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How can a 25 year old who makes $32,000 a year, retire as a Millionaire? Check out these numbers in the article by Clark Howard. Most Millennials have doubts about this working as a retirement plan. The numbers work through the power of compounding interest. 
Planning is important for financial success. Understanding how to properly plan for claiming your Social Security Benefits can be critical in its affect on your lifetime income. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has an interactive benefit calculator available to assist you. You can explore your options for claiming your Social Security Benefits and it can help you make a decision of when to claim your benefits.
Interactive Social Security Retirement Benefit Calculator
Same as Decedent
When you inherit an IRA, your basis in the account is the same as the decedent’s basis. For traditional IRAs, that’s the amount of any nondeductible contributions made to the account. For Roth IRAs, the basis equals the amount of total contributions, because all Roth IRA contributions are nondeductible. For example, if the decedent had a $20,000 basis in his traditional IRA because over the years he made $20,000 of nondeductible contributions to the account, your basis is $20,000.
Significance of Basis
The basis of an inherited IRA is significant because it often determines whether you will pay taxes on all or a portion of your distributions from the account. Knowing the basis in the account allows you to avoid paying taxes on money that has already been taxed. If the decedent made nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA, the decedent has already paid taxes on that money. If you are unaware of the decedent’s basis in the IRA, you’ll pay taxes on all of the distributions from the account, including the money that was already taxed.
Taxability of Traditional Distributions
If the decedent had a basis in a traditional IRA from making nondeductible contributions, you have to figure the tax-free portion each time you take a distribution. Divide the basis of the IRA by the value of the IRA at the time you take the distribution to figure the tax-free percentage. Then multiply the percentage by the amount of the distribution. Finally, subtract the tax-free portion from the old basis to find the remaining basis. For example, say you inherit a traditional IRA with a basis of $20,000 and you take a $10,000 distribution when it is worth $100,000. The tax-free portion of the distribution equals 20 percent, or $2,000. Your remaining basis in the account is $18,000.
Once you know the decedent’s basis, it is helpful to discuss your options and requirements with a tax advisor to insure you understand the tax implications.
I inherited an IRA account. What do I need to do?
Inherited IRA Options
1. If you inherit a retirement account from your spouse, you can transfer the assets into a retirement account of your own. Rules about when and how you can take the money (distribution rules) are the same as if the account had always been yours.
2. Typically you transfer the money to an Inherited IRA, if you inherit from someone other than a spouse, but spouses can also open an Inherited IRA. The money in an Inherited IRA can continue to grow tax deferred, and you can generally start withdrawing it immediately without paying a penalty. You’re required to withdraw specified amounts (known as Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs).
3. You can choose to take all the money now. The money from the inherited account may be taxable income depending on the type of IRA and whether the contributions were pre-tax or post-tax. Taking a taxable distribution all at once may push you into a higher tax bracket. If you choose to take all the money now, an Inherited IRA will be opened in your name to ensure that tax information is correctly reported to the IRS, and then you can choose to take the money in a single lump sum.
4. If you prefer to allow the assets to pass to alternate beneficiaries—perhaps to avoid tax implications—you can choose to “disclaim” the account. To do so, you need to act within nine months of the original owner’s death and before you’ve taken possession of the assets. Make sure you speak with your tax advisor to determine if this or one of the other options may be right for you.
Important to Know
Who inherited the account?
What type of account was inherited?
What is the age of the deceased? (determines required minimum distributions)
What was the decedent’s basis in the account? (after tax contributions, life to date, for the entire account history)
Once you have this information, it is helpful to discuss your options and requirements with a tax advisor to insure you understand the tax implications and have prepared for your required minimum distributions to avoid tax penalties.
News from the Daily Caller News Foundation as written by Richard Pollock, states, “Everybody has to pay this new Obamacare Tax“.
All Americans who bought health insurance policies this year – not just those enrolled in Obamacare – face a 41 percent increase in excise taxes because of hidden fees contained in an obscure section of the Affordable Care Act, according to an investigation by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Virtually everyone who pays for health care insurance this year will be affected by the tax. The little-known tax was imposed on all consumers regardless of whether they obtained their insurance through Obamacare or through their employer or as individuals in the private market.
This year the tax will cost individuals more than $500 in extra premiums according to one actuarial estimate. Families who purchased insurance will see their premiums go up by more than $700.
The new tax also hits senior citizens who rely on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage. It will land on the nation’s poor who depend upon Medicaid-managed care programs.
The 41 percent sticker shock increase doesn’t stop in 2015, however. Over the next four years, the statutorily mandated Obamacare fees are expected to double again.
Social Security online options are:
Use the link below to visit Social Security online to create an online account, to access your information electronically, or to block your information electronically, if you are a victim of identity theft.
Enjoy and be motivated with this inspiring article by my guest writer, Marlene Kattaron.
The steeper the mountain, the harder the climb, the better the view from the finishing line. Paula Abdul
The other day I got an email of photos of the Diga del Cingino dam in Italy. Maybe you’ve already seen the pictures—they are fairly amazing. Climbing the nearly vertical wall of this dam is a herd of Ibex. They climb the wall to feed on the moss and lichen that grow there, as well as licking the salt from the rocks.
I looked at the picture and had two varying trains of thought:
-the first thought was, that you can look at an obstacle and view it as impossible or view it as possible—it is completely up to you—you can make the climb if you choose to do so, and no matter how steep, no matter how seemingly impossible the climb, you will be just fine, as long as you treat it as if it is no big deal. So, when you are talking with people that you are hesitant to approach, you need not fear. If the person doesn’t see the big picture, it is no big deal. That person will be the animal at the bottom of the dam, looking up at you having your little moss and salt feast.
-the second thought was—if you don’t see yourself as one of the Ibex on the dam, then guess what? You will be an Ibex at the bottom, looking up, watching everyone else eat the moss and lick the salt, while you stay at the bottom with a growling belly. If you don’t make the climb, I guarantee that someone else will.
There is no time like NOW to make the climb. What are you waiting for? So what if you start the steep climb and slip for a step or two. MAKE THE CLIMB! If you are at the bottom anyway, what do you have to lose by making the climb?
Remember when life’s path is steep to keep your mind even. Horace
Oh, my ways are strange ways and new ways and old ways, and deep ways and steep ways and high ways and low; I’m at home and at ease on a track that I know not, and restless and lost on a road that I know. Henry Lawson
Business versus life; life versus business. I have learned to apply the principles of leading a successful life and incorporate them into my business and I have learned to apply the principles of succeeding in business to succeeding in life. There is separation between personal life and business, yet there is much overlap in how to succeed at any aspect of life that we pursue.
My business relationships in Ignite with my customers and with my teammates and business leaders have been nothing less than amazing and inspiring. As the famous Zig Ziglar says, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”
Marlene Kattaron is an Ignite Inc independent associate, part of the Stream Energy marketing team. With Stream Energy, “Energy is Just the Beginning.” Stream Energy offers electricity and natural gas services, as well as Identity Theft Protection, Credit Monitoring Services and 24/7 Tech Support. Stream Energy puts relationships back in business! “Be my friend. Give me your business. And save.”
Marlene Kattaron, Managing Director, Ignite 404-403-2793 kattaron@bellsouth.net
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