2020 Changes to Inherited IRA Rules

Washington was busy this holiday season. As many of us were looking forward to some well-earned time off, new legislation was passed, and it affects some of the old rules for traditional Individual Retirement Accounts. These changes went into effect on January 1, 2020.

One of the biggest changes will affect the required minimum distribution (RMD) timeline for IRAs granted to a beneficiary at the time of your death.

So, what does this mean for you? Unless an inherited IRA meets a very specific set of circumstances, non-spousal beneficiary is now required to withdraw the money from the IRA within a period of 10 years.

For example, let’s say that you have a hypothetical $1 million IRA. The beneficiary is not required to take a set amount. The requirement is the money must be withdrawn by the end of the 10th year following the year of inheritance. So, if you are leaving your IRA to a 50-year-old child, they must take all the money by the time they reach age 61. In the past, your 50-year-old child could stretch the money over their expected lifetime, or roughly 30 years.

The new limits on IRAs may force account owners to reconsider inheritance strategies and review how the accelerated income may affect a beneficiary’s tax situation.

Individual situations may change and vary. I’m here for you to talk about how this new law changes your retirement strategy. Give Paul Carroll, Financial Advisor, a call, to find some quality time to discuss these updates, and in the meantime, we’ll be keeping a close watch on any other pending changes.

Paul Carroll, CWS®, AAMS®
Financial Advisor
281.925.4140
Paul.Carroll@swbc.com

Securities offered through SWBC Investments Services, LLC, a registered broker/dealer. Member SIPC & FINRA. Advisory services offered through SWBC Investment Company, a Registered Investment Advisor. SWBC Investment Services, LLC and SWBC Investment Company are not affiliated with this institution. FUNDS SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A DEPOSIT OF INSTITUTION, ARE NOT OBLIGATIONS OF, OR GUARANTEED BY THIS INSTITUTION OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATED ENTITIES, MAY LOSE VALUE, AND ARE NOT NCUSIF INSURED.

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc. for use by Paul Carroll, CWS®, AAMS®.

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

If the elephant in the room is saving money, the same answer applies. Start small and keep at it. My daughter hadn’t shown much interest in saving money until she opened a Dollar Up Savings account. Something clicked and I enjoyed watching her take an interest in saving.

She enjoyed the way a few cents here and there add up and before she knew it, she had saved $50 without even trying. And I knew she was really invested in the way it built up because when the credit union transferred the funds at the end of the quarter, she was panicked. “What happened to my Dollar Up money?” she asked.

In addition to starting small, another key component to begin making saving money a healthy habit is to make it automatic. My daughter didn’t have to do anything other than her normal activity of being a teenager, so it became easy for her to see her savings build. It is something we’ve set up for her on a 529 Plan as well. We set up a monthly automatic transfer to her college savings and we show her how it has built up over the years.

My hope is that we’ve given her two strategies to make her a successful saver after she graduates and joins the workforce. We’ve already started talking about retirement savings and opening a Roth IRA as soon as she turns 18, if she decides to work while in college. Then she can learn the wonderful lesson of compounding.

 

 

 

The author of this post wishes to remain anonymous because his teenager would likely not want her father writing this post.

The opinions expressed on this page are those of the credit union’s Certified Credit Union Financial Counselors, staff members and other authors and may not reflect the views of the credit union. Information is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or financial advice. The views expressed are those of the author of each article.

Saving Money is Hard without Something to Save For

Jamieson Mackay

Early in our marriage and careers, money was tight, and the idea of saving money seemed impossible. Through trial and error, we found out it wasn’t impossible. Here are a few of the lessons we learned, including the most important:

1. Communicate: Talking about money can be difficult because it means different things to different people. Without talking about it and understanding how the other person feels about money then it will be very difficult to start a savings plan. Honest and open discussions about money can help couples and families get on the same page when it comes to money.

2. Find what works for you: We tried several things including separate checking accounts, cash allowances and more. The one thing we both agreed on was paying ourselves first and we set up automatic savings to our accounts at the credit union and to investments. It really is true that if you set it up to come out before it hits your spending account, you won’t miss it.

3. Start today! The earlier the better when it comes to saving, especially retirement saving. Early career me couldn’t imagine how quickly the years pass by and that idea of retirement come rushing at you.

4. MOST IMPORTANT: None of the first three matter if you don’t have a reason to save. You must have a goal or purpose for the money you are setting aside.

