How The Economic Stimulus Can Seriously Affect Your Retirement Funds

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides many economic benefits to citizens and businesses that are designed to help the economic well being of the people and nation. While everyone knows about the stimulus checks that were authorized as part of the law, some of the lesser known provisions may affect your retirement fund.

To qualify for any of these new changes to the law you need to be “personally affected” by the COVID-19 outbreak. This may mean that you, or an immediate family member are diagnosed with the disease; or you have been furloughed, laid off, had work hours reduced or have otherwise had your employment status seriously affected by the pandemic.

Several of the provisions of the CARES act made changes to the way you can withdraw money from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA), 401k employer sponsored retirement plan or your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account, which is the 401k plan for federal government employees including military members.

While almost every financial expert strongly advises against taking money out of your retirement fund before retirement, there may be situations where you have no other choice. Just remember, if you are considering a 401k or TSP withdrawal or loan you should only use it as your last resort.

Exclusion of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for 2020

When you reach your early seventies you are normally required to take a certain amount out of your 401k, TSP, or IRA each year or be hit with a penalty from Uncle Sam.

Language in the CARES act effectively did away with that requirement for this year. So, if you are old enough, have enough money to get by on and don’t want to take money out of your retirement savings, you don’t have to this year. This could effectively give you a big tax break.

Extension of Rollover Time Limit

If you want to transfer money from one retirement fund to another you now have longer to do it.

Prior to the CARES act you had 60 days after withdrawing money from your 401k plan to deposit it into another qualified retirement plan. You would normally only do this if you changed employers or found a better plan and wanted to switch.

Under previous rules, if you didn’t redeposit the money within sixty days you were hit with a penalty of 10% of your withdrawal payable to Uncle Sam and on top of that you had to pay taxes on the entire amount.

The new law did away with the 60 day deadline and says that you have until July 15 to reinvest any withdrawals made between Feb. 1 and May 15.

Elimination of Early Withdrawal Penalty

Another provision of the CARES act eliminated the 10% early-withdrawal penalty and the 20% federal tax withholding on all early withdrawals from your retirement account.

If you are younger than 59 years and six months and take money out of your retirement account it is considered an “early withdrawal.” You are limited to a maximum withdrawal of $100,000 under this provision.

While your tax liability is different for withdrawals from a traditional retirement plan and a Roth retirement plan, the penalties have been removed from both. The new law also lets you spread out your tax liability on any early withdrawals over three years instead of hitting you with the entire tax bill in the year you take money out.

Expansion of Loan Limits

If you want to get a loan from your 401k or TSP account, the maximum loan you can get has been increased from $50,000 to $100,000. Also, if you have an existing loan, you may be eligible to delay repayments for up to one year.

Source: Military.com

Your Finances in the “New Normal” of the COVID-19 Pandemic

As countries and businesses begin plans to return back to work and relax social distancing orders, you might be thinking about what life is going to look like in the “new normal.”

Obviously, it is going to take a while for everything to get back to 100%, but it’s good to start thinking about what this transition might look like for your finances.

Know What Grace Periods Are Ending

In most places, governments and companies have provided grace periods for those who have had financial challenges as a result of COVID-19. As the world starts to open back up, you’ll want to know the end dates for these grace periods so that you don’t accidentally miss a payment.

It might take you an afternoon, but sit down sometime soon and figure out any grace period that you opted to use. If you share expenses with a partner, be sure to go over any finances together so that you are both on the same page. Think about any student loans, car payments, mortgage payments, and so forth.

After you’ve accounted for all of your expenses, be sure to write down when you need to start paying those bills again. You might even want to put a notification in your phone to remind you to start the routine again or put the bills on auto payment so that you don’t forget.

Figure Out What Expenses You Have to Pay

If you’ve deferred some expenses due to grace periods, you’ll want to figure out what you absolutely have to pay the next time that you get a paycheck. Maybe you have to pay two months of rent because your landlord gave you an extension. Or perhaps you need to pay a couple months of cell phone bills.

Knowing what you have to pay, when you have to pay it, and where it’s coming from will help you as you transition to this next phase. This is why it’s also important to know when grace periods are ending. For example, you might only have until the end of the month to pay your internet bill for the past two months, but you might have additional time to pay for your electricity. If finances are tight, you might want to put the money toward what you absolutely have to.

