Have you heard about the MyRA President Obama introduced in 2014? It is a federal program whereby American workers will be able to contribute to a retirement savings plan not tied to an employer.

Illinois passed a bill 12/3/14 that will be begin their own similar plan in 2017 called Secure Choice. Companies of >25 employees will be required to offer this program. Those employed in these companies will be automatically enrolled in the state’s program deducting 3% of their salary and putting it into a Roth IRA (opt-outs will be allowed). These funds will be portable from job to job.

While this program is designed to help those who don’t have access to employer offered savings programs, the saver will bear the cost of administration surrendering just under 1% of their balance to administrative costs. The bill’s fact sheet states: “Only employees will be allowed to contribute tho their accounts. Neither the state nor employers can contribute or have any fiduciary responsibility or liability.” Read more at links below.  http://tinyurl.com/npx5r4z, http://tinyurl.com/pvcsxqc

MyRA Preview

The Problem

According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, “the median retirement account balance is $3,000 for all working-age households and $12,000 for near-retirement households.

The administration claims that almost half of Americans do not have access to 401k plans or the like making it difficult to set money aside for retirement.

How it works

•Earn $191,000 a year or less to be eligible

•Initial investment= $25 minimum

•Ongoing contributions via payroll deductions as little as $5

Pros:

•High safety- government guarantee balance will never decrease

•Not tied to employer

•People are saving for retirement

Cons:

•Interest rate based on Thrift Savings Plan offered to federal employees. (2013=1.83% return)

•Profitability base on market performance

Want to read more?

http://tinyurl.com/pma88k9         NIRS Study

http://tinyurl.com/qabgjnt     MyRa fact sheet

http://tinyurl.com/puwb7ch       DailyFinance

January 2015 Consumer Newsletter

Years ago my wife and I found a delicious French dessert shop here in Marietta.  Luc and Danielle moved here from France and sold pastries and desserts out of their house in a slightly industrial area.  Having been to France for our honeymoon years ago, we always had a taste for French food.

The little pastry shop grew by adding a few tables and some more parking.  At some point they started serving breakfast and lunch after adding an addition to the house to seat more people.  On a typical Saturday you couldn’t get into the parking lot to even park, much less get a table.

Yes the food is that good.  The success of this little pastry shop has  continued.  Just a few years back they bought a new location, with more room, a bigger kitchen, and a lot more parking.  On a recent Monday over the holidays you could not find a spot to park and the line was out the door to get a table.

This little French restaurant and pastry shop is called Douceur de France.  The desserts are the best I have found anywhere in Atlanta – at least as far as walk up and get something to go from their glass enclosed pastry cases.  They make their own ingredients to go into their tasty goodies.  What places do you know that make their own whipped cream, their own chocolate, their own everything?

My favorite there is the hot chocolate.  So far it is the best I have had in the world.  OK so I don’t usually get hot chocolate all over the place but try it yourself and see if you have found better.  They use their own chocolate mix and their own fresh whipped cream on top.  I can just taste it as I write this.

In your business, ministry or endeavors, what are your secret homemade ingredients?  The ones that get people to want to meet with you, listen to you or seek what you offer?  If you don’t have any special ingredients, then maybe it’s time to identify one or two.

In December Torrid Tech had a holiday luncheon there for everyone who works here.  Not surprisingly almost everyone did have the hot chocolate as well as other scrumptious fare.  Tell Luc and Danielle “Bonjour” if you ever get a chance to visit.  They will show you some real southern hospitality – French style.

Years ago my wife and I found a delicious French dessert shop here in Marietta.  Luc and Danielle moved here from France and sold pastries and desserts out of their house in a slightly industrial area.  Having been to France for our honeymoon years ago, we always had a taste for French food.  

The little pastry shop grew by adding a few tables and some more parking.  At some point they started serving breakfast and lunch after adding an addition to the house to seat more people.  On a typical Saturday you couldn’t get into the parking lot to even park, much less get a table.

Yes the food is that good.  Do people come to your business like this?  Craving more?  Telling everyone they know?  The success of this little pastry shop has continued.  Just a few years back they bought a new location, with more room, a bigger kitchen, and a lot more parking.  On a recent Monday over the holidays you could not find a spot to park and the line was out the door to get a table.

