A Midyear Financial Checkup Can Make For a Smarter Second Half

This is not the time of year when everyone wants to stay indoors with their finances. But a midyear review of your tax situation, retirement and spending issues can be far more valuable than the rushed attempt most people make at the end of the year — or when it’s too late at tax time.

Summer’s actually a good time to do this task because there’s still enough time to correct lapses in savings, spending or tax planning.

Budget: How’s your spending going? It’s a good time to see what’s being spent on non-essentials and whether you can make some cuts and redirect those funds towards bills or savings. A look at the last six months of spending may reveal opportunities to reduce spending and redirect money toward more necessary goals. Also, take a look at such things as gym memberships, magazines that are piled up and coffee expenses. If you’re not using these things, you can probably live without them. Doing this exercise can identify a surprisingly large amount that’s unaccounted for that can be redirected to debt payment, savings and investments.

Taxes: If you got a sizable refund in April or found it necessary to empty savings to pay Uncle Sam, it’s definitely time to reassess what you’ll owe at tax time next year. Also, if you think you’ll have some losing stocks in your taxable investment accounts, keep an eye on those in case you’ll need to offset gains in your portfolio at the end of the year.

Retirement savings: If you are on schedule to max out your contributions to your company retirement plan this year, great. But don’t forget to check your existing IRAs and other retirement accounts to see if you’ll have enough cash on hand to contribute the maximum in each account by their respective deadlines next year.

Health and health insurance: Increasingly, what we pay for health insurance will be tied to the state of our health. While the weather is good, commit to a plan to walk or hit the gym a specific number of hours a week.

Emergency fund: We encourage you to have between three to six months of living expenses in an emergency fund.  If you don’t have that minimum, go back to your spending review and see where you can start socking money away. 

College savings: If you are saving for your child’s education or your own, check to see if you’re on track with the goals you made for the year. It’s also a good idea to read the latest news on financial aid since schools change their financial aid policies annually.  Even if your kid’s still in grade school, it’s a good idea to learn as much about college financial aid while you’ve got plenty of time to learn.

Special goals: If your car is suddenly looking like it will need to be replaced or if this might be the last year for your furnace, see if you can direct more money into a reserve fund to cover replacement costs or at least a heavy down payment. If there’s a vacation you want to take by the end of the year or a special household purchase you want to make, focus on the cash you’ll set aside to make that happen.  Of course, if you have credit card debt rolling over from one month to the next, maybe that should be your initial focus.

Credit: If you haven’t set a schedule for receiving your three credit reports throughout the year, do it now. You have the right to get all three of your credit reports – from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax – once a year for free. You can do so by ordering them at http://www.annualcreditreport.com. By staggering each receipt of your credit reports at different points in the year, you’ll get a continuous picture of how your credit picture looks. Also, you’ll have the opportunity to focus on possible errors in a single report, which will give the other two credit agencies time to update their files.

As Annuities Get Attention in Washington, It’s Worth Reviewing the Basics

Recent research from the Financial Planning Association^® (FPA^®) shows that planners are embracing annuity products to help a more conservative generation of clients protect assets and reach their retirement goals. Apparently the White House is getting in on the annuity bandwagon as well.

The question is, should you? First, start with the definition. An annuity is a financial product that accepts funds from an individual with a plan to grow them, and then at a specific time begins a stream of regular payments to guarantee a steady flow of inflation-protected cash to that individual until they die. Annuities come with various features, which will be detailed below.

The whole notion of guaranteed payments after an economic crisis seems to be more attractive these days.

A report in the April FPA Journal of Financial Planning stated that 35 percent of advisers surveyed said the recent financial crisis had changed the way they viewed annuities and as a result, they were more likely to use or recommend them than they were before the crisis. Washington also appears to be getting friendly with annuities as a conservative solution for those in retirement. In January, the Obama Administration released a report from its Middle Class Task Force favoring annuities as one of a series of tools that might offer guaranteed life income to millions of Americans.

Annuities have plenty of promoters and detractors, and it’s best to start by reading as much about them as possible first, and then discussing your retirement savings choices with your tax professional and an experienced financial adviser. Some basics:

Annuities come in two flavors – fixed and variable: Fixed annuities offer a return that are tied to interest rates or a particular index, meaning these are “fixed” investments your money will always be tied to. Variable annuities are invested in a series of investments — including mutual funds — that allow the investor to change their investment allocations. If you are willing to pay heftier fees, you may be able to receive a guarantee that your variable annuity will not dip below the value of the initial principal.

Tax-deferred growth, but payments are taxed as ordinary income: Just like a 401(k) or IRA, the contributions and earnings within an annuity grow tax-deferred until the funds start coming out. But also like a 401(k) or IRA, you pay a 10 percent penalty for early withdrawals if you are younger than age 59 ½. Yet there’s a tradeoff for a lifetime guaranteed payment, and that’s the taxman. All withdrawals are treated as ordinary income and don’t qualify for more favorable long-term capital gains treatment.

Money for life, but check the company thoroughly: The number one selling point of any annuity is that the issuer – typically an insurance company that writes up an annuity contract – guarantees that you will receive money for as long as you live. Of course, you need to make sure the insurance company behind the annuity contract is financially healthy. Check its Comdex ranking, which is an average percentile ranking of credit ratings provided for life and health insurance companies by firms such as Moody’s Investors Service, A.M. Best Company and Standard & Poor’s Corporation.

Fees and commissions can be steep: Always ask how much commission an agent makes – and planners can be agents if they are properly licensed – when they sell you an annuity. And be sure to compare commissions and ongoing fees on any annuity products you consider. Also keep in mind that some annuities can charge a surrender fee if you withdraw your money before age 59 ½ in addition to the 10 percent penalty.

Compare promised returns: We’re still in a low interest-rate environment. Understand how any annuity you’re considering will react in various interest rate scenarios.

Check out consequences of transferring an annuity: Find out what the tax and economic ramifications might be for transferring an annuity to spouses or other family members when you die. This effort should be part of an overall review of your personal finances and the creation of an estate plan.

Stay diversified: Keep in mind that putting everything you have into an annuity is not good financial planning. Discuss how you should allocate all your assets as you head into your retirement years.