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This $3.5M Apartment Was Once Owned by Filmmaker Nancy Dine, Muse of Famed Artist Jim Dine

Perched high over Lincoln Center, overlooking the Hudson River, sits a sophisticated modern apartment with a backstory steeped in local art history. It was home to late Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Nancy Dine who, alongside husband Jim Dine, dominated the local arts scene of the early ’60s and were considered the ultimate art-star power couple at the time. 

During her 40-year marriage to Jim Dine — a prolific, multi-talented contemporary artist — Nancy is said to have re-defined the role of the “artist’s wife”. She appeared in many of his paintings and was all at once his inspiration, assistant, and publicist. She took up filmmaking in her 50s, producing a number of short films, including a documentary on her husband’s life, entitled Jim Dine: A Self-Portrait on the Walls (which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996).

Her son, Nick Dine, inherited his parents’ artistic inclination and turned it into a prolific career as an interior designer. In fact, he was the one to design Nancy’s bright and spacious Upper West Side apartment, which recently came to market.

Image credit: Brown Harris Stevens

The apartment, listed for $3,495,000 with Brown Harris Stevens’ Susan Silverman and James Foreman, spans 1,675 square feet and is flooded with light thanks to its five oversized west-facing windows. It has 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and a 680-square-foot living and dining area, which easily seats 12.

The living area connects to the Bulthaup kitchen, which has a large stainless steel top island, Gaggenau steam and convection ovens, 5 burner cook top, Sub Zero refrigerator with extra freezer and refrigerator drawers plus endless concealed storage.

luxury apartment above lincoln center, in New York
Image credit: Brown Harris Stevens
Image credit: Brown Harris Stevens
luxury kitchen decorated in dark colors and clean lines
Image credit: Brown Harris Stevens

The spacious bedroom suite includes a separate dressing area outfitted with a complete Vitsoe modular storage system with cedar lined walls, plus a large bath. There is a full guest bathroom off the living room as well as a separate home office area bordered by Vitsoe bookcases. The apartment’s layout can accommodate a second bedroom or den.

Image credit: Brown Harris Stevens
luxury-bathroom-with-pink-shower
Image credit: Brown Harris Stevens

The apartment is set in One Lincoln Plaza, a luxury residential building located directly across the street from Lincoln Center, in close proximity to Central Park, Columbus Circle, excellent restaurants, gourmet food shops, and transportation. It is a coveted full service condominium with many amenities including doorman and concierge, covered driveway, attached parking garage with valet service, a dramatic glass enclosed roof fitness room and pool with retractable glass roof, sauna steam, and outdoor sundeck. The building has a newly renovated and landscaped outdoor space, with fire pits on the 8th floor.

More luxury apartments

Massive Home in the Sky Above MoMa Asks $46.7 Million
A First Look at the Newly Completed Residences at 130 William, One of NYC’s Newest Skyscrapers
See Inside a $5.7M Coco Chanel-Inspired Condo in the Trendy 40 Bleecker Building in NoHo, Manhattan
Trophy Apartment Once Owned by Composer Leonard Bernstein Asks $29.5 Million

Source: fancypantshomes.com

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What to Say When You Don't Know What to Say

Have you ever been in a work situation where someone said something so inappropriate that you didn’t know how to respond? Radical Candor author Kim Scott has some simple tips from her new book, Just Work: Get Sh*t Done Fast and Fair.

By

Kim Scott
March 31, 2021

quickanddirtytips.com

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Watch the Holiday Spending If You Plan to Refinance

Well, believe it or not, the holidays are upon us again. It seems like just yesterday I was cursing the fact that I didn’t have an air conditioner, and now I wish I had a better heater. Go figure.

To compound that, I now need to get out (or stay online) and do my holiday shopping. The good news is that family and friends have to do the same thing for me, assuming they actually bother buying me gifts this year.

Anyway, I got to thinking about a possible problem that can arise from aggressive holiday shopping.

