Finance
Optimize your financial plans for 2024
LEARN HOW YOUR PLANNED GIFT CAN HELP THE AMERICAN LEGION
The beginning of January is an excellent time to consider your financial plans for 2024. Some individuals are planning for retirement and should consider their contributions to a qualified retirement plan. Others may have already retired and should consider their withdrawal strategies or required minimum distributions (RMDs). You may benefit from a strategic plan to make wise financial decisions in 2024.
Retirement Contributions. The 2024 limit for your 401(k) contributions could be up to $30,500. The regular contribution is $23,000. If you are 50 or older, there is also a potential $7,500 catch-up contribution amount. Individuals with moderate incomes may save $8,000 in an IRA. The regular contribution is $7,000 and the additional amount is $1,000 for those 50 and older. If you have not maxed out your 2023 IRA contribution, you can still make a transfer until April 15.
Tax-Free Retirement Accounts. While traditional IRA or 401(k) accounts are funded with pre-tax dollars, there are many benefits for making contributions of after-tax dollars into a Roth 401(k) or Roth IRA. Although the contributions are after-tax, your future retirement payouts will be tax-free. Some individuals have higher incomes and therefore do not qualify for a Roth IRA, or their employer does not offer the Roth 401(k), but they may qualify for a Roth conversion. A traditional IRA or 401(k) can be transferred into a Roth IRA. There is a requirement to pay income tax on the transferred amount, but the future payouts will be tax-free.
Recently Retired. If you retired during the past year or two, you are likely to be planning withdrawals from your savings account or investments. One of the main questions facing individuals is how much to start withdrawing. Most financial planners suggest withdrawing 4% of the account. While a conservative investor may choose to withdraw 3%, the 4% withdrawal rate is frequently advocated. Part of the withdrawal decision relates to your retirement budget. Individuals who retire may have significant expenditures on hobbies or travel. If you have substantial expenditures, you may have a larger retirement budget. You also might consider one-time expenses such as the purchase of a new vehicle or renovation of your home.
Fixed Payments. A popular method to receive fixed payments for a term of years or a lifetime is an annuity contract from a financial services company or nonprofit. With the current higher interest rates on bonds, the rates on both commercial annuities and charitable gift annuities are higher. These fixed payments can be created for one or two lives. The combination of Social Security income, retirement account withdrawals and fixed annuity payments can provide a substantial income.
Estate Plan Review. January is an excellent time to update your estate planning documents. You should review your will (if you do not have a will, you should plan to make one), and check the beneficiary designations on life insurance policies and retirement plans. Some individuals have held life insurance policies or retirement plans for many years. There may have been a change in family circumstances and the wrong beneficiary is listed on the plan document. You also should create a durable power of attorney for health care, which is referred to as an advance directive in some states. Your health-care directive is designed to protect you. Your designated health-care proxy will be able to make future decisions if you are incapacitated.
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). If you are 73 or older in 2024, you will be required to take a distribution from your traditional retirement plans. You generally will start taking a withdrawal of 3.78% from a traditional IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) plan. The exception is for a couple with a spouse more than 10 years younger. There is a reduced withdrawal requirement for those couples. Another option to fulfill your RMD for 2024 is a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). The 2024 QCD limit is increased to $105,000 for individuals who over 70½.
The American Legion’s Planned Giving program is a way of establishing your legacy of support for the organization while providing for your current financial needs. Learn more about the process, and the variety of charitable programs you can benefit, at legion.org/plannedgiving. Clicking on “Learn more” will bring up an “E-newsletter” button, where you can sign up for regular information from Planned Giving.
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A Mobile County grand jury has indicted the former finance director for the city of Semmes on ethics and theft charges.
Heather Renee Davis, who also previously served as city clerk for the city of Satsuma, faces a 12-count indictment. Ten of the counts are ethics violations.
Allegations
Prosecutors allege Davis improperly used her public positions in Semmes and Satsuma for personal gain, including misappropriating public money and resources.
Two counts accuse her of first-degree theft by deception involving amounts over $2,500. One count is tied to the city of Semmes and one to the city of Satsuma.
Arrest and bond
Jail records show Davis was arrested and later released after posting a $60,000 bond.
Copyright 2026 WALA. All rights reserved.
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* When it comes to campaign finance laws, both parties’ campaign committees have faced restrictions on how much money they could spend in coordination with candidates’ campaigns. Those limits are now effectively gone.
As MS NOW’s Jordan Rubin explained, “The Supreme Court’s GOP-appointed majority ruled for Republicans in their campaign finance challenge to restrictions on political parties spending on ads with input from the party’s candidate.”
A Punchbowl News report added that the ruling, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, “handed Republicans a massive win” and is likely to “usher in the biggest change to campaign finance law since the Citizens United decision.”
The same report went on to note that Tuesday’s high court ruling “allows for unrestricted coordination between candidates and party committees. That means committees, like the NRSC or the DCCC, can run unlimited TV ads with allied candidates. More importantly, they can also buy those ads at the much cheaper rate offered to candidates. … Tuesday’s SCOTUS ruling will also eradicate the need for independent expenditure arms at party committees.”
Republicans already enjoyed a significant financial advantage over Democrats. The Republican-appointed justices just made it easier for the GOP to capitalize on that advantage.
* In Colorado’s closely watched Democratic primaries, incumbent Sen. John Hickenlooper fended off a challenge from the left, but some of his colleagues weren’t as fortune: Democratic socialist Melat Kiros ended long-serving Rep. Diana DeGette’s career in Denver’s congressional district, while state Attorney General Phil Weiser scored a major upset by defeating incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet in a gubernatorial primary.
* In the race for North Carolina’s open Senate seat, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper leads former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley in the latest New York Times/Siena poll, 50% to 43%, pointing to a possible pickup opportunity for Democrats.
Google Cloud and FactSet, a provider of data and artificial intelligence solutions to the financial markets, plan to jointly develop AI agents designed to assist with portfolio operations, deal advisory and corporate finance.
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