Come Up With a Budget for Going Forward

There’s a good chance that you had to drastically alter any budget that you had before the pandemic to adjust for new changes. But as people return to work, you’ll likely need to update your budget to figure out your finances going forward.

For example, for those who experienced decreased hours as a result of COVID-19, depending on your employer and work situation, you might be easing back into work and slowly gaining additional hours each week. You’ll want to account for the fact that you may now have more income, but that you’re still not at the amount of hours that you were previously used to. You may also need to adjust your budget to deal with expenses that you previously weren’t able to cover.

Depending on your situation, you may need to go through several iterations of budgets as you transition to a life that looks more like what happened before the COVID-19 pandemic. Keeping your budget constantly updated will help you deal with all the unknowns in the future.

Be Prepared for Any Unexpected Expenses

You’ll also want to be thinking about any unexpected expenses that may arise. If you’re able to, you might want to set aside some money in your budget to manage expenses like these.

For example, maybe you haven’t been able to work for a month, but have been watching your six-year-old child at home. If your child isn’t able to go back to school when you go back to work, you’ll want to think about your plans and how that might impact your finances. For example, you might need to arrange for childcare, which may be an expense that you typically didn’t need to pay and plan for during the school year.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

If you’re still struggling financially, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. If your landlord gave you extra time to pay rent and you still need more time, ask if that’s still a possibility. It might not be, but it’s helpful for people to know if you have a financial need.

If you lost your job as a result of COVID-19, you may just be starting to look for a new one. Reaching out to people in your community can help, as well as researching what industries are in demand right now and what companies are hiring during this time. As such, there have been several corporations hiring and looking specifically for those who have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19.

Final Thoughts

Transitions are always hard, and it’s likely that the next few months will be volatile as everyone navigates the transition of going back to work during this pandemic. Thinking ahead about how this might impact your finances and seeing what you can do will set you up for success as the world starts to emerge from their homes.

Source: iGrad

Top Reasons to Consider a Temp Job

When people wonder how to find a job, they generally think about full-time work. But more often these days, it’s not about committing to a 40-hour-a-week grind at one company for the next two to five years. Today, one in five jobs in America is being filled by a contract worker, according to an NPR/Marist poll. Just look at all the temp jobs and contract jobs now hiring on Monster!

Temporary work is its own kind of contract work, often undertaken for a few hours to a few weeks or months, depending on the position and the level in the company. Everyone—from entry-level and C-suite to IT and administrative—can temp. And there are several advantages to keeping your options open.

You get to know a job before committing

Even if you’ve gone through the most thorough interview process available, it’s still hard to know exactly what you’re walking into when you join a company. Enter the temp position, stage left. When you temp for a firm, you can get a sense for the work, the people, and the culture without committing yourself to a full-time position.

“Like an internship, [temping] offers a chance to assess whether this company or industry is one where you’d like to work,” says Christopher Lee, a career consultant in San Diego and founder of PurposeRedeemed.com. “You have an opportunity to build relationships and, if you are interested in pursuing a permanent role there, demonstrate the value you bring through the quality of your work.”

This is especially helpful in discovering when an industry or company isn’t what you expected. A temp position saves you the trouble of having to quit due to a poor fit. “There have certainly been types of jobs that, from the outside, I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do,’ and then I got an internship and saw what happens on a day-to-day basis and said, ‘This is not for me,’” Lee says. “Temping can offer that same sort of validation.”

You can develop new skills

It’s easy to get pigeonholed into an industry or career. And once you’re there, you become more of an expert in your subject area—which makes it even harder to jump ship to something else that interests you. With temping, however, you can dip your toe into many different places and pick up a variety of new proficiencies on the job.

“You may have a great work ethic, great background, and you land a position that’s offering a different set of skills or knowledge,” says Deborah Woolridge, a career coach and HR professional in New York City. “And they’re willing to take you under their wing to learn different things.”

This is particularly helpful if you’re coming out of college without a lot of experience, if you’re trying to switch industries, or if you’re returning to work after time off.

