March To-Do's

Remember that you can still make 2022 Roth or Traditional IRA contributions until April 17, 2023.  The contribution limit for 2022 is $6,000 for those of you younger than 50 and $7,000 for those of you older than 50.   Please note on your check that your contribution is for 2022 or let us know and we will send you a deposit slip.  (If the year is not indicated, Ameritrade will code the contribution for 2023.)   While you are at it, you can also make your 2023 contributions - $6,500 if you are under 50 and $7,500 if you are over 50.  You can also increase your employee retirement plan contributions and we can help you with the math to get that done.

We are making good progress moving clients from Ameritrade to Schwab ahead of the official transition which is scheduled for Labor Day weekend.  We do expect that the upcoming transition might be a little messy, despite all the work that Ameritrade and Schwab are doing, so we are ready and excited to move as many clients ahead of that date as we possibly can.  There are some investment options at Schwab which were not available at Ameritrade, so there are some new things for us to review with you as we move your accounts.  Let us know if/when you are ready to do ahead of Labor Day when the transition will happen “automatically.”   I will say that some of the transitions have been done 100% electronically and some have been 100% on paper – and we do not know which it will be until we get into it – but we can get this done with you regardless. 

And finally, some good news on 529 Education Plans.  Many of you have set these up and are contributing dollars for children or grandchildren to pay for future educational expenses.  A newly changed rule under the SECURE Act 2.0 now allows dollars (up to $35,000) left over in 529 plans to be rolled into a Tax-free Roth IRA in a beneficiary’s name, as long as the plan has been open for at least 15 years.  This change takes away the worry that the dollars will not be needed for educational expenses and then will be partially subject to tax/and or penalties at withdrawal.  So good time to get those 529 plans open, even with a small contribution.