For my wife and I in our early marriage phase it was to buy a starter house and to travel. We loved travel and would take at least three trips a year. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with one of my friends at that time when he remarked that he hadn’t had a vacation in over 3 years, and he noticed we traveled all the time. He knew that he and his wife made a substantial amount more pay than we did. He asked how we did it and I told him we make it a priority. In the discussion it came out that he and his wife spent thousands on shoes each year which easily would have paid for at least one of our trips. After our conversation they set a goal and had their first vacation in years later that year.

Over the years our why has changed. First it was planning on children and having my wife stay home with them. Then it turned into college for the kids and now we are shifting our attention to retirement. But the constant has always been having a reason to save.

 

 

 

 

 

The opinions expressed on this page are those of the credit union’s Certified Credit Union Financial Counselors, staff members and other authors and may not reflect the views of the credit union. Information is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or financial advice. The views expressed are those of the author of each article.

The Importance of Naming Beneficiaries

The importance of naming beneficiaries

Jamieson Mackay, The Importance of Naming Beneficiaries

My father-in-law passed away recently and my wife, as executor, was so grateful that he’d left clear instructions including a will, a list of accounts (with named beneficiaries), and plenty of documentation.  We most likely could have avoided the probate process (which costs around $2,500), except for two things: Selling the house and no named beneficiaries on a few accounts and investments. If we had sold the house when he moved into a nursing home and he had named beneficiaries on all of his accounts and investments, we might have been able to prevent going through probate to obtain the letter of testamentary needed to complete those tasks.

We learned that on a few of his accounts, including a couple of IRAs and bank accounts, that he’d named his daughters as beneficiaries. Since the daughters were equal beneficiaries on the IRAs, they simply must produce the death certificate to initiate the process transferring those funds to a newly created Inherited IRA (we’ll get into that in more detail in a separate post).

Can you guess what all of us have been doing since we learned this lesson? You guessed it, we’re updating our beneficiaries on all our accounts and investments to make life a little easier for our children and give them faster access to funds in case they are needed. We’ve already updated a few accounts, so it has been a worthwhile exercise. I would encourage you to do the same and update your beneficiaries, especially if you have had a change in your life like a new child, marriage, or any other life event that would change who you want to inherit your money.

We’ve made it easy to add beneficiaries to your membership at the credit union and it can be done all online. You can use the form below to add or remove beneficiaries.

 

Add or Remove Beneficiaries

Complete the following form to update your beneficiaries for your membership. Once your form has been submitted for review, we will send you forms to sign electronically through the email address provided. If you are adding multiple beneficiaries, please complete one form for each beneficiary.

 

The opinions expressed on this page are those of the credit union’s Certified Credit Union Financial Counselors, staff members and other authors and may not reflect the views of the credit union. Information is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal or financial advice. The views expressed are those of the author of each article.

Top scams that identity thieves use against senior citizens

Elderly ID Theft info-graphic

Click the info-graphic to view in new window.

Around the world, seniors are victimized by cybercrime and identity scams at higher rates than most other age groups. Each year, financial fraud and scams affect approximately 1 out of every 18 older adults.

As the Baby Boomer generation enters their retirement years, it’s important to warn seniors about the risk of identity theft and help them stay on guard against fraudulent scams.

Seniors make up 17% of the Canadian population today,[1] and by 2041, 26.5% of the UK population will be 65 or older.[2] By 2050, people aged 65 and older will represent 20% of the U.S. population.[3]

Why do seniors fall victim to identity theft at higher rates than other adults?

Criminals are drawn to seniors for a variety of reasons. Limitations in mobility may keep seniors at home more, creating a sense of loneliness and isolation from family and friends. Some may have memory or cognition difficulties that leave them more susceptible to manipulation. But mostly, identity thieves know that as a group, seniors have greater financial wealth than other generations, therefore the payoff for stealing seniors’ identities can be greater.

Nine common scams used to steal identity information and defraud seniors

Educate the seniors in your life about these common scams that identity thieves and fraudsters are using to uncover personal information:

