Friday, September 22, 2017

3 Questions That Can Provide A Spark For Your Financial Plan

3 Questions That Can Provide A Spark For Your Financial Plan
If you are struggling to follow your financial plan or just need some help prioritizing your goals, take some time to consider these important questions:
Source: Forbes



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Monday, September 18, 2017

Financial Lessons From Jake Paul's Lamborghini

Financial Lessons From Jake Paul's Lamborghini
My nine-year-old son recently announced that he plans to drive a Lamborghini Aventador to school when he earns his driver’s license. Luckily for him, that’s about eight years away, so he’s got some time to save up.
Source: Forbes



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Friday, September 15, 2017

How To Fill The Income Gap If You Delay Social Security

How To Fill The Income Gap If You Delay Social Security
Fortunately, making a few little changes to your retirement spending plan in the near term could result in some big benefits in the long run. Let’s compare a few options:
Source: Forbes



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What Documentation can a College Financial Aid Administrator Request?

What Documentation can a College Financial Aid Administrator Request?
What Documentation can a College Financial Aid Administrator Request?

I’m an independent student who filed a 1040A last year so I was not

required to answer questions about assets on the FAFSA application. I

had very little income last year and have a zero EFC. I reported taxes

on capital gains and now my school is asking for information about my

investment assets (which are about $40,000). Can they use this to

lower my federal grant amount? I guess they can use whatever rules

they want about their own grants, but I want to be sure that this will

not impact my eligibility for Pell Grants.

— Ethan G.

Federal law and regulations grant college financial aid administrators

the authority to request information and documentation from financial

aid applicants. Assuming that the information reported on the

financial aid application is accurate and that there is no unreported

income, this is unlikely to affect eligibility for federal student

aid. It may affect eligibility for the college’s own grant funds,

depending on the college’s policies.

The college is asking for more information as part of a process called

verification. Verification is designed to detect and resolve

errors and discrepancies on the Free Application for Federal Student

Aid (FAFSA). Previously up to 30 percent of all FAFSAs were selected

by the US Department of Education for verification. College financial

aid staff can select additional FAFSAs for verification at their

discretion. Some colleges even select all FAFSAs for verification.

The US Department of Education is transitioning to a targeted

verification system where specific data elements on the FAFSA are

selected for verification based on a risk model. There will no longer

be a minimum or maximum number of FAFSAs selected for

verification. College financial aid administrators can continue to

choose to verify additional FAFSAs, even every FAFSA.

There are several possible reasons why your FAFSA may have been

selected for verification. FAFSAs are often selected for verification

when there is an apparent discrepancy involving income and assets. For

example, a potential discrepancy arises when capital gains,

interest and dividends are reported on the federal income tax return

but no assets are reported on the FAFSA. FAFSAs can also be selected

for verification when the applicant appears to have insufficient

income to pay for basic living expenses. These FAFSAs are selected for

verification because of the likelihood of unreported assets and

income.

The mismatch between capital gains on the federal income tax return

and the lack of assets on the FAFSA may have been caused by the

simplified needs test.

The simplified needs test causes assets to be disregarded on the

FAFSA. To qualify for the simplified needs test, the income reported

by the student and the student’s spouse (if the student is

independent) or the student’s parents (if the student is dependent)

must be less than $50,000. Income is based on adjusted gross income

for tax filers and earned income for those not required to file a

federal income tax return. In addition, they must each have filed or

been eligible to file an IRS Form 1040A or 1040EZ (or were not

required to file an income tax return), or one of them must have been

a dislocated worker, or someone in the household size must have

received certain federal means-tested benefits during the past two

years (e.g., SSI, Food Stamps, Free and Reduced Price School Lunch,

TANF, WIC).

This apparent discrepancy can be explained by the simplified needs

test, since the applicant is not required to report assets. Often the

models that trigger verification look for simplistic mismatches, such

as an amount of assets reported that seems inconsistent with the

capital gains and interest/dividend income reported on the income tax

return. This also potentially explains the lack of income, since an

applicant with assets can survive off of the assets and student aid

funds.


Authority to Request Documentation

Regardless of the reason for selecting a FAFSA for verification, the

college has the absolute authority to request such documentation as they

see fit in connection with the FAFSA. If a student or parent refuses

to provide this documentation, the student will be denied financial

aid.

The authority to request documentation comes from multiple

sources. First, the signing statement on the FAFSA provides this authority:


If you are the parent or the student, by signing this application you

certify that all of the information you provided is true and complete

to the best of your knowledge and you agree, if asked, to provide

information that will verify the accuracy of your completed form. This

information may include U.S. or state income tax forms that you filed

or are required to file. Also, you certify that you understand that

the Secretary of Education has the authority to verify information

reported on this application with the Internal Revenue Service and

other federal agencies.

