Tom Riddle, our Founder & Chairman, participated in a panel discussion last week on the topic of succession planning. He was invited to share his example based on the successful implementation of our organizational plans. Tom and his co-panelists from Gross McGinley and Concannon Miller responded to questions about best practices and offered insights based on their experiences to an audience of business leaders at the first Business Growth Symposium hosted by Lehigh Valley Business. Visit lvb.com for photos and a recap of the symposium.
by Frank Stettner, CPA, CFP ®, Senior Vice President New Jersey allows seniors who are 62 or older to exclude all or part of their pension income, plus other income, from their state income tax return. This exclusion is going up between 2017 and 2020 as long as your gross income – not taxable income – is not more than $100,000. The exclusion was $40,000 in 2017, $60,000 in 2018 and is $80,000 in 2019. In 2020, it reaches $100,000. If your gross income is one dollar more than $100,000, you get zero pension exclusion. It is not phased out – it is simply gone .The instructions for calculating the “Pension Exclusion and Other Retirement Income Exclusion” state that the $100,000 limit is based on line 26, Total Income.
So what income is not included on line 26?
There are three types of income that don’t show up: Social Security
benefits, New Jersey municipal bond interest and federal government bond
interest. Everything else is included as income on your New Jersey tax return.
If you are close to the $100,000 threshold,
is there any way you can reduce your gross income to come in below the
allowable amount? If you have interest income, consider putting some money in
New Jersey municipal bonds. If you have dividend income, consider moving some
money into non dividend paying stocks or mutual funds. Evaluate this with your
advisor to see if it makes sense for you.
by Connor Darrell
CFA, Assistant Vice President – Head of Investments Markets
were largely unchanged last week as investors weighed mounting geopolitical
concerns against the potential for an easing of monetary policy. Technology
stocks were under pressure for a majority of the week as the ongoing trade
dispute between the U.S. and China has hurt global microchip sales.
Economic data released throughout the week
did little to increase optimism that the global economy can stave off a
slowdown in economic growth rates. Retail sales grew 0.5% month-over-month,
slightly below the consensus forecast of 0.6%, and the University of Michigan
Consumer Sentiment Index ticked down to 97.9 from May’s reading of 100. Elsewhere,
a survey of businesses revealed a decrease in confidence among large
multinational corporations; the fifth such decline in as many quarters. Most key
metrics remain healthy in absolute terms, but the rate of change has certainly
tilted lower in recent months.
Watching the Federal Reserve (Again) Last week’s inflation data revealed a month-over-month increase in consumer prices of just 0.1%, a far cry from the Federal Reserve’s annual target. The Federal Reserve will meet this week to discuss monetary policy and markets will be paying close attention to the committee’s decision on interest rates, as well as its commentary on the economy. The bond market is continuing to price in expectations of forthcoming rate cuts, and the weakening in inflation expectations has only bolstered those expectations. The Federal Reserve has consistently communicated that its decisions are “data-dependent”, and the data has become increasingly difficult to interpret as a result of last year’s tax cuts and this year’s escalation in trade tensions. Ultimately however, investors should not concern themselves too much with the level of interest rates or the Fed’s next policy move. The fact that inflation remains so low is actually a positive sign that the economy has more room to expand, since inflation is often a key sign of tightening in the economy that precedes key inflection points in the economic cycle.
