***** Monday January 16th is Martin Luther King Day: markets, and our offices, will be closed. If you live in Tulsa and would like to walk with my committee, Compassionate Tulsa, in the MLK Parade, let me know! *******
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This Happy New Year is in motion!
This week brought more than one challenge so I’m using my “old school” Thoughts format because there are time-sensitive issues you need to know: please read this entire email because I think there is something for everyone here.
The first is a rather annoying “Schwab bug” that I found out quite by chance earlier this week! For clients taking RMDS, I spend the first 2 weeks of the year contacting clients about the amount you must take out of your IRA by the end of 2023.
This year, I found some numbers just didn’t line up: there are two places Schwab reports this number and they were not the same.
I contacted my service team, and a rather harried service rep told me this:
“There will be a delay in our being able to provide the correct RMD amount, and this is a known issue we are working as quickly as possible to fix because the Secure 2.0 Act passed in December has provisions that must be worked into our system. This is a big escalation. We should know more in a few days, hopefully.”
ii. Clients who are turning 72 next few years will find planning a little confusing as the RMD age will be changing over the coming years. See the write-up in the Secure 2.0 Act Recap, below!
******* If I have reached out to you about your 2023 RMD amount, please know that it might change, and I’ll work with you as quickly as possible once Schwab resolves this issue. *******
******* If I have NOT reached out to you yet, know I was stopped mid-course last week and will be getting with you as quickly as this “bug” is fixed. *****
For clients who had withdrawals from their IRAs in 2022, your 1099-R has already been completed and can be found online at Schwab.com, under your IRA account. It also should be in your Client Portal.
Important: I have coded ALL client tax documents to be sent to you in paper…these white envelopes from Schwab are not junk mail! They will go out in batches through the first of February.
i. Why does this matter to you? Most clients use a CPA and 1099s can be up to 90 pages. Not only is it a security risk for you to email an unencrypted email to your CPA, but most CPAs prefer PAPER COPIES to make it easier to input the data into your return. PLEASE ASK THEM if they charge you to print off these 1099s!!
I’ve had clients report that their CPA charged them 10 cents PER PAGE to print the 1099s.
Know how your CPA wants your tax documents!
Since you should receive a paper version, it might just be simpler for you to put it in your document packet you give to your CPA.
If you do not receive your 1099s, just give me a call and we’ll find the best way to get it to your CPA.
If you recently received an Inherited IRA, please know that you must take out a withdrawal each year: I will help you calculate this before year-end 2023. There are more details below, in the Secure 2.0 Act Recap.
As in past years, you may receive an updated 1099: please know that if you complete your tax return and then receive an updated 1099, your CPA may recommend you file an amended return. To be safe, I recommend you don’t submit your tax return until the end of February.
This doesn’t happen very often since we got rid of the Limited Partnership - Pipeline K-1s.
If you don’t have an updated 1099 by mid-March, you are probably safe to submit your return.
I’ve received several emails about missing documents in your Client Portal: I’ll check this out and let you know how I’m going to fix it!
If you have not logged onto your Client Portal, here is a link for your computer / mobile device: reach out to me for the default password to get started.
b. There are different URLs: one when you access your Portal from your computer and one when you use your tablet or mobile device.
Desktop Site Client Log-on Desktop Mobile Site Client Logon via Mobile Phone
Next week I will be producing your 2022 Year End Report and I could not be happier with our software and the format! No matter how ugly 2022 was, your performance might not be as bad as you’ve feared.
These reports will be posted in your Client Portal.
For clients who hate the idea of using a Client Portal, let me know so I can email it securely to you, via Citrix Share-file.
Above are the URLs to access your report so please let me know if you have any problems.
Let’s schedule a meeting in the 2nd Quarter (after Tax Season is over) to see if you like your report, or if I can add additional information you might find helpful.
Have you had “get a will or trust this year on your To-Do list for a long time?” Well, this is your lucky year as I have a terrific company we can work with to help you accomplish this!