Section 479A(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 also grants the

college financial aid administrator the authority to request documentation.


In addition, nothing in this title shall be interpreted as limiting

the authority of the student financial aid administrator in such cases

to request and use supplementary information about the financial

status or personal circumstances of eligible applicants in selecting

recipients and determining the amount of awards under this title.

The regulations also grant authority to the college financial aid

administrator to request documentation. For example, the regulations

at 34 CFR 668.51(b) states “Applicant responsibility. If the Secretary

or the institution requests documents or information from an applicant

under this subpart, the applicant shall provide the specified

documents or information.” The regulations at 34 CFR 668.54(a)(5)

also state that “An institution or the Secretary may require an

applicant to verify any data elements that the institution or the

Secretary specifies.”

The college financial aid administrator is

required to request documentation if he or she believes that the

information reported on the FAFSA is inaccurate. For example, the

regulations at 34 CFR 668.54(a)(3) state “If an institution has

reason to believe that any information on an application used to

calculate an EFC is inaccurate, it shall require the applicant to

verify the information that it has reason to believe is inaccurate.”

The regulations at 34 CFR 668.16(f) require colleges to have an

adequate system for identifying and resolving discrepancies in all the

information available to the college about a financial aid applicant,

including discrepancies between the income tax returns and the FAFSA.

If the application fails to provide the documentation within a

reasonable time period as specified by the college, the regulations at

34 CFR 668.60(b)(1) and 34 CFR 668.60(c)(2) prohibit the college from

disbursing any further federal student aid to the student, including

grants, loans and student employment. The student will also be

required to repay any federal student aid already disbursed. The

regulations at 34 CFR 668.60(d) also preclude processing any

subsequent year’s FAFSAs until the applicant provides the requested

documentation.

Source: Fastweb



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How Can One Shelter Parent Assets on the FAFSA?

How Can One Shelter Parent Assets on the FAFSA?
How Can One Shelter Parent Assets on the FAFSA?

My daughter is going to college next year. We have to file the

FAFSA in October. We have money in our savings account that we

saved for emergency reasons and some for my daughter’s college. Will

this affect her chance in getting grants or loans? What should we do?

— G.N.

Money in a savings account counts as an asset on the Free Application

for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and may affect eligibility for

need-based student financial aid.

Most personal finance experts recommend keeping 3 to 6 months salary

in an

emergency or rainy day fund.

The size of the emergency fund is based on the average duration of

unemployment. During the current economic downturn, some people

recommended increasing the size of the emergency fund to 6 to 12

months salary.

The FAFSA does not have an exclusion for money in an emergency

fund. This is in contrast with the CSS Financial Aid PROFILE Form,

which subtracts an allowance for emergency reserves from assets. The

PROFILE is a supplemental form used by about 250 mostly private

colleges for awarding their own institutional aid funds. This is one

of the few areas in which an institutional need analysis formula may

yield a lower expected family contribution than the federal need

analysis methodology.

Despite the lack of an exclusion for emergency funds on the FAFSA, the

impact of parent assets on the student’s eligibility for need-based

aid is often small. If the parents qualify for the simplified needs

test, all assets will be disregarded on the FAFSA. To be eligible for

the simplified needs test, the parents’ adjusted gross income must be

less than $50,000 and the parents must have been eligible to file an

IRS Form 1040A or 1040EZ. (There are other ways of qualifying for the

simplified needs test, such as by qualifying for certain means-tested

federal benefit programs.) Even if the family does not qualify for the

simplified needs test, the FAFSA ignores the net worth of

the family’s principal place of residence, the value of any small

businesses owned and controlled by the family, and assets in qualified

retirement plan accounts. There is also an asset protection allowance

based on the age of the older parent that shelters about $40,000 to

$50,000 of parent assets for most parents. (The asset protection

allowance is based on the present cost of an annuity which would, at

retirement, supplement Social Security benefit payments to a moderate

living standard. The asset protection allowance can vary significantly

from one year to the next based on changes in the Consumer Price

Index.) Any remaining reportable parent assets are assessed according

to a bracketed scale, with a top bracket of 5.64 percent.


Approaches to Sheltering Money Often Backfire

There are ways of reducing the impact of parent assets to zero, but

each method has its own flaws. Most approaches involve saving or

investing the money in a non-reportable asset, such as a qualified

retirement plan account. (Investing the money in a small business or

using it to pay down the mortgage on the family home may work for

federal and state student aid, but not for money from the college’s

own need-based financial aid funds.)

The flaws in these approaches do not make them suitable solutions for

sheltering an emergency fund.

