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Taxes are a critical expense category in retirement and the clock is ticking on making timely, tax-saving moves before year-end. If you’re retired, now is a good time to take a closer look at your investment portfolio and determine if Steps to Manage Your any changes Tax Burden in Retirement are appropriate. Before Year End Keep in mind that some changes may need to be implemented by December 31, 2023 to avoid negative tax implications – which is all the more reason to get started today. Here are five steps to consider: #1 – Actively manage retirement plan distributions All distributions from workplace retirement plans made with pre-tax contributions are subject to tax at your ordinary income tax rate. For IRAs funded with after-tax contributions or annuities, the portion of the distribution attributable to earnings growth inside those accounts is subject to tax. You want to balance distributions from pre-tax and after-tax accounts to avoid moving into a higher tax bracket (if possible), which would increase your tax liability. Utilizing tax-free (Financial cont’d on pg 2)
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SAVE OTTUMWA POST (Financial cont’d from pg 1) gifts to qualified charities
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from their IRAs annuRoth IRA distributions to ally (that number will be fulfill your cash flow needs indexed to inflation beginis one way to help manning in 2024). Another opage your tax burden. tion is to gift appreciated assets, such as stock, to #2 – Be aware of RMD a charitable organization. rules By gifting the asset, you If you turn 73 in 2023, avoid realizing the capiyou have to begin taking tal gain that would result required minimum disfrom selling it. Your tax tributions (RMDs) from burden can be reduced traditional IRAs or workwhile supporting a favored place retirement plans cause. with the first RMD due by April 1, 2024. Beginning in #4 – Consider tax harthe 2024 tax year, RMDs vesting must be taken by Decem- If you do not yet collect ber 31. That means if you Social Security (you have wait and take your first until age 70 to begin) and RMD in 2024 before April are not yet age 73 (to 1, you will have two RMDs begin RMDs), it might be in 2024. To check when time to tap some investRMDs start for you (based ment gains in your porton your birth year), visit folio. Realizing gains by IRS.gov. selling appreciated assets (in taxable accounts) will #3 – Make tax-smart add to your tax burden charitable gifts this year, but can help If, like most people, you lower your tax liability in don’t itemize tax deducfuture years when other tions and claim a stansources of income kick in. dard deduction on your You can also look for optax return, you can make portunities to sell positions charitable contributions at a loss and offset some and generate tax savings of your capital gains. using other strategies. If #5 – Manage your Mediyou are age 70½ or older, care premiums you can arrange qualified Along with managing charitable distributions your tax burden, strategi(QCD) from your IRA, cally maneuvering income which go directly from streams can help you the IRA custodian to the stay below thresholds qualified charitable orgathat could result in higher nization. This approach premiums for Medicare is beneficial if you must Part B. Single people take RMDs and don’t with income over $97,000 need the money for your and married couples own needs because you with incomes exceeding can avoid claiming the $194,000 (2023 levels) RMD as taxable income might have to pay higher by directing the QCD to a Medicare Part B premiqualified charitable orgaums in 2025 as a result. nization. Individuals can If you can keep income direct up to $100,000 in below those levels, you
may maintain the most favorable Part B premium. Even if your income is higher, there are multiple premium tiers based on income level, so any steps you can take to limit your income in a given year may help reduce your premium. If you are seeking to implement these or other significant tax-saving strategies, be sure to check with your financial and tax advisors for confirmation that the measures you are implementing are appropriate for you. Duane J Lusson, CFP, ChFC, CLU, MSFS, is a Private Wealth Advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. in Ottumwa, Iowa. He specializes in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 30 years. To contact him, call 641-684-4200 or stop by his office at 527 W. Second in Ottumwa, Iowa. Ameriprise Financial cannot guarantee future financial results Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and its affiliates do not offer tax or legal advice. Consumers should consult with their tax advisor or attorney regarding their specific situation. Investment products are not insured by the FDIC, NCUA or any federal agency, are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by any financial institution, and involve investment risks including possible loss of principal and fluctuation in value. Investment advisory products and services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Securities offered by Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2023 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. File # 6036166
