Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Student loan debt and Social Security
How important is it to pay off student loan debt?
Well many people don’t realize that the Federal government can garnish your Social Security check to pay off federal student loans. The Department of Education, which provides federal student loans to borrowers, say it tries to work out payment plans with people who fall behind on their loans. A spokesman for the department, said that accounts aren’t sent off to collections until almost two years of non-payment; if collection doesn’t yield results, the loan balance goes to the Treasury Department, which can reduce Social Security checks.
For its part, the Treasury Department said it reaches out to borrowers twice to set up a payment plan or otherwise resolve their debt before offsetting money from their Social Security check.
And the Treasury won’t withhold money from monthly checks that total $750 or less.
Sometimes student loan debt is from someone co-signing for a child or grandchild, sometimes it’s from someone seeking higher education later in life.
Just be aware student loan debt can follow you right into retirement. Questions go to yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Well many people don’t realize that the Federal government can garnish your Social Security check to pay off federal student loans. The Department of Education, which provides federal student loans to borrowers, say it tries to work out payment plans with people who fall behind on their loans. A spokesman for the department, said that accounts aren’t sent off to collections until almost two years of non-payment; if collection doesn’t yield results, the loan balance goes to the Treasury Department, which can reduce Social Security checks.
For its part, the Treasury Department said it reaches out to borrowers twice to set up a payment plan or otherwise resolve their debt before offsetting money from their Social Security check.
And the Treasury won’t withhold money from monthly checks that total $750 or less.
Sometimes student loan debt is from someone co-signing for a child or grandchild, sometimes it’s from someone seeking higher education later in life.
Just be aware student loan debt can follow you right into retirement. Questions go to yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Highlights for February 24 Your Safe Money Show
Coming up on Saturday February 24 Your Safe Money Show. The Social Security retirement age is increasing this year, we’ll discuss what that means for those turning 62 this year, and going forward, and how that changes benefits.
If you filed for Social Security benefits too early, what can you do? I’ll have those options for you.
When filing your tax return, there are mistakes that can delay your refund, I’ll tell you how to keep from making those mistakes.
And there’s a new tax return scam that the IRS is warning you about, you’ll want to know what to do if this happens to you.
Listen at 95.5FM KBEK at 7:30 a.m. They also stream live at kbek.com.Hear recent shows at the podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.
If you filed for Social Security benefits too early, what can you do? I’ll have those options for you.
When filing your tax return, there are mistakes that can delay your refund, I’ll tell you how to keep from making those mistakes.
And there’s a new tax return scam that the IRS is warning you about, you’ll want to know what to do if this happens to you.
Listen at 95.5FM KBEK at 7:30 a.m. They also stream live at kbek.com.Hear recent shows at the podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Retirement savings and tax diversification
In retirement it’s especially important to understand how taxes affect your retirement accounts.
Let’s take a closer look, first tax deferred includes traditional 401(k) and IRA accounts. Contributions that you make to these are excluded from your current income, so you don’t pay tax on this money until you make a withdrawal. However, at age 70½, annual withdrawals are required, and taxes are due each time. Roth accounts are after tax accounts. Contributions are made to these with after-tax dollars. When you withdraw money later in retirement, no tax is due. This means that you can take money out at a time when you need it without tax consequences, or choose to leave it for later in retirement.
And then there’s taxable accounts that include all regular savings and investment accounts that have no tax advantages for contributing, and require you to pay capital gains tax each year. The importance of these accounts, however, is that they don’t attract penalties for withdrawals before a certain age. So, these give you a lot of flexibility for spending or emergencies.
If you have any questions call 320-679-5183 or go to the website yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Let’s take a closer look, first tax deferred includes traditional 401(k) and IRA accounts. Contributions that you make to these are excluded from your current income, so you don’t pay tax on this money until you make a withdrawal. However, at age 70½, annual withdrawals are required, and taxes are due each time. Roth accounts are after tax accounts. Contributions are made to these with after-tax dollars. When you withdraw money later in retirement, no tax is due. This means that you can take money out at a time when you need it without tax consequences, or choose to leave it for later in retirement.
And then there’s taxable accounts that include all regular savings and investment accounts that have no tax advantages for contributing, and require you to pay capital gains tax each year. The importance of these accounts, however, is that they don’t attract penalties for withdrawals before a certain age. So, these give you a lot of flexibility for spending or emergencies.
If you have any questions call 320-679-5183 or go to the website yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Highlights for February 17 Your Safe Money Show
Coming up on this week's Your Safe Money Show.
Tax time is here and if you end up owing money, the question today is “can you pay with a credit card”? We’ll discuss whether that’s a good idea or not.
