kim 2/21/17 Kim 2/21/17

What Could You Do With Your Tax Refund?

Instead of just spending the money, you could plan to pay yourself.

About 70% of taxpayers receive sizable refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. Just how sizable? The average refund totals about $2,800.

What do households do with that money? It varies. Last year, consumer financial services company Bankrate asked Americans about their plans for their federal tax refunds. Thirty-one percent of the respondents to Bankrate’s survey said that they would save or invest those dollars, and 28% indicated they would attack their debts with the money. Another 27% said they would buy food with that cash or use it to pay utility bills. Just 6% said they would earmark their refunds for shopping sprees or vacations.

So, according to those survey results, about six in ten people who get a refund will use it to try and improve their personal finances. You could follow their example.

Do you have an adequate emergency fund? If not, maybe you could strengthen it with your refund. If you have no such fund at all, your refund gives you an opportunity to create one.

You might use your refund to pay off your worst debts. High-interest debts, in particular – if you pay off a debt that carries 16% interest, getting rid of that liability is, effectively, like getting a 16% return. If you lack an emergency fund, you should create that first, then think about reducing your debt. Paying debt down without an emergency fund or some reservoir of savings just sets you up for quickly accumulating more debt.

If you own a home, you may want to consider making a thirteenth mortgage payment before 2017 ends. Putting your refund to work that way may make more sense financially than putting it in the bank, given the minimal interest rates on so many deposit accounts today.

You could pay insurance premiums with the funds. An IRS refund of around $3,000 could go a long way. If you have put off buying a term or permanent life policy, your refund might make insuring yourself easier.

Could you invest the money the IRS returns to you? You could increase (or max out) your annual retirement plan contribution with it or simply direct it into another type of investment account. Whether the savings or investment vehicle is tax-advantaged or not, you have a chance to make that lump sum grow with time.

Aside from investing in equities or debt instruments, you could take your refund and invest in yourself. Maybe you might use it to start a business or support a business you already own. It could also be spent on education. Think of these options as “indirect investments” that might help you or your household grow wealthier one day.

Lastly, remember what a federal or state tax refund represents. It is a percentage of your earnings that the government holds back, in the event that you owe it in taxes. If you repeatedly get a refund, you might want to carefully adjust your W-4 withholding, so that your paychecks are larger during the year.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

«RepresentativeDisclosure»

Citations.

1 - azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumers/2017/01/21/tax-season-6-things-to-know/96776554/ [1/21/17]

2 - thestreet.com/story/13523031/2/why-you-should-invest-your-tax-refund-instead-of-spending-it.html [4/8/16]

3 - turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/IRS-Tax-Forms/Top-5-Reasons-to-Adjust-Your-W-4-Withholding/INF14437.html [2/9/17]

Rep disclosures: Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Kim 2/13/17 Kim 2/13/17

Life Insurance Before Age 40

Millennials have good reasons to obtain coverage now.

Do you plan to buy life insurance before you turn 40? Maybe you should. You may save money in the long run by doing so.

At first thought, the idea of purchasing a life insurance policy in your thirties may seem silly. After all, young adults are now marrying and starting families later in life than past generations did, and you and your peers are likely in excellent health with a good chance of living past 80.

In fact, LIMRA – a life insurance research and advocacy group – recently surveyed millennials and found that 30% thought saving for a vacation mattered more than buying life insurance coverage. The perception seems to be that insurance is something to purchase when you start a family or when you hit your forties or fifties.¹

Getting a policy before you marry or start a family may be a great idea. The reasons for doing so might be compelling.

Your premiums will be lower. The older you become, the more expensive life insurance becomes. Data compiled last summer by Life Happens, a non-profit life insurance education effort, confirms this.

Life Happens asked several prominent U.S. insurers to supply their preferred premium rates for healthy non-smokers aged 25, 35, 45, and 55 buying a $250,000 whole life policy (the kind designed to build cash value with time). The average preferred premium rates for 25-, 35-, and 45-year-olds fitting this description were:

25-year-old male: annual premium of $1,987

35-year-old male: annual premium of $2,964

45-year-old male: annual premium of $4,747

25-year-old female: annual premium of $1,745

35-year-old female: annual premium of $2,531

45-year-old female: annual premium of $3,947

The numbers starkly express the truth – whole life insurance premiums more than double between age 25 and age 45.²

Premiums on term life policies are even lower. Term life insurance is essentially coverage that you “rent” for 10, 20, or 30 years – it cannot build any cash value, but in some cases, a term policy can be adapted or exchanged for a whole life policy when the term of coverage ends.

If you are young, term coverage is remarkably cheap. NerdWallet recently researched term life premiums for healthy 30-year-olds. It found the following sample rates for 20- and 30-year term policies valued at $250,000:

30-year-old male: annual premium of $156 for a 20-year term policy, $240 for a 30-year term policy

30-year-old female: annual premium of $141 for a 20-year term policy, $206 for a 30-year term policy

The downside of term coverage is that you are “renting” the insurance. Just as you cannot build home equity by renting a house, you cannot build cash value by “renting” a policy.³

A whole life policy may become quite valuable. As Life Happens notes, the average such policy bought at 25, 35, or 45 may have a guaranteed cash value of anywhere from $100,000-200,000 when the policyholder turns 65, assuming the policy is kept in force and no loans are taken from it. Universal life policies permit tax-deferred growth of the cash value.^1,2

Make no mistake, a whole life policy is a lifelong commitment. It must be funded every year or it will lapse. That should not scare you away from the value and utility of these policies – the cash inside the policy can often be borrowed or withdrawn. Sometimes families use cash value to fund college educations or help with medical expenses or retirement. Such withdrawals can lessen the death benefit of the policy, but what is left is often adequate. Cash withdrawals from a whole life policy are usually exempt from taxes, just like the death benefit.¹

Maybe this is the time to put time on your side. Age-wise, life insurance will never be cheaper than it is for you today. Getting coverage now – even if you are single – may be a money-smart move as well as a great life decision.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600

«RepresentativeDisclosure»

Citations.

1 - cnbc.com/2016/10/17/think-about-life-insurance-sooner-rather-than-later.html [10/17/16]

2 - lifehappens.org/product-selector/comparing-the-cost-permanent-and-term-life-insurance/ [1/26/17]

3 - nerdwallet.com/life-insurance#basic [1/26/17]

Kim 1/16/17 Kim 1/16/17

OUT-OF-THE-BOX WAYS TO PAY FOR COLLEGE

Many of these options go unrecognized. Today’s average student borrower takes out more than $25K in loans. Education debt has reached record levels in America – more than $1 trillion. In the face of those numbers, parents and students are looking for assorted ways to pay for college without incurring big liabilities.¹

In addition to grants, loans, merit-based aid and your student holding down a job, there are other ways to reduce college cost – some little recognized.

First, how expensive will college be? Can you project the total cost of your student’s college education? Assuming five years in school (which is the average for today’s undergrads) and no change in majors along the way, can a financial aid officer give you a ballpark figure? If not, an online resource such as Alltuition.com may be able to estimate it for you.^1,2

Presumably, you opened a 529 plan or some other form of college savings fund for your student years ago. If those funds aren’t enough, where can you find other resources to meet a projected shortfall?