Ok, enough with the administrative details: please know that tax time is always busy, but I’ll do all I can to make it as painless as possible. I’m grateful that I’m over my 3 Covid cases and the Flu A: my energy is back and I’m ready for a busy 1st Quarter!
Finally, if you have been hearing about the Secure 2.0 Act that Congress passed a few short weeks ago, this week I’m featuring my partner, Harry Moran’s Thoughts!

One of the reasons we all worked so hard to launch Sustainable Advisors Alliance, LLC, was for us to draw on the collective wisdom, knowledge, and experience from some of the best minds in the Sustainable Impact Investing industry. Our collective 175 years in the ESG biz lets us collaborate to benefit our clients. SAA partner Harry Moran, who lives in Saratoga Springs, sent out this Years-End Newsletter his clients, and I felt it would be terrific for you to benefit from his terrific work.
His synopsis of the Secure 2.0 Act will help you understand this recently passed bill and if you need more detail, Harry cites his resources at the bottom. His website is worth a visit, as well.
As this year begins, please know your trust means the world to me…so, here we go…into 2023.
Greetings & Happy New Year,
Well, 2022 was quite a year, and one that most investors will not miss. A significant decline in both stocks and bonds, created an environment where there was no place to hide, and diversification didn’t offer its usual defensive benefits. While no one knows the exact timing of the recovery, we do know that economic and market cycles are normal, and that the best plan is to stick with your long-term strategy through thick and thin. The portfolio re-balancing we do for our investment clients is extremely important in this kind of environment. To the extent that it’s practical, minimizing withdrawals and even adding additional funds to take advantage of lower prices, should be rewarded over time. We will get through this. If you have any questions or concerns about your portfolio strategy, please reach out to us to set up a time to speak.
the waning days of 2022, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which authorizes roughly a year of federal spending ($1.7 trillion worth), and also includes the SECURE Act 2.0, with a number of provisions that we wanted to inform you about. SECURE Act 2.0 is a follow-up to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act enacted into law in late 2019.
One provision is a small push-back of the age when required minimum distributions (RMDs) begin. RMDs, as you may know, are amounts that people above a certain age are required to take out of their retirement plans (IRAs, in many cases), whether they need the money or not. Before 2.0, that age was 72. People had to start taking their distributions in the year that they reached 72, and the distributions would be a higher percentage of the retirement assets for each subsequent year.
SECURE Act 2.0 has moved the RMD age from 72 to 73 for anyone who reaches age 72 in 2023 or thereafter. Anyone who reaches age 74 after December 31, 2032, will have to start taking RMDs by age 75. (SECURE 2.0 has no impact on people who are currently taking RMDs; they must follow the same formula that they have been following up to now.) Updates from the SECURE Act of 2019, have the potential to significantly affect anyone who has an Inherited IRA or Beneficiary IRA. When the SECURE Act changed the 10-year distribution period, most accountants understood that the requirement was just that it had to be fully distributed within 10 years of the decedent’s passing.
However, SECURE Act 2.0 appears to be changing that. The IRS apparently intended that beneficiaries take an annual distribution over the 10 years. There are still some differing interpretations though, and we are expecting to have a final ruling in 2023. In the meanwhile, it’s comforting to know that the provision states that if you didn’t take a distribution in 2021 or 2022, based on your accountant’s understanding and guidance, you won’t be penalized. Prior to the passing of SECURE 2.0, there was a penalty in the tax code for anyone who missed taking out their full RMD in any tax year. This penalty was an excise tax amounting to 50% of the amount that should have been distributed but was not. In 2.0, Congress reduced that surtax to 25%, and reduced it further, to 10%, if the retiree catches and corrects the under-distribution before the next tax return is due or before the IRS sends a demand letter.