  1. Prize scams: Fraudsters contact the senior and say they have won a sweepstakes cash prize or lottery and need to make a payment to unlock the prize.
  2. Technical support scams: A caller, claiming to be from a reputable technology company such as Microsoft or Apple, calls to tell the senior that something is very wrong with their computer. Claiming the computer has been infiltrated by hackers, the caller offers to help in exchange for a fee. People in the U.S. lost $55 million to this scam in 2018.[4]
  3. Grandchild scam: The scammer calls a senior and then says something like “Hi Grandma, can you guess who this is?” When the senior guesses with the name of one of their grandchildren, the scammer uses that identity to request financial support for anything ranging from bail money to car repairs to overdue rent.[5]
  4. Inheritance scam: Similar to the prize scams, someone calls pretending to be an attorney and informs the senior they’ve received an unexpected inheritance. Then they press them for personal information.
  5. Medicare/NHS impersonation: One thing that all seniors have in common is their national health insurance plan. That gives identity thieves one key piece of information about a senior before doing any other research. By impersonating Medicare or NHS personnel, identity thieves get seniors to give out their personal information for “verification” purposes.
  6. Bank official impersonation: This works very much the same as the Medicare/NHS scam, except the information being captured is bank account numbers in addition to personal information.
  7. Tax scam: Tax documents contain a trove of personal information, and nearly everyone has to file them. There are two ways identity thieves approach tax scams—by telephone and email. On the phone, the identity thief poses as a tax official and demands payment. Phishing emails look like official communications from the taxing authority with the goal of obtaining personal information for identity theft and possibly stealing refund checks.[6]
  8. Romance scams: Like any of us, seniors want to pursue love interests and new friendships, and many use online dating websites and social media. Seniors need to be aware that people do create fake online profiles in order to meet potential targets for fraud. Any love interest or new friend who asks for money should be blocked from further contact.[7]
  9. Caregiver or familiar fraud: Sadly, the elderly often become victims of the very people charged with their care—family members or paid caregivers. It’s important that caregivers be trustworthy people with stable financial footing. Be wary if a caregiver tries to block the families access to a senior or hides bank statements or bills.

Help the seniors you care about watch out for these identity frauds and scams. Talk to them about the dangers and offer to review suspicious emails/mail or to help them look for unusual activity on bank statements and bills. In the event that a senior loved one has recently passed, maintain extra vigilance about the decedent’s credit report and identity in order to protect their surviving spouse and estate.

We have partnered with CyberScout to offer comprehensive identity management services.  If you detect suspicious activity or would like to proactively protect your identity, contact us at 281-487-9333 or sign up for FraudScout which is CyberScout’s proactive identity management service.

[1] Statistics Canada

[2] UK Office for National Statistics

[3] U.S. Census Bureau

[4] “The awful, fast-growing tech scams fleecing the elderly out of millions,” Fast Company, May 5, 2019.

[5] “Top 10 financial scams targeting seniors,” National Council on Aging.

[6] Internal Revenue Service

[7] Federal Trade Commission

Credit Privacy Number Scam

A Credit Privacy Number, or CPN, is a 9-digit identifying number that acts like a social security number. In 1974, when the U.S. Privacy Act was passed, consumers were allowed to withhold revealing their SSN when they were not legally required to give it and instead, would give their CPN.

These days, credit repair agencies are selling CPNs as a way for consumers to have a “clean slate” on their credit. However, in most cases, many of the CPNs out there are the stolen Social Security Numbers of children or deceased individuals. Scammers use these because it could potentially be many years before the scam is ever uncovered. Because of this, the government no longer recognizes or legitimizes CPNs.

Since these CPNs are usually stolen social security numbers, using one to get a loan, credit card, or other financial product is considered identity theft. Using one on any loan application is considered a federal crime.

Some red flags associated with CPN’s would be if you are asked to do things like change your phone number, get a driver’s license with a different address, or start using a new email address. This is done so information on the new CPN will not match any of the other identifying information listed on your real SSN. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned against companies offering new credit identities, calling it a scam.

Fraudsters are also buying CPNs and creating synthetic identities to obtain credit. Consumers are frequently arrested for their involvement in synthetic identity schemes and even ordered to pay creditors back the money that they defrauded. As a reminder, falsely reporting your Social Security Number on a credit application is fraudulent and could send you to jail.

Best Teaching Apps for the Classroom

Smartphones and tablets are no longer considered taboo in the classroom. In fact, teaching apps can be effective tools for streamlining monotonous classroom tasks and helping to immerse youngsters in the learning environment.

Teaching apps also help bridge the gap between classroom and home – and between parents and teachers – and are a great way to extend the classroom and make learning fun. The apps can help with everything from expanding the classroom to organization and lesson enhancement if you know which ones to use.

 

Communication Teaching Apps

Many teaching apps make it easier for teachers to send out assignments, give feedback and even grades. They also allow parents to track their child’s progress more actively throughout the school year. Some of the best communication teaching apps are:

ClassDojo – Teachers can easily message and communicate with parents. Photos and videos can be shared individually and even used to show parents their child’s classroom. It captures and generates behavior data to improve classroom behavior, and the app contains teaching tools such as Group Maker and Pair Share, syncing all of it across all devices.