What about outright gifts of cash? If you or relatives or friends have the money, that is an option. Will you suffer gift tax consequences as a result? No. If the money constituting that completed gift is used directly to pay tuition expenses at an educational institution, that gift is not taxable. It will not cut into your annual gift exclusion amount ($13,000 for 2012) or your lifetime unified credit (currently set at $5.12 million).^3,4

One caveat, however: if you make any kind of tuition payment on behalf of your student, that will be characterized as untaxed income on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). That could wipe out your student’s chances of getting any need-based financial aid. This is why some families elect to put off tuition gifts until a student’s senior year.⁴

Can you reduce your taxable income to get your student more financial aid? You may be able to do so. If getting federal student aid is your objective, knocking down your taxable income (through moves big and little) might make a big difference.

On the FAFSA, family income matters more than family assets. Retirement account balances, net worth attributable to home values and small businesses – none of this matters, it doesn’t factor into the needs analysis. The FAFSA is used to determine the expected family contribution (EFC), which is the combination of funds that the parent(s) and student can make available for a school year. The gap between the EFC and the expected total education costs of the school year represents the level of financial need weighed in determining federal student aid.⁵

So the lower your EFC is, the greater your level of financial need will be – and the greater amount of federal student aid that may be available. This is why many parents and students elect to spend down their combined savings and assets set aside for college during the freshman year. With no assets left for the sophomore year (and by this same logic, subsequent academic years), eligibility for federal student aid is wide open. Of course, you may be also opening a door to potential long-term debt.

There are other ways to alter your tax picture to get your student some financial aid –aid not linked to lingering debt.

Have you heard of “tax scholarships”? No, not scholarships linked to a state tax credit (though those may be worth a look). These are de facto scholarships that you may be able to create for your student with the help of a CPA or financial advisor (and the IRS). If you can find or arrange new tax deductions this year, you can redirect that money toward your student’s college expenses. Savvy business owners and professionals often make this move.

What about untraditional scholarships? For example, CollegeNet.com currently offers a “weekly scholarship” running between $3,000-10,000. Collegians themselves decide which applicant deserves the funds. There are other such examples.¹

Can you negotiate tuition? At first instinct, does that seem rude, uncouth? It may prove smart – and it is done. There are such things as tuition discounts (and grant programs) offered to those who negotiate, even those not eligible for need-based aid. If a university really wants your student, you may have some leverage.

Are you willing to go the JC route, or the online route? Going to a local junior college for the first two years of study toward a bachelor’s degree can save a student and family tuition, housing and travel and auto expenses, and maybe a little anxiety – if your student decides he or she wants to major in oceanography instead of marketing, you haven’t paid $10,000 or $20,000 a year to arrive at that conclusion.

Recognizing the costs of housing, commuting and parking permits, some colleges are offering parts of their curriculum online or in more accessible settings – for example, Virginia Tech offers introductory math courses through computer labs and the University of Minnesota’s new Rochester campus uses part of a local shopping mall to hold classes. While taking classes on a computer or at some obscure satellite campus may not give you the full university experience, it may help to reduce expenses.²

Need help with college planning? Talk with a financial professional well versed in the matter – sooner rather than later.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

Citations.

1 – www.dailyfinance.com/2012/04/19/paying-for-college-two-websites-offer-outside-of-the-box-ideas/ [4/19/12]

2 – www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/70120-student-loans-debt-for-life [9/6/12]

3 – www.irs.gov/uac/In-2012,-Many-Tax-Benefits-Increase-Due-to-Inflation-Adjustments [10/20/11]

4 - www.education.com/reference/article/pay-college-saving-understand-gift-tax/ [9/6/12]

5 – thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/fafsaq-and-a/ [1/11/11]

Kim 1/8/17 Kim 1/8/17

When Is Social Security Income Taxable?

The answer depends on your income. Your Social Security income could be taxed. That may seem unfair, or unfathomable. Regardless of how you feel about it, it is a possibility.

Seniors have had to contend with this possibility since 1984. Social Security benefits became taxable above certain yearly income thresholds in that year. Frustratingly for retirees, these income thresholds have been left at the same levels for 32 years.¹

Those frozen income limits have exposed many more people to the tax over time. In 1984, just 8% of Social Security recipients had total incomes high enough to trigger the tax. In contrast, the Social Security Administration estimates that 52% of households receiving benefits in 2015 had to claim some of those benefits as taxable income.¹

Only part of your Social Security income may be taxable, not all of it. Two factors come into play here: your filing status and your combined income.

Social Security defines your combined income as the sum of your adjusted gross income, any non-taxable interest earned, and 50% of your Social Security benefit income. (Your combined income is actually a form of modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI.)²

Single filers with a combined income from $25,000-$34,000 and joint filers with combined incomes from $32,000-$44,000 may have up to 50% of their Social Security benefits taxed.²

Single filers whose combined income tops $34,000 and joint filers with combined incomes above $44,000 may see up to 85% of their Social Security benefits taxed.²

What if you are married and file separately? No income threshold applies. Your benefits will likely be taxed no matter how much you earn or how much Social Security you receive.²

You may be able to estimate these taxes in advance. You can use an online calculator (a Google search will lead you to a few such tools), or the worksheet in IRS Publication 915.²

You can even have these taxes withheld from your Social Security income. You can choose either 7%, 10%, 15%, or 25% withholding per payment. Another alternative is to make estimated tax payments per quarter, like a business owner does.²

Did you know that 13 states also tax Social Security payments? North Dakota, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Vermont use the exact same formula as the federal government to calculate the degree to which your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Nine other states use more lenient formulas: Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Utah.²

What can you do if it appears your benefits will be taxed? You could explore a few options to try and lessen or avoid the tax hit, but keep in mind that if your combined income is far greater than the $34,000 single filer and $44,000 joint filer thresholds, your chances of averting tax on Social Security income are slim. If your combined income is reasonably near the respective upper threshold, though, some moves might help.

If you have a number of income-generating investments, you could opt to try and revise your portfolio, so that less income and tax-exempt interest are produced annually.

A charitable IRA gift may be a good idea. You can make one if you are 70½ or older in the year of the donation. You can endow a qualified charity with as much as $100,000 in a single year this way. The amount of the gift may be used to fully or partly satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), and the amount will not be counted in your adjusted gross income.³

You could withdraw more retirement income from Roth accounts. Distributions from Roth IRAs and Roth workplace retirement plan accounts are tax-exempt as long as you are age 59½ or older and have held the account for at least five tax years.⁴

Will the income limits linked to taxation of Social Security benefits ever be raised? Retirees can only hope so, but with more baby boomers becoming eligible for Social Security, the IRS and the Treasury stand to receive greater tax revenue with the current limits in place.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600

Citations.

1 - ssa.gov/policy/docs/issuepapers/ip2015-02.html [12/15]

2 - fool.com/retirement/general/2016/04/30/is-social-security-taxable.aspx [4/30/16]

3 - kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T051-C001-S003-how-to-limit-taxes-on-social-security-benefits.html [7/16]

4 - irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-on-designated-roth-accounts [1/26/16]

Kim 12/19/16 Kim 12/19/16

The Intriguing Post-Election Rally

Why did some sectors rise more than others? Wall Street likes certainty. When startling financial, political, or societal events occur, volatility usually follows, and the major indices may fall.

