You may not like the idea of a budget but it helps you manage your finances

Evaluation of your financial condition. Budgeting is a very important aspect of personal financial planning. 

You may not like the idea of a budget but it helps you manage your finance. With a proper budget, you can evaluate your financial situation. 

This helps you assess how much you are spending currently and whether or not you can afford it.

Helps you build a better future. A well planned financial life helps build a better future. 

Financial planning involves saving for the future. If you plan well, then you will save a part of your income every month, for future use. Also your financial planning should give some importance to your retirement plan. By taking up a retirement plan you insure that in future when you no longer have an income, you will be financially secured.

The above is just some simple suggestion for financial plans. I get the information by chance when search on my laptop, in my personal opinion, it is useful and helpful. As a graduate who have just gone in for work for several months, I think it is important for us to develop the idea of financial planning and try to use our money in a reasonable way.

There is an abundance of knowledge on financial planning for retirement so a lot people have come to believe this is the only planning required prior to retiring. But as people who have retired "unsuccessfully" can tell you, there are a number of other aspects to think about and prepare for. That is where retirement coaching helps out planning for the non-financial aspects of retirement. So what are the non-financial issues to consider?

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from Choosing A Financial Planner
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Many people don't recognize their eligibility for social security benefits?

Many people don't recognize their eligibility of the social security benefits, because of so many mix ups and confusing procedures in the social programs. 

Unluckily, a group of people consumes their own savings and financial assets to meet their requirements, before recognizing their eligibility to get the disability benefits. 

Even, some of them oversee the proper medical support, which could have cured them, enabling them to resume their job as soon as possible.

The first thing that will need to know is that you can apply for social security benefits if you become disabled or have been disabled for a while. 

Disability that is covered here ranges from work disability, where you have become disabled at the work place. However, you need to make sure that you have some kind of disability from you place of work.

If you're dealing with a disability situation and want to access your social security benefits, you probably understand the many benefits that come from working with a disability lawyer. 

The truth about social security is that it is a very complex system with many complicated processes. Many people have spent countless hours trying to figure out the best way to work with the system to get the benefits they are entitled to, and many of these people have given up because of the sheer amount of work and confusion it comes with. 

The good news is that working with a lawyer allows you access to a professional who understands every part of the complicated social security system, and they can stand up for your rights and help you get the disability and social security benefits you are entitled to.

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There is no right time to begin collecting Social Security benefits?

There is no right time to begin collecting Social Security benefits, but the age at which you begin receiving benefits will affect how much retirement income you will receive over your lifetime, so you should weigh the consequences carefully. 

Keep in mind that if you collect Social Security before your full retirement age, your benefit will be permanently reduced. 

Depending on the year you were born, you'll receive between 25% and 30% less per month if you collect benefits at age 62 than if you wait until full retirement age. 

However, this doesn't necessarily mean that collecting benefits at age 62 is unwise. In fact, unless you live to an especially old age, you may actually end up with more money if you start collecting Social Security benefits at age 62 than if you wait until full retirement age, because you'll receive more benefit checks.

If a spouse did not work they are still eligible for Social Security benefits equal to 50% of their working spouse's PIA (full retirement amount). When the working spouse dies, the surviving, nonworking spouse, is entitled to 100% of their deceased working spouse's retirement benefits.

Should I begin collecting benefits at age 62 (early retirement)?

If they choose to enter retirement at age 62, Social Security benefits can be lowered by 25 % and by 20 %, if they work till they are 64. This discount will be in place no matter how long Social Security benefits are paid. The one time it is going to enhance is when the government points value of dwelling changes, which usually are not very high.

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from SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS EXPLAINED - Blog http://ift.tt/1TaJ989

Insurance must definitely be part of robust personal financial plan

Insurance must definitely be part of robust personal financial plan. 
A big portion of the role of personal financial planning is to make sure that one has the ability to carry on living in case of some unfortunate events, both big and small. 

In essence, insurance provides a safety net to provide some form of financial assistance when one meets with events like accidents, disabilities or illnesses. 

One major way which insurance can help is that it also provides peace of mind, knowing that financial assistance is at hand in the event when things do not go the way it should be. This peace of mind leaves one with the energy and confidence to move forward to do the things we need to do.

There are of course exceptions to this rule of thumb on financial planning. But the exceptions are not many. 
One main exception is the use of credit to purchase a property to stay or for investment. 

Not many people can afford to pay up a house purchase at one go. A person may have to wait a whole life time if he intends to wait until he can fully pay for it in one lump sum cash. Buying property for investment may be a good idea if you know what you are doing. 

The essential is that what you pay to the bank in bank loan and interests is more than offset by the returns on the property purchase. This is the concept of using "other people's money" to make money for yourself. There are a lot more details to look at in this type of investment. So do proceed with much caution. 

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from Choosing A Financial Planner
Questions and Answers - Blog http://ift.tt/1LIUsST

An Estate Planning Checklist

What to check (and double-check) before you leave this world.

Create a will if you do not yet have one. A valid will may save your heirs from some expensive headaches linked to probate and ambiguity. A solid will drafted with the guidance of an estate planning attorney will likely cost you a bit more than a “will-in-a-box,” but may prove to worth the expense.

Complement your will with related documents. Depending on your estate planning needs, this could include some kind of trust (or multiple trusts), durable financial and medical powers of attorney, a living will and other items.

