Your IRA most likely represents a significant portion of your long-term retirement savings and can also play an important role in annual tax planning Depending on your situation and goals you might want to consider whether a Traditional IRA or a Roth IRA makes the most sense whether your required minimum distributions can be given to charity or whether you should accelerate your IRA distributions , Pick the right IRA vehicle for you, The point of all IRAs is to encourage people to save for retirement Therefore you are discouraged (via penalties to take any money out of these accounts until you turn 59 ½ , Traditional IRAs, Contributions are made with pre-tax money ¹  meaning you save money by not paying tax initially Distributions are fully taxable as ordinary income Penalty for withdrawals prior to age 59 ½ You must take your first required minimum distribution for the year in which you reach age 73 However you can delay taking the first RMD until April 1 of the following year If you reached age 73 in 2024 you…, Roth IRAs, Contributions are made with after-tax money Distributions are tax-free Penalty for withdrawals prior to age 59 ½ No required minimum distributions (RMDs Prior to tax time make sure to fund your IRA and work with your professional advisors to help you manage your RMDs if required, Take advantage of Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs, For many years the rules allowing a tax-free Qualified Charitable Distribution or QCD directly from an IRA to charity have been on-again off-again often getting extended at the very end of the year However the QCD rules have finally become permanent This is good news as it makes it easier for you to make proactive charitable contributions and minimize the tax associated with required minimum…, Convert your Traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs, If you do not need or expect to need the annual cash flow from your RMD it might make sense for you to consider converting your Traditional IRAs into Roth IRAs Among the advantages are Tax-free distributions Contributions can be made to the Roth IRA after age 70 ½ No annual RMDs Roth IRAs are a tax-efficient way to transfer wealth to beneficiaries upon the account owner’s death Please talk to…, Accelerate your distributions from your IRAs, One final tax idea to consider is to accelerate your distributions from your Traditional IRAs beyond the RMD amount  Depending on your expected taxable income in a given year it may make sense to accelerate distributions into years when your expected taxable income is lower This also may be appropriate in years when you have higher-than-average deductions By accelerating distributions you also…, Published March 2025, ¹Under certain circumstances your contribution may need to be funded with after-tax money - Source Mesirow Wealth Management 2 Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs | Internal Revenue Service    

Irene Eliacostas is a Managing Director in Mesirow Institutional Sales and Trading Her primary responsibilities focus on municipal sales and trading working closely with traders and salespeople managing the operational aspects associated within the division Irene has more than 40 years of experience in the financial industry Prior to joining Mesirow in 2005 she worked in the Investment Management…