Beyond that, there are several enhancements to the existing panoply of retirement plan options. Previously, people participating in a company-sponsored Roth IRA had to take annual RMDs; now they don’t, which levels the playing field with individual Roth accounts, which have never imposed RMDs. 2.0 will allow employers to offer Roth versions of SIMPLE and SEP plans. Both those plans previously could only include pre-tax funds. Employers will be permitted to deposit matching contributions into these Roth accounts, which would be included in the employee’s taxable income in the year of the contribution. Another provision will allow employers to make matching contributions to a 401(k), 403(b), or SIMPLE IRA plan for qualified student loan payments, that is, payment on the debt incurred for higher education purposes.
Speaking of higher education, people who have set aside money in a state 529 plan to pay for college expenses, and no longer have a need to use it for that purpose, are now able to move those excess funds directly into a Roth IRA, up to a maximum of $35,000. SECURE Act 2.0 requires that the Roth IRA receiving the funds be in the name of the beneficiary of the 529 plan, and that the 529 account must have been in existence for 15 years or longer. Any contributions made in the most recent five years, and earnings on those contributions, are not eligible for this transfer.
People over 50 have been able to make an additional $1,000 contribution to their IRA, what has been called a catch-up provision, but that amount has never been indexed to inflation. Now, starting in 2024, the catch-up contribution limit will be raised with the inflation rate, in increments of $100. Meanwhile, starting in 2025, participants aged 60-63 will be permitted to make catch-up provisions of $10,000 (up from the current $7,500) in their 401(k) plan, or $5,000 if they are participants in a SIMPLE plan.
Beyond that, 2.0 provides for various new exceptions to the 10% surtax imposed on people taking money out of their IRA or qualified retirement plan before age 59 1/2, and it creates a new type of "Emergency Savings Account’ that employers could set up for plan participants who don’t own more than 5% interest in their employer or receive more than $135,000 in compensation. The employees can make tax-deductible cash contributions until the account reaches $2,500, and the money grows tax-free thereafter. The idea is that this money will be used whenever the family faces an emergency.
Two areas where many people were expecting changes did not change. The federal estate tax exemption was not reduced (with inflation indexing, it will be $12,920,000 in 2023; double that amount for married couples), and so-called ‘back-door’ Roth contributions are still a viable planning tool. Best Regards, Harry Moran, CFP®, AIF®, CeFT® Owner/Founder of Sustainable Wealth Advisors (SWA) Founding Member of Sustainable Advisors Alliance, LLC (SAA) Elizabeth Litts Client Service & Administration Coordinator
Sources: https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/big-changes-to-the-retirement-system-are-included-in-congresss-end-of-year-bill-182514621.html https://www.kitces.com/blog/secure-act-2-omnibus-2022-hr-2954-rmd-75-529-roth-rollover-increase-qcd-student-loan-match/ https://www.yahoo.com/now/secure-2-0-act-retirement-150042550.html Investment advisory services provided by Sustainable Advisors Alliance, LLC (SAA), with Harry Moran, CFP®, AIF® as Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) also doing business under the name Sustainable Wealth Advisors.
Our current disclosure brochure, Form ADV Part 2, is available for your review upon request, and on our website, https://www.sustainableadvisorsalliance.com/regulatorydocs. This disclosure brochure, or a summary of material changes made, is also provided to our clients on an annual basis. Neither Sustainable Wealth Advisors nor Sustainable Advisors Alliance, LLC provide tax or legal advice.
All views, expressions, and opinions included in this communication are subject to change. This communication is not intended as an offer or solicitation to buy, hold or sell any financial instrument or investment advisory services. Any information provided has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee the accuracy, or the completeness of, any description of securities, markets or developments mentioned. We may, from time to time, have a position in the securities mentioned and may execute transactions that may not be consistent with this communication's conclusions. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Indexes are not available for direct investment. All investing involves risks, including the potential for loss of principal. There is no guarantee that any investment plan or strategy will be successful or that financial markets will act as they have in the past.
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