In late October, the Dow Jones Industrial Average went on a multi-day losing streak as Donald Trump caught up to Hillary Clinton in the polls tracking the presidential race. Wall Street had been anticipating a Clinton victory; suddenly, that looked less certain. The Dow gradually sank below 18,000. When Trump won, however, the Dow did not drop further. It rallied for seven days and notched four record closes.^1,2

What sparked the Dow’s rally? One, a new presumption of massive federal spending on infrastructure and defense. In August, Trump pledged he would “at least double” Clinton’s proposed federal stimulus if elected, which would mean committing more than $500 billion to repair the nation’s highways, bridges, and ports. He has also talked of greater military spending. Many, if not all, of the 30 companies making up the Dow could play significant roles in such efforts. Two, a Trump presidency is perceived as pro-business, with the potential for decreased regulation, renegotiated trade agreements, and tax cuts.^2,3

The small caps also soared after Trump’s win. The Russell 2000 advanced 9% during November 9-17, leading some investors to wonder what the small caps had in common with the record-setting blue chips. The quick answer is that these small-cap firms have greater exposure to the U.S. economy than they do to foreign economies. Bulls believe that these firms will be particularly well positioned if infrastructure spending increases.⁴

Why did the S&P 500 & Nasdaq Composite lag the Dow & the Russell? The S&P rose 1.8% from November 9-17. This returned the index to the level at which it had been for most of the third quarter.^4,5

A closer look at the S&P’s recent performance reveals a striking gap between its industry groups. Its financial sector climbed 10% in the eight days after Trump’s victory, aided by hopes for friendlier bank regulation in the new administration. By November 15, its YTD performance was 17% better than that of the S&P’s worst-performing sector, utilities. This degree of difference had not been seen in the index since 2009. Basically, a major rotation happened, taking invested assets out of certain sectors and into other sectors presumed to benefit from the policies of a Trump presidency.^2,6

Hearing about the Dow’s surge, some investors assumed their portfolios would see large, abrupt gains – but in any sector rotation, money flows away from some industry groups toward others. In the three days after Trump’s victory, the Dow had gained 2.81%; the S&P, 1.16%; and the Nasdaq, 0.84%. While the Dow is only comprised of 30 companies, the S&P and the Nasdaq are much broader benchmarks, exponentially larger in their scope. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P contain many tech companies – and, broadly speaking, Silicon Valley was not high on Trump.⁷

Investors scratching their heads at recent portfolio performance would also do well to remember that large caps are just one of six asset classes. The gains for U.S. equities stood out globally after the election; there were losses in emerging and developed markets abroad, and losses in the debt markets. As assets in many portfolios are allocated across various asset classes to try and manage risk, this helps to explain why many retail investors saw only small gains or no gains at all immediately after November 8. They were not invested merely in the member firms of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.⁷

Will this rally continue? It’s difficult to say. As you know, history provides information of the past, and no assurance of future returns. While it’s possible that the new administration’s policies will bear out this goodwill, it’s also possible, after the administration convenes, that there is a new perspective. Time will tell.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - money.cnn.com/data/markets/dow/ [11/17/16]

2 - investing.com/news/stock-market-news/s-amp;p,-nasdaq-higher-as-investors-digest-yellen-remarks-441723 [11/17/16]

3 - fortune.com/2016/08/03/donald-trump-infrastructure/ [8/3/16]

4 - blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/11/17/why-the-small-cap-rally-may-stick-around/ [11/17/16]

5 - marketwatch.com/story/stop-calling-stock-market-rise-a-trump-rally-2016-11-17 [11/17/16]

6 - bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-15/s-p-500-futures-inch-ahead-as-investors-speculate-on-trump-plans [11/15/16]

7 - forbes.com/sites/davidmarotta/2016/11/14/how-the-markets-moved-after-a-trump-victory/ [11/14/16]

Kim 12/11/16 Kim 12/11/16

Retirees Should Have Spending Plans

Without such strategies, they can risk going through their savings too fast. Every day, articles appear urging people to save for retirement. These articles are so prevalent that it may seem like retirement planning is entirely about getting people to save.

Actually, retirement planning concerns much more than that. It has another aspect well worth discussing: the eventual spending of all of that money that has been accumulated.

Too few Americans coordinate their retirement spending. Earlier this year, Ameriprise asked more than 1,300 savers aged 55-75 if they had a drawdown strategy in mind for the future. Nearly two-thirds of the pre-retirees surveyed did not. A third of the retired respondents to the survey also lacked spending plans.¹

In retirement, inattention to household spending can have serious consequences. A newly retired couple can travel too much, eat out too frequently, and live it up to such a degree that its savings can be drawn down abruptly. That danger is heightened if a couple’s investments start to perform poorly. A spending plan may help retirees guard against this kind of crisis.

Another case occurs when a retiree household becomes overconfident in its decently performing portfolio and its middling level of savings. A decade or so into retirement without a spending plan, that household finds its investment and bank accounts dwindling mysteriously fast. Sunday brunches give way to $3.99 bacon-and-egg specials, and the golf clubs stay in the garage all year. A plan for drawing down retirement savings in moderation when retirement starts might help such a couple maintain its quality of life longer.

There is no standardized retirement drawdown strategy. Each retired household (and its retirement planner) must arrive at one specific to its savings, investment mix, income requirements, and age.

There are some basic principles, however, that may help in configuring the spending plan. It makes sense for many retirees to tap their taxable brokerage accounts as a first step in a drawdown strategy. This allows assets held within tax-advantaged retirement accounts (such as IRAs) more time to grow and compound. By doing this, a retiree can effectively realize a tax break – money coming out of a traditional IRA is taxed as regular income, whereas long-term capital gains are taxed between zero and 20%.^1,2

Of course, Roth IRA withdrawals are never taxed, provided you have followed IRS rules. That brings up another factor in planning retirement spending – what can be done with regard to asset location and tax efficiency before retirement.²

A retiree with a larger traditional IRA may want to consider a Roth conversion of some or all of those IRA assets before age 70. In the fifties or sixties, an IRA owner may be at or near peak earnings, so handling the tax bite that comes with such a conversion may be comparatively easier than it would be during retirement.

Another tactic is to take earlier, voluntary withdrawals from accounts that would demand Required Minimum Withdrawals (RMDs) beginning at age 70½. These voluntary withdrawals, which would occur before the start of RMDs, would leave an IRA owner with lower RMDs (and less taxable income) in the future.

Retirement spending should never be treated casually. A spending strategy may play a crucial role in preserving a retired household’s quality of life.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - cnbc.com/2016/03/02/spending-in-retirement-is-a-balancing-act.html [3/2/16]

2 - investopedia.com/ask/answers/102714/how-are-ira-withdrawals-taxed.asp [10/17/16]

Kim 11/29/16 Kim 11/29/16

What You Can & Cannot Control as You Plan for Retirement

Some things you have no influence over. You may have some power to affect other factors. Are you worried about retiring? Many baby boomers are, and they have reason to be, given low interest rates, subpar returns on equities, increasing health care costs, and the issues facing Social Security.

Now, do yourself a favor. Read that last sentence again, and ask yourself, “which of those four things can I control?”

The correct answer: none of them. That may be frightening, but it is also truthful. As you plan for retirement, you must acknowledge that certain factors are beyond your control. As much as you would like to influence or change them, you have no say over them.

So, what can you control? Primarily, three things: the way you save; the way you manage risk; and the way you will spend your savings.

