How to (Legally) Dodge the Tax Man in Retirement
Posted: March 9, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Saving for retirement isn't just a smart move for the long run. It can also cut your taxes right now.
But just because you can reduce your current tax bill doesn't mean it's always the right move. For many workers a smarter option -- and one made possible by more and more employers -- is a retirement plan that completely eliminates your tax bill down the road.
Make Way for the Roth 401(k)
401(k) plans have been staple benefits from employers for decades. Your retirement plan at work lets you have money taken straight out of your paycheck, and in some cases, your employer matches those funds with extra money of its own.
In a regular 401(k), the money you set aside reduces your taxable income for the year, potentially saving you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in current-year taxes. But a relatively new type of retirement plan -- called the Roth 401(k) -- can be an even better idea for some workers.
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Based on the Roth IRA, these retirement plans don't give you the same up-front tax break. But unlike regular retirement plans, you don't have to pay a cent in tax when you pull money out of a Roth 401(k) to spend after you retire.
Is the Tax Trade-Off Worth It to You?
Currently only a very small number of workers who have access to Roth 401(k)s at work have taken advantage of them. In part, that's because you lose your current-year tax savings when you contribute to a Roth 401(k). (Apparently, the idea of paying taxes today on money that will be locked up for decades in a retirement account doesn't sit well with many workers.)
But that only tells half the story. For many workers -- especially those who are early in their careers -- you can expect your income to go up over time, as well as your corresponding tax rates. Giving up on a deduction now essentially lets you preserve it until a time when it might be worth a whole lot more.
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How to (Legally) Dodge the Tax Man in Retirement
Decision Points: Should I Postpone My Retirement?
Posted: at 9:42 pm
For most of us, retirement is the ultimate reward after a long life of hard work. Yet some of our retirement futures may not be as secure as we would like. If the market is dipping as you approach retirement age, you may be considering postponing your golden years a little longer in order to reap richer rewards. To help make your decision a little easier, here are some of the major advantages and disadvantages associated with postponing retirement.
Retirement Pros
Some of the benefits to retirement are quite obvious. Youll begin a well-earned break from the trials and stresses of working life as you prepare to enter your golden years. If youre well prepared financially or flexible about your quality of life, then deciding to forgo the extra cash in exchange for the freedom to start a new chapter of your life should be a no-brainer. Of course, if you choose to retire as planned, youll need to assess your finances thoroughly to ensure that you will remain well-supported throughout the rest of your life.
Certified Public Accountant and member of the AICPAs National CPA Literacy Commission, Ted Sarenski, warns that with poor financial planning, you risk having insufficient funds supplementing your Social Security to live your desired lifestyle after retirement.
For a quick calculation of what I need to have saved when I retire; take the desired budget, subtract what you would receive from Social Security, multiply the result by 25. If your savings fall short of this amount, youll most likely need to postpone your retirement, he says.
Retirement Cons
According to the AARP, the single most important question you need to consider when deciding whether or not to delay retirement is if you will have, at a minimum, enough lifetime income to cover your basic living expenses. If you decide that your retirement fund is insufficient to support you and your dependents throughout the rest of your life, youll almost certainly need to postpone your retirement. Even if you do decide that youve saved enough to get by, you may still experience a significant dip in your quality of life. Remember, if you retire in your fifties or sixties, you may still live for another 30 or 40 years, so you need to be sure that your finances are well prepared.
Postponement Pros
While spending a few more years in the workforce may not sound like an appealing prospect, for some it can greatly enhance their quality of life throughout the years that follow. Of course, postponement will allow your investments further time to grow, and decrease the amount of time spent drawing down your investments, but there are even further benefits to be gained.
According to Social Security Online, each additional year of full-time work adds another year of earnings to your Social Security record, which can result in higher benefits when you retire. In addition, individuals will receive delayed retirement credits, which increase each extra year you work after retirement age.
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Decision Points: Should I Postpone My Retirement?
Reaction to Dravid's retirement
Posted: at 9:42 pm
March 9 (Reuters) - Reaction to the retirement of India batting stalwart and former skipper Rahul Dravid on Friday:
India batsman and team mate Sachin Tendulkar:
There was and is only one Rahul Dravid. There can be no other. I will miss Rahul in the dressing-room and out in the middle.
Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar on BBC Radio 5 live:
He was totally a class act, on and off the field. A terrific role model for youngsters with his work ethic, with the way he carried himself, with the way he applied himself.
Its going to be a bit of a void in Indian cricket now. I think you really wont find anybody playing with the same tactical virtuosity that you saw with Rahul Dravid.
Former India captain Anil Kumble:
Ive enjoyed every moment that Ive played with you. Its been a great honour. Rare are those individuals that hold the unique combination of exceptional talent and commitment.
His ability to concentrate for long hours remains unmatched. He is someone who is constantly in search of perfection.
You are a perfect ambassador for cricket and an ideal team man.
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Reaction to Dravid's retirement
Senate-Passed Measure Approves Retirement Work for Federal Employees
Posted: at 9:42 pm
The Senate passed an amendment on Thursday that allows retirement-eligible federal employees to work part time -- a move designed to offset costs of economic-development aid in rural counties nationwide.
The measure, proposed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., passed the Senate by an 82-16 vote. It was put forward just hours before the vote as an amendment to the Surface Transportation Bill.
The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal-employee union, feared the amendment would result in additional, unneeded sacrifices by government workers in a congressional session that already has hit federal pay and benefits -- for instance with a pension-contribution hike for newly hired federal employees passed in February as part of an extension of the payroll-tax break.
While the change to federal retirement -- a phased, part-time retirement-employment concept -- may be acceptable to the federal-postal community after proper analysis and study, it is completely outrageous for federal and postal employees to be required, again, to serve as the automated teller machine for programs having nothing to do with deficit reduction, Beth Moten, AFGEs legislative and political director, said in a letter to senatorson Thursday. She also complained that lawmakers had not made the text of the legislation available.
AFGE spokesman Tim Kauffman further explained that the union was not necessarily opposed to phased retirement, but took issue with the process of the legislation.
What we really have a problem is using the savings that would come from that proposal to fund yet another program thats unrelated to federal employees, Kauffman said.
Our opposition to the Baucus amendment is in how this assistance for rural schools is being paid for, Moten said. Federal employees have paid -- again and again and again.
National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley echoed those sentiments. NTEU supports a phased retirement program for federal employees on its merits, Kelley said in a statement on Thursday. However, we do have serious objections to the use of the projected $450 million in savings from such a program for any use unrelated to federal employees. This includes the rural-schools funding initiative.
The Office of Personnel Management included a similar proposal in its fiscal 2013 budget request. Easing older employees into retirement by offering a part-time work program would save the Obama administration $720 million during the next 10 years, the White House estimates.
Many federal employees are nearing retirement, so part-time work could pad federal agencies coffers if they did not have to replace these employees entirely. Under the proposal, part-time employees would receive partial annuities and could earn additional retirement benefits proportional to the amount of time they work. Older employees also would be required to mentor younger new hires and help preserve agency knowledge.
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Senate-Passed Measure Approves Retirement Work for Federal Employees
Bobbed Hair – Dream high 2 JB and Shin’s performance – Video
Posted: at 9:41 pm
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Bobbed Hair - Dream high 2 JB and Shin's performance - Video
Ennis settles for pentathlon silver in Istanbul (despite being told she'd won stunning gold)
Posted: at 9:41 pm
By Jonathan McEvoy
PUBLISHED: 06:55 EST, 9 March 2012 | UPDATED: 15:49 EST, 9 March 2012
The agony was slow to dawn on Jessica Ennis. She celebrated as the screen flashed her name up with the numeral 1 next to it and, then, as the maths was slowly, agonisingly calculated her position was brought up to date and she was declared second.
A joyous smile gave way fleetingly to disappointment. But, ever the professional and positive by nature, she gathered her composure in a flash and the grin returned.
It had been a typically brave performance from the poster girl of the London Olympics, but nothing like what had been billed ahead of the World Indoor Championships pentathlon.
