Tax Alert: Your Weekly Update - Fed Sees International Outlook Improving

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Weekly Market Recap

This week the Federal Reserve (Fed) released minutes from their April meeting. The Fed continues to see the US job market on a positive trajectory. However, other parts of the economy such as manufacturing and housing appear more sluggish. Internationally, the outlook appears to have brightened, particularly in Europe and Canada. Japan and South America remain softer, but their economic performance appears to be improving. International risks, which were a theme of past meetings, appear to have receded. The Fed reiterated that any increase in interest rates would be "gradual."

Regardless of week to week market movements, it's important to understand your retirement savings options, especially if you work for a government organization, the military, a tax exempt corporation or a non-profit firm. 401(k) is often the broad term applied to retirement savings, since this is what many corporations offer. Hence 401(k)s are the option a lot of people have and are familiar with.

However, if you work for a tax exempt organization such as a school, hospital or a religious group, then you may have a 403(b) plan. If you work for the government or are in the military, then the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is the retirement plan offered. Finally, but no less importantly, 457 plans apply to certain public employees and nonprofits. The unusual names of most of these plans come from the parts of the Internal Revenue Code that relate to them.

Each plan has a broadly similar function in offering potential tax advantages for retirement savings, though the details differ between plan types. The key thing to know that if you are saving for retirement, any of these plans available to you, whether 401(k), 403(b), 457 or TSP, can offer a tax-efficient way to save for retirement. If you haven't already, we suggest you link your retirement savings plan to your FutureAdvisor dashboard. The more complete of a picture we have of your finances, the more comprehensive our advice will be.

Notes:
Federal Reserve minutes
https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomcminutes20160427.pdf
Detail on types of defined contribution retirement plans
http://money.cnn.com/retirement/guide/401k_basics.moneymag/index.htm?iid=EL

Disclaimer:
The views expressed are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a forecast, a guarantee of future results, investment recommendations or an offer to buy or sell securities by FutureAdvisor. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market, economic political conditions, and as subsequent conditions vary. The investment strategies mentioned are not personalized to your financial circumstances or investment objectives, and differences in account size, the timing of transactions and market conditions prevailing at the time of investment may lead to different results. This material may contain "forward-looking statements": information that is not purely historical in nature. Clients may lose money. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Any tax strategies discussed should not be interpreted as tax advice and do not represent in any manner that the tax consequences detailed will be obtained. Clients should consult with their personal tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of investing.

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