The way you save may be more important than the way you invest. Every saver hears about the benefits of an early start, and those benefits can be considerable. As an example, consider these hypothetical savers:

Erica saves $5,000 per year for 20 years at an 8% return, and thanks to time, inflows, and compounding, she turns that initial $5,000 into $247,115 two decades later. Midway through this 20-year stretch, Giovanni, Erica’s co-worker, decides he will start saving too. Time is not such a good friend to him, however. If he wants to amass $247,115 (give or take a few bucks), he will have to pour in around $15,795 into his retirement account annually at that 8% yearly yield. And as for Erica … all other variables frozen, if she saves $14,000 per year, instead of $5,000 a year, at a consistent 8% yield for 20 years, her savings at the end of that two-decade period will be $691,921 rather than $247,115.¹

Your risk exposure matters. In a perfect world, taking on X degree of risk would lead to Y degree of reward. If only it worked that way. Still, a portfolio that assumes reasonable levels of risk may generate better long-term returns than a highly conservative, risk-averse one.

The inescapable truth of investing is that when you forfeit risk, you also often forfeit your potential for significant gains. To be more specific, getting out of equities when the market sours puts you on the sidelines when the market rallies. Should you abandon equities in a correction or bear market, you face another kind of risk – the risk of selling low and buying high.

If you absolutely detest risk and want to minimize your risk exposure as you save and invest for retirement, then you must compensate for that lessened risk exposure by saving more, whether in cash or conservative investment vehicles. Remember that to save more, you must also spend less.

Will you plan how to spend your retirement savings? That will put you a step ahead of many retirees, who have no strategy whatsoever. You need to plan both the succession and amount of your retirement withdrawals – what annual percentage should be distributed from what accounts in what order. Four primary variables may affect your plan, and you arguably have some control over them all: your yearly withdrawal amount, your level of debt, your health, and your retirement date. You cannot control the tax code or the equities markets, but you can try to pay off debt, improve your health, spend reasonably, and work longer, if needed.

Focus on what you can control. It may keep you from losing some sleep over what you cannot.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - bankrate.com/finance/investing/saving-money-or-investing-more-important-over-time.aspx [12/30/15]

Kim 11/27/16 Kim 11/27/16

How Can Women Save More for Retirement?

Suggestions to accelerate & maintain the pace of the effort. Numerous articles have mentioned the obstacles women can face as they save for retirement. Turning from the negative, here are some positive factors that may help women save more.

Financial literacy. Learning about investing, retirement topics and the markets is step one. An appreciation and understanding of the potential of equity investment, a recognition that a six-figure or seven-figure sum may be needed to retire – a retirement savings effort proceeds from these understandings.

When you have knowledge, you have more confidence and your money decisions feel empowering. A 2014 TIAA-CREF survey found that 81% of women who had obtained knowledge from a financial professional reported feeling informed about retirement planning and retirement saving, and 63% of women who had received financial advice felt confident about their retirement saving progress.¹

Debt reduction. Less debt leaves more money to save. One recent survey suggests that women amass less debt than men: in reviewing credit trends for 2013, Experian found women were 4.3% less indebted than men overall and that female borrowers missed fewer mortgage payments and took out smaller home loans. As for handling a student loan burden while saving for retirement, most federal college loans are eligible for at least one of the new income-based repayment plans which cap monthly payment levels based on family size and income.^2,3

Estimating high. Here are seven words you will rarely (if ever) hear from a financial professional: “You are saving too much for retirement.” Most people save too little, and here is a case where erring on the side of caution is no error at all. Building your retirement nest egg through multiple vehicles (an IRA, a workplace retirement plan, an equity portfolio, savings accounts) can contribute to the generation of a larger-than-necessary retirement fund.

Saving 10% or more of your income as soon as you can. Starting early allows you to take advantage of the considerable power of compounding. Putting away 10% or 15% of your annual income into retirement accounts is not excessive; it is quite reasonable, even necessary.

As a hypothetical example, 35-year-old Christina has already saved $30,000 for retirement with the idea of retiring at 65. She currently earns $70,000 annually. A retirement income of $100,000 seems like a nice idea for 2045 and the 20 years stretching beyond that date.

Assuming a 6% return before and after retirement, Christina would need to save 17.61% of her income, or $12,329 a year, to reach her goal under such parameters.⁴

At age 45 she has built $152,000 in retirement savings and earns $120,000 a year. To get that $100,000 retirement income for a 20-year retirement, she still has to save 14.9% of her income ($17,928) at a hypothetical 6% consistent return to realize that objective. The lesson: save, save early, and save more.⁴

Asking for raises or creating new income streams. It can be hard to ask for a raise, but it is harder to live on a substandard salary or risk positioning yourself for a retirement savings shortfall. Your employer will not likely give you one out of thin air, so initiate the conversation and assert your value. Also, look for opportunities to make more money outside of the 8-to-5 or 7-to-4: speaking engagements, home organizing, direct sales, consulting and other methods.

Owning your financial life. That is to say, keep control over it. If a relationship is wonderful and intense, great, but avoid being seduced into a passive financial role in the long term. That was the default role for women decades ago when they married, but even today, when one person makes most of the financial decisions in a relationship, the other person risks moving forward in life with inadequate financial knowledge. That problem plagues widows.

Actively managing your finances also means straightforwardly addressing spending issues, debt and any other financial problems or dilemmas that must be resolved as you pursue your retirement savings goal.

Thinking positive. Saving for retirement begins by pairing the right outlook and the right actions. Stay positive; stay consistent; run the numbers and make sure you are saving enough. To find out just how much is enough, consult a financial professional who can help you assess your saving potential.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - tiaa-cref.org/public/about/press/about_us/releases/articles/pressrelease534.html [10/29/14]

2 - experian.com/blogs/news/2013/05/22/women-vs-men/ [5/22/13]

3 - studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven [4/9/15]

4 - msn.com/en-us/money/tools/retirementplanner [4/9/15]

Kim 11/6/16 Kim 11/6/16

How Will the Market Respond After the Election?

We may see some volatility, but equilibrium could quickly be restored. What will happen on Wall Street after November 8? We can shrug and say, “who knows,” and that simple answer may be as good as any other. Trying to predict which way the market will go is difficult, even when it comes to a single trading session. All that said, investors may take some cues from the result of the presidential election and push stocks in one direction or another.

Could there be a market shock? The biggest stock market disruptor so far in 2016 has been the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom. That late June development erased the entire year-to-date advance of the S&P 500 – but the S&P recovered quickly, gaining back its losses by the start of July in a textbook example of stock market resilience. The index rallied for several weeks thereafter.¹

The market appears to be pricing in a Clinton win. A Trump win would defy quite a few political forecasts – and perhaps affect Wall Street in a way similar to the Brexit vote.

