Retirement Planning Services

Struggling with how to plan for retirement? Get your financial planning in order with a partner who takes the time to understand your individual journey. Everyone’s retirement goals are different – there is no cookie-cutter approach to retirement planning. Some retirees are still paying higher education costs for grown children – or want to go back to school themselves. Some want to downsize and travel extensively, others have a simple retirement plan to stay close to friends and family. Some retire fully, others want to continue working part-time in their business.

We take your unique circumstances into account. An example is disability, which might make you eligible for special tax credits. You may be able to take the Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled if you were age 65 or older at the end of the last year, or if you are retired on permanent and total disability, according to the IRS. Like any other tax credit, it's a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your tax bill. The maximum amount of this credit is constantly changing. Even if you do not retire formally, you are considered retired on disability when you have stopped working because of your disability.

Another example is gift giving. Often retirees wish to give gifts to children or grandchildren, but these should be planned carefully. If you give any one person gifts valued at more than $15,000, it is necessary to report the total gift to the Internal Revenue Service, and you may even have to pay tax on the gift. A gift includes property, money, or the use of or income from property, without expecting to receive something of equal value in return. If you sell something at less than its value (such as a vehicle or home) or make an interest-free or reduced-interest loan, you may be making a gift.

Yet another frequent retirement circumstance is selling a home for the purpose of downsizing or moving to a different community. If you sell your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly) from your federal tax return. This exclusion is allowed each time that you sell your main home, but generally no more frequently than once every two years.

There are a wide variety of retirement possibilities and your individual retirement plan will dictate your action plan. If you are wondering how to plan for retirement, get in touch. Wulstein Financial Services takes your goals and creates retirement investment strategies that work for you.