One approach is to save the money in a Roth IRA, which is not reported

as an asset on the FAFSA. Given the low annual

contribution limits on a Roth IRA, using this strategy will take

several years to implement. So long as one does not take a

distribution from the Roth IRA while the student is enrolled in

college, it will have no impact on need-based aid eligibility. But the

family cannot take any distributions from the Roth IRA, not

even a tax-free return of contributions. A tax-free return of

contributions will be reported as untaxed income on the

FAFSA. Regardless of whether the distribution is taxable or not, it

will reduce aid eligibility by as much as half the distribution

amount.

Another approach involves saving the money in a whole life or cash

value life insurance policy. These are not reported as assets on the

FAFSA because they are treated like qualified retirement plan

accounts. (Note, however, that there has been so much abuse of this

provision that the favorable treatment of these life insurance

policies may be eliminated in the future.) Any distributions from

such a life insurance policy will count as untaxed income on the

FAFSA, and may also involve high surrender charges. One could borrow

from the life insurance policy’s cash balance, but then the interest

payments merely substitute for the income the money would have earned

had it remained invested. Any unpaid interest will be added to the

loan balance, causing the borrower to be charged interest on

interest. This accrued but unpaid interest will eventually be treated

as income by the IRS. The interest payments also cannot be deducted on

the borrower’s federal income tax return, unlike the interest on

student and parent education loans. Even if the family does not take a

distribution or loan from the cash balance, the return on investment

after commissions and expenses is lousy, among the worst available. These

products are more to the benefit of the salesperson than to the

insured.

Both of these approaches suffer from a critical flaw, in that they

tend to limit access to the investment. A rainy day fund must be saved

in an easy-to-access liquid form, such as a savings account or money

market account. If an emergency arises, the family will need quick

access to the money. Most methods of sheltering money from need

analysis are not very liquid and will result in a significant penalty

by reducing the student’s eligibility for need-based financial

aid. This will hurt the family even further at a time of severe

financial distress.

Source: Fastweb



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Thursday, September 14, 2017

How to Minimize the Impact of a Student's Brokerage Account on Financial Aid

How to Minimize the Impact of a Student's Brokerage Account on Financial Aid
How to Minimize the Impact of a Student's Brokerage Account on Financial Aid

We have an UTMA mutual fund for our son who is a senior in high

school (17 years old). It is approximately $19,000 and was intended to

help pay for college costs. When we opened it we weren’t aware of the

impact it could have on financial aid. I realize it’s too late to fix

anything for his freshman year next year, but will it help him any for

his sophomore year if we take it out prior to the end of this tax

year? His other school money is in an educational IRA and won’t ding

him as much.

— D.G.

Custodial bank and brokerage accounts, such as UTMA and UGMA accounts,

are treated as a student asset on the Free Application for Federal

Student Aid (FAFSA). This has a more severe impact on eligibility for

need-based financial aid than parent assets. Student assets reduce aid

eligibility by 20 percent of the asset value. Some parent assets are

sheltered from the need analysis formula. The remaining parent assets

will reduce aid eligibility according to a bracketed scale, with a top

bracket of 5.64 percent.

Parents can fix such a situation by moving the student’s money into the

custodial version of a 529 college savings plan. Even though a

custodial 529 plan is technically the student’s asset, federal law

since 2009 has treated custodial 529 plan accounts as though they were

a parent asset on the FAFSA. (Prepaid tuition plans and Coverdell

education savings accounts are also treated as parent assets, but are

more likely to be affected by contribution limits.)

Parents can also spend the student’s money for the student’s benefit,

so long as the expenses are not normally considered parental

obligations, such as food, shelter and medical care. For example, if

the student will need a car or computer for college, the parent could

buy it with the student’s money. Parents can also spend the

student’s money for college costs, such as tuition and fees, room and

board, and books and supplies.

Since assets are reported on the FAFSA as of the application date,

parents can address the harsher treatment of student assets at any

time prior to filing the FAFSA, not just before the prior tax

year.

(Practically speaking, any changes in assets should occur at least a

month before filing the FAFSA. During verification, college financial

aid administrators may ask for copies of bank and brokerage account

statements, especially if the interest and dividend income on the

student’s income tax return is high compared with the student assets

reported on the FAFSA. Accordingly, any changes in the student’s

assets should occur early enough to be reflected in the most recent

statements prior to filing the FAFSA.)

However, contributions to a 529 college savings plan must be made with

cash, not securities. So to roll a student’s brokerage account into a

custodial 529 plan account, the parent must first liquidate the

brokerage account. If the stocks, bonds or mutual funds held in the

brokerage account have appreciated significantly, liquidating the

account will result in capital gains. Capital gains are treated as

income on the FAFSA. Student income received during the prior tax year

will reduce need-based aid eligibility by as much as half of the

amount of income. To prevent capital gains from affecting eligibility

for need-based financial aid, realize them before October 1 of the

junior year in high school.