If you spend and spend and spend in the next few weeks, make sure you can actually pay for all your purchases.

Otherwise you’ll rack up credit card debt, which can obviously lead to costly finance charges.

Unintended Consequences

We all know credit card debt is bad; after all, the APR on credit cards is sky-high compared to pretty much every other type of loan, especially mortgages.

So you’ll be wasting away money via outrageous finance charges if you don’t pay off your bad gift giving debt.

But worse are the unintended consequences of carrying said debt.

Let’s assume you’ve got a “great plan” to tidy up your finances and finally get around to that refinance once the in-laws are forcibly removed from your home after the holidays.

Come January, you apply for a refinance at your local bank or via an online lender, with grand plans to save tons of money via an über-low mortgage rate.

You know you’ve got a good credit score, a well paying job, and plenty of assets. Heck, you’ve even got a fair amount of home equity, which will make your low-LTV loan bulletproof.

As you’re daydreaming about your stellar borrower profile, the phone rings, and it’s your loan officer.

Remember your awesome credit score? Well, it dropped 30 points, thanks to all that new credit card debt.

Even though you intend to pay it, or even if you paid it, your credit score got hit because your credit utilization spiked and the credit bureaus took notice.

[What mortgage rate can I get with my credit score?]

You’ve Still Got the Green Light

As you begin to panic, your loan officer reassures you, and lets you know that you can still refinance!

There’s just one little catch. The mortgage rate you were quoted when you originally spoke isn’t going to be as low, thanks to that credit score ding.

That 30-point hit was enough to push you into a lower credit score tier, which increased a pricing adjustment, and subsequently, your interest rate.

Sure, you can still refinance. But you’ll have a higher-than-expected monthly mortgage payment, and pay that much more in interest each month.

All because you were reckless with your spending before going out and getting a mortgage.

[The refinance rule of thumb.]

It Could Be Worse

While perhaps a lot less likely, if you go nuts and rack up a ton of holiday debt, buying heart-shaped pendants from Kay Jewelers, it could be enough to kill your loan completely.

Put simply, if the debt is large enough to where the minimum monthly payment pushes your debt-to-income ratio beyond acceptable limits, you could be out of luck.

So think those big purchases through if you’ve got ambitious plans to get a mortgage in the New Year.

After all, you wouldn’t want to miss out on securing one of the lowest rates in history thanks to some cheesy diamond-stud earrings.

Your loved ones should understand. Once the refi is done you can shop to your hearts delight and make up for any unmet expectations.

Tip: When holiday shopping, avoid opening up a store credit card or any other line of credit if you plan to refinance in the near future, as doing so can really knock your credit score out of whack.

About the Author: Colin Robertson

Before creating this blog, Colin worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. He has been writing passionately about mortgages for 15 years.

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

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11 Ways to Build Home Equity

These days, home equity is booming thanks to rapidly appreciating property values.

At last glance, total equity on mortgaged properties exceeded $10 trillion, with more than $6.5 trillion of it tappable, per recent figures from Black Knight.

tappable equity

Yes, that’s a “T” not a “B.” But you would of never guessed it less than a decade ago after the housing bubble burst and put millions in underwater positions.

In the early 2000s, it was all about tapping into your home equity with a line of credit or a cash-out refinance, often at absurdly high loan-to-value ratios (such as 100%).

The whole using your house as an ATM thing to make lavish purchases or even just pay the bills each month became the norm.

As a result of all that excess, the narrative quickly changed to overpriced homes, declining equity, negative equity, underwater mortgages, loan modification programs, foreclosures, and so on.

Funny how that works…

This reversal of literal fortune was caused by crashing home prices and zero down mortgages, many of which weren’t properly underwritten to begin with.

Most of those who got into trouble purchased homes at the height of the market at unsustainable prices, while at the same time relying on 100% financing to get the deal done.

