Month: November 2020

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker changes jobs every 4.2 years. When they do, they can miss out on certain retirement moves—which can put them at a disadvantage closer to their golden years.

If you’re thinking about making a career move or recently lost your job, learn what you can do to help safeguard your retirement.

What Happens to Your Retirement Funds When You Change Jobs?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lays out four options for your employer-sponsored “defined contribution” plan, such as a 401(k), when you change jobs or lose your job:

1. Lump-sum distribution: A lump-sum distribution lets you cash out your account in full with a single payment. You will owe taxes and may have to pay tax penalties if you take money out before age 59½.
2. Rollover to another retirement plan: Talk to both your previous and new employer. You may be able to ask your former employer to transfer your account balance directly to your new employer’s plan if it accepts such transfers.
3. Rollover to an IRA: Options start with conversations and questions! You can ask your former employer to transfer your account balance to an IRA. This might include a self-directed IRA that gives you the flexibility to purchase alternative assets like gold and silver.
4. No change: You may be able to leave your account balance in your old retirement plan.

4 Things You Can Do to Help Protect Your Retirement

No matter where you park your retirement funds after a job change, here are four things you can do to better protect your nest egg.

1. Request the Paperwork.

Ask the administrator of your plan for a copy of the plan’s summary plan description (SPD) and an individual benefit statement, the U.S. Department of Labor recommends. The SPD tells you what benefits the plan provides, when you can collect them, and—if you have a 401(k) account—whether your plan lets you roll your balance over to a new employer’s plan or an IRA. The individual benefit statement lets you monitor your account balance.

2. Don’t Neglect Your Retirement Funds.

This tip may sound like a no-brainer, but some folks focus more on their next job and its health insurance and other benefits than they do on the 401(k) or other work-based retirement funds when they’re switching jobs. Doing so could end up being a costly oversight.

While it’s usually okay to leave your money where it is, you could be losing out on monetary gains if you ignore your retirement funds. For instance, you might find it easier to track your retirement money if you roll your money over to an IRA when you leave a job, which also might be more beneficial from a financial standpoint.

And if you’re moving to a job that doesn’t offer a 401(k) retirement plan, there’s no need to worry. You can still safeguard savings for your golden years through a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, precious metals IRA, or brokerage account. Learn more about 401(k) alternatives here.

3. Consider Your Goals.

Whether you leave your retirement funds with your former employer, transfer them to a new employer, or shift them to your own IRA, you should make sure that your choice is tailored to your retirement needs. As such, you should weigh the diversification of your retirement portfolio and the cost of maintaining your portfolio.

4. Seek Professional Guidance.

Before making any moves with your retirement funds, consult a tax adviser or financial professional regarding how your money might be affected. A professional can help you ensure that these moves best fit your circumstances and goals. You also can contact U.S. Money Reserve for a free one-on-one consultation about Self-Directed Precious Metals IRA options. We can walk you through how precious metals can complement your retirement plans and support your goals, wherever you might be on your career path.

If you’re dealing with a recent career change, reach out. Contact U.S. Money Reserve to learn what more you could be doing to help protect your hard-earned nest egg in a time of flux.

The post Changing Jobs? Do These 4 Things to Help Protect Your Retirement appeared first on U.S. Money Reserve.

“What we’re seeing is an opportunity to get into a market that’s softening. And most people tend to want to wait to buy until the prices start going back up. That’s really counterproductive if you’re trying to get gold at a good price for future growth and investment.”

— John Karow, Precious Metals Advisor at Scottsdale Bullion & Coin

If you’re like most Americans, you wait all year for Black Friday. Because you’re smart. You know you can get the best deals that day.

So why not approach gold investing the same way?

Just like that iPhone you’ve waited so long to buy, gold offers strong value. STRONGER EVEN. Because next year won’t bring a new model of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle.

And the fundamentals? They’re better too! $27-trillion-of-national-debt-eroding-the-value-of-every-dollar-in-your-pocket better. (Watch the above video for more on this from advisors John Karow and Joe Elkjer.)

“YOU NEED SOME GOLD.” Listen to Jim Cramer.

