Investment Strategy #12: Fully fund your IRA
Virtually all working Americans can contribute up to $2,000 per year to an IRA, while one-income couples can contribute up to $2,250 per year. Money in an IRA compounds, tax-free, until withdrawal. The difference, though, is that your IRA contributions may not be fully tax deductible, as they were before. If you or your spouse…
Investment Strategy #11: Participate in your employer’s 401(k) plan
A 401(k) plan is a retirement plan in which an employee can elect to have the employer contribute part of the employee’s wages to the plan on a pretax basis. These deferred wages are not subject to income tax withholding at the time of deferral. With a 401(k) you can have money “saved” for you…
Investment Strategy #10: For tax-free mutual fund investing, use self-directed annuities
A self-directed or “variable” annuity combines the investment power of no-load mutual funds with tax deferral. Unless you invest in a mutual fund inside a tax-sheltered retirement plan, you’ll owe income tax immediately on every dividend. That’s true even if you reinvest all of your dividends, as most mutual fund investors do. What’s more, if…
Investment Strategy #9: Ginnie Mae funds offer high yields with low risks
Mutual funds are an excellent way to buy Ginnie Maes, which are high-yielding mortgage securities fully backed by the federal government. Securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Assn. (GNMA), a federal agency, are guaranteed, so there’s no risk of default. Yet, Ginnie Maes usually yield anywhere from 0.5% to 2% more than Treasury bonds.…
Investment Strategy #8: Invest in bond funds when interest rates start to fall
The time to move into bond funds is after interest rates have peaked and started to come down, but have not yet reached the point for moving into stock funds. – When you’re evaluating bond fund performance, the key is total return (including principal gain or loss), not just yield The first bond funds focused…
What is a “401(k)” and how does it work?
Per Ameriprise Financial (2023), “A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan that offers significant tax benefits while helping you plan for the future. With a 401(k), an employee sets a percentage of their income to be automatically taken out of each paycheck and invested in their account. Participants can choose how to allocate their…