Teacher’s Assistant Pro – Student actions, behaviors and achievements can be tracked and recorded, and teachers can add dates, times, notes and even photos. When conference time rolls around, they can have all the information they need in a single app.

Slack – A fantastic messaging app used by professors and teachers to host text-based office hours and send out reminders. College students love it because they can stay in touch with professors and others in the class when they’re not in the classroom. The app connects with many existing tools and allows you to read documents anywhere.

 

Technology Enhanced Learning Teaching Apps

Technology-enhanced learning is transforming education as we know it. Many apps allow children to learn through game play and even do additional work when necessary. Most of the apps enhance the teaching and learning experience inside and outside the classroom. Such apps help teachers reach students and convey information in an understandable way.

Blackboard – A free app that is ideal for online courses. It helps everyone in the classroom stay informed and allows teachers to update content, take assignments and tests from students, video chat for tutoring sessions, and even manage homework.

Educreations – This is an interactive whiteboard app with a screen-casting tool that helps teachers create easy-to-follow tutorials and lessons. They can create animations and diagrams with supporting audio of any kind to help students with assignments. Teachers can also share videos with the help of Facebook, Twitter and email.

Kahoot! – Another free for-fun learning app that helps teachers and students. Teachers can use exciting learning games and set up live games with students. The app allows them to challenge each other to competitive learning games and makes homework loads more fun.

 

Streamlined Organization Teaching Apps

Classrooms are busy from early in the morning until the afternoon, and it can be hard to stay organized. Throw in 30 kids and it’s nearly impossible. Teaching is easier and far more fun when teachers and students stay organized. Here are some great apps to help them do it:

Google Classroom – A light version of the G-suite used by teachers to store class materials in Google Drive. Teachers can also use it for making announcements and holding debates. The best part is that students can have easy access to materials that have urgent requirements.

Additio – Lets teachers ditch much of the paper by acting as a digital classroom and gradebook. They can take attendance, plan time tables and calculate grades using a smartphone or tablet. For a nominal fee, they can also get additional features such as the ability to take notes and performance analytics.

Seesaw – Allows teachers to record student strengths and weaknesses throughout the year for discussion at annual parent-teacher conferences. It’s often referred to as a student portfolio app because parents can see their child’s achievements and progress. Students love storing their best work on the app.

Teaching children financial literacy at all grade levels

Financial literacy is important, and it should be integrated into modern education for all children. Students of today shoulder a lot of burden. Sending them out into the world without a financial education is an injustice that results in a lifetime of hardship. While it can be difficult to teach children and young adults about money, there are some creative lessons available that can make the job easier and help ensure that they are prepared for their future.

The key is to start with an age-appropriate lesson. Later financial lessons will build on your foundation. Financial literacy for school children can be divided up into three main categories by grade level. General money knowledge begins in elementary school. Middle school students build on their financial literacy foundation by beginning to learn how to manage money. High school students can prepare for financial independence with valuable lessons about responsible financial management skills.

 

Elementary School: The Basics

It’s never too early to foster financial literacy in children. Elementary school is a great place to teach children the basics of exchanging money for goods and services. Teaching elementary age school children about money can be fun. Many educators incorporate games into lesson plans about money. This leads to open discussions and demonstrations about saving, spending and sharing money.

Earning & Spending Money – These activities for the very young include simple but important lessons like recognizing different coins and understanding what they’re worth.

Coins For Money – Download this free game for your students to learn how to recognize and count money $1 and under.

Money Booklets – Download these free printout booklets to introduce and review coins with your students.

Bank It! – Use this game to teach your students how to add and how probability works.

Peter Pig’s Money Counter – In this interactive game, kids practice identifying, counting and saving money while learning fun facts about U.S. currency.

 

Middle School: Money Management

As children move into middle school, they are more familiar with the concept of money management. It is time to begin molding and shaping their perception of money and responsible financial management. As youngsters become more independent in middle school, they are ready to learn how to apply some of the concepts they have learned about money. This is a good time for them to learn about banking and balancing a checkbook.

Writing Checks – Use these check print outs to teach your students how to write a check.

Financial Football – Give your brain a Financial Football workout — play the NFL-themed video game developed by Visa.

Financial Soccer – Put your financial skills to the test with Visa’s World Cup-themed Financial Soccer, a multiple choice question video game. Are you ready to play?