At one time or another you may be offered the opportunity to “retire early” — well before your 65th birthday It is important to plan for this contingency in advance, Although retirement is often thought of as a stage that inevitably occurs at the end of a career many individuals do not give it serious consideration until well into their 50’s Based on policy related to programs such as Social Security Medicare and pension funds most Americans target their mid-60’s as the time period when they will enter into retirement Approximately 81% of individuals exit the…, Social Security benefits, and, retirement lifestyle readiness,  , Social Security, Your full retirement age as defined by Social Security depends on your birth year Its crucial to realize that the Social Security payments you qualify for will be reduced if you claim them before your full retirement age Monthly Social Security benefits increase approximately 65% to 80% per year between the ages of 62 and 70 so incorporating this expected income into your retirement financing can…, Retirement lifestyle readiness, Retirement adjustment is reached when individuals are no longer preoccupied with retirement transition but are comfortable with the changed circumstances of life in retirement Individuals transitioning from work to retirement experience meaningful changes in areas of their everyday lives such as having daily structure to account for their time socialization through work friendships a sense of…, The benefits of financial planning, Individuals often do not have a full understanding of their benefits and options in retirement Financial planning allows for the early interpretation of situations so that the negative outcomes resulting from abrupt unwanted or ill-timed transition can be minimized An accurate assessment of potential losses can eliminate anxiety and lead to greater satisfaction in retirement Researchers have…, Early retirement considerations, If early retirement may be an option for you here are a few things you should consider and discuss with your Wealth Advisor, What is your employer’s financial strength,  If early retirement is being offered due to financial strain that may eventually lead to layoffs an early retirement package may be a more attractive option than remaining at a particular company Consideration should be given to the dynamics in your organization industry and community, What are the financial benefits of working longer or exiting,  Staying in the workforce allows your existing assets to compound instead of being exhausted in retirement Early retirement packages often offer financial incentives for employees to exit the workforce Careful evaluation of an early retirement package versus full retirement benefits will provide a clearer understanding of the trade-off value of staying or leaving work and let you know if you are…, How is your pension calculation impacted,  Although defined benefit plans have become less common in recent years some organizations continue to offer them The amount of the annuity payment in these plans is often based on factors such as age income and years of service You should make sure you understand if the early retirement incentives being offered appropriately compensate you for lower monthly annuity payments in retirement, How will you fund healthcare,  Healthcare is one of the largest expenses faced in retirement Some organizations allow retirees to continue to receive benefits in their plan However if this is not an option and you are not yet eligible for Medicare benefits COBRA benefits may be your best solution COBRA allows you to maintain health insurance however the cost is not subsidized by your employer COBRA benefits can cost up to 102…, How will you replace the non-financial benefits of work,  Evaluate how you will structure time build relationships and have psychological successes that will contribute to your positive well-being Often converting hobbies to part-time work volunteering and spending additional time with family and friends can create a blend of activities that provide enjoyment and retirement success, Summary, Understanding the full value of your resources can lead to a more positive experience in all stages of retirement Mesirow Wealth Management has an 87-year history of advising clients through life events including career transition to retirement We can provide guidance as you figure out what the value of career transition will be for you, Published January 2025, 1 https//wwwpewresearchorg/social-trends/2023/12/14/the-growth-of-the-older-workforce/ 2 https//moneyusnewscom/money/retirement/social-security/articles/the-most-popular-ages-to-collect-social-security Feldman D (2013 Feeling like its time to retire A fit perspective on early retirement decision making In M Wang The Oxford Handbook of Retirement (pp 280-292 New York New York Oxford University…

October 30 2023 | By, Mesirow Currency Management,  , With the final round of the presidential election looming and the nation battling triple-digit inflation Argentina’s citizens wonder what to do The libertarian Javier Milei a larger-than-life candidate proposes to save the economy by dollarizing replacing the peso with the US dollar It’s a drastic measure from which there is no turning back Complicating the situation Argentina was invited to join…, Introduction, The recipient of 22 International Monetary Fund bailouts in the last 65 years Argentina is gasping economically once more Rocked by inflation approaching 140 percent (Figure 1 and lacking foreign reserves to support the peso – US dollar exchange rate the Argentinian currency is worth less than three-tenths of one US cent ($000285 at the official rate   Figure 1 Argentina Inflation Rate (% October…, Beneficial outcomes – at first, Most Argentinians routinely use the dollar switching completely to the US currency would relieve the headaches involved in managing two currencies But adopting the US dollar would mean delegating central bank interest rates decisions and ceding control of money creation to the Federal Reserve likely stabilizing the Argentinian economy and providing a credible and reliable monetary basis this is…, It won’t solve all the problems, Once dollarized Argentina could have no hope of changing back to the peso reverting to a dysfunctional currency from the world’s reserve currency would be virtually impossible A nation without a full-fledged central bank would be a country without a lender of last resort when crises erupt In a financial emergency there would be no one to provide short-term liquidity to the government or to save…, Get the fiscal house in order , In Ecuador dollarization did not lead to good fiscal management or the development of reforms to support future economic growth Ecuador’s experience suggests that dollarization can be successful in curtailing an unconstrained money supply but that a balanced budget healthy banking sector wide export base flexible labor and adequate foreign exchange reserves are crucial fiscal elements that…, Unlevel and disjointed BRICS, Another factor for Argentinians to consider concerns BRICS That is a group of major emerging economies – Brazil Russia India China and South Africa – formed to counter the economic power of the US and western allies including the dominant role of the US dollar in global trade At their August 2023 conference BRICS welcomed six new countries for membership in 2024 Argentina Egypt Ethiopia Iran…, Explore more currency insights, The future for hedged share class investors Futures Overlays,     Hedge Share Class Investors Grapple with Shorter (T+1 Security Settlement Cycle LEARN MORE, An armed war and a currency battle,     Russia confronts the US dollar with so-so results LEARN MORE