Educational Resources

MoneyView/Statewide Financial Group offers a number of Educational Resources, such as reports, newsletters and financial tidbits. Each are uniquely informational. You may request the reports and they will be e-mailed immediately to you. Tidbits are available on this site for your perusal and you can request a complimentary subscription to the Loose Change Newsletter.  In addition, you may look up the definition of certain financial terms and discover how a certified financial planner differs from other financial professionals.

 According to IRS rules, you’re probably going to be required to take a distribution on your IRA account and pay tax on that distribution. That could potentially mean any one of these two outcomes will greet you on your next “half birthday:”

Your income tax bill could be higher than it’s been in past years due to the fact that these distributions will add to your income.

The amount of your Social Security income subject to tax could be higher because the tax on your Social Security benefits is calculated using a complex formula that considers all income sources, INCLUDING required distributions from an IRA.

If you are interested in reading more about this subject please request this report:

How A 70 1/2 Year Old May Reduce Retirement Account Taxes

 
 

     
  There Are Often Mistakes In An Existing Written Estate Plan. Even if you have an existing estate plan, you’d be wise to review it to make sure that it will perform the way that you want.

 

Often, an existing written estate plan misses the mark because it’s boilerplate, situations have changed, desired outcomes weren’t completely defined when the plan was originally drafted, or an attorney or advisor wasn’t aware of these estate plan design possibilities.

 

If you are interested in reading more about this subject please request this report:

Are You Making Any Of These Estate Planning Mistakes?

 



 

  When you started to invest in an IRA or other retirement account, you may have heard one or more of these 3 things:

 

1. Make a contribution to an IRA and you may be able to take a tax deduction when filing your tax return.
2. Invest this contribution, and growth that might occur may be tax-deferred.
3. Do either of the above, and when you reach retirement age and begin to take required IRA income, you may be in a lower tax bracket.

 

For many taxpayers, all 3 of these statements have been true; but for a number of others they aren’t.

 

Depending on your tax bracket at the time that you made your IRA contribution and your tax bracket when you make an IRA withdrawal, you may actually be in a higher tax bracket when you take an IRA withdrawal than you were when you made the IRA contribution.

 

Due to the ever-evolving nature of tax rules, some taxpayers may be missing strategies that they could use to reduce taxes on their retirement accounts as well as other areas.

 

Fact is there are tax reduction strategies that many taxpayers could use. Often these taxpayers and their advisors are unaware that these tax reduction strategies exist at all.

 

If you are interested in reading more about this subject please request this report:

Do You Want To Reduce Taxes On Your Retirement Account?

 



 

  If there’s a topic that often confuses retirees and soon to be retirees, it’s long term nursing care. This confusion exists partly because government regulations on this topic have recently changed and partly because people express different opinions on long term nursing care and asset protection. You may wonder just how many assets you can protect. 



If you are interested in reading more about this subject please request this report:

Long Term Nursing Care Facts You Should Know

 



 

  As someone who’s moved into a new home recently, you’ve undoubtedly got a few “balls in the air.” There’s probably a lot to get done. And you probably also have extra expenses. However, many people overpay on many of these expenses and their taxes. It’s possible that you may be doing this as well.

 

If you are interested in reading more about this subject please request this report:

Tax and Financial Opportunities For People Who Have Recently Moved 

  



 

  On June 12, 2007, a Smart Money article reported that “[f]rom 1986 to 2005, the Standard & Poor's 500 returned 12% annually, but thanks to overzealous trading, the average investor in stock mutual funds made just 4%, according to Dalbar, a Boston-based financial-services research firm.”

 

If you’re a mutual fund investor, does this make a difference to you? It would to me. That's why there are strategies to gain greter returns on investments.

 

If you are interested in reading more about this subject please request this report:

Could Your Mutual Fund Investments Be Doing Better?

 

  



 

Loose Change Newsletter Sample

Loose Change is an eight page newsletter and is published every two months. Only the first page is shown here. Please contact us to arrange a complimentary subscription:

 

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401(k)

Tax-deferred retirement plan offered by for-profit employers. Contributions are payroll deducted and vested immediately. Employer has option to match percentage of employee’s contribution. 

 

403(b)

Tax-deferred retirement plan generally offered by schools, hospitals, and other non-profit companies. Usually there is no matching contribution by employer.


457

Deferred compensation plan often available through governmental employers. A portion of current income is set aside for future use. This amount is tax-deferred.

 

412(i)

A 412(i) is a qualified defined benefit plan funded with fixed annuities and, in some cases, life insurance. Generally, this plan is used by small employers who desire to substantially fund their own retirement without being responsible for employees.


Annuity

An Annuity is an investment tool designed to provide income for either now or for sometime in the future.

 

Bond

A Bond is a loan to an issuer, which can be corporate, U.S. Treasury, or municipal. The issuer borrows money from an investor and pays interest on it. Interest is generally paid quarterly and there can can a gain or loss upon sale before maturity, due to fluctuating interest rates.


Legacy

A legacy is wealth that has received proper management.

 

Roth IRA

After tax (non-deductible contribution) account that grows tax-deferred and can later be considered tax free. Most people who employment income, whether self-employed or not, subject to income limits may be eligible for this IRA.


SEP IRA

Simplified Employee Pension, similar to traditional IRA, but with higher income limits.


Simple IRA

A Simple IRA is an IRA-based plan that allows small employers to make contributions toward their employees' retirement and their own retirement. Under a Simple IRA plan, employees may make salary reduction contributions while the employer makes matching or nonelective contributions.