One forecasting firm, Macroeconomic Advisers, has put out a bold prediction: it believes that the S&P 500 could rise 4% in the near term after a Clinton win, while a Trump win would bring on a 7-8% descent. The Brookings Institute – a research and public policy think tank, not a market analytics firm – feels a Trump victory would prompt a correction. Overseas markets might also slump significantly in reaction to an oncoming Trump presidency, as Trump’s image outside the U.S. is largely unfavorable.^1,2

Regardless of who wins, some immediate volatility would not be unusual. Bespoke Investment Group, a very respected provider of market data, finds that the S&P 500 has seesawed in the days surrounding recent presidential elections. The common pattern is a rally on Election Day; then, a pullback the next day, averaging around 1%. An extreme example of this behavior came in 2008, when the index rose 4% on Election Day (Barack Obama was the heavy favorite that year), then fell 5.3% a day later.²

What does history tell us could happen in the months ahead? Understanding that past performance is not indicative of future success (or failure), we see that the performance of the S&P has varied widely on such occasions. In 2012, the index was flat for the rest of the year after the election; the next year, the S&P rose 30%. In 2008, the S&P fell 10% after the election. Then it advanced 23% in 2009. In 2004, a 7% rally after the re-election of George W. Bush was followed by only a 3% gain in 2005. In 2000, an 8% post-election retreat for the S&P preceded a 13% fall for the index in 2001. From numbers like that, we can only conclude that stock market behavior is hard to predict.¹

The election is an event on a timeline. Wall Street’s reaction to it, positive or negative, will likely be old news within weeks, if not days. The Federal Reserve’s December policy statement may make bigger waves. Take whatever occurs in stride, knowing that it is but a page in the long story of Wall Street. One market moment should not lead you to rethink your approach or your commitment to saving and investing for your long-term goals.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - businessinsider.com/what-happens-in-the-stock-market-after-us-elections-2016-9 [10/15/16]

2 - money.cnn.com/2016/10/24/investing/stocks-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/index.html [10/24/16]

Kim 10/23/16 Kim 10/23/16

Social Security: Myths vs. Facts

Dispelling some misperceptions about the program. Some myths & misperceptions keep circulating about Social Security. These are worth dispelling, as more and more baby boomers are becoming eligible for their retirement benefits.

Myth #1: Social Security will go away before you do. The federal government has announced that Social Security may become insolvent between 2033 and 2037 if no action is taken – but it is practically a given that Congress will act on the program’s behalf. Social Security provides 40% of the total income of the 40 million Americans receiving retirement benefits.¹

Did you know that Social Security has had a surplus each year since 1984? That situation is about to change. By about 2020, the program is projected to face a deficit, which it will tap incoming interest payments to offset. It will only be able to use that tactic until the mid-2030s. The program will not “run dry” or go bankrupt at that point, but by some estimates, its payments to retirees could become about 25% smaller.¹

Myth #2: Your Social Security benefits are “your” money. It would be a fitting reward if your Social Security income represented the return of all the payroll taxes you had paid through the years. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The payroll taxes you paid decades ago funded the Social Security benefits that went to retirees at that time. Your Social Security benefits will be funded by the payroll taxes that a younger generation pays.²

Myth #3: Social Security income is tax-free. In reality, up to 85% of your Social Security income may be taxed. Social Security uses a formula to determine the taxable amount, which is as follows: adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + one-half of your Social Security benefit = your combined income. Single filers with combined incomes between $25,000-$34,000, and joint filers with combined incomes between $32,000-$44,000, may have as much as 50% of their benefits taxed. Single filers with combined incomes above $34,000, and joint filers with combined incomes above $44,000, may have up to 85% of their benefits subject to taxation.²

Myth #4: If you have never worked, you will never get Social Security benefits. This is not necessarily true.

Generally speaking, you have to work at least ten years to become eligible for Social Security income. That is, you have to spend ten or more years at jobs in which you pay Social Security taxes; you have to pay into the system to get something back from the system. Unfortunately, caregiving and child-rearing do not qualify you for Social Security.¹

To get technical about it, you must accumulate 40 “credits” to become eligible for benefits. When you receive $1,260 in earned income, you get one credit. Another $1,260 in earned income brings you another credit, and so forth. You can receive up to four credits per year. Most people will collect their 40 credits in a decade; though others will take longer.¹

If you have never worked, or worked for less than 10 years, you could still qualify for Social Security on the earnings record of your spouse, your ex-spouse, or your late spouse. A widow can choose to collect up to 100% of a deceased spouse’s monthly benefit; a married spouse can collect up to 50% of the other spouse’s monthly benefit. If you have divorced, you may still file for Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s earnings record – provided that the marriage lasted ten years or longer and you have not married again.¹

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - fool.com/retirement/2016/07/18/12-jaw-dropping-stats-about-social-security.aspx [7/18/16]

2 - usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/04/03/social-security-facts/81883222/ [4/3/16]

Kim 10/17/16 Kim 10/17/16

Are You Insured?

Too many Americans have no life insurance. Their loved ones may pay dearly for that choice. September is National Life Insurance Awareness Month – a good time to think about the value and importance of insuring yourself.

According to a recent Bankrate survey, 42% of Americans have no life insurance at all. They may not know that life insurance coverage has become much more affordable than it once was.¹

Many people ask if life insurance is really worth the cost; maybe you are among them. The simple answer to that question is yes. It can be stunningly cheap: a healthy, non-smoking man in his thirties may pay less than $45 a month for a $1 million 20-year term policy. Permanent life insurance costs more than term life insurance, but permanent life policies can build cash value over time; term policies cannot.²

Life insurance is about managing risk, and if other people rely on you financially, you need to have it in place in case your passing puts them at financial risk. When a spouse or parent dies, there are financial matters to address: a sudden lack of income for a household, bills and mortgages or rent to pay, final expenses such as funeral or cremation costs, and the cost of children’s education. Without adequate life insurance coverage, a household is hard-pressed to meet these immediate, financially draining challenges.

Many growing families have inadequate life insurance coverage. The Bankrate survey discovered that 37% of parents with children under age 18 had no policy at all. Some younger families find coverage through group plans, but perhaps not enough: 32% of the survey respondents raising minor children said that the death benefits on their life insurance contracts were $100,000 or less.¹

The problem of inadequate coverage seems to plague households of all ages. A five-figure life insurance payout can pay for a funeral, but it will not offer much economic insulation to a family after a wage earner dies. Bankrate found that 47% of the Americans who have life insurance have policies with coverage amounts of $100,000 or lower. Twenty-one percent of Americans have policies with death benefits of $25,000 or lower.¹

How much coverage is adequate for you? Ideally, you should determine that with the help of an insurance professional. As a rough rule of thumb, the death benefit on a policy should be about 15 times your income. If you are considering a term life policy, the term should not end before your envisioned retirement age.²

Life insurance can also be valuable while you are alive. A policy with cash value components may grow over time, either by a fixed amount per year or a variable amount as a result of the insurer directing some of the assets into underlying equity investments. (In such cases, it is also possible for the cash value to decline if the underlying investments do poorly.) After a while, you may be able to borrow against the cash value. Sometimes the payout amount on these types of policies can be adjusted as well as the size of the premiums. Of course, you must keep paying the premiums to keep any kind of permanent life or term life policy in force.³

While you may decide you prefer one kind of policy over another, the important thing is to have coverage in place – not just to reassure yourself, but those you love. Life insurance can help a spouse or a family maintain financial equilibrium at a time when it is most needed.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - bankrate.com/finance/insurance/money-pulse-0715.aspx [7/8/15]

2 - forbes.com/sites/timmaurer/2016/01/05/10-things-you-absolutely-need-to-know-about-life-insurance/ [1/5/16]

3 - nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/should-you-consider-cash-value-life-insurance/ [5/6/15]

Kim 10/4/16 Kim 10/4/16

Ways to Repair Your Credit Score

Steps to get your credit rating back toward 720. We all know the value of a good credit score. We all try to maintain one. Sometimes, though, life throws us a financial curve and that score declines. What steps can we take to repair it?