Review your beneficiary designations. Who are the beneficiaries of your retirement plans and/or insurance policies? If you aren’t sure, it is probably a good idea to go back and check the documentation to verify (or change) who you have designated as beneficiary.

Create asset and debt lists. You should provide your heirs with an asset and debt “map” they can follow should you pass away, so that they will be aware of the little details of your wealth.

Think about consolidating your “stray” retirement and/or bank accounts. This could make one of your lists a little shorter. Consolidation means fewer account statements, less paperwork for your heirs and fewer administrative fees to bear.

Let your heirs know the causes and charities that mean the most to you. Write down the associations you belong to and the organizations you support.

Select a reliable executor. That personal should have copies of your will, forms of power of attorney, any kind of healthcare proxy or living will, and any trusts you create. In fact, any of your loved ones referenced in these documents should also receive copies of them.

Talk to the professionals. Do-it-yourself estate planning is not recommended, especially if your estate is complex enough to trigger financial, legal and/or emotional issues among your heirs upon your passing.

 

 

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.

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Looking Back at the Impact of ATRA

The American Taxpayer Relief Act profoundly affected retirement, tax & estate planning.

 

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 brought seven major changes to federal tax law, alterations that have affected retirement, tax and estate planning ever since. Here is an overview of ATRA’s impact.

Six tax brackets became seven. In addition to the 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33% and 35% brackets, a 39.6% top bracket was installed for the highest earners. In 2015, it applies for individuals with incomes greater than $413,200 and married joint filers with incomes exceeding $464,850.^1,2

A health care surtax appeared. Since 2013, a 3.8% Medicare surtax (properly known as the Net Investment Income Tax) has been levied on the lesser of either a) net investment income or b) the amount of MAGI exceeding $200,000 for single filers and $250,000 for couples filing jointly. MAGI is not simply your wages; it can also include bonuses, taxable interest, RMDs taken from a traditional IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement plan, “unearned” net investment income such as dividends or net capital gains, passive income from a partnership, and even rents and royalties.^3,4

Additionally, the Medicare payroll tax effectively became 2.35% for employees with MAGIs exceeding $200,000. Since ATRA, employers have deducted 1.45% in Medicare payroll taxes from employee paychecks up until that threshold, and 0.9% more from paychecks once a worker’s wages surpass it. While individuals may have MAGIs of $200,000 or less, a married couple filing jointly may have a MAGI that surpasses $250,000 – and at that threshold, the 0.9% surtax kicks in for those couples.⁵

An estate tax crisis was avoided. If ATRA had not been passed, estate taxes would have topped out at 55% and all estates worth more than $1 million would have been subject to them. We now have a 40% top estate tax rate and a $5.43 million individual exemption (which will continue to rise with inflation).⁶

The individual estate tax exemption also became permanently portable. In other words, any unused portion of a $5.43 million individual exemption may be transferred to the surviving spouse at the death of the first deceased spouse.⁶

Taxes on investment income rose for the wealthy. After ATRA’s passage, capital gains and dividend taxes remained at 0% for those in the 10% and 15% federal income tax brackets and 15% for filers in the 25%, 28%, 33% and 35% brackets. Taxpayers, trusts and estates in the 39.6% bracket began paying 20% tax on capital gains and dividends.⁷

Roth conversion rules expanded for workplace retirement plans. If a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plan allows a Roth option, the accountholder may make a Roth conversion at any age and the conversion may include all pre-tax contributions. Of course, any account balance so converted must be included in the income of the taxpayer in the year of the Roth conversion.⁸

The AMT was finally indexed for inflation. ATRA saved certain taxpayers some busy work as a result. For 2015, AMT exemption amounts are $53,600 for single filers and $83,400 for joint filers.⁹

 

 

ICA does not provide tax or legal advice.

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 – http://ift.tt/1INhtiv [1/11/13]

2 – http://ift.tt/1R47m2z [1/15/15]

3 – http://ift.tt/1INhva0 [4/14]

4 – http://ift.tt/1R47m2B [11/13/14]

5 – http://ift.tt/1R47m2D [3/5/15]

6 – http://ift.tt/1INhva2 [1/8/13]

7 – http://ift.tt/1INhva7 [3/17/15]

8 – http://ift.tt/1R47miV [1/2/13]

9 – http://ift.tt/1INhtyN [10/30/14]

 

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Building awareness about the financial planning profession

The first factor you should consider when choosing a school for your financial planning certificate is whether they are accredited or not. 

An accredited university is recognized by an accrediting agency deemed suitable for this task by the Department of Education. 

In addition to checking for accreditation, you'll also want to do some research of your own into the course materials and the success of graduates of this program. Make sure their courses are going to give you the kind of training you need for this job, and find out whether past graduates are working in the field and doing well.

The candidate must demonstrate that he or she has extensive experience in the financial planning field. 
The CFP Board defines work experience as "the supervision, direct support, teaching or personal delivery of all or part of the personal financial planning process to a client" and such experience must fall within one or more of the following six primary elements of financial planning.

FPA collaborates with other organizations to help the public discover the value of financial planning and build awareness about the financial planning profession. 
Examples include a partnership with the AARP, which resulted in a guide for financial professionals working with older clients, and a partnership with SallieMae in which FPA and Nellie Mae conducted student loan repayment and financial planning seminars in schools and graduate programs across the country.

The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation is a professional certification mark for financial planners conferred by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) in the United States, and by 25 other organizations affiliated with Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB), the international owner of the CFP mark outside of the United States. 

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from Choosing A Financial Planner
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