The Markets (as of market close May 31, 2023)
Before reviewing your company 401(k) plan, check out how the market can affect your retirement. The markets in May were marked by ongoing volatility. Inflation, questions over the direction of monetary policy, and slower liquidity growth impacted equities. The ongoing debt ceiling negotiations cast a cloud over financial markets for much of May. Investors worried about the ramifications of inaction as the June 5 deadline loomed. Even after the president and House speaker reached an agreement toward the end of May, concerns persisted over whether Congress would pass the bill to lift the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt ceiling.
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Understanding the Shift: AT&T's Retiree Pension Payments Transferred to Athene
AT&T has made changes to its pension plan for retirees. Beginning with the August pension payment, AT&T will transfer the assets and liabilities associated with the pension plan to Athene, a financial institution that manages pension group annuities for several other companies. This change does not affect the amount of the monthly pension payment. Retirees will receive monthly payments from Athene instead of the AT&T Pension Benefit Plan. The change impacts about 96,000 retirees who receive certain monthly pension benefits from AT&T.
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Healthcare,
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2023
The mega backdoor Roth IRA is a strategy ‘highly compensated employees’ or HCEs at Fortune 500 can use to increase retirement savings and shelter investment growth from taxes in retirement.
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If you are terminally ill, your life insurance policy is a valuable resource. Not only can you use life insurance to provide adequate income to your survivors for their short- and long-term needs, but you also may be able to receive a portion of the death proceeds from your life insurance before you die in order to pay necessary expenses or to fulfill a dream.
Guaranteed Insurability Rider
When you are terminally ill, you pose an obvious risk to an insurance company, and you will probably be unable to buy additional life insurance coverage. However, if you purchased a guaranteed insurability rider (additional purchase option) when you bought your policy, you may be able to buy additional life insurance without providing proof of medical insurability.
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How Fortune 500 Employees Can Avoid Penalties?
72(t) payments, also known as “substantially equal periodic payments,” are advantageous because they are exempt from the 10% early distribution penalty that usually applies to withdrawals before age 59 ½. You can take them from an IRA at any time, but only from a workplace plan after leaving Fortune 500.
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Northrop Grumman
The Markets (as of market close February 28, 2023)
Before reviewing your company 401(k) plan, check out how the market can affect your retirement. February saw stocks slide lower after posting solid gains to begin the year. Each of the benchmark indexes listed here retreated from their January totals, with the Dow falling the furthest, followed by the Global Dow, the S&P 500, the Russell 2000, and the Nasdaq. Investors saw hope in January that inflation may be waning. However, February data showed inflationary pressures reversed course and expanded. The Federal Reserve has consistently maintained that it seeks to achieve maximum employment and hold inflation at the rate of 2.0%. So far in 2023, job growth has been solid, with more than 500,000 new hires, while the Consumer Price Index (+0.5%) and the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (+0.6%) revealed increasing inflationary pressures over the previous month. Inflation has risen 5.4% since January 2022, according to the latest PCE price index. With evidence that the economy can withstand further tightening, the Federal Reserve is likely to continue to drive interest rates higher and for a longer period of time. This, coupled with lagging corporate earnings and the Russia/Ukraine war, which is entering its second year, has caused some investors to move from risk.
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When considering retirement or a job change from Fortune 500, it is imperative to learn about your eligibility for a lump-sum payment offered by your retirement plan.
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Chevron,
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Northrop Grumman