Reduce your credit utilization ratio (CUR). CUR is credit industry jargon, an arcane way of referring to how much of a credit card’s debt limit a borrower has used up. Simply stated, if you have a credit card with a limit of $1,500 and you have $1,300 borrowed on it right now, the CUR for that card is 13:2, you have used up 87% of the available credit.¹

Carrying lower balances on your credit cards tilts the CUR in your favor and promotes a better credit score. If you borrow less than 30% of a card’s debt limit per month, it will help you. If you borrow less than 10% of the debt limit on a card per month, it will help you even more.

Review your credit reports for errors. You probably know that you are entitled to receive one free credit report per year from each of the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You might as well request a report from all three at once. About 20% of credit reports contain mistakes. Upon review, some borrowers spot credit card fraud committed against them; some notice botched account details or identity errors. Mistakes are best noted via postal mail with a request for a return receipt (send the agency the report, the evidence and a letter explaining the error).^1,2

If you have been doing the right things, tell your creditors to report them. If you fail to pay your bills, your creditors will let the major reporting firms know. What if you unfailingly pay the bills on time for a year – will they tell the major reporting firms about that?

Quite often, “good behavior” goes unrecognized by certain creditors while “bad behavior” gets a quick red flag. Urging a creditor to report the things you are doing right to the credit reporting firms can aid the comeback of your credit score.¹

Think about getting another credit card or two (but not too many). Your CUR is calculated across all your credit card accounts, in respect to your total monthly borrowing limit. So if you have a $1,200 balance on a card with a $1,500 monthly limit and you open two more credit card accounts with $1,500 monthly limits, you will markedly lower your CUR in the process. Alternately, you could lower your CUR a bit by keeping just one credit card, but asking that card issuer to raise your debt limit. Refrain from trying to open several new lines of credit at once – that could actually harm your score more than help it.¹

Think twice about closing out credit cards you rarely use. When you realize that your CUR takes all the credit cards you have into account, you see why this may end up being a bad move. If you have $5,500 in consumer debt among five credit cards and you close out three of them accounting for $1,300 of that revolving debt, you now have $4,200 among three credit cards. In terms of CUR, you are now using a third of your available credit card balance whereas you once used a fifth.¹

Beyond that, a portion of your credit score is based on account longevity. This represents another downside to closing out older, little used credit cards.¹

New FICO scoring may also help you out if you have problem credit. The FICO XD score – a rating recently launched in a Fair Isaac Co. pilot program with a dozen credit card companies – could open doors for you if you have been rejected by certain credit card issuers. On-time bill paying is a big component in the FICO XD score calculation.³

Roughly 15 million consumers now have XD scores, including 55% to 60% of recent credit card applicants. Between 35-50% of those applicants are estimated to have XD scores above 620, which can be the make-or-break point for getting a credit card.³

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - gobankingrates.com/personal-finance/video5-quick-ways-raise-credit-score/ [1/27/15]

2 - money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2014/07/10/how-to-dispute-credit-report-errors [7/10/14]

3 - blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/10/08/new-fico-score-may-have-wider-impact-than-first-thought/ [10/8/15]

Kim 9/26/16 Kim 9/26/16

THINK TWICE ABOUT BORROWING FROM YOUR 401(K)

You may be tempted to do it – but do you really want to? While you might be able to borrow from a 401(k), that doesn’t mean you should. Yes, we are in a recession. Yes, times are tough. But borrowing from your 401(k) could prove highly detrimental to your financial health.

Some 401(k) plans will not even allow you to take a loan. Those that do commonly permit you to borrow up to 50% of your vested account balance or $50,000, whichever is less.1 How do you pay the money back? You pay it back (with interest) from future paychecks. How long have you got to pay it back? Usually, up to 5 years. If you use what you borrow to buy a home that will be your primary residence, you may be given longer to pay back the money.2

But again, this doesn’t mean you should. Here’s why this idea belongs in the category of “last resort”.

It could pressure you to reduce your 401(k) contributions. You’ll repay the loan out of your paychecks. Can you do that and continue to contribute to your 401(k)? If you have to lessen or cease 401(k) contributions as a consequence of this move, it could further hurt your retirement savings potential, especially if your company offers you a match on contributions.

If you can’t repay the loan, it becomes a distribution. If you can’t pay the money back within the time period allowed, it is considered a distribution, subject to federal and state income taxes. If you are younger than age 59½, you will face the usual 10% penalty for making a premature withdrawal from your retirement account on top of that.1

If you lose your job, guess what: in most cases, you have to pay the loan back within 60 days, or it becomes a taxable distribution. Ow.3

The money isn’t tax-sheltered after you borrow it. Nor is the loan tax-deductible.1

It works against the time value of money. In other words, compounding. One of the key tenets of investing is that money available to you now is worth more than money available to you in the future. Any money you put in a bank account or tax-advantaged investment account now has potential earning capacity – the capacity to grow and compound over time.

This is why we would all prefer to have, say, $20,000 to invest today rather than $20,000 to invest 30 years from now. If you wait 30 years to invest it, you will lose 30 years of time value. Additionally, that idle $20,000 will be worth less 30 years from now due to inflation.

If you borrow from your 401(k), you are working against the time value of money and the power of compounding. By removing assets from that tax-advantaged account, you are hindering its potential earning capacity.

Every 401(k) plan loan carries an opportunity cost. Years from now, you may have to reckon with some sobering questions – how much could those funds have earned if they were left inside the 401(k), and how much did they earn for you when you took them out of the 401(k)? Did the money you borrowed earn you a dime? Did you take on another debt using the money you borrowed?

Are you paying yourself interest? Think again. As you pay back a 401(k) plan loan, the 401(k) program puts the principal and interest back into your 401(k) account. So it looks like you are paying yourself interest. Technically, you are. But to pay that interest, you need to earn money (a salary) and pay income tax on what you’ve earned. You pay the interest on your loan with post-tax dollars. Guess what: when you withdraw those dollars from your 401(k) at retirement, they’re taxed again (as taxable income). So in essence, those dollars are being taxed twice. (It must be noted that specific tax rules apply to Roth 401(k) contributions.)2

Why harm your retirement fund? Borrowing from your 401(k) could amount to an injurious financial mistake, one that could haunt you for years. If the thought has crossed your mind, talk to your financial or tax professional – there may be other ways to find the money you need.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

These are the views of Peter Montoya Inc., not the named Representative nor Broker/Dealer, and should not be construed as investment advice. Neither the named Representative nor Broker/Dealer gives tax or legal advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If other expert assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. Please consult your Financial Professional for further information.

Kim 9/18/16 Kim 9/18/16

Coping With College Loans

Paying them down, managing their financial impact. Are student loans holding our economy back? Certainly America has recovered from the last recession, but this is an interesting question nonetheless.

In a November 2013 address before the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Assistant Director Rohit Chopra expressed that college loan debt “may prove to be one of the more painful aftershocks of the Great Recession.” In fact, outstanding education debt in America doubled from 2007 to 2013, topping $1 trillion.¹

More than 60% of this debt is held by people over the age of 30 and about 15% is carried by people older than 50. The housing sector feels the strain: in a November National Association of Realtors survey, 54% of the first-time homebuyers who had difficulty saving up a down payment cited their college loan expenses as the main obstacle. The ProgressNow think tank believes that education debt siphons $6 billion of new car purchasing power out of the economy per year.^2,3

As the Detroit Free Press notes, the average 2012 college graduate is burdened with $29,400 in education loans. If you carry five-figure (or greater) education debt, what do you do to pay it down faster?⁴

How can you overcome student loans to move forward financially? If you are young (or not so young), budgeting is key. Even if you get a second job, a promotion, or an inheritance, you won’t be able to erase any debt if your expenses consistently exceed your income. Smartphone apps and other online budget tools can help you live within your budget day to day, or even at the point of purchase for goods and services.