Car insurance costs money, and having good coverage while keeping costs down, helps your bottom line. I have some insight into ways to save that might surprise you.
AND what can you do now to ensure a better retirement? I have some important steps, that can make a big difference for your future retirement.
Tune in Saturday mornings at 7:30 at KBEK 95.5 FM. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows podcast at yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Tax time is here and if you end up owing money, the question today is “can you pay with a credit card”? We’ll discuss whether that’s a good idea or not.
Car insurance costs money, and having good coverage while keeping costs down, helps your bottom line. I have some insight into ways to save that might surprise you.
AND what can you do now to ensure a better retirement? I have some important steps, that can make a big difference for your future retirement.
Tune in Saturday mornings at 7:30 at KBEK 95.5 FM. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows podcast at yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Taxes on Social Security
Did you know you can be taxed on your Social Security?
This usually only happens if you have other substantial income, such as wages, self-employment, interest, dividends and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return, in addition to your benefits.
The portion of your Social Security income that’s subject to federal income tax, depends on your combined income. Combined income is your taxable and non-taxable income, plus half of your Social Security benefits. If that income is between twenty-five and thirty-four thousand dollars on a
single return or between thirty-two and forty-four thousand dollars on a joint return, up to 50% of your benefits can be taxed. If your combined income is more than $34,000 on a single return or $44,000 on a joint return, it’s likely that up to 85% of your benefits will be taxed.
Once you start collecting Social Security, you may be able to reduce your overall tax bill by carefully planning which accounts you spend from each year to minimize the portion of your Social Security benefits that will be taxable.
If you have questions call 320-679-5183 or go to the website yoursafemoneyshow.com.
This usually only happens if you have other substantial income, such as wages, self-employment, interest, dividends and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return, in addition to your benefits.
The portion of your Social Security income that’s subject to federal income tax, depends on your combined income. Combined income is your taxable and non-taxable income, plus half of your Social Security benefits. If that income is between twenty-five and thirty-four thousand dollars on a
single return or between thirty-two and forty-four thousand dollars on a joint return, up to 50% of your benefits can be taxed. If your combined income is more than $34,000 on a single return or $44,000 on a joint return, it’s likely that up to 85% of your benefits will be taxed.
Once you start collecting Social Security, you may be able to reduce your overall tax bill by carefully planning which accounts you spend from each year to minimize the portion of your Social Security benefits that will be taxable.
If you have questions call 320-679-5183 or go to the website yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Highlights for February 10, Your Safe Money Show
I have several points to share with you for this week's Your Safe Money Show .
When you inherit an IRA there are many considerations, from how to take the distributions to tax implications. I’ll have some guidelines to follow.
If you haven’t heard, Medicare will be sending out new cards this year, I have the details on that.
Plus, more U.S. adults are sharing their living space, what does this mean and how are finances handled?
Listen Saturday mornings at 7:30 at 95.5 FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at the podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.
When you inherit an IRA there are many considerations, from how to take the distributions to tax implications. I’ll have some guidelines to follow.
If you haven’t heard, Medicare will be sending out new cards this year, I have the details on that.
Plus, more U.S. adults are sharing their living space, what does this mean and how are finances handled?
Listen Saturday mornings at 7:30 at 95.5 FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at the podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Digital privacy
Today keeping your identity safe is more important than ever. One way to protect your identity is by taking steps to protect your digital privacy.
Digital privacy has to do with what information is shared on the internet about you.
What can you do to protect your information? Keep your devices software up to date. Updates help manufacturers patch security vulnerabilities quickly. Two factor authentication is another way to protect yourself. Instead of relying only on a password, user accounts secured by two-factor authentication require an additional level of proof of ID before granting access. Freezing your credit stops unauthorized opening of credit cards or loans but can be extra work to un- freeze when you are trying to get a loan or new employment. We all know new passwords help protect us, that’s where a password manager comes in. They create passwords for you and you only have to remember the one to get into your account.
Digital privacy has to do with what information is shared on the internet about you.
What can you do to protect your information? Keep your devices software up to date. Updates help manufacturers patch security vulnerabilities quickly. Two factor authentication is another way to protect yourself. Instead of relying only on a password, user accounts secured by two-factor authentication require an additional level of proof of ID before granting access. Freezing your credit stops unauthorized opening of credit cards or loans but can be extra work to un- freeze when you are trying to get a loan or new employment. We all know new passwords help protect us, that’s where a password manager comes in. They create passwords for you and you only have to remember the one to get into your account.
Monday, February 5, 2018
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