The arrangement can be flexible

Maybe you’re starting your own business. Maybe you have a side passion that doesn’t really pay the bills. Whatever it is, you need cash—and flexible, temporary work can provide the income you need while still allowing you the time to work on other things. It’s also a reasonable way to start to power down your career later in life.

“You can imagine the kind of people who have been running really hard for 30 years,” says Debbie Seeger, co-founder of Patina Solutions, an interim executive placement firm. “We’ve found, especially the baby boomer generation, that there is a desire to keep working, but maybe to change the way the work is arranged.”

Temping also gives experienced professionals a way to focus on the part of their work that really gives them joy—and skip the rest. “They want to provide expertise,” Seeger says. “And yet, at the same time, they may not necessarily want to sign up for the fully loaded salary experience.”

You could get a full-time gig

In many cases, a temp position can develop into the real thing. “I landed a job at Sony Music while temping,” says Callista Gould, author of The Exceptional Professional: What You Need to Know to Grow Your Career. “I would have never had the opportunity otherwise.”

When you temp for a company, you’re already top of mind when a job opening becomes available. You’re regularly working with people who know the quality of your work, your work ethic, and your personality. That can make a big difference to a hiring manager when it comes time to consider candidates for a permanent position.

“Should a permanent position open up, I think if you demonstrated your commitment to the company, you’d be a strong candidate compared to someone from the outside applying without any internal references,” Lee says.

Find your fit

Temporary positions offer you a great way to gain new skills and make valuable contacts, which is especially reassuring during such uncertain times. Could you use some help finding temp jobs? Join Monster for free today. As a member, you can upload up to five versions of your resume—each tailored to the types of jobs that interest you. Recruiters search Monster every day looking to fill top jobs with qualified candidates, just like you. Additionally, you can get job alerts sent directly to your inbox to cut down on time spent looking through ads. Those are two quick and easy ways Monster can help your career continue to move forward.

Source: Monster.com

5 Jobs with the Worst Bosses

No matter how much you love your job, having a bad boss can turn it into a nightmare. It seems, though, that some jobs garner more bad bosses than others. That’s according to PayScale, who surveyed 24,000 people in February 2013 on what they wanted to change most about their job. The survey also asked about job stress and satisfaction. Here are the top five professions who said they wanted new bosses.

1) Chemists and Materials Scientists

Chemists analyze and conduct experiments with chemicals in research labs or for companies to develop new products and processes. Materials scientists research and study chemical properties of natural, synthetic and composite materials in order to strengthen, improve or combine them. According to PayScale, 19.4 percent of the chemists and materials scientists who responded say they hate their boss, and 54 percent reported high stress and 16 percent low job satisfaction.

2) Dental Hygienists

If you don’t like to go to the dentist, you’re not alone: 18.2 percent of dental hygienists said they hate their boss, and 54 percent reported high stress in their job. Nine percent of dental hygienists reported low job satisfaction. Dental hygienists do a lot of the work at your dental appointment: They clean teeth, screen for gingivitis and other maladies, and educate patients on proper oral care. They may also take X-rays for the dentist to examine.

3) Bakers

According to PayScale, 17.9 percent of bakers hate their boss. Almost two-thirds of them report high stress on the job, and 16 percent said they had low job satisfaction. Bakers are responsible for measuring, mixing and baking dough and may be involved with stocking display cases at restaurants or bakeries. Bakers work for a wide variety employers, including grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants. Large-scale baking operations that work around the clock also employ bakers; night shifts and weekend work are not uncommon.

4) Food Service Managers

The high-stress world of restaurants takes its toll on food service managers; 17 percent of them say they hate their boss, and a whopping 76 percent say they have high stress from their career. Fourteen percent say they have low job satisfaction. Food service managers are responsible for the day-to-day operations at restaurants. They often work long hours and because they are the ones unhappy customers complain to, food service managers are often stuck with solving problems and making hard decisions under pressure.

5) Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Technicians

Occupational health and safety technicians collect data about the safety and health conditions in different environments and then work with specialists to look at different options to mitigate hazards and help protect workers, equipment and the public. They’re not confined to only dangerous worksites such as construction and mining; they may also look at data from offices, for example. PayScale says that 15.8 percent of occupational health and safety specialists and technicians hate their boss, and that 66 percent reported high stress at work. Seven percent of them reported low job satisfaction.

