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Monthly Archives

December 2021

Your Year-End Financial Checklist

By | Financial Planning, Retirement, Tax Planning

The end of the year can help remind us of last-minute things we need to address as well as the goals we want to pursue and get serious about. To that end, here are some aspects of your financial life to contemplate as this year leads into 2022. 

Your investments. Set up a meeting to review your investments with your financial professional. You’ll want to come away from the meeting with an understanding of your portfolio positions and a revisit of your asset allocation based on your age, desires and personal circumstances. Remember, asset allocation and diversification are approaches to help manage investment risk, they do not guarantee against stock market drops or equities losses. Make sure your portfolio reflects your desire for protection and safety as well as growth.

Your retirement strategy. You may want to consider contributing the maximum to your retirement accounts—this may be a great time to decide on making catch-up contributions if you are 50 or older. It’s also a good idea to review any retirement accounts you may have through your work to see if your selections are still suitable for you. If you are getting close to retirement, you’ll want to start considering your Social Security filing strategy in advance, since that will dovetail with your overall retirement income plan.

Your tax situation. It’s a good idea to check in with your tax or legal professional before the year ends, especially if you have questions about an expense or deduction from this year. Also, it may be a good idea to review any sales of property as well as both realized and unrealized losses and gains. Look back at last year’s loss carryforwards. If you’ve sold securities, gather up cost-basis information. As always, bringing all this information to your financial professional as well as your tax professional is a smart move.

Your charitable gifting goals. Plan charitable contributions or contributions to education accounts and make any desired cash gifts to family members. The annual federal gift tax exclusion allows you to give away up to $15,000 in 2021, meaning you can gift as much as $15,000 to as many individuals as you like this year. Such gifts do not count against the lifetime estate tax exemption amount, as long as they stay beneath the annual federal gift tax exclusion threshold. Besides outright gifts, you can explore creating and funding trusts on behalf of your family. The end of the year is also a good time to review any trusts you have in place. Using a trust involves a complex set of tax rules and regulations. Before moving forward with a trust, it’s important to work with a professional who is familiar with the rules and regulations.

Your life insurance coverage. The end of the year is an excellent time to double-check that your policies and beneficiaries are up to date. Don’t forget to review premium costs and beneficiaries and think about whether your insurance needs have changed. Several factors could impact the cost and availability of life insurance, such as age, health, and the type of insurance purchased, as well as the amount purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, you may pay surrender charges, which could have income tax implications. You should consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy involving life insurance. Finally, don’t forget that any guarantees associated with a policy are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue making claim payments.

Life events. Here are some questions to ask yourself when evaluating any large life changes in the last year: Did you happen to get married or divorced this year? Did you move or change jobs? Did you buy a home or business? Was there a new addition to your family this year? Did you receive an inheritance or a gift? All these circumstances can have a financial impact on your life as well as the way you invest and plan for retirement and wind down your career or business.

Keep in mind, this article is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for real-life advice. Make certain to contact a tax or legal professional before modifying your tax strategy. The ideas presented are not intended to provide specific advice.

If you would like to discuss your year-end checklist items, please give us a call. You can reach Bulwark Capital Management at 253.509.0395.