Contrasting emotions: Jessica Ennis thinks she's won... but the scoreboard is then reversed (below)
This was meant to be a showdown between Ennis, the smiling little brunette and the stern statuesque Russian, Tatyana Chernova. But Chernova faded almost from the start. She finished fifth, a shadow of the woman who won the gold medal ahead of Ennis at the World Championships in Daegu last summer.
No, it was the Ukrainian Natallia Dobrynska, the 2008 Olympic champion, who pipped Ennis with an indoor world record of 5,013. Ennis scored 4,965, a personal best and national record.
It came down to the last event the 800m and the facts and figures did not look propitious for Ennis going into it. She needed to run 6.48sec faster than Dobrynska to prevail.
Naturally, as at Daegu, Ennis gave it everything. She won the race stylishly but finished only a fraction over three seconds ahead of her rival. Enough to give her a personal best 2min 8.09sec and second place ahead of Austra Skujyte of Lithuania.
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Ennis settles for pentathlon silver in Istanbul (despite being told she'd won stunning gold)
Lord of the Dance
Posted: at 9:41 pm
SPOTLIGHT
Translated as "my own history of dance", La Dance, Une Histoire a Ma Facon is a solo performance by Beau Geste Company's Dominique Boivin. The work is an expression of his personal relationship to the great masters of dance with a humorous twist. Guru spoke with him ahead of his performance which is part of French-Thai cultural fest La Fete:
HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN DANCE?
When I was 16, I was madly in love with life and being on stage. Before that I took dance classes without even being aware of being in contact with a sort of artistic expression. Finding myself suddenly in love with life and being able to articulate it through movement literally threw me in the role of the actor and the interpreter. It was at that moment I felt the force of this art and the possibilities of dance as a form of expression.
WHAT IS YOUR PERFORMANCE ABOUT?
The show is about the history of dance and how Western dance has evolved. It is a journey into the past in attempt to shed light on the present and perhaps the future because there is a desire to connect. Like all other art forms, dance cannot avoid time; there are trends, tendencies.
WHAT ASPECT OF HISTORY ARE YOU ATTEMPTING TO PRESENT?
The question is to identify the situation of dance in France and take a look at its evolution. My job is to answer this question and remain as integrated as possible, but not as an historian. Of course I hope that the public, after having seen this solo, will realise that dance, like any other mode of representation, evolves with the time.
IS DANCE UNIVERSAL?
One might think that dance does not need translation to the extent that it doesn't involve words. However, different cultures have their own readings of the body. Today the world is changing fast and information flows more easily, thanks to the internet. Thailand is a large country with a strong culture. With this solo, I am sharing with the public of Bangkok a way of re-examining history and also the dance.
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Lord of the Dance
Personal Training Business Workshop Brings Resistance Band Training Expert Dave Schmitz and Other Top Fitness Pros to …
Posted: at 9:41 pm
Fitness Revolution in Napa will be hosting a fitness business workshop, featuring resistance band training expert and founder of Resistance Band Training Systems, Dave Schmitz.
Napa, CA (PRWEB) March 08, 2012
The workshop will provide hands on instruction geared toward both helping fitness businesses grow and improve their training techniques. The fitness experts plan to discuss a variety of topics concerning aspects of training and fitness marketing.
All personal trainers face two main concerns, said Pat Rigsby, CEO of Fitness Consulting Group, the group organizing the event. The first is that they are constantly trying to improve as trainers, and the second is that they want to find ways to grow their business.
By bringing together leaders in the fitness community, the Elite Training Workshop seeks to address both concerns. One of the fitness industry leaders appearing at the event is resistance band training expert Dave Schmitz.
Schmitz, recently named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Health & Fitness, has decades of experience training athletes with resistance bands. His company, Resistance Band Training Systems, sells bands, band workouts and other training products.
The Band Man, as Schmitz is affectionately called, will be presenting two lectures. The first focuses on using resistance bands as a way to position oneself in the personal training market. The second goes into detail on how to get better at training with bands.
All kinds of athletes benefit from resistance band training, Schmitz says. I developed bands as a way to boost performance, but their roots are in injury rehab and prevention. Resistance band workouts are safe, fun, and effective. Best of all, anybody can do them.
Joining Dave Schmitz will be President of Robertson Training Systems Mike Robertson, and Mens Health contributors B.J. Gaddour and Robert Remedios. Remedios has trained professionals and Olympians, while also authoring books on strength and power training.
