What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus Stimulus Package, Ep # 133

Mar 30, 2020

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With the Coronavirus situation bringing so much change into our lives, I decided to bring an abrupt conclusion to the Living Off Your Savings series. Instead, today, we’ll talk about some of the changes that the Coronavirus legislation will bring. Now that President Trump signed the Coronavirus stimulus package into law I wanted to give you an idea of what you can expect from this landmark legislation. Join me on this episode of Retirement Starts Today to discover how the Coronavirus stimulus package affects you.

Outline of This Episode

[3:58] Who is eligible for a stimulus check
[8:02] Take advantage of tax-loss harvesting
[12:10] RMD’s are waived in 2020
[13:43] Waiver of early IRA distribution penalties
[15:44] 401K loans have changed
[16:40] Charitable deductions have a change
[18:10] The COVID19 test and vaccine will be covered by health insurance

Join me for the Living Off Your Savings webinar!

I wanted to make sure to fulfill my promise of having a webinar to cap off the Living Off Your Savings series especially since the series was shorter than expected. You’ll have 2 options to join the webinar. Option A takes place on April 2 at 10:30 AM CDT. Option B is April 2 at 2 PM CDT. This webinar will cover how to turn your accumulated savings into monthly retirement income. We’ll cover case studies, portfolio breakdowns, and how to have an amazing retirement even in the midst of a market meltdown! Sign up soon since we are already at ⅔ capacity.

What you should know about the Coronavirus stimulus package

Have you filed your taxes yet? If you haven’t, pay attention. If your income was over $150,000 in 2018, but under in 2019 then file immediately. If your income was under $150,000 in 2018 but over in 2019 and you haven’t filed then wait to file. The stimulus checks that are coming are based on your AGI in 2018 or 2019 if you have already filed.

Those stimulus checks will be $1200 per adult and $500 for each dependent child. If you filed jointly the income threshold is $150,000. The stimulus checks will be directly deposited into the bank account in which you received your 2018 return. Let’s hope that it’s still open!

How a retiree can put their stimulus check to good use

If you are losing sleep at night about the stock market then take this money and put it where it is needed most -- put it in a savings account, checking account, or stash the cash under the mattress. Do whatever will help you sleep at night. If you aren’t having trouble sleeping and you know where your income is coming from, think about making a Roth IRA contribution. If you have the stomach for it and don’t need it for a while, consider using that check for long-term investments. Listen in to hear a great way to teach the grandkids about the power of compound interest.

How else could the Coronavirus stimulus package affect your retirement

You have until July 15th not only to file taxes, but you can also make your 2019 IRA and HSA contributions.
RMDs are waived for 2020
The IRA distribution penalty has been waived for 2020 in some cases
401K loans have expanded provisions
You can now take charitable deductions of up to $300
Tests for the virus and the eventual vaccine will be covered by health insurance

Listen in to hear all the details on how this landmark stimulus package could affect you and your retirement.