What is a 403b/401k “true up”?
One of the nice benefits of your employer’s retirement savings plan (403b/401k) is that it likely includes a match. That’s free money your employer contributes, assuming you’re also putting in your money (like 4%). How you elect (=declare to your custodian) the money you are contributing to your own portion…
My employer is resuming our 403b/401k match, what do I need to do?
If your retirement contribution match was suspended earlier this year due to COVID-19, it’s possible that that match is resuming, as some companies are feeling more stable on their financial footing. Remember that your employer match is essentially free money that gets put into your retirement account by your employer,…
Bi-weekly pay and 3 paycheck months
There are many payment models for employees, everything from ride share’s flaunted “cash out up to 5 times per day!” to getting paid once a month is common. In between is getting paid bi-weekly. That usually means getting paid twice a month. But every approximately 6 months, an extra payday…
COVID-19 triggered mid-year benefits changes
One of the common questions I’ve been hearing lately is “I planned for XXX expensive, semi-elective surgery this year. Due to COVID-19 that surgery can no longer be done in 2020.” Or “I planned for XXX expensive, semi-elective surgery this year. Due to COVID-19 I can’t have that surgery right…
Unemployment Insurance during COVID-19
Involuntary furloughs are coming. As we start talking today about one of our country’s social protection systems, unemployment insurance, let me lead with 3 very important points. First, unemployment insurance varies GREATLY by state, there is no national standard. Second, if you don’t qualify for unemployment by your state’s standards,…
What is a Furlough?
I’m sure you’re not surprised that I’m getting a lot of questions these days about “what is a furlough”, “will I be furloughed”, “how will a furlough affect me?”. First, what is a furlough? These days layoffs mean permanent loss of your job, while a furlough means you are still…
Additional tax implication COVID19 thoughts
Yesterday we talked about the CARES Act, focusing on the Economic Relief Rebate. Today we’re going to briefly cover two other financial implications of COVID19. First, a great graphic illustrating the rebate amounts vs AGI is hosted by the Tax Foundation. Second, separate from the CARES Act, the IRS has…
CARES act, or Economic Relief Funds part 2
Earlier this week we were talking about the possibilities of checks coming to Americans in this time of world-wide hardship. The US Congress passed, and the President signed, the CARES act into law today. We’ve talked previously about how major tax reform only comes around every ~20 years, and how…