Once the student is a senior in high school, however, there’s no room

to liquidate the brokerage account without having the capital gains

affect aid eligibility on the subsequent year’s FAFSA. It then becomes

a tradeoff between the treatment of the capital gains as income and

the treatment of the account as an asset. The student’s need-based

financial aid package will be reduced by 20 percent of the asset value

each year until the brokerage account is liquidated. If the money is

rolled over into a custodial 529 plan account, the financial aid

package will be reduced by up to 5.64 percent of the asset value each

subsequent year until the money is spent. When the brokerage account

is liquidated, the student’s need-based financial aid package during

the subsequent year will be reduced by up to 50 percent of the capital

gains.

Regardless of whether the money is spent on the student’s college

education directly or rolled over into a custodial 529 plan account,

the brokerage account must be liquidated. So realizing capital gains

is unavoidable. (One could avoid liquidating the brokerage account

until after the FAFSA is filed for the student’s senior year in

college. But then the student’s asset will reduce aid eligibility by

20 percent of the asset value each year, or a cumulative total of 80

percent of the asset value. That is not a cost-effective solution.)

This suggests that the optimal strategy for a student who is already a

high school senior is to liquidate the brokerage account immediately,

spend as much as possible of the student’s money on the student’s

education this year, and put the rest of the money in a custodial 529

plan account for subsequent years. The parent should not tap into any

of the parent’s money until the student’s assets are spent down to

zero.

Source: Fastweb



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What Income is Listed on the FAFSA when Separated Parents File a Joint Tax Return?

What Income is Listed on the FAFSA when Separated Parents File a Joint Tax Return?
What Income is Listed on the FAFSA when Separated Parents File a Joint Tax Return?

I am praying that you may be able to advise me on the FAFSA

application. I am a senior in high school and will file the FAFSA in

October. I live with my mom. My dad moved out almost 2 years ago. As part

of my parents’ agreement, my dad is paying for our rent and

utilities. My mom and dad are still married, and not legally separated. They

plan to continue to file jointly for tax purposes. My mom is a

dislocated homemaker. I know that for FAFSA purposes, I do not have to

put down my dad’s info since he is not the custodial parent. But,

since they file jointly, do I still go ahead and list his info?

Since my dad filed jointly (he is the only one that works, and his

income is about $44,000, and we are a family of 5, not including

my dad, then we would be 6) doesn’t that mean that my mom filed too

and that I need to report my dad’s income as well?

— Blanca

A student’s parents do not need to have a legal separation or divorce

decree to be considered separated on the Free Application for Federal

Student Aid (FAFSA). An informal separation can count as a

separation for federal student aid purposes. In an informal

separation, one parent has left the household indefinitely. Living on

separate floors of the same house is not sufficient. The parents

cannot cohabit in an informal separation. Temporary absences for work,

education or military service also do not count.

IRS rules are different, so it is possible for a couple with an

informal separation to file federal income tax returns as married and

the FAFSA as separated. (Parents who are divorced or who have a legal

separation cannot file federal income tax returns as married. However,

if the divorce or legal separation occurred after the end of the tax

year but before filing the FAFSA, it is possible for there to be a

joint return in the prior tax year.)

If the parents are separated, only the parent with whom the student

lived the most during the 12 months ending on the FAFSA application

date is responsible for completing the FAFSA. The other parent’s

income and assets are not reported on the FAFSA. The other parent is

also not counted in household size.

If the student’s parents are separated but filed a joint federal

income tax return, the custodial parent will have to figure out their

share of the income and taxes paid on the joint return.

If the parents live in a community property state, the income is split

evenly. Otherwise the parent’s income should be based on their IRS W-2

and 1099 forms, plus any income that can be extracted from the joint

return. Income and dividends from joint accounts and investments

should be split evenly. Taxes paid can be calculated using one of two

methods. The preferred method is to use the IRS Tax Table or Tax Rate

Schedule to calculate the amount of taxes that would have been paid

had the parent filed a separate return, taking into account the

deductions and exemptions the parent could have claimed. The other

approach is to split the joint taxes paid in proportion to the

parent’s share of the joint AGI.

If the custodial parent receives any support from the non-custodial

parent, this should be reported as untaxed income on the

FAFSA. Likewise for any support received by the student from the

non-custodial parent. For example, if the non-custodial parent is

paying bills that the custodial parent would otherwise have to pay,

such as rent, utilities, insurance and food, that counts as untaxed

income to the custodial parent.

Parents who are separated but file a joint federal income tax return

will not be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer

information from the federal income tax return to the FAFSA. Such a

FAFSA is more likely to be selected for verification.

Source: Fastweb



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