And there’s no smarter time to buy gold, then right now. During the temporary pullback before gold prices skyrocket to $3,000/oz like big banks predict.

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(Bloomberg) — The Pebble mine in Alaska was dealt a potentially lethal blow after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected an essential permit for the project.The proposed mine in southwestern Alaska, which would tap one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits, has been dogged by protests for years, as conservationists warn industrial mining operations near Bristol Bay threaten a flourishing sockeye salmon fishery.The Army Corps issued a record of decision Wednesday denying Pebble’s permit, after determining the project “is contrary to the public interest,” said Col. Damon Delarosa, the agency’s Alaska district commander.In August, the Army Corps concluded the mining plan from Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. “would likely result in significant degradation of the environment,” and the agency demanded a mitigation plan to offset the project’s effects on nearby wetlands. Northern Dynasty’s subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership submitted the mitigation plan earlier this month, though the details weren’t released to the public.Northern Dynasty called the decision “politically motivated” and said it was not supported by the Corps’ recently released environmental impact statement. The company said it intends to launch an appeal within 60 days. Developers also could challenge the rejection in federal court.Delarosa said the Army Corps’ decision was “based on all available facts and complies with existing laws and regulations,” following “an in-depth analysis” of the project and roughly three years of review.Pebble is in a remote area in southwestern Alaska that drains into Bristol Bay. Conservationists, local activists and fishing operations have fought the project for years, citing potential impacts on the environment and native cultures in the region. More recently, Pebble has drawn opposition from prominent Republicans including the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr. and skepticism from some prominent local politicians.The decision was heralded by Alaska’s two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. “This is the right decision, reached the right way,” Murkowski said in an emailed statement. “It will help ensure the continued protection of an irreplaceable resource – Bristol Bay’s world-class salmon fishery – and I hope it also marks the start of a more collaborative effort within the state to develop a sustainable vision for the region.”But there were also voices in opposition. “Canceling Pebble Mine is disastrous for the unemployed and destitute people in southwest Alaska who need the high-paying jobs and economic activity the mine would provide for many decades,” said Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment. Alaska “urgently needs to diversify its economy away from oil and gas production. Canceling Pebble means that many other potential mining projects in Alaska will never be attempted,” he said.If developed, the mine would be one of the largest producers of both copper and gold in the U.S., according to a recent presentation by Northern Dynasty, potentially producing an average of about 318 million pounds of copper, 1.8 million ounces of silver and 362,000 ounces of gold annually over a 20-year mine life.Tim Bristol, executive director of SalmonState, a group dedicated to protecting Alaska’s salmon habitat, heralded the move Wednesday.“Sometimes a project is so bad, so indefensible, that the politics fall to the wayside and we get the right decision,” Bristol said.Northern Dynasty’s U.S. shares plunged 50% in New York, more than erasing its entire gain this year.“How many other projects are strongly opposed by both Alaskan senators, by 80% of the people that live in the region, by commercial fishermen, by recreational fishermen, by Donald Trump Jr., and by Jane Fonda?” said Joel Reynolds, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It’s astonishing the range of opposition, and that, I think, puts it in a unique category. This project really has no friends, other than a Canadian company and its shareholders.”Pebble TapesThe project took a further public-relations blow in September after the release of covertly taped comments revealed a top mining executive boasting of his ties to state and federal leaders. The so-called Pebble Tapes incensed the project’s critics and led to the resignation of Pebble head Tom Collier.Regardless of the Army Corps’ verdict, conservationists are pressing the Environmental Protection Agency to even more definitively kill the proposed mine by wielding its broad authority under the Clean Water Act to veto projects involving the discharge of dredged material. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to block the project, calling the area “no place for a mine” and noting the government reached the same conclusion while he was vice president.“The Biden administration should take the next step and use the Clean Water Act to place permanent limits on mining in Bristol Bay to protect the salmon fishery and the communities that depend on it,” Bonnie Gestring, Northwest program director of environmental group Earthworks, said in a statement.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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(Kitco News) – Harry Dent: Stocks to crash 40% by April and won’t rebound for decades, here’s why

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