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morning, the brown leaves and grass that made perfect camouflage for deer was covered with a blanket of fresh snow causing the deer to be easily seen, through the heavy Perfect Weather even timber. Opening day of gun season for deer had For various types of perfect weather. Shortly outdoors activities, difafter daybreak, Damon, ferent types of weather Zane, and Pat showed are considered perfect. up at our house for a When fishing on a sum- hearty breakfast of saumer day, ideal weather sage gravy and biscuits. is considered warm I try not to get in too big and sunny a few hours of a hurry to start the before a thunderstorm morning. We could go moves in. One year stand in the cold when while goose hunting, it is still dark out or wait we woke up in the wee until we have our stomhours of the morning to achs full, and it is light pouring rain, crashing enough to see. The deer thunder and lightning live in the woods. They with strong winds blow- will be there if we start ing. When Bart, our at six o’clock or nine. I guide, showed up, he to Pat who was able to prefer nine. informed us that this drop it. No deer came We started was perfect goose hunt- with Zane and Damon out to me and they just ing weather. Since I had walking the Paintran around Zane. After no experience on the tagging and field dressball Timber while Pat subject, I could not aring those two deer, we watched at the top of gue with him. I thought moved to the South the hill at the edge of it might be crazy to try the woods, and I was at place. I had three peoto hunt in a hurricane, the bottom. Though the ple attempting to drive but Bart was correct. deer toward me. All deer were easy to see We had a great day of as they moved through three of the drivers got goose hunting. the trees, they were not deer, but not one deer Friday night, came out to me. This is easy to drive out. Dawe got about two inches mon got a nice buck, not how it is supposed of snow. On Saturday to work. The old guy on and one doe came out stand is supposed to get most of the shooting. Large numbers of deer were moving around the timber, they just did not want to move out into the open. Our last
drive of the morning was through the Ten Acres. I was again the lone person on stand while the other three tried to push deer toward me. I was at my usual position by the big hedge tree by the willows. We have hunted this patch of timber the same way for close to thirty years. We know how the deer move and where they will exit. Other than a few deer that do not cooperate and run out of the sides, most of them will come directly toward the big hedge tree where (Outdoors cont’d on pg 6)
DECEMBER 06, 2023
Advanced Forgiveness I rode my motorcycle to the neighbor’s house. “Are you taking advantage of this nice fall day to go for a ride,” Tony asked. It was fifty-two degrees outside; that’s exactly what I was doing. We shared some conversation, and then I rode my bike up and down Highway 1 for a while. I topped off the tank at the co-op and then headed for home. “The season has ended,” I said as I turned into my driveway. “It’s time to prepare for the next.” I turned off the gas and left the motorcycle running. (I don’t leave gasoline in the carburetors when the bike sits for a while.)
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stored. I lifted the bike onto the center stand to cool the hot motor. When it was cool, I covered the motorcycle. “See you in the spring,” I said to my bike. Then I pushed the snowblower back into the garage, keeping it near the door. It is a sure sign winter is coming when the motorcycle and the snowblower trade parking spaces. Today is December first; I’m looking across my yard at planters with no plants, flower beds with withered stems, and barren trees without leaves. The air conditioner and birdbath are wrapped with blue tarps. The deck looks empty, with the patio furniture being stored until spring. But I shouldn’t be seeing any of this. It’s December, and this is Minnesota; two or three feet of snow should be covering my yard.
