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Getting the Most Out of What You’ve Got:
How to Make Your Money Last for Life – and Beyond
Jim’s tips for getting the most out of your existing IRA, retirement plans and more. You’ll automatically receive our monthly Retire Secure! newsletter to keep you up-to-date on news and issues that affect your retirement money. And, you’ll receive a bonus report titled: The Ideal Beneficiary Designation of Your Retirement Plan: Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan.
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"In Retire Secure!, CPA and estate planning attorney Jim Lange provides a road-map for tax-efficient retirement and estate planning. This is an invaluable resource for investors and planners alike."
–Charles Schwab
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Year
2002 Action Points for Employees
by James
Lange, CPA, JD
The effective date for many of the
sweeping changes in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation
Act (EGTRRA) is
January 1, 2002. To take full advantage of the new tax laws, you
must take action. I have put together a short and sweet summary
of what most employees should be doing now for their retirement
plans and their Roth IRAs.
- Always
contribute the maximum amount to your retirement plan that your
employer is willing to match.
- Make
your Roth IRA contribution of $2,000 per spouse for 2001 (due
April 15, 2002).
- Make
your Roth IRA contribution of $3,000 per spouse for 2002 (due
April 15, 2003, but early contributions allow an additional 14
months of tax-free growth).
You may contribute $3,500 per spouse if you are 50 or older.
- Take
advantage of the EGTRRA's increase in maximum retirement plan
contributions limits. 401(k),
403(b) and 457 participants meeting income criteria will be able
to defer $11,000 in 2002.
Taxpayers 50 or older are eligible to make extra “catch-up”
contributions of $1,000 to a 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plan.*
Additional deferrals are available after 2002.
*These increases
are not automatic. You
must make a specific request to your benefits office or employer
that your retirement plan contribution be increased to the new maximum
allowable contribution limit.
Just because you have always “maxed out” your retirement
plan contributions does not mean that your contribution limit
will be increased automatically.
Of
course these short suggestions are only the tip of the iceberg for
tax-savvy action points that taxpayers should be considering for the
New Year. For a more
complete discussion, please see our article, The
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 Summary.
I am available
for speaking engagements. I present dynamic seminars for financial
planners, CPAs, attorneys, bankers and insurance professionals.
I also present excellent seminars suitable for individuals actively
involved in planning for retirement. If you are looking for
a keynote speaker for your next meeting, please call for a “planner's
packet” and to talk with me. Visit my speaking
engagement page.
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James
Lange, CPA, JD provides specialized
retirement and estate planning services to married university faculty
members with significant retirement plan accumulations. He
has prepared over 450 simple and complex retirement and estate plans.
These plans include tax-savvy advice, will and trust preparation,
and sophisticated beneficiary designations for TIAA-CREF accounts,
IRAs and other retirement plans.
You can contact Jim by phone at (800)
387-1129, or (412) 521-2732, or by e-mail at admin@faculty-advisor.com. |
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