After that first step, you can use a few different strategies to whittle away at college loans.

*The local economy permitting, a couple can live on one salary and use the wages of the other earner to pay off the loan balance(s).

*You could use your tax refund to attack the debt.

*You can hold off on a major purchase or two. (Yes, this is a sad effect of college debt, but backhandedly it could also help you reduce it by freeing up more cash to apply to the loan.)

*You can sell something of significant value – a car or truck, a motorbike, jewelry, collectibles – and turn the cash on the debt.

Now in the big picture of your budget, you could try the “snowball method” where you focus on paying off your smallest debt first, then the next smallest, etc. on to the largest. Or, you could try the “debt ladder” tactic, where you attack the debt(s) with the highest interest rate(s) to start. That will permit you to gradually devote more and more money toward the goal of wiping out that existing student loan balance.

Even just paying more than the minimum each month on your loan will help. Making payments every two weeks rather than every month can also have a big impact.

If the lender presents you with a choice of repayment plans, weigh the one you currently use against the others; the others might be better. Signing up for automatic payments can help, too. You avoid the risk of penalty for late payment, and student loan issuers commonly reward the move: many will lower the interest rate on a loan by a quarter-point or so in thanks.⁵

What if you have multiple outstanding college loans? Should one of those loans have a variable interest rate (about 15% of education loans do), try addressing that debt first. Why? Think about what could happen with interest rates as this decade progresses. They are already rising.⁵

Also, how about combining multiple federal student loan balances into one? If you graduated college before July 1, 2006, the interest rate you’ll lock in on the single balance will be lower than that paid on each separate federal education loan.⁵

Maybe your boss could pay down the loan. Don’t laugh: there are college grads who manage to negotiate just such agreements. In fact, there are small and mid-sized businesses that offer them simply to be competitive today. They can’t offer a young hire what the Fortune 500 can when it comes to salary, so they pitch another perk: a lump sum that the new employee can use to reduce a college loan.⁵

To reduce your student debt, live within your means and use your financial creativity. It may disappear faster than you think.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

Citations.

1 - consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/student-loan-ombudsman-rohit-chopra-before-the-federal-reserve-bank-of-st-louis/ [11/18/13]

2 - forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2013/06/26/backlash-student-loans-keep-borrowers-from-buying-homes-cars/ [6/26/13]

3 - realtor.org/news-releases/2013/11/home-buyers-and-sellers-survey-shows-lingering-impact-of-tight-credit [11/13]

4 - tinyurl.com/nouty3k [4/19/14]

5 - tinyurl.com/k29m48y [5/1/14]

Kim 8/23/16 Kim 8/23/16

Money Habits That May Help You Become Wealthier

Financially speaking, what do some households do right? Why do some households tread water financially while others make progress? Does it come down to habits?

Sometimes the difference starts there. A household that prioritizes paying itself first may end up in much better financial shape in the long run than other households.

Some families see themselves as savers, others as spenders. The spenders may enjoy affluence now, but they also may be setting themselves up for financial struggles down the road. The savers better position themselves for financial emergencies and the creation of wealth.

How does a family build up its savings? Well, money not spent can be money saved. That should be obvious, but some households take a long time to grasp this truth. In the psychology of spenders, money unspent is money unappreciated. Less spending means less fun.

Being a saver does not mean being a miser, however. It simply means dedicating a percentage of household income to future goals and needs rather than current wants.

You could argue that it is harder than ever for households to save consistently today; yet, it happens. As of May, U.S. households were saving 5.3% of their disposal personal income, up from 4.8% a year earlier.1

Budgeting is a great habit. What percentage of U.S. households maintain a budget? Pollsters really ought to ask that question more often. In 2013, Gallup posed that question to Americans and found that the answer was 32%. Only 39% of households earning more than $75,000 a year bothered to budget. (Another interesting factoid from that survey: just 30% of Americans had a long-run financial plan.)2

So often, budgeting begins in response to a financial crisis. Ideally, budgeting is proactive, not reactive. Instead of being about damage control, it can be about monthly progress.

Budgeting also includes planning for major purchases. A household that creates a plan to buy a big-ticket item may approach that purchase with less ambiguity – and less potential for a financial surprise.

Keeping consumer debt low is a good habit. A household that uses credit cards “like cash” may find itself living “on margin” – that is, living on the edge of financial instability. When people habitually use other people’s money to buy things, they run into three problems. One, they

start carrying a great deal of revolving consumer debt, which may take years to eliminate. Two, they set themselves up to live paycheck to paycheck. Three, they hurt their potential to build equity. No one chooses to be poor, but living this way is as close to a “choice” as a household can make.

Investing for retirement is a good habit. Speaking of equity, automatically contributing to employer-sponsored retirement accounts, IRAs, and other options that allow you a chance to grow your savings through equity investing are great habits to develop.

Smart households invest with diversification. They recognize that directing most of their invested assets into one or two investment classes heightens their exposure to risk. They invest in such a way that their portfolio includes both conservative and opportunistic investment vehicles.

Taxes and fees can eat into investment returns over time, so watchful families study what they can do to reduce those negatives and effectively improve portfolio yields.

Long-term planning is a good habit. Many people invest with the goal of making money, but they never define what the money they make will be used to accomplish. Wise households consult with financial professionals to set long-range objectives – they want to accumulate X amount of dollars for retirement, for eldercare, for college educations. The very presence of such long-term goals reinforces their long-term commitment to saving and investing.

Every household would do well to adopt these money habits. They are vital for families that want more control over their money. When money issues threaten to control a family, a change in financial behavior is due.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Kim 8/14/16 Kim 8/14/16

The New Gradual Retirement

Working a little (or a lot) after 60 may become the norm. Do we really want to retire at 65? Not according to the latest annual retirement survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies which gauges the outlook of American workers. It found that 51% of us plan to work part-time once retired. Moreover, 64% of workers 60 and older wanted to work at least a little after 65 and 18% had no intention of retiring.1

Are financial needs shaping these responses? Not entirely. While 61% of all those polled in the Transamerica survey cited income and employer-sponsored health benefits as major reasons to stay employed in the “third act” of life, 34% of respondents said they wanted to keep working because they enjoy their occupation or like the social and mental engagement of the workplace.1

It seems “retirement” and “work” are no longer mutually exclusive. Not all of us have sufficiently large retirement nest eggs, so we strive to stay employed – to let our savings compound a little more, and to leave us with fewer years of retirement to fund.

We want to keep working into our mid-sixties because of two other realities as well. If you are a baby boomer and you retire before age 66 (or 67, in the case of those born 1960 and later), your monthly Social Security benefits will be smaller than if you had worked until full retirement age. Additionally, we can qualify for Medicare at age 65.2,3

We are sometimes cautioned that working too much in retirement may result in our Social Security benefits being taxed – but is there really such a thing as “too much” retirement income?

Income aside, there is another question we all face as retirement approaches.

