If you got a late start on retirement savings, you’re far from alone in wondering if there’s time to catch up on your 401(k) or Individual Retirement Account (IRA) contributions. Scrambling to build retirement savings late in the game is hardly the exception. A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study released in 2017 showed that about half of households age 55 and older have no retirement savings, and that up [...]

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of police officers and deputies have been exposed or tested positive for the coronavirus. Instead of relying on existing resources, gaps in personnel coverage could be filled by easing restrictions on the hiring of retired police officers. Using processes similar to those being implemented for doctors and nurses, the police could return thousands of retired cops to service quickly to [...]

At 880 pages, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act covers a lot of ground, offering COVID-19 relief and benefits to a broad swath of the population. Among its significant provisions are those related to workers’ retirement funds. Specifically, the CARES Act makes employee-favorable changes to existing law regarding: Early Withdrawals; Loans; and Required Mandatory Distributions (RMDs) While a detailed analysis of prior law and all changes made by virtue of [...]

Retirement can be scary, no matter who you are. It makes sense that some people are nervous about retirement. How much money do you really need for 20 years? What about 30 years? Will you get bored? Will you be lonely? Planning ahead and predicting the future is extremely difficult. It’s tempting to just make retirement planning tomorrow’s problem.

More than 60% of police officers are feeling the pinch of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). WEP generally affects government workers who qualify for a public pension that didn’t require paying Social Security taxes (a non-covered pension) and who also worked at another job where they did pay Social Security taxes, which qualified them for Social Security benefits. How sharply WEP reduces your Social Security benefits depends on a number [...]

The Internal Revenue Service today has clarified that the deadline for making Individual Retirement Account and Health Savings Account contributions for the 2019 tax year has been extended to July 15, 2020. That’s the new deadline for filing and paying taxes for the 2019 tax year, pushed back from April 15, 2020, as COVID-19 continues to impact the United States. That’s welcome news, giving taxpayers two months extra to beef [...]