Year-End Checklist For Your Retirement Portfolio

I’ve barely gotten used to writing 2024 when I put the date on something, and we’re already well into the year’s fourth quarter. We’re already making Thanksgiving plans and talking about Christmas travel. Here in northern Michigan, the weather has turned very November, making sure we don’t forget that time is moving on.

The end of the year also means plenty of financial planning work and year-end deadlines to keep in mind. Here are a few of the things we’re working on and some things you should keep in mind before the end of December.

Required Minimum Distributions

If you are over the required minimum distribution age and have yet to take the required total amount for the year, we’ll be reaching out to make sure you will be all set before year-end. If you are uncertain about how this applies to you or if you have IRAs and, particularly, inherited IRAs that we do not manage on your behalf, reach out to us and we will help make sure you’re on track.

Portfolio Rebalancing

With this year’s big moves in the stock market, portfolios need to be rebalanced to their targets. By the time you read this, we will have rebalanced portfolios that we manage, but if you have 401k plans or other outside investments, it would be a good idea to look at the current allocations compared to your original targets. If you need help with this, give us a call and we would be glad to help you make sure these accounts are allocated properly.

Roth Conversions

At our fall reviews, we discussed the possibility of Roth conversions if the strategy makes sense for your situation, and we’ll be working on those over the next few weeks to put those plans into action. Roth conversions, unlike contributions, must be done before the end of the year.

Taxable Portfolio Reviews

In a year when just about every sector of the market has been positive, we may not be able to do much tax loss harvesting, but we will be reviewing all our non-IRA portfolios to see if there are any tax-smart moves we can make before the end of December.

Charitable Giving

If you are charitably inclined, make sure you get your gifts done by the end of December. If you are over 70 ½, we can make gifts directly to a charity from an IRA and you do not need to recognize the distribution as income for taxes. That means you get the tax benefit without having to itemize your deductions, as we discussed in this article on our blog. If you are interested in this strategy for this year, contact our office before the first week of December so we can help set up the distribution.

Employer Plan Contributions

If you are still working and participating in a Simple IRA, 401k, or 403b plan, you have until year-end to contribute. If you have extra savings and have not hit your plan’s maximum contribution limits for the year, topping off those accounts may be a good idea. If you are unsure about this strategy, let us know and we can help.

Employer Flexible Spending Arrangements

If you have a Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) for health care expenses through work and have not spent all your contributions for the year, check your plan rules. Some, but not all, plans allow a portion of unused funds to be carried over annually or they may allow a grace period to allow spending into the early part of the new year. However, some plans require the funds to be used during the calendar year. Make sure you know your plan’s rules and take any necessary steps before December 31.

Enjoy the holidays. We look forward to welcoming the new year with you. It will be here before we know it.

About Shotwell Rutter Baer

Shotwell Rutter Baer is proud to be an independent, fee-only registered investment advisory firm. This means that we are only compensated by our clients for our knowledge and guidance — not from commissions by selling financial products. Our only motivation is to help you achieve financial freedom and peace of mind. By structuring our business this way we believe that many of the conflicts of interest that plague the financial services industry are eliminated. We work for our clients, period.

Click here to learn about the Strategic Reliable Blueprint, our financial plan process for your future.

Call us at 517-321-4832 for financial and retirement investing advice.