**************************************************************************************************************************
**************************************************************************************************************************
Apparently there is a new scam going around in Orange County. Imposters are calling and claiming that they are from the Orange County Superior Court. They are claiming that you will be facing prosecution for missing jury duty and attempt to obtain your social security number. Read here for more details
The bottom line is, never ever under any circumstances give out any of your personal information such as social security number, birth date etc. to anyone who is calling you that you do not recognize. No reputable company is going to call you out of the blue to ask you for this information. Scammers will stop at nothing to get this valuable information from you so be vigilent in protecting it.
Just a quick reminder that the deadline for Medicare's Open Enrollment is today. If you were planning on making any changes to your plans today is the last time to do that until next October.
Here is a chart with a quick summary of the changes you can make. For more details click on this link.
Dear Clients with TD Ameritrade accounts
Please read the below announcement from TD Ameritrade detailing the changes to advisorclient.com especially the part about the new two-step security log in option.
Please be aware the updates to the website have caused some log in problems. TD Ameritrade technical support is aware and working on correcting the issues. You may not be able to log in temporarily.
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
New Two-Step Security Feature
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
The new AdvisorClient site can be set as your default view by clicking "Set as default" from the green banner on top of the screen.
Let us know if you have any questions about the new AdvisorClient website. Just call TD Ameritrade Institutional Technology Services at 800-400-3500 option 3 and they'll be able to help.
We came across an article on InvestmentNews.com written by Mary Beth Franklin. It gives a great explanation as well as examples and limits on how Social Security benefits are taxed if you are planning on working while collecting social security. Definitely worth a read if you have any income from other sources while collecting Social Security.
Click here to read the full article
2019 annual contribution limits for eligible tax filers:
401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $18,500 to $19,000.
IRA contributions increased from $5,500 to $6,000 per year. The age 50+ catch-up contribution limit remains at $1,000.
Tax deduction and Income limitations for 2019:
Taxpayers can deduct contributions to a traditional IRA if they meet certain conditions. If during the year either the taxpayer or their spouse was covered by a retirement plan at work, the deduction may be reduced, or phased out, until it is eliminated, depending on filing status and income. (If neither the taxpayer nor their spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, the phase-outs of the deduction do not apply.) Here are the phase-out ranges for 2019:
If single or joint married taxpayers are not covered by a work retirement plan, they may fully deduct traditional IRA contributions. Other tax filers may partially or fully deduct contributions if they meet the below exceptions:
The Modified AGI phase-out range for Roth IRA contributions is $122,000 to $137,000 for singles and heads of household, $193,000-203,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Medicare just released the new premiums, deductibles and coinsurance amounts for 2019.
The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $135.50 for 2019, an increase of $1.50 from $134 in 2018.
The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $185 in 2019, an increase of $2 from the annual deductible $183 in 2018.
If your modified adjusted gross income as reported on your IRS tax return from 2 years ago is above a certain amount, you'll pay the standard premium amount and an Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA)
Here is a chart for reference
Social Security announced that in 2019 there will be a 2.8% Cost of Living Adjustment(COLA).
In the Large Vacation and Purchase planning article the married couples income would need to be over $170,000, not 107,000 to see an increase in premiums. So sorry for any confusion this may have caused.
From left to right-Kimberly, Dexter, me, Kat, Luke, Jorge, Kyle
The highlight of my summer was the wedding of my youngest daughter, Kat, to my new son-in-law, Luke. They were married at Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach and it was a beautiful day! He is from Australia and we had quite a fun wedding with the visiting Aussie relatives. The whole family was involved in the wedding, even Dexter (our dog) – he was the flower dog! The planning and details that go into planning a wedding are intense and if you ever need any referrals for photographer, florist, etc. just let me know. We had a great team.
President Trump issued an executive order directing the Treasury Department to extend the age for required minimum distributions from retirement accounts. Currently the age is 70 1/2. His reasoning is that people are working and living longer. This can be good news for some of our clients who don't necessarily need to take the withdrawals at 70 1/2. Here is an articles from Forbes with some pros and cons to the proposed change.
