Month: December 2023

Beginnings and Endings

As the end of the year draws near, it makes sense to look back on where we have been—and to look forward at the path ahead.  

Our lives have threads; the life of our shared enterprise here at 228 Main does, too. One thread is talking with you, meeting you where you are, striving to connect your money to your life. Other threads pertain to finding worthy opportunities in which to invest, managing your portfolios to take advantage of that research, and communicating with you about what we are doing and why. 

It’s been an interesting year! The markets have been challenging. Disruptions continue to affect some aspects of the economy. 

Change brings opportunity, of course, and we are always thinking about opportunities. Our underlying theory is that we persist, some will innovate, and we end up sooner or later with record levels of GDP, income, and wealth. No guarantees, of course. 

In other words, a lot happened in 2023, but the big story has not changed. We are looking forward with anticipation to 2024. 

My sense is that we’re more capable than ever of taking care of business for you—with more time spent by more people searching for opportunities, managing portfolios, attending to the details of service, and communicating with you in more ways than ever.

Clients, what are your plans and planning for the New Year? Any parts you’d like to talk about with us? Email or call, any time. 

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Play the audio version of this post below:

A Note about Beginnings and Endings – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.

A Toast to William Roth
Person putting a coin in a piggy bank.

Approaching this season of holiday cheer, we are thinking about William Roth—and may even raise a glass in his honor.

Senator Roth was instrumental in creating something new. It appeared in the Tax Reform Act of 1997. And it has some wonderful features. It’s…

  • A retirement account, but after five years you may withdraw your deposits for any reason without tax or penalty.
  • A retirement account, but it may be used to educate your children or grandchildren without penalty or tax.
  • A retirement account, but there are no income taxes due on withdrawals during retirement.

The Roth IRA, as we know it, is a useful addition to the plans and planning of many people. Contributions may be made by those with earned income (but not too much earned income: there is an upper limit.) Conversions from traditional IRAs may be made by anyone willing to pay tax on the converted amount.

You may be eligible to put up to $6,500 into a Roth IRA for 2023, anytime until tax filing time in 2024. And the limit next year goes to $7,000. And those of us lucky enough to be 50 years old or older could contribute an extra $1,000 beyond that as a catch-up.

If you have traditional retirement accounts, you may be eligible to convert part to a Roth IRA. There are no income limits on conversions; if you believe tax rates may be higher for you in the future, it might make sense to do a conversion. These happen on a calendar year deadline, however, so 2023 conversions must actually be done in 2023.

Although a Roth IRA may not be right for everyone, the concept was and is right for me. I’m getting tax-free capital gains, tax-free dividends on blue chip stocks, and tax-free interest because I have investments inside a Roth IRA.

And I can take funds out and spend them (or give them away), any day, with zero tax.

If this might be right for you, please email us or call.

Traditional IRA account owners have considerations to make before performing a Roth IRA conversion. These primarily include income tax consequences on the converted amount in the year of conversion, withdrawal limitations from a Roth IRA, and income limitations for future contributions to a Roth IRA.

A Roth IRA offers tax deferral on any earnings in the account. Qualified withdrawals of earnings from the account are tax-free. Withdrawals of earnings prior to age 59½ or prior to the account being opened for 5 years, whichever is later, may result in a 10% IRS penalty tax. Limitations and restrictions may apply.

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Play the audio version of this post below:

A Toast to William Roth – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.