Have You Thought About Your Financial Goals For 2020?

Happy New Year!  Have you thought about your financial goals for 2020?  This should be the year that you decide to get your finances in order.  If you have student loans, have you determined the best strategy for repayment, or have you just kept paying on our current plan without thinking about the options that could save you significant amounts over the life of your loan, or even have part of the balance forgiven?

If you are facing retirement, have you decided the best strategies for drawing down your assets to support your retirement spending?  There are often tax implications from choosing to withdraw funds from different types of accounts that you may have.  It is also important to minimize your taxes through back door Roth conversions if you are in a lower tax bracket prior to taking social security and required minimum distributions.  It is also important to explore when you should start taking social security.  There are many things to consider, including your life expectancy, cash flow needs, and if you can possibly delay filing to obtain a higher payment after your full retirement age.  

If you have inherited IRA's, it is important to review the new SECURE act rules.  You will no longer be able to stretch your RMD's over your remaining life expectancy, and your payments will need to be taken over only 10 years.  This does not allow the balance to grow throughout your retirement years, so you may want to take another look at updating your financial plan to see how this change may affect you.  

It is also a good time to re-balance your portfolio to make sure it is still in alignment with your risk tolerance and the original asset allocation that you chose when you developed your plan.  The new year is also a time to look at your spending over the prior year, and to determine a budget going forward, including some new savings targets to help you to achieve your goals.

I wish all of you a happy and healthy New Year, and I have enjoyed helping people this year to achieve their goals and to gain some peace of mind by making good financial decisions.  If you would like help in developing a financial plan, or just organizing, protecting and growing your assets, please contact me to set up a no obligation call to explore your options.