Money Metropolis – Navigate Money Metropolis’ multi-dimensional world while making life decisions that will affect whether virtual bank accounts shrink or grow.

 

High School: Real-World Lessons

High school students are preparing to embark on real-world journeys, financial and otherwise. They are starting to make choices that will affect their future, and it is critical to instill responsible money management skills. With more advanced lessons on budgeting and bill paying, high school students have a better chance of becoming financially independent.

Balancing a Checkbook – Many high school students will soon start working their first jobs, so it is important for them to learn the difference between gross and net pay. They are learning to drive and preparing for college as they move closer to independence. It is a good time for them to practice budgeting successfully with take-home pay through classroom activities that can be reinforced at home.

Making a Budget – Information provided on topics such as: What is a budget? Why do I want a budget? How do I start a budget? How do I make a budget? How do I use a budget?

How to Read a Credit Report – Teach your students what a credit score is and how they can make sure that theirs is a good one.

Building the Perfect Teacher Resume

A resume is a snapshot of your strongest characteristics. It should be clear, concise and highlight the most relevant experience that qualifies you for the job. For a soon-to-be teacher or one changing jobs, the interview begins with the resume.

It isn’t rocket science, but writing a teacher resume is different from writing any other. Every aspect of the resume should point to your goal and reinforce the impression you want to make.

Your resume reflects what you can bring to an organization. Here are tips for building the perfect teacher resume.

 

Strong opening

For best results, open strongly. In addition to accurate contact information, use a professional contact email. That means avoiding personal or inappropriate monikers. A simple first and last name will suffice. If necessary, create an email address specifically for job inquiries and responses.

Also, list your GPA if it’s above 3.0. Employers like to see that you have achieved academic as well as employment success. When listing credentials and accomplishments, lead with the strongest.

Consider using a template for professional formatting and overall look and feel. A good template will provide ample space for your experience, education and skills, plus a brief headliner or introduction. Go with one that conveys your enthusiasm and professionalism.

 

Stand out

When creating a resume, many teachers fail to consider that the competition for teacher positions can be quite fierce in some areas. That’s why it’s important that you create one that stands out favorably from all other applicants.

A strong headliner is the easiest way to get the attention of employment decision-makers. Some examples:

• Mayweather School District Teacher of the Year

• Innovative, Research-based Secondary School Educator

• Seasoned School Administrator with 25 Years Experience

Another excellent way to set you apart is to pay close attention to the wording of your bullet points. Be sure to start each bullet with action verbs and highlight your achievements rather than simply giving a historical account of your work.

For example, rather than merely recounting that you “created lesson plans,” you might point out what your particular innovations with lesson planning achieved. If your lesson plan design ensured that children with low scores had significant improvement by the end of the year, you might state, “created lesson plans that improved reading test scores by 40%.”

 

Properly place your education

When it comes to listing education on your resume, a good rule of thumb is to position that section after highlighting your experience.

In it, list just the facts, including the name of your school or institution, the date you started and completed your education and the particular degree or certificate received. Also, be sure to list relevant extracurricular activities. Those may include entries and prizes in writing or research contests, or success in academic clubs or volunteer organizations.

 

Take special care with experience

The experience section of the resume may be the most important one. Evaluators will use it to get an accurate snapshot of your skills, abilities and achievements. They’ll especially be on the lookout for ways you are particularly qualified for the job at hand.

It’s always best to organize your experience section in reverse chronological order. Starting with your most recent experience first, list and convey your abilities and completed tasks for each position. Use bullet points to summarize, starting each with an action verb.

Go beyond merely listing tasks you completed at each position, by noting the particular things you accomplished. Show decision-makers that you are more than just a doer, you’re an achiever with significant and unique accomplishments.

 

Relevant training and skills

Although it may be tempting to submit a teacher resume without listing relevant training and skills, it’s not always the best choice. That is particularly the case when specific certification or training is required.

List continuing education, certifications, advanced certification and even community service to show what you’ve achieved beyond basic education requirements. That’s also a great place to list unique and applicable skills that put your best foot forward.

 

Polish your resume to perfection

Beyond the basic sections of education, experience and relevant training, a few ways to ensure your teacher resume is polished to perfection are:

• Refrain from using abbreviations.

• Definitely triple check for spelling and grammatical errors.

• Avoid the word “I.”

• Check for bullet points that are verbose.

• Remember, keep it short and to the point.

Last, but not least, make sure there are no gaps in experience. If that is unavoidable, be prepared to give a reasonable explanation during the interview or in your cover letter.