The Seaside Blog

2025 is here and so is this handy checklist to help you focus on key financial aspects this year.

Tax planning is an essential part of preparing for a secure and comfortable retirement. This guide will walk you through the importance of proactive tax planning and offer strategies to help you reduce your tax burden, keeping more of your hard-earned money.

For many people, contributing to a Roth IRA is a fantastic way to save for retirement due to its tax advantages. As long as you are over the age of 59.5 and have had the Roth IRA for at least 5 years, all your distributions in retirement are tax-free. Given the current economic climate, many experts anticipate that tax rates will rise in the near term. Even if no new tax laws are enacted, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will sunset after 2025, resulting in higher tax rates. Coupled with the recent federal spending due to the pandemic and increased government debt the likelihood of increased future taxes makes a Roth IRA even more valuable.

You have worked your whole life saving and preparing for retirement and the next season of your life. This is a time when you can enjoy the fruits of your labor, travel, spend time with the grandkids, explore new hobbies, volunteer and do anything you did not get to do while working. Avoiding common retirement mistakes and pitfalls or misjudging retirement income needs is crucial for a stress-free retirement. Ensuring your retirement plan includes thoughtful estate and tax planning while steering clear of emotional investment decisions and frequent financial mistakes can set a solid foundation. We'll explore how to create a reliable safety net through diversification and the importance of regular reviews to adjust your nest egg, aiming to steer clear of the biggest retirement planning pitfalls and ensuring your social security benefits work effectively for you.

You've worked tirelessly your whole life, diligently saving for retirement. Every time you hear someone discuss tax strategies, you get excited, only to realize they mainly apply to business owners and real estate investors. But here's the thing: even in retirement, there are plenty of tax planning opportunities that can save you a significant amount of money. Oftentimes, retirees don’t take advantage of these strategies and instead make big mistakes with their taxes. Today, we'll explore 3 common tax planning mistakes retirees make and show you how to avoid them.

As you approach retirement age, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of how your benefits will be taxed. Social security taxes can be complex and confusing, but with the right knowledge, we can help you make informed decisions to minimize them. In this article, we will demystify social security taxes and explore how they affect both retirees and working individuals.