This little French restaurant and pastry shop is called Douceur de France.  The desserts are the best I have found anywhere in Atlanta – at least as far as walk up and get something to go from their glass enclosed pastry cases.  They make their own ingredients to go into their tasty goodies.  What places do you know that make their own whipped cream, their own chocolate, their own everything?

My favorite there is the hot chocolate.  So far it is the best I have had in the world.  OK so I don’t usually get hot chocolate all over the place but try it yourself and see if you have found better.  They use their own chocolate mix and their own fresh whipped cream on top.  I can just taste it as I write this.

In your business, what are your secret homemade ingredients?  The ones that get people to want to meet with you, want to see you again, and want to be your client forever.  If you don’t have any special ingredients, then your practice may just fall prey to the rise of the robo advisors. 

In December Torrid Tech had a holiday luncheon there for everyone who works here.  Not surprisingly almost everyone did have the hot chocolate as well as other scrumptious fare.  Tell Luc and Danielle “Bonjour” if you ever get a chance to visit.  They will show you some real southern hospitality – French style.                                                             

by Tim Turner

As part of the new Retirement Income Literacy Survey from the American College of Financial Services, a startling new reality has come to light. Recently released, this new study that shows 80% of Americans fail a test of basic knowledge on how to survive retirement on the nest egg they’ve created. They state that “a large majority of people age 60-75 with at least $100,000 in assets lack the knowledge they need for a financially secure retirement in areas such as life expectancy, Social Security, long-term care needs, investment risk and more.

How did the grades stack up

Less than 1% of all respondents scored an A. 1% Scored a B. 5% scored a C. That’s less than 7% so far. 14% scored a D and a whopping 80% scored an F! Even in light of these abysmal scores, the study states that more than half the survey’s sample consider themselves well-prepared to meet their needs in retirement and 91% are “at least moderately confident” that they will be able to provide themselves a comfortable retirement.

4% Rule

Do you know the 4% rule? 69% of respondents were unfamiliar with the safe withdrawal rate in retirement. 16% thought it would be save to withdraw as much as 8% a year in retirement while another 20% leaned further back to only a 2% withdrawal being the safest way to go.

Social Security

Would you be one of the 53% who knew that it is best to wait to claim it until age 70? This could be a critical decision for the safety of one’s financial security.

More factors

How much risk should you take after age 65? How do the interest prices affect your bonds?

How RetirementView Software can help

Use your RetirementView Software to SEE a picture of what your retirement nest egg can really do. You can play with different scenarios and watch the graph change indicating a better or worsening situation.

January Advisor Newsletter

This really has nothing to do with Torrid Technologies, other than we all love good southern, smash-mouth football! We hail from a number of mostly SEC schools…you know, we are located in Atlanta.

So, we want to know, who do you think should be College Football’s National Champions?  Alabama, Florida State, Ohio, Oregon…Other???

Let us know what you think and why. Weigh in on the new playoff series. While you’re here, make a Super Bowl prediction.

Parents who are looking for ways to manage their finances should be sure to get these great tax credits and deductions. Federal education tax deductions and credits focus on post secondary education, but check your state to see if there are benefits for paying your child’s education in grade school and high school. If you have a child attending college this year, or if you are a college student and you are not claimed as a dependent, you can get some wonderful tax credits and deductions for college expenses.
American Opportunity Credit
Depending on your household income, you can receive a tax credit of up to $2,500 for each qualifying student. Qualifying students have to be enrolled at least half time and be pursuing a degree or some academic credential.
You can claim the tax credit for the first four years of college enrollment, provided your child and the school they attend meet the requirements. Students can claim this credit on their taxes if they are not a dependent.
Qualifying expenses include tuition, books and related materials, such as mandatory school activity fees, and certain course-related equipment. Room and board do not count as a qualifying expenses. You should receive a Form 1098-T from the educational institution that you paid by January 31, 2014.
Lifetime Learning Credit
You can claim this credit for as many years as you pay qualifying expenses for your higher education. This can be used even if you aren’t pursuing a degree. You can claim up to a $2,000 credit per tax return. Please note, you cannot claim both credits in the same year.
Student Loan Interest Deduction.
If both you and your child, or either one of you, took out student loans you may be able to deduct the interest you paid on the loans up to $2,500. Your modified adjusted gross income has to be less than $75,000 for single filers and $155,000 for joint filers.This deduction can be a big help because it’s used to calculate your taxable income. You should receive a Form 1098-E by January 31 that will give you information on qualifying interest paid that you can deduct on your tax return.