On Halloween, we got three or four inches of snow. Kids wore snow boots trick-or-treating, While I was waiting but it’s long gone. I’ve for the motor to run even ridden my motorout of gas, I pulled the cycle since that snow snowblower out of the melted, and we haven’t garage. I topped off had any since then. the tank, set the choke, Where is my snow? and gave it one pull. The motor fired right In search of the white up on the first pull; that stuff, we headed south made me feel good. to Iowa. (Actually, our daughter Annie and I let the snowblower her fiancé moved to run in the driveway for Sioux City. We were a while. When the mo- going to share their torcycle died, I pushed first Thanksgiving in it into the garage and their new house.) parked it where the snowblower had been We enjoyed a wonder-
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ful feast on Turkey Day, could be ilithiophobia. to stores on Black Friday. Period. Friday then watched a movie Ilithiophobia is a renight turned out to be that night and drank cently constructed word wonderful; it started eggnog by the fire. from the word from the snowing! By Saturday Friday, I went into hid- Greek ilithios (stupidity) morning, the ground ing due to my Black and the Greek Phobos was covered with fresh Friday-induced ago(fear). (source: Colsnow! It was only an raphobia. (Fear of the lins Dictionary) But I inch and a half deep, marketplace.) Maybe digress. I don’t particu(Just the Other Day cont’d on it’s not agoraphobia – it larly appreciate going pg 7)
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SAVE OTTUMWA POST
(Outdoors cont’d from pg 4)
I stand. Sometimes, even the best plans do not work out. I was waiting patiently at my assigned spot and nothing was happening. Having done this enough times, I know approximately how long it will be from when I get in position until a parade of deer descends on me. I heard a shot from the west side, then one from the east edge of the timber. I heard a shot from the middle and still no deer came out to me. Enough
DECEMBER 06, 2023
time had passed, I knew the drivers were not too far away from me, though they were
still over the hill where I could not see them. We were rapidly running out of space for the deer to hide. Knowing if something did not
show up soon, it would be another drive where the deer refused to exit the woods. Suddenly, appearing out of nowhere, a doe was running toward me. I raised my rifle and fired. She dropped instantly. Before I had time to think, I saw a buck running at full speed to my left. I swung around, fired, and he went down. When the rest of the crew arrived, we dressed my deer, went back, got their deer, and headed to the house for lunch. We decided, even if the deer were not all going to where they were supposed to, it was perfect deer hunting weather.
DECEMBER 06, 2023
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PAGE 7
(Just the Other Day cont’d from pg 5)
but we took advantage of the blessing! Before letting out our dog, Nova Mae, I took a picture of the backyard. Then, I opened the door. Nova charged into the yard, jumping and playing, plowing her nose into the grass and flipping snow into the air. She loves the snow, too. It was powdery snow, but I still managed to compress several snowballs. I threw them into the air, and Nova jumped to catch them. The snowballs exploded when she bit down on them. It was fun playing in the backyard.
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Meanwhile, Annie and Zack went outside to the front yard, armed with snow shovels. Together, they cleared the first snow from their driveway and sidewalks. Teamwork! It warmed my heart to see.
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Melissa and I would be heading home early Sunday, so we decided to attend church Saturday night at Sacred Heart. This is the church where Zack’s parents were married. (It’s a newer building but in the same location.) The priest gave an excellent sermon on the parable of what so ever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.
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After mass, I met Father Tim Friedrichsen. I told him how much I enjoyed his sermon and that he gave it a new perspective I had never considered before. While talking to Father Tim, I asked, “Say, would it be possible for you to grant absolution in advance if I should go outside and throw a snowball at my wife?” “No,” Father Tim laughed, “I cannot grant forgiveness in advance for a sin you are about to commit.” But what sin? Is there an eleventh commandment: Thou shalt not thrust a snowball at thy wife? So, I went ahead and confessed that I was going out to bean her with a snowball. We shared a good laugh about that. As I walked away, the priest asked, “Would you throw the snowball if that was Jesus?” I answered quietly, “Yeah, I probably would. Jesus is a good sport with a sense of humor.” Then I reconsidered, “Do I really want to start a snowball fight with the Lord? After all, He could send me to a place where there is no snow.” That would not be fun.
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DECEMBER 06, 2023