This caused lots of homeowners to leave or think about walking away, as home price deprecation was found to be the leading driver of default.

But many of those who stuck around and rode it out are actually in great shape, and even better positions than when they first took out their mortgages.

In fact, those who held on, even if they purchased a home in 2006, could be up 50% today thanks to the recent boom.

However, others are still feeling the negative effects of the housing crisis, even after several years of double-digit home price gains.

If you’re one of those homeowners, or even if you’re not, you may be wondering how to build some home equity.

That way, when it comes time to sell your home (or refinance your mortgage), you can do so without worry.

Those with more home equity will walk away with more cash in their pocket, and if refinancing, may be able to qualify for a lower interest rate.

Let’s look at the many ways you can build equity in your home:

1. Rising home prices – Here’s an easy one that requires no effort on your part.

When property values climb higher, you will gain equity simply because your home or condo will be worth more. It’s as simple as that.

For example, if your home was worth $200,000, and then rose to $250,000 after five years, you’d have $50,000 more equity.

This is the beauty of homeownership, and one of the many advantages of owning a home versus renting.

In fact, the most recent Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) from the Federal Reserve revealed that homeowners had a net worth of $255,000 versus just $6,000 for renters. A lot of that can be attributed to home equity.

Of course, the opposite can also occur if home prices drop, as we all now know. But at the moment, everything appears to be on the up and up.

2. Falling mortgage balance – Here’s more low-hanging fruit. As you pay off your mortgage each month, you pay a portion of interest and a portion of principal (assuming it’s not an interest-only home loan).

Any principal payments made will boost your equity as your home loan gets paid down.

For example, you’d gain $343 in principal during the first month on a 30-year fixed with a $200,000 loan amount set at 3%.

After a year, that’s about $4,000. And after five years, more than $22,000!

Every time you make your mortgage payment, you’ll gain some home equity. And when combined with an appreciation, it can be a powerful one-two punch.

3. Larger mortgage payments – This one requires more money out of your pocket, but can save you money at the same time.

If you make larger payments each month, with the extra portion going toward principal, you will pay off your mortgage much faster and gain home equity a lot quicker. Simple and effective.

While it will cost you more initially, you’ll pay a lot less interest over time.

For example, your total interest expense would fall from $104,000 to $59,000 if you paid just $200 extra each month, and your mortgage would be paid off nearly a decade early.

4. Biweekly mortgage payments – Here’s another way to save on interest with very little effort.

You can go with a biweekly mortgage payment plan, where you make 26 half payments throughout the year, which equates to 13 monthly payments.

This will shave down your mortgage term, save you a ton in interest, and help you build home equity a lot faster.

There’s also a simple way to do this without having to sign up for a program that may cost money where you just add 1/12 to each monthly payment.

5. Shorter mortgage term – If you’ve got the means, and want to extinguish your home loan earlier, think beyond the 30-year fixed.

It’s possible to refinance into a shorter-term mortgage with a lower mortgage rate, such as a 15-year fixed, which will increase the size of your payments, but build equity at a much higher rate than a traditional 30-year mortgage.

You might also be able to pick something in between, like a 20- or 25-year fixed, or even something that matches your original term, like a 22-year loan term.

This will keep you on track, or even ahead of schedule, and also help you avoid resetting the clock.

6. Avoid refinancing – Conversely, if you don’t refinance and pull cash out, you’ll retain all the equity in your home.

During the prior housing boom, scores of homeowners refinanced their loans over and over until they sucked their equity dry.

This was actually one of the reasons why many chose to walk away, or were forced to sell short or foreclose.

Had they just paid down their loans over time, most would of been in pretty good shape.

Simply put, it’s fine to tap equity, but like everything else, moderation is key.

7. Home improvements – Here’s a potential win-win that you can actually enjoy.

If you make smart home improvements, where the expected value exceeds the cost, you’ll increase your home equity by owning a home that’s worth more.

