Obsidian Market Update 7/1/2022
Hello friends!
This has certainly been a week with a lot of big news, hasn’t it? While everything in the world feels volatile, you can remain assured that we are always keeping a steady hand on the wheel of your financial future.
The market is no exception to that volatile feeling. We’re monitoring things and adjusting portfolios as needed. If you have questions about your specific situation, just give us a call.
We wanted to talk a little bit about retirement plan accounts this week. As planning professionals, we always keep our eyes and ears open to what is happening legislatively as rules and regulations are constantly changing. This can have an impact on the folks and families we guide. The SECURE Act was signed into law in December of 2019, and it ushered in some of the most significant changes to the rules for retirement accounts in well over a decade. The IRS has now issued proposed regulation updates to the Act and Obsidian is keeping track of these before they are finalized.
Most pertinent are the rules regarding annual RMDs and the 10 year rule. For a long time, individuals had to begin taking their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) in the year they turned 70 ½ . The SECURE Act pushed that back to age 72. Now, proposed legislation could have beginning dates for RMDs phased up to age 75 over the next decade.
The SECURE Act, simply stated, also required non-spouse beneficiaries of retirement accounts to withdraw the entirety of their inherited retirement accounts by the end of the tenth year after the decedent’s death. The new proposed regulation would seek to implement a process where certain “Non-Eligible Designated Beneficiaries” would have to withdraw the full amount within a ten-year period as well as annual minimum distributions.
There is a lot more to the proposed updates to the SECURE Act. Nothing is set in stone just yet. If you want to know how this might affect your situation, we are here to guide you.
Onto more immediate issues: it’s summer, it’s hot, and it’s the perfect time to go look at some marine life in an air conditioned aquarium. The good news is, no matter where in the US you live, you won’t be too far from a great time. Here are some options:
- The National Aquarium (Baltimore): I mean, it’s kind of our home team, so we’ve gotta put it first. But it’s also a really great place to visit, with a huge variety of species and a beautiful, accessible space.
- The Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta): Not only does the Georgia Aquarium offer unusual events like sea lion shows, they also have the only two whale sharks in captivity in North America. And if you’re ambitious, you can even swim with them.
- The Shedd Aquarium (Chicago): Speaking of animals you’re unlikely to find anywhere else, the Shedd Aquarium is home to rare white-sided dolphins. It also has a fantastic beluga whale exhibit.
- The Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey): This aquarium features a living kelp forest, unusual animals like a giant Pacific octopus, and a bunch of cool sharks.
If you decide to visit an aquarium, send us pictures of your favorite critter!
That’s it for us this week. Go find some cute animals to admire, and we’ll be back in your inboxes next Friday.
How We Help
One question we get frequently is, “When should I start taking Social Security?” The answer is, there’s no one answer. Everyone’s situation is different, so we can do a detailed analysis that is designed to help you identify the right time to start taking Social Security. This is something we do often–all we need is a copy of your Social Security statement and we can run the analysis for you. If this is something you’d find helpful, give us a call!
Advisory Services offered through Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions, LLC. Securities are offered through Triad Advisors, member