Page 16 - Talk of Tequesta - January '25
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Page 16, The Talk Of Tequesta



                                                               finanCial foCus                  ®




                       When Is A Good Time For Roth Conversion?



                                                                  By Sally Sima Stahl, Edward Jones


        In life, you often get                            • Tax-free withdrawals—you put in after-tax dollars to   too much money— a Roth IRA, unlike a traditional IRA,
      second  chances—and  the                          a Roth IRA, so you can withdraw your contributions at   has income limits. Also, a Roth IRA has only been around
      same is true with investing.                      any time, free of taxes and penalties. And if you’ve had   since 1998, so, in the previous years, you were limited to
      To illustrate: You might not                      your account for at least five years and you’re at least   a traditional IRA.
      have been able to contribute                      591⁄2, you can also withdraw your earnings free of taxes.     You’ll want to consult with your tax advisor before
      to a Roth IRA during your                           • No RMDs—With a traditional IRA, you’ll have to   embarking on this conversion—but if it’s appropriate for
      working years due to your                         start taking withdrawals — called required minimum   your situation, you could find that owning a Roth IRA
      income level, but you may                         distributions, or RMDs — when you turn 73, or 75 if   can benefit you and your family for years to come.
      get that opportunity as you                       you were born in 1960 or later. But there’s no RMD     As you approach retirement, though, you might start
      near retirement or even when                      requirement with a Roth IRA — you can essentially leave   thinking of just how much you’d like to benefit from a
      you are retired—through a                         the money intact as long as you like.              Roth IRA.
      Roth conversion.                                    Timing also comes into play with the financial markets.     This article was written by Edward Jones for use by
        And you can do so by converting your traditional IRA to   When the market is going through a decline, and the value   your local  Edward  Jones  Financial Advisor,  Edward
      a Roth. While this sounds simple, there’s a major caveat:   of your traditional IRA drops, you could convert the   Jones, Member SIPC.
      taxes. You’ll be taxed on the amount in pre-tax dollars you   same number of shares of the underlying investments and     Edward Jones is a licensed insurance producer in
      contributed to a traditional IRA and then converted to a   receive a lower tax bill or convert more shares of these   all states and Washington, D.C., through Edward D.
      Roth IRA. (If you have both pre- and after-tax dollars in   investments for what would have been the same tax bill.   Jones & Co., L.P., and in California, New Mexico and
      your traditional IRA, the taxable amount is based on the     •  Tax-free  legacy  for  your  heirs—When  your  heirs   Massachusetts through Edward Jones Insurance Agency
      percentage of pre-tax dollars.)                   inherit your Roth IRA, they can withdraw the contributions   of California, L.L.C.; Edward Jones Insurance Agency of
         Why is a Roth IRA desirable for some people? Here are   without paying taxes or penalties, and if the account has   New Mexico, L.L.C.; and Edward Jones Insurance Agency
      the key benefits:                                 been open for at least five years, they can also withdraw   of Massachusetts, L.L.C.
         If you have large amounts in a traditional IRA, the tax   earnings tax-free.                        Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors
      bill on conversion can be significant. The key to potentially     Finally, you could lower your tax bill in any given year   cannot provide tax advice. You should consult your
      lowering this tax bill is timing. Generally speaking, the   by stretching out your Roth IRA conversions over several   qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.
      lower your income in a given year, the more favorable it is   years, rather than doing it all at once.     Contact us at (561) 748-7600, Sally Sima Stahl, CFP ,
                                                                                                                                                         ®
      for you to convert to a Roth IRA. So, for example, if you     But even if you were aware of these advantages, you   AAMS , 1851 W. Indiantown Road, Ste. 106, Jupiter, FL 33458.
                                                                                                                ™
      have already retired, but have not started collecting RMDs,   might not have been able to invest in a Roth IRA for
      your income may be down.                          much of your life. For one thing, you might have earned


                                                                 all abouT kids




                                                    Helping Disorganized,



                                 Forgetful, And Scattered Adolescents



                                                           By Jim Forgan, Ph.D., Licensed School Psychologist

        A parent described her                          for success this year and beyond. Are you tired of being     Call (561) 625-4125 if you would like to sign up or if
      eighth-grade son to me,                           your child’s only executive assistant and ready for your   you need school neuropsychological testing to give you
      “He has struggles following                       adolescent to hear about success  skills from  someone   understanding and answers. Learn more at JimForgan.
      multiple oral instructions                        other than yourself?                               com/executive.
      at the same time. His
      information retention in the
      short  term  is  challenging
      especially for unpreferred
      topics.  He  has  completed
      homework and forgot to
      turn it in. He waits until the
      last minute to start projects
      or studying for exams. What a hot mess!”
        This mom was describing her son’s executive
      functioning weaknesses. The term executive functioning
      encompasses our brain’s ability to manage different
      systems such as planning, organizing, maintaining effort,
      remembering, self-regulating, attending, and completing
      tasks. School success depends, in part, on having strong
      executive functioning skills. Executive functioning
      weaknesses can cause smart kids to become scattered,
      disorganized, and forgetful. These weaknesses might be
      accompanied with ADHD or learning disabilities but can
      also be stand-alone difficulties. Our executive functions
      improve with age and fully mature in our late teen years
      to early 20s. Thus, there’s hope for your student’s growth.
        Executive functioning skills can be learned, practiced
      and improved. This month I am offering an in-person
      executive functioning course for students in grades 6
      through 9. Your student can join us for three, 90-minute
      sessions of fun, interactive activities to learn executive
      functioning skills related to organization, planning, time
      management, memory, and attention. The group size is
      limited to 10 students.
        We will use games, scenarios, and videos to illustrate
      points and practice skills. Students receive written
      handouts to keep which summarize the new skills. We
      are approaching this mastermind course for teens using
      a  cognitive behavioral  framework. That  means  that  if
      you can change your thinking and learn new skills, you
      can change your behavior. Your student can learn skills
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