Spring can be a fantastic time to refresh your retirement plan and savings habits. With 2024 bringing increased limits for 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and other tax-advantaged accounts, it’s worth taking a closer look at your retirement savings. Below, we discuss three ways to refresh your retirement plan this spring.
Maintain Consistent Savings
With inflation taking a bite out of just about everyone’s paychecks, it can sometimes be tempting to decrease the amount you’re contributing to retirement just to gain a bit of breathing room. However, maintaining a consistent rate of savings even through lean times can go a long way toward securing your financial future. When it comes to saving for retirement, time is on your side—and the more you can contribute at a younger age, the more time this money will have to grow.
If your savings rate has been at the same level for more than a few years, it may be time to revisit this contribution. You may discover that you can afford to set aside a little more; in other cases, it may make sense to switch from a tax-deferred account to a post-tax account like a Roth 401(k) or Roth IRA.
Review Your Asset Allocation
When it comes to investing for retirement through an employer plan, the options available to you may sometimes seem overwhelming. Far beyond mere “stocks vs. bonds,” employees are asked to choose from accounts ranging from growth to stability, domestic to international, and tech to blue chips. For some plans, the default option is to put contributions into a money market account rather than investing them in the stock market.
Does your asset allocation appropriately reflect your risk tolerance and investment timeline? It can be tough to know.
Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone. A financial professional can work with you on your strategies and goals, making adjustments where necessary to keep you on the right path. Don’t wait until you get closer to retirement to realize you haven’t been investing as efficiently as you would have liked.
Check Your Beneficiaries
One last thing that is important to keep an eye on involves the disposition of your assets once you’ve passed away.
Many financial accounts like 401(k)s, IRAs, and even some bank accounts may require you to name a beneficiary. And for life insurance policies, the beneficiary is key—this is the person to whom the benefits pass, regardless what a marriage decree or executed will may say to the contrary.
If you’ve gotten married or divorced, had children recently, or if it’s been more than a year since you evaluated your beneficiary designations, it’s important to revisit each of your financial accounts to ensure your beneficiary designations continue to reflect your wishes. In many cases, a surviving family member has discovered too late that their loved one named an ex-spouse or estranged family member as their beneficiary, leaving those who depend on them in the lurch.
Important Disclosures:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to investing.
Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments.
The Roth IRA offers tax deferral on any earnings in the account. Withdrawals from the account may be tax free, as long as they are considered qualified. Limitations and restrictions may apply. Withdrawals prior to age 59 ½ or prior to the account being opened for 5 years, whichever is later, may result in a 10% IRS penalty tax. Future tax laws can change at any time and may impact the benefits of Roth IRAs. Their tax treatment may change.
An investment in the Money Market Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.
Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
This article was prepared by WriterAccess.
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