Fall Items to Check Off Your List

With fall fast approaching, it’s time to take care of a few things before year end that can also set you up for the start of next year.

• • Retirement contributions and withdrawals – Just as it’s important to make the necessary contributions to your retirement plan based on your financial plan, you must also take your required minimum distribution (RMD) by December 31 to avoid any penalties if above age 72 or own an inherited IRA. The Merriman Client Services team is hard at work making sure these are all completed for clients. Contributions: The deadline for 2021 Roth IRA and Traditional IRA contributions is April 15, 2022.

• • Health – Have you incurred large medical bills this year? Organize your expenses to ensure you’ll receive a deduction on your taxes. Expenses that can be itemized include healthcare insurance premiums (unless paid by your employer), out of pocket expenses, and even $0.16 per mile for driving to the doctor.

• • Charitable giving – Have you completed your donations to charity for the year? If not, right now is a great time as we fast approach the December 31 deadline. Ways to give to your favorite charity include writing a check, donating appreciated stock directly or through a donor advised fund, or through your IRA if you’re age 70½ and above.

• • Check beneficiaries – Take the time to double check the beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies (both personal and employer policies) to ensure they still align with your overall estate plan and goals.

• • Employer benefits enrollment – Gather information on all the benefits offered by your employer to determine which ones make sense for your household. Commonly offered workplace benefits that are worth taking another look at include health savings accounts, legal services coverage, supplemental life insurance, long-term care insurance, counseling, gym reimbursement and tuition reimbursement.

Not sure where to start? Let us help! Items will be ‘Fallin’ off your checklist before you know it!

Disclosure: The material is presented solely for information purposes and has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Merriman cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Merriman does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be relied upon as such. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Merriman and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. No advice may be rendered by Merriman unless a client service agreement is in place.