faith & finances
How does your faith inform your financial planning? We were delighted to host stewardship consultant Lyle Miller and financial advisor Greg Liestman as part of our longtime relationship with Everence financial group (formerly Mennonite Mutual Aid.) Jim Linder’s introduction and prayer provides context to Lyle’s teaching and explanation of Everence’s mission. Below are some comments from questions that arose in our Sunday discussion that you might want to discuss with your financial advisor.
Life insurance protects in case of shorter than expected lifespan.
Annuities protect in case of longer than expected lifespan.
Roth IRAs for living; Traditional IRAs for giving
When you give a qualified charitable donation (QCD) from your Traditional IRA, it is a triple-win: the money started untaxed, grew untaxed, and then is distributed untaxed. (for those 70.5+ yrs)
401(k)s and 403(b)s can be converted to IRAs to use the QCD for giving.
Parent-owned Education IRAs for freshman and sophomore year;
Grandparent-owned Education IRAs for junior and senior year;
Unused Education IRAs can be converted to Roth IRAs.
Investing $200/month toward retirement from ages 25-45 yields much more than investing $800/month from ages 45-65.
Investing for college starting at birth yields much more than waiting until a child is 10 or 18.
The best time to start saving is 20 years ago; the next-best time to start saving is today.
Everence can act as executors of wills and trustees for inheritors.
If you don’t have a financial advisor, Everence can help with that too! As Lyle explained in his teaching, our giving is an essential Biblical aspect of our worship. May we continue to connect and learn as we offer all parts of our lives to the Lordship of Jesus.
-Renée