Planning for Retirement is one of the most important and often most overlooked needs of families. Facing the combined pressures raising families, saving for children's education, a difficult economy, and losses that many have faced in the Great Recession has caused many people to avoid this subject. This solution unfortunately doesn't work.

There are a number of good rules that should be followed if possible. Save for retirement before saving for your children's college, there are other sources of college funding. There are many ways to save for retirement. Generally pretax contributions to tax advantaged retirement fund are good idea. With new rules almost everyone can participate in a Roth IRA (contributions are taxed) but normal distributions are not. Always participate in company sponsored pre-tax savings plans (401k, 403b) at least to the extent that you will receive the company match. Avoid early withdrawals, you will pay income tax and perhaps penalty as well. If your taxable income will be low consider a Roth Conversion of retirement funds.

We at Snelling Tax will be happy to work with you to try to design a mix of retirement accounts that meets your needs. WE DO NOT MAKE INVESTMENT RECOMENDATIONS! This is not our business.