End of Year Financial Planning Tips

 

BY MIKE MCGILVARY
Partner, Financial Advisor

As we approach the end of 2021, the team at Marzano Capital Group wants to put emphasis on a handful of important items when it comes to your personal finance. Please see below for some helpful year-end financial tips!

  • Benefit Changes at Work: The window for open enrollment and workplace benefits typically lands on November 1st. It is important to know what changes may affect your healthcare coverage and retirement plan benefits. Employers may change certain aspects of your healthcare insurance or retirement plan, so please do not gloss over those.
  • Beneficiary Review: Performing a beneficiary review on your financial accounts is always a great idea! In the event something unexpected were to happen to you, it is important that your assets transfer to the ones you currently intend them to go to. Make sure your retirement plan at work, additional investment accounts, bank accounts, and life insurance policies have the proper information listed under beneficiary designations.
  • Be Aware of Gains and Losses: As an investor, you should be cognizant about how much you have realized in gains and/or losses inside your non-retirement investment accounts. It is a financial advisor’s duty to help try and grow your assets but it is also important to be prepared for any taxable consequences. Know that measures may be taken in certain cases to try to achieve this in a more tax-efficient manner.
  • Required Minimum Distributions: If you turned age 72 during 2021, you are now considered Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) stage per the IRS. This means you are required to take dollars out of your retirement accounts this year and every year moving forward. Please make sure you do not overlook this, as the penalty can be rather steep if you do not take your RMD. Your investment team should help you keep up with this. It may be time, at this stage, to consider consolidating your IRAs at one custodian to help keep up with what amount you must withdraw. Also, if you have charitable intent, please speak to your Financial Advisor, as you may want to look at using all or part of your RMD to fund the charitable causes you support!
  • Access Risk: Last but certainly not least, please take time during your year-end portfolio review to ask your investment professional about the risk level of your investments. Your team of investment professionals should utilize tools that clearly articulate this to you. It is important to know roughly how much downside and upside you can expect in different market conditions.

These items certainly do not cover everything, but they are a great starting point!  At Marzano Capital Group, we feel this article can serve as a great financial outline for a successful 4th quarter. It is important to be holistic in your planning.  Having a great team of professionals behind you can build confidence that you are continually keeping track of what needs updating and monitoring. Have a great end of your year!

Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Independent Advisor Alliance, a registered investment advisor, Independent Advisor Alliance and Marzano Capital Group are separate entities from LPL Financial.

 

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