 

Source: Military.com

Budget Friendly Activities During COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has changed the way we live dramatically. As COVID-19 spreads around the world, social distancing has been appointed as one of the ways we can contribute to flattening the pandemic curve. That means that by staying home, we can help slow the spread of the virus.

Although many countries have not yet ordered official lockdowns, many people are choosing to stay home to protect themselves and others. As reclusion and social distancing over the long haul can be distressing and overwhelming, finding ways to remain calm and maintain your well-being will be extremely important to get through these times. In this article, we will share budget-friendly activities ideas to do at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Use Technology Wisely

According to Scientific American, it is not about how much we use social media platforms, but how we use them, as “we can all benefit from developing digital habits that support meaningful human connections—especially now.” There are many cool ways that people around the world are able to stay connected with the outside world because of technology.

Join an Online Concert or Music Festival

All over the world, many artists are starting to perform live for free through their social media accounts and online. If you’re looking for shows that you might be interested in, you can always check out the social media profiles of your favorite artists to see if free online concerts are available to you. Billboard is also keeping a comprehensive list of live streams and virtual concerts that are happening, along with the dates that they will take place.

Similarly, in countries like Portugal and Brazil, local artists are getting organized to perform live in online festivals. You can even check out festival lineups on each festivals’ profile to know how to join the free show.

Attend Virtual Parties and Happy Hours

Many apps facilitate face-to-face interactions online. Skype, Zoom, House Party and FaceTime are a few examples of platforms you can use to meet your friends for free, sometimes even with more than one person at a time. You can also use Eventbrite to browse upcoming online events.

Co-Watch Content

There are many free apps and browser extensions that allow you to watch movies and shows with your friends and family remotely. These services allow you to synchronize video playback from your preferred streaming platform. Some free examples are Netflix Party, Kast (previous Rabbit), Scener, and Rave.

Learn Something New

The internet is full of online courses that can fit your budget. Whether you want to learn a new language, learn how to cook, or learn how to play an instrument; whatever your topic of interest is, there are many free classes on the internet.

One great idea is to look for people on your network who can virtually teach you. Independent professionals such as musicians, artists, and physical education teachers, for example, along with other entrepreneurs and small local businesses, will need all the support they can get.

Watch Live Streams of Famous Attractions and Attend Virtual Tours

With the internet, you can see the koalas of San Diego’s Zoo, or scope out Scotland’s famous Loch Ness, or visit the Sistine Chapel for free and from the comfort of your home. Good housekeeping has even provided a list of museums, zoos and other sites offering virtual tours and live or recorded images for free.

Go Offline

While the internet provides an infinite amount of possibilities to stay busy and entertained at home, let’s not forget the other many activities you can do outside of your computers.

Hang Out With Who You Live With

Sit down and catch up on each other’s lives. You can also listen to music, cook, play games, watch a movie, or do a puzzle together. The list of things to do together is endless.

Take Care of Yourself

Treat yourself to a manicure and pedicure, do a facial mask, try auto massage, catch up on sleep, and take the time to meditate. You don’t need to go online for that—you can simply rest quietly and focus on your breathing.

Exercise Often

There is news of people all around the world exercising in their balconies along with their neighbors, like in Spain. Try to organize something like that in your home or simply workout alone in your living room. There are many free apps to help you with your sports routines, but know that you don’t necessarily need the internet to keep active. Squats, push ups, sit ups, and jumping jacks are all examples of simple exercises you could do on your own. Remember that exercising is one of the best ways to stay healthy, so no excuses!

Work on Household Chores

Try rearranging your furniture to make your home feel new and different. Organize your closets and separate items for donation. Take care of your plants and watch them grow.

Just Be Home

Take the opportunity you have to stay home to enjoy the company and unconditional love of your pet. Read that pile of books you have on your list. Practice your preferred hobby like playing an instrument, drawing, or painting. You can also work on your financial planning. How about organizing your income and expenses sheet for the next few months? Or even better: do your taxes!

Conclusion

It’s okay to feel sad, frustrated, and bored. You’re not alone with these feelings. But for the time being, try to see your home as a place of love and security. Look for information from reliable sources and, until you’re told otherwise, stay home as much as possible to protect yourself and others from spreading the virus.

Source: iGrad