Should a Trust be the Beneficiary of Your IRA? Pros and Con

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For many Americans, the assets in their Individual Retirement Account represent a significant portion of the wealth they hope to leave to their loved ones. You may have heard that creating a trust and naming it as the beneficiary of your IRA is a good way to direct how your assets are distributed after your death and force your heirs to “stretch” the IRA for generations. However, trusts and inherited IRAs are complex vehicles that have a lot of details to get right. Here are some of the pros and cons of naming a trust as a beneficiary of your IRA:

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Questions About Medicare? Here Are Some Answers

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Medicare is complex and today’s changing health care landscape makes it more important than ever to fully understand how it works. If you or someone you know is near retirement, you may have questions about how to enroll in Medicare and what Medicare covers. Here are answers to some common questions about Medicare that can help you understand your options and avoid costly errors or gaps in coverage. Read more

EPA to Offer Early Buyouts (Federal Soup)

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The Environmental Protection Agency will continue an external hiring freeze and begin offering early buyouts to employees as part of a plan to reducing its workforce.

Acting Deputy Administrator Mike Flynn in an April 17 memo to regional administrators and other top agency officials said given the agency’s current resources and in light of President Trump’s executive order to immediately reduce and streamline the federal workforce, EPAs own reduction plans will be completed by the end of fiscal year 2017.

“In light of [Office Management and Budget] guidance, we will begin the steps necessary to initiate an early out/ buyout (VERA/VSIP) program,” Flynn wrote in the memo.

He asked for patience as the details of the guidance are worked out.

EPA has about 15,000 employees a part of its workforce.

 

Source: Federal Soup

Senators introduce bipartisan legislation to relax withdraw rules for Thrift Savings Plan (by Hazel Bradford)

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Bipartisan legislation to loosen withdrawal rules for the Federal Thrift Savings Plan was introduced Thursday by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Tom Carper, D-R.I.

The proposed changes would address what the bill sponsors characterized as overly restrictive withdrawal rules that, according to TSP surveys, are a significant reason for the $9 billion transferred out of the plan every year into higher-fee accounts when employees leave the federal government.

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Source: Pensions & Investments

G Fund and the Debt Limit

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As of today, March 16, 2017, the U.S. Treasury was unable to fully invest the Government Securities Investment (G) Fund due to the statutory ceiling on the federal debt. However, G Fund investors remain fully protected and G Fund earnings are fully guaranteed by the federal government. This statutory guarantee has effectively protected G Fund investors many times over the past 25 years. G Fund account balances will continue to accrue earnings and will be updated each business day, and loans and withdrawals will be unaffected.

Source: TSP: Plan News and Announcements