The fitness experts will be presenting on a number of different subjects, ranging from fitness-specific topics like strength and core training, to business topics like how to run a fitness boot camp.
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Personal Training Business Workshop Brings Resistance Band Training Expert Dave Schmitz and Other Top Fitness Pros to ...
Champion helps launch NHS device
Posted: at 9:39 pm
Peezy's Giovanna Forte says even random personal connections can make the difference between success and failure for innovative businesses
Two chance conversations ten years apart has led one business to launch an NHS approved device that will save women from the ignominy of weeing on their hands when providing urine samples.
London-based Peezy began selling its sampling system directly to NHS hospitals and GPs on March 1 after more than three years of trying.
Giovanna Forte, Peezys managing director, said her break came from meeting an adviser in 2001 and then bumping into her again at a trade show in Germany.
She (SNP: ^SHEY - news) recalls: Ten years ago I met through Business Link someone called Margaret Parton, who said this idea needs developing, do it. So I did and then I went to Medica (Frankfurt: A0REC2 - news) in 2010 and went to the UK Trade & Investment stand in Dsseldorf and she was there.
She said, 'What does it look like? Oh, its so beautiful. The people you need to talk to at the Department of Health (Euronext: IXSHL.NX - news) and in the supply chain, here are the five names.
I said 'I have been trying to contact those five names for two years. And she said, 'Its Friday now, call them after Tuesday. Low and behold it worked. Its all about finding a champion. It took her three phone calls to change the whole future of our business.
The power of personal connections was also evident for Peezys fund-raising, which has just closed at 1m twice the amount Ms Forte was seeking and attracting two Premiership footballers among her 48 shareholders.
My ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriend introduced me to someone in the City who has single-handedly attracted the angel investors, Ms Forte said.
In total she has raised 2m to bring the device, invented by her GP brother Vincent in 2000, to market. During the first five years, Ms Forte explored the idea in her spare time, but has focused on the project since 2005.
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Champion helps launch NHS device
Celebrity Attorney Partners With Executive TV Producer Promoting Business Success
Posted: at 9:39 pm
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) March 09, 2012
Shellie Hunt has been described in the international press as One of the best orators and coaches of human potential available for public speaking and a master of business success and multiple sources of income. But for Hunt, success is only the beginning. International speaker, successful global entrepreneur, author, and loving mother, Hunt is adding executive TV producer to her growing repertoire after signing an agreement with Beverly Hills attorney Ken Browning, whose A-list clients include Suze Orman, William Morris, Russell Crowe and other industry professionals. The partnership comes at the opportune moment for Hunt, who is developing her latest creation, an empowerment TV show, ReMake MY Life.
Hunt has dedicated her life to inspiring personal potential, business success, corporate leadership, and advancing her own successful businesses including Success is by Design, ReMake MY Life LLC, and The Women of Global Change, to name a few. The partnership with Browning is a likely fit for the executive TV producer, who has displayed superior tenacity throughout over 25 years of industry experience.
"I feel elated about bringing awareness, knowledge, and camaraderie to mass media. This is a great partnership for the future, and I'm honored and humbled to be a part of it," said Hunt.
Perhaps its from humble beginnings that passion, determination and an eye for success have coalesced into a future where success is only the beginning. Having grown up in poverty, Hunts personal business success reflects her mission and coaching paradigm: Success is by Design. The agreement with Browning is the hallmark of past hardship, present success and a bright future with abundant opportunities for her to now inspire, empower and bring business success to the masses.
About Shellie Hunt -- Shellie Hunts gift of transformational impact has taken her clients beyond motivation to lasting results through teaching the precise How to in the designs of your success from the inside out. Her successes include, global entrepreneur, life coach, international motivational speaker, trauma expert, author of the Success is by Design series, and TV executive producer. Shellie currently is a proud member of the Alliance of Women and Media, which promotes positive progress and change for women and sat as a judge for the 2011 nationally televised Gracie Awards. More about Shellie Hunt can be found at http://www.successisbydesign.com.
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Celebrity Attorney Partners With Executive TV Producer Promoting Business Success