While it’s seemingly the same exact house, smart home devices, quartz countertops, and stainless steel appliances still draw buyers in, and you might be able to sell for more.

You can even do it for free if it’s your own sweat equity. And in the meantime, you get to enjoy a better house.

8. Maintenance – Now let’s talk about being a responsible homeowner.

Keep your home in tip-top shape and you will be rewarded when it comes time to sell.

If you can unload it for more as a result of proper maintenance, you’ve essentially created more equity in your home.

Home buyers often hit sellers with costly repair requests, but it’ll be more difficult for them to ask for concessions if you took great care of your home.

It could even be prudent to get a home inspection yourself, before you sell, to address any red flags before a buyer tries to get you to pay for them.

9. Curb appeal – This is one of my favorites and something anyone can do to boost their home value, and therefore equity if selling.

I’m referring to curb appeal and also home staging. Make your home look good when you list it and there’s a better chance it’ll sell, and sell for more.

Simple things can make a big difference, such as new paint, carpet, bright lighting, plants, flowers, and even basic cleanliness or a lack of clutter.

Or even how you arrange your home. For example, if home offices are en vogue, make a room that served a different purpose into an office to bring in more buyers.

10. Rent it out – One of the best ways to build equity is to have someone else do it for you.

If you rent out part or all of your property, it’s possible to build equity via the rent you receive from your tenants each month.

Having someone else pay off your mortgage is pretty sweet, especially if the property appreciates at the same time.

11. Bigger down payment – Finally, you can make a larger down payment at the outset to automatically acquire home equity and build it faster thnaks to a lower outstanding balance.

While this may seem like you’re putting money in an illiquid investment, more equity means a lower loan-to-value ratio, which may equate to a lower interest rate, no mortgage insurance, and easier-to-obtain financing.

Over time, that lower mortgage rate and smaller loan balance will mean less interest paid and more equity accrued.

It’s also possible to recast a mortgage or complete a cash in refinance to get your loan balance down and increase your equity.

Just remember that any extra money might be better served elsewhere, such as the stock market or a retirement account.

Bonus: If you happen to be an underwater homeowner, get the bank to grant you principal forgiveness and you’ve essentially built home equity, even if you’re still just above water as a result.

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

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Forbearances Down 5% Over Past Month: Black Knight

Active forbearance plans fell again this week, dropping by another 19,000 (-0.7%) from last Tuesday. In total, this puts the number of active plans down by 135,000 over the last month, a 5% reduction.

That 5% monthly decline represents the strongest rate of improvement since late November 2020 and is a direct result of servicers working through the 1.2 million plans that entered this month with scheduled March month-end expirations for extension and/or removal.

It is important to note that even with such strong monthly improvement, there are still more than 46,000 active plans with March month-end expirations, which provides the potential for additional improvement in coming weeks.

As of March 23, 2.57 million homeowners remain in forbearance, representing 4.9% of all homeowners with mortgages.

This week’s improvement was driven by improvements among both GSE (-21,000) and FHA/VA plans (-10,000), while active plan volumes rose among portfolio/PLS mortgages (+12,000).

Early extension activity suggests servicers continue to approach forbearance plans in three-month increments, with the bulk of would-be March expirations being extended out through June.

Plan extensions have accounted for 75% of all extension/removal activity in recent weeks, but removals are up simply as a result of the volume of expirations that were scheduled for this month.

Early extension activity suggests servicers continue to approach forbearance plans in three-month increments, with the bulk of would-be March expirations being extended out through June.

Black Knight’s McDash Flash Payment Tracker shows that 90.7% of observed borrowers had made their payment through March 22, up from 89.8% at the same time in February.

Source: themortgageleader.com

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COVID-19-Weary Business Owners Can Win by Adopting the Right Mindset for a Sale

Faced with the demand to invest in upgrades needed to sell electric cars, a group of Cadillac dealers recently decided the economic uncertainty outweighed the likely future benefits. About 150 of GM’s 880 U.S. Cadillac dealerships instead took the company’s offer of a buyout of their franchises for the luxury brand.

