A bit of some exciting news & history

Say What?

• Citing “out-of-control” college costs, companies like Walmart, IBM, and Google are eliminating college degrees as employment requirements for corporate positions.
• But there are still some career tracks that find a four-year degree valuable.
• One analyst says for companies “looking for people who are conformist, willing to finish a long four-year project and take assignments and get them done, show up on time and all that, that’s what college does for the labor market, is it filters out people who can’t do those things …”

This week in history:

• 1921 – 101 years ago on Nov. 9, Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
• 1926 – The historic US Route 66 was established.
• 1989 – The Berlin Wall came down on Nov. 9, 1989. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan called for the Wall to be torn down. (But Reagan was no longer in office when it finally came down; George H.W. Bush was President when the Wall fell.)

We all know teachers and school district employees who inspire us and go above and beyond for their students. They could be a physical education teacher who started a nonprofit to teach students about art and music, an administrator who visits the homes of students in need, or a maintenance worker who fundraises for school programs. These educators and school employees are LifeChangers, and we're here to help you honor them.

LifeChanger of the Year is an annual program recognizing K-12 educators and school employees across the country. Our program celebrates those who are making a significant difference in the lives of students by exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leadership. Since 2011, we’ve been able to recognize more than 7,300 school employees from more than 2,000 school districts and have awarded more than $720,000 to schools and school employees.

LifeChanger of the Year is sponsored and run by National Life Group, a more than 175 year old financial services company that serves K-12 educators nationwide. For decades, National Life and its distribution partners have been helping school employees retire with dignity. Seeing the work that our nation’s school employees do, the passion behind that work, and the lasting outcome of it keeps us inspired. We created the LifeChanger of the Year program as a way to shine a light on the field of education, celebrate school employees, and provide them with the resources they need to succeed while they’re in the classroom and beyond.

Cash prizes for the LifeChanger of the Year program are provided by National Life Group’s charitable arm, the National Life Group Foundation. Since its inception in 2006, the goal of the National Life Foundation is to build strong connections and do good in the communities in which we live and work. We do this in a number of ways, such as by providing grants to nonprofit and educational organizations, giving our employees 40 hours of paid volunteer time annually, sponsoring events, and offering in-kind donations. We also provide support for mental health and wellness programs for K-12 students and school employees.

Click Below to learn more or nominate someone you know that's a Life Changer, you can also contact me HERE!

The article highlights:

Unlike during your working years, you’re responsible for making sure taxes are paid on your retirement income from various sources. Your cash flow may exceed your earnings pre-retirement, and you may have fewer reductions to lower your taxes. A withdrawal strategy that places you in the lowest possible tax bracket can help you manage the impact of taxes.

Here’s how seven common sources of retirement income are taxed:

• 401k/403b distributions: If your contributions were made with pre-tax dollars, the full amount of the distribution will be taxed at your ordinary income tax rate. RMDs must be taken annually beginning at age 73.

• IRA distributions: The tax impact is determined by the type of IRA you own and whether it was funded with pre-tax or after-tax dollars.

• Traditional IRAs: contributions are considered pre-tax, and all distributions are subject to tax at your ordinary income tax rate.

• Roth IRAs: contributions are considered after-tax and distributions are tax free if holding period requirements are met.

• Rollover IRAs: assuming all contributions to your workplace plan were made with pre-tax dollars, distributions are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate.

• Social Security: If you’re single with “provisional income” above $25,000 or married filing jointly with provisional income above $32,000, some or most of your Social Security benefits will be subject to tax.

• Annuities: If contributions were made with pre-tax dollars, distributions are taxable at your ordinary income tax rate. If contributions were made with after-tax dollars, only the portion of distributions representing earnings generated by the account are subject to tax.

• Pensions: since most are funded with pre-tax dollars, your income would be taxed at your ordinary income rate.

• Capital gains and dividends: Fully taxable investment vehicles are taxed the same whether you’re retired or still employed.

• Life insurance cash values: cash surrender values of your life insurance policy can generally be accessed tax-free by first withdrawing the premiums you paid. The remaining cash value can be accessed on a tax-free basis by treating them as loans. But keep in mind that tapping into a policy’s cash value may reduce the available death benefit.

• Medicare surtax: this isn’t a source of income, but there is a 3.8 percent Medicare surtax on the lesser of net investment income or adjusted gross income more than $200,000 for single tax filers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. The surtax applies to dividends, capital gains, taxable interest, annuities, rents, and royalties. Distributions from IRAs and qualified workplace retirement plans are not subject to the Medicare surtax.

Fun Fact;

Most states have a state nickname, state flower, or even a state insect. But a state smell? New Mexico legislators are considering legislation to recognize “roasted chile” as the official state aroma. The proposal came from a fifth grade class in New Mexico, and it goes hand in hand with the chile being New Mexico’s state vegetable.