How much control will we have over our retirement transition? In the Transamerica survey, 41% of respondents saw themselves making a gradual entry into retirement, shifting from full-time employment to part-time employment or another kind of work in their sixties.1

Is that thinking realistic? It may or may not be. A recent Gallup survey of retirees found that 67% had left the workforce before age 65; just 18% had managed to work longer. Recent research from the Employee Benefit Retirement Institute fielded roughly the same results: 14% of retirees kept working after 65 and about half had been forced to stop working earlier than they planned due to layoffs, health issues or eldercare responsibilities.3

If you do want to make a gradual retirement transition, what might help you do it? First of all, work on maintaining your health. The second priority: maintain and enhance your skill set, so

that your prospects for employment in your sixties are not reduced by separation from the latest technologies. Keep networking. Think about Plan B: if you are unable to continue working in your chosen career even part-time, what prospects might you have for creating income through financial decisions, self-employment or in other lines of work? How can you reduce your monthly expenses?

Easing out of work & into retirement may be the new normal. Pessimistic analysts contend that many baby boomers will not be able to keep working past 65, no matter their aspirations. They may be wrong – just as this active, ambitious generation has changed America, it may also change the definition of retirement.

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600.

Citations.

1 - forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2015/05/05/why-the-new-retirement-involves-working-past-65/ [5/5/15]

2 - ssa.gov/retire2/agereduction.htm [6/11/15]

3 - money.usnews.com/money/blogs/planning-to-retire/2015/05/22/how-to-pick-the-optimal-retirement-age [5/22/15]

Kim 8/3/16 Kim 8/3/16

INHERITING AN IRA

Make sure you pay attention to the rules. What do you do when you inherit an IRA? Good question. Most people don’t know the rules and regulations pertaining to inherited IRA assets. You should. You, not the IRS, should benefit the most in this circumstance.

Will my income taxes soar this year as a result? Not necessarily. If you roll the assets into an inherited IRA, you have up to five years to either a) withdraw the money entirely or b) withdraw the money over your lifetime according to an IRS life expectancy formula.¹ Many heirs would prefer b) because the tax scenario is better – but some IRA custodians require you to go by the five-year rule.²

What if you don’t roll the money into an inherited IRA? What if you just take the balance as a lump sum and spend it? Look out. All that money will be taxed at your regular income tax rate.³ After income and estate taxes eat away at the IRA balance, you may be left with a fraction of the original assets.

Let’s look at some options for those who inherit IRA assets. Keep in mind: this brief article discusses only some basic, common scenarios. Tax laws pertaining to inherited IRA assets are complex, with constant “new wrinkles” – so be sure to talk to a financial advisor or tax advisor who is up to speed on IRS rule changes.

What if you inherit your spouse’s IRA? The IRS says a surviving spouse can elect to be treated as the owner of such IRA assets rather than the beneficiary.¹ A surviving spouse can therefore roll this money into his or her own IRA. That makes a lot of sense, especially for younger spouses: distributions can be extended over your lifetime and the lifetime of your beneficiaries.

If you roll over your late spouse’s IRA assets into your IRA, they may be able to compound for a long time, as you don’t have to take a Required Minimum Distribution from your IRA until you reach age 70½. (If you have a Roth IRA, you don’t have to take them at all.) On the other hand, you must take a distribution from an inherited IRA a year after your spouse’s death.⁴

You also have other options. If you are younger than 59½ and need the IRA assets for living expenses, you could keep all or part of the money in your late spouse’s IRA, whereby you could take penalty-free distributions. Or you could disclaim some or all of the IRA assets if you don’t need them (this has to happen within nine months of the original IRA owner’s death). Disclaiming them will allow the IRA assets to go to the contingent beneficiaries named by the original IRA owner. This might result in a better estate tax picture for your kids.⁴

You inherit an IRA from someone other than a spouse. Okay, this is complicated. Was the original IRA owner younger than age 70½ at death? Did he or she turn 70½ last year and die before April 1 this year? If the answer is yes to either question, you have two choices. 1) You can liquidate the inherited IRA by no later than December 31 of the fifth year after the year the original IRA owner dies. This is mandatory for some IRAs. 2) You can take minimum withdrawals over your life expectancy, calculated per IRS tables.²

Did the original IRA owner pass away on or after April 1 of the year after he or she turned 70½? Then forget the five-year rule. You must start taking minimum withdrawals over your life expectancy. Your first such withdrawal has to happen by Dec. 31 of the year after the year the original IRA owner dies.²

The no-RMDs-in-2009 wrinkle. No one has to take a Required Minimum Distribution from an IRA in 2009. What does that mean for inherited IRAs? If the IRA owner died in 2008, you don't have to take a distribution in 2009 and you get six years rather than five to withdraw inherited IRA assets if you would ordinarily go by the five-year rule.

But watch out: if you inherited an IRA from a non-spouse and the original IRA owner named multiple beneficiaries, you still have to split up the IRA into separate inherited IRAs by the end of 2009 to permit minimum withdrawals over heirs’ life expectancies. If you don’t, each beneficiary will have to take withdrawals based on the age of the oldest beneficiary, which could be a tremendous blow to tax deferral.⁵

You can’t contribute to inherited IRAs. This applies to traditional and Roth IRAs.^6,7 However, as mentioned above, surviving spouses can elect to treat an inherited IRA as their own – in IRS eyes, they do so by making any contribution to it.¹

A Roth IRA wrinkle. It is possible to pay taxes on an inherited Roth IRA. Roth IRA earnings can be withdrawn tax-free starting on the first day of the fifth taxable year after the year the Roth IRA was established. So if an inherited Roth IRA was established less than five years ago, an heir may have to pay tax on earnings withdrawals if the original owner's death and the withdrawal both occur within five years of the creation of the account. However, a beneficiary can circumvent this penalty by leaving the earnings in the Roth IRA for the required time period, even if he or she withdraws everything besides the earnings.⁷

Kim Bolker may be reached at kbolker@sigmarep.com or 616-942-8600

Citations.

¹irs.gov/publications/p590/ch01.html#en_US_publink10006321 [2009]

²smartmoney.com/personal-finance/taxes/Inheriting-Uncle-Henrys-IRA-11874/ [1/21/09]

³investorsinsight.com/blogs/retirement_watch/archive/2008/09/19/avoiding-ira-inheritance-disasters.aspx/ [9/19/08]

⁴kiplinger.com/features/archives/2009/02/krr_leave_an_ira_that_is_heir_tight2.html?kipad_id=42 [3/3/09]

⁵forbes.com/forbes/2009/0302/045_heir_alert.html [3/2/09]

⁶schwab.com/public/schwab/investment_products/retirement/inherited_iras/faq?cmsid=P-2008538&lvl1=investment_products&lvl2=retirement [5/22/09]

⁷fairmark.com/rothira/inherit.htm [1/24/08]

Should the Self-Employed Plan to Work Past 65?

Little Things That May Help Your Retirement Saving

Little Things That May Help Your Retirement Saving

What Could You Do With Your Tax Refund?

Life Insurance Before Age 40

OUT-OF-THE-BOX WAYS TO PAY FOR COLLEGE

When Is Social Security Income Taxable?

The Intriguing Post-Election Rally

Retirees Should Have Spending Plans

What You Can & Cannot Control as You Plan for Retirement

How Can Women Save More for Retirement?

How Will the Market Respond After the Election?

Social Security: Myths vs. Facts

Are You Insured?

Ways to Repair Your Credit Score

THINK TWICE ABOUT BORROWING FROM YOUR 401(K)

Coping With College Loans

Money Habits That May Help You Become Wealthier

The New Gradual Retirement

INHERITING AN IRA

Contact

Securities and Advisory Services