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-Fern

Welcome to the second issue of the Whole-Hearted-Way newsletter. I hope you enjoy this information and the practical tips. Feel free to email me with any topics you would like to see covered or great resources you would like to share.

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Enjoy!
-Fern

Tax Deferral = Tax Savings = Great Return

In my last issue, I gave you references to websites that will give you the maximum rate of return on your cash. You can go to my website and subscribe if you missed it.

Now the seasons are changing, and it is also the season to make changes before year end and the craziness of the holidays start. You want to take advantage of any tax deductions that you can.

Tax planning consists of the use of tax deferrals, tax deductions and tax credits to legally reduce your tax liability. The one that most of you are familiar with is tax deferral. That is because most of you have a 401K plan at work. For 2006, you can contribute up to 15% of your salary to your 401K to a max of $15,000 and for workers age 50 plus you can contribute an additional $5,000.

For example, if you earn $100,000 a year and contribute $10,000 to a 401(k) plan, you'll pay income taxes on $90,000 instead of $100,000 so you saved taxes on $10,000 of income. Woohoo!!!

Most of you also get a “matching contribution” from your employers. For example, you earn $30,000 a year and work for an employer that has a matching 401(k) plan. The match is half of every dollar up to 6 percent of your salary. Each year, you contribute 6 percent of your salary ($1,800) to the plan and receive a matching contribution of $900 from your employer. That's an automatic, no risk return of 50% on your investment! Woohoo! Yet a recent study found that, among employees younger than 59 ½, 54% did not take full advantage of the company match!

Now the downside- okay, so you can’t take the money out until you are 59 ½ years old or there are severe penalties- like a 10% federal penalty and 2.5% state penalty (if you live in CA) plus federal and state income taxes on the amount withdrawn. A cash withdrawal on a credit card is cheaper than this. But that is why they call it a retirement plan, folks. It really is for when you retire.

Let’s talk about the deferral part. If you could save $15,000 a year for 30 years in your 401K and let’s assume you only got a 5% return annually on your investment, you would have accumulated $67,016. But if you had it in a taxable account (assuming a 25% federal and 6.8% state tax rate), you would have accumulated only $41,662. Big difference! Taxes do eat into your return.

President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 into law on August 17. The PPA contains many changes for defined contribution plans (401K, IRA, Roth IRA, SEP-IRA, etc). See your Financial Advisor to make sure that you are taking advantage of these changes.

Sign up for the maximum contribution to your 401K plan at work now. You won’t miss the money. For a specific calculator to see how much you would save with your 401K, check this out:
http://www.finance.cch.com/sohoApplets/Retire401k.asp

In my next issue, I will tackle holiday spending and how your wallet and your sanity can survive.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday---------we have a lot to be grateful for.

November 2006-- this column is produced by Whole-Hearted-Way and the Financial Planning Association, the membership organization for the financial planning community, and is provided by Fern Alix LaRocca CFP® EA, a local member of the FPA.