 Employee contribution limits will remain unchanged next year. The IRS isn’t increasing employee contribution limits for 401(k)s or flexible spending accounts for 2021.
Limits will remain the same with employees being able to defer up to $19,500 into a 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans at work. The limits also remain the same for employee catch-up contributions for those 50 and older, at $6,500. Last year saw a $500 jump in the overall employee contribution limit for 2020 plus a $500 rise in the catch-up limit. For 2021, the dollar limit for employee contributions to flexible spending accounts, made pretax through salary reductions, remains unchanged at $2,750. However, for health FSA plans that permit the carryover of unused amounts, the maximum carryover amount for 2021 is $550, an increase of $50 from the original 2020 carryover limit.
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 Uncomfortable with tech, many are struggling to use modern tools to keep up with friends and family in the pandemic.
For more than a week, Linda Quinn, 81, has isolated herself inside her Bellevue home to keep away from the coronavirus. To ease the solitude, Ms. Quinn’s daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons wanted to hold video chats with her through Zoom. Making plans to call and talk her by installing the app on her computer. Five minutes before the scheduled chat, Ms. Quinn realized she had not used her computer in about four months and could not remember the password. Panicked, she called her 20-year-old grandson who had set up the computer for her, and luckily he had the password. As life has increasingly moved online during the pandemic, an older generation that grew up in an analog era is facing a digital divide. Often unfamiliar or uncomfortable with apps, gadgets and the internet, many are struggling to keep up with friends and family through digital tools.  Making smart decisions in times of panic may not be easy, but for those who can keep a cool head and follow a plan, there are some calculated steps you can take towards growing your wealth despite the situation. Now, and for generations to come.
The headlines over the past months have been riddled with two serious threats to the health and well-being of people across the U.S. The first and obvious threat is the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The other obvious danger is the stock market, which entered bear market territory for the first time in 11 years.  The increasing use and sophistication of new technical products and remote platforms for monitoring patients and family members was recently profiled in this great article from the New York Times by Katherine C. Pearson (Dickinson Law, Penn State). It offers many suggestions and solutions you may not have considered for monitoring your loved one’s care.
How technology can help families monitor the health and safety of older people kept from their families by the coronavirus. Norman Potter’s mother, Dorothy, who suffers from a chronic pulmonary illness, lives alone in the mountain town of Newland, N.C., two hours from his home in Winston-Salem. For a year, Mr. Potter has been looking for technology that would enable him to monitor his mother’s health from afar.  Bob Michaels is extremely passionate about providing the best possible legal experience for his clients, and focuses his practice on elder law, estate planning, business, and real estate matters. Bob has been able to provide piece of mind and a solid foundation to many folks in the Puget Sound area over the years and wants to provide resources and relevant information whenever he can. For more information on how Bob can help your loved ones through these troubling times, contact Bob to schedule a FREE consultation.
Sian-Pierre Regis, 35, is used to living with roommates. For the past 10 years he has split the rent on his apartment with two to three friends. But in June, he’s getting a co-tenant of a different sort: his 78-year-old mother, Rebecca. A situation neither of them ever expected would happen. Rebecca has been able to live off her slim retirement savings and part-time work, but when the coronavirus pandemic hit, she found herself out of work, and at the end of May the lease on her subsidized housing expired making it impossible for her to pay her rent. Mr. Regis is one of the growing number of millennials who are supporting their parents financially and, in some cases, giving them a place to live.  Bob Michaels is extremely passionate about providing the best possible legal experience for his clients, and focuses his practice on elder law, estate planning, business, and real estate matters. Bob has been able to provide piece of mind and a solid foundation to many folks in the Puget Sound area over the years and wants to provide resources and relevant information whenever he can. For more information on how Bob can help your loved ones through these troubling times, contact Bob to schedule a FREE consultation.
Since the Covid-19 crisis began, nursing home residents have been separated from their families. Some families have gotten creative – visiting through windows, via Zoom, Facetime, and from parking lots. Although many have had no way to reach their loved one, and must rely on staff to give them updates. Unfortunately, this isolation has increased depression and confusion in many residents, leading to heartbreaking scenes of seniors dying alone and families not finding out until after the fact, or families unable to enter their loved ones’ room during their final days. Nursing Home Recommendations |
