Know your Taxpayers Bill of Rights IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2017-21, August 18, 2017 Every taxpayer has a set of fundamental rights and the IRS has an obligation to protect them. The “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” groups the taxpayer rights found in the tax code into 10 categories. Know these rights when interacting with the [...]
Social Security beneficiaries may get biggest raise in 6 years Social Security beneficiaries are projected to receive a 2.2% cost-of-living increase next year, the most since 2011, the trustees who oversee the program said Thursday. That would be about $30 a month for the average retired worker. But It's a relative bonanza compared to the 0.3% [...]
Beam me up? Scientists teleport first object ever from Earth into space Chinese scientists successfully teleported an object from the Earth's surface to an orbiting satellite for the first time ever. A photon — a tiny sub-atomic particle — was "transported" from the Gobi Desert to China's Micius satellite some 310 miles above the surface. The Guardian reported it's a new [...]
How tax reform could hit charitable giving Plenty of factors can motivate charitable giving: Moral obligation, religious tithing, a desire to improve the world or leave a legacy. But another factor -- the tax benefits for giving -- could soon change if lawmakers push through tax reform. Few people donate simply because of the tax [...]
US tax reform hopes become mired in foreign cash piles Republican attempts to make progress on tax reform after the party's failure on healthcare are being undermined by a lack of consensus on handling US companies' offshore earnings, an issue set to spark fierce lobbying and discord. The White House and Republican lawmakers want to [...]
Americans Keep Crushing It with Their 401(k)s The stock market is fueling all-time highs in retirement account balances, with the average IRA breaking into the six figures. It’s happened again: Retirement savings account balances have hit all-time highs. A string of record 401(k) and IRA account totals now stretches across three consecutive quarters, according to second-quarter data from Fidelity [...]
The US is losing ground when it comes to retirement security The U.S. is falling further behind other countries. Norway, Switzerland and Iceland rank highest on a global retirement security index. All your retirement dreams can come true, just maybe not in the U.S. Among the leading nations for retirement security, the United States didn't [...]
Retirement: What to do if your defined benefit pension plan is frozen If you happen to work for a private-sector employer who provides as a benefit a traditional pension, you might consider putting in place a back-up plan. Yes, in recent weeks, a number of well-known firms including UPS and General Mills have frozen the [...]
Powell: Buying Bitcoin to fund retirement? Make sure it fits plans Average investors are often accused of buying high and selling low. And that may very well be the case for investors who are jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon. Bitcoin, a digital currency, has doubled and then some since the start of 2017 (it’s risen [...]
KDK Blog Post - 2 America’s Pension Bomb: Illinois Is Just the Start We’ve been hearing it for years: America’s public pensions are a ticking time bomb. Well, at long last, the state of Illinois is about to expose just how big this blowup could be. As of the 2015 fiscal year, Illinois had promised [...]
