Did you know the Secure Act 2.0 includes a provision that, starting in 2024, would allow for 529 plan funds to be directly rolled over to a Roth IRA? This provides an excellent opportunity to convert unused 529 plan funds to start a retirement account for the beneficiary.
What Happened to Silicon Valley Bank?
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the 16th largest bank in the U.S., worth more than $200 billion, collapsed on March 10th, initially leaving many depositors unable to access their accounts. Although bank failures happen with some regularity in the U.S., this one in particular has roiled the financial markets and brought a great deal of scrutiny from regulators and investors, including many of our own clients. Here are some thoughts on the event and the unique circumstances behind it, as well as potential implications for the financial sector and the overall economy.
Why is tax planning important?
That question is easy to answer - TO SAVE ON TAXES AND PRESERVE MY ASSETS. Unfortunately, most advisors don’t focus seriously on this. The reason? It’s hard and requires specialized skill and training.
Americans are by nature, charitable beings. According to the Charities Aid Foundation’s World Giving Index, which studied the charitable activities of citizens from 128 countries over the course of a decade, Americans rank the highest, compared to other countries, when it comes to the percentage of citizens who donate money to charity, volunteer for charitable organizations, or who’ve claimed to help a stranger in a time of need. A Gallup poll taken in mid-2020, during the height of uncertainty surrounding the COVID pandemic and what the future held, showed a staggering 73% of Americans reported donating money to a charitable organization that year. It is clear from this data that charitable giving is important to millions of Americans, but are these givers getting the most bang for their buck from these donations?
For this month's "Meet the Team", we have our Chief Administrative Officer, Paula Miller.