It’s a decision that many small-business owners can relate to right now.

After a decade of relatively good times, the past year has been a rough financial and emotional ride for owners of thousands of privately owned businesses across a whole range of industries. Roughly one in five small businesses had closed as of last October, and many more are limping along with revenues at a fraction of their pre-pandemic levels.

Why a Sale May Make Sense Right About Now

Many owners have been in survival mode for a year now, taking as much support as possible from government aid programs while scrambling to adapt their staffing and business model to the pandemic world. But as the smoke clears and the longer-term outlook becomes clearer, the option of selling the business and moving on is likely to be the most attractive and viable option for many owners.

That decision may partly stem from life-stage or health reasons. One in three U.S. small-business owners are over 65, and may understandably feel like they don’t have the time or energy to put into the post-COVID-19 recovery.

Some, like those Cadillac dealers, may be unwilling or ill-equipped to adapt to the wave of technological advances and shifting consumer behavior that have been accelerated by the pandemic and which are transforming industries across the board.

Anyone in the movie theater business should be worried not only about the plunge in revenues due to pandemic restrictions but about a more permanent shift by movie studios and consumers to online video platforms. Small brick-and-mortar retailers face an even bigger struggle to survive as the Amazon juggernaut has picked up pace during the pandemic.

While some small businesses will be able to ride out the crisis by adapting to these trends, many others run the risk of turning into zombie companies and facing bankruptcy. Unlike big public companies, their reliance on small groups of investors and bank lending usually doesn’t give them the luxury of capital to reinvent themselves.

Personal Hurdles Can Stand in the Way

A sale often makes the most sense, yet owners commonly struggle to adopt the right mindset to make that decision and follow through with it in a way that maximizes the return. Owners often have a lot of emotion and family identity tied up their business, making it hard to let go. If the business has been in a family for generations, it can be tough for an owner to accept the loss of control on his watch.

Emotion also tends to be a major obstacle when it comes to pricing a sale. Owners will often find it hard to accept a price that they don’t feel takes into account how well revenues were doing a year or two ago or how much family sweat equity has gone into the business over the years.

When this happens, it’s important for owners to take off their family hat and be as dispassionate as possible. The reality is that they can either sell at a time when they have some leverage or risk getting to the point where the terms are being imposed on them in the face of bankruptcy.

A Couple of Points in Sellers’ Favor

Rather than seeing the glass as half empty, there are grounds for seeing it as half full. The good news is that this isn’t 2008. There is plenty of capital out there looking for deals, which can put owners in a strong position if they approach the sale with the right mindset.

Consumer demand remains strong in many areas, and private equity firms are sitting on “a ton of dry powder” worth of capital they are keen to deploy in 2021. PE buyers are generally looking for businesses that they can scale up, make accretive relative to EBITDA and penetrate new markets.

To Get the Best Price, What Sellers Should Think About

Owners have options to appeal to what PE buyers want and walk away with the best deal possible.

  • One way of doing that is to clean house before looking for a sale, picking the low-hanging fruit that will create some of the efficiencies that a buyer would implement anyway. That might involve replacing underperforming staff or closing unprofitable locations.  The subsequent improvement in profitability can be annualized and result in a higher multiple for the sale.
  • Or an owner could command a higher price by committing to help implement the buyer’s goals post-sale, perhaps by leveraging his or her extensive customer contacts or following through on a plan for costs cuts.

By putting themselves in the buyer’s shoes like this and letting go of their emotional baggage, owners can better leverage the value of their business and make the best of what may be a difficult situation.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Partner, Plante Moran

As the leader of the restructuring practice at Plante Moran, Tim Weed helps clients navigate changes in their businesses to improve operations and return to profitability. With