Note: This information is from 2017 but much has changed since then. Please be sure to discuss your unique financial situation with your McKinley Carter Advisor or another trusted professional.
If you're turning 50 years old, the IRS now gives you the opportunity to take advantage of the catch-up contribution provision in your 401(k) plan. Learn more!i s
It seems like yesterday that I graduated from West Virginia University — a wide-eyed 21-year-old heading into the real world to make a difference. And now, here I am at the 50-year-old milestone – an actual quinquagenarian, according to Webster’s Dictionary.
How did I get to today? I have a daughter that has successfully graduated from Ohio University graduate school and a son navigating his own way through my alma mater as an undergraduate. Surely it should have clicked in my head that I too was aging. But like most moms, I was focused on my kids’ happiness and bright futures, never really stopping to consider my own aging.
Like so many, I now find myself constantly asking, “Where did the time go?”
Interestingly, it was Uncle Sam who reminded me that I was going to turn 50 in 2017. In early 2017, I had received the quarterly e-mail from my employer’s human resource department requesting any changes to my personal elections for the employee-sponsored 401(k) retirement plan. The form, as a standard, offers to all employees who are eligible the opportunity to participate in the catch-up contribution provision of the 401(k) plan.
At that moment, I felt a huge smile cross my face as I realized that I was turning 50 in 2017 and was now officially eligible to take advantage of this significant retirement planning opportunity!
What is the catch-up contribution provision? The IRS allows for additional contributions UP TO an additional $6,000 to your employer savings plan. Just imagine: If you simply added $1,000 more per year for the next 15 years and earned 6.5% per year, you would have over $24,500 additional retirement dollars in your account.
Working in the financial planning field, I know how important it is to make everyone aware of the many ways one can prepare and save for retirement. Accepting Uncle Sam’s generous gift of the additional catch-up provision is one simple way to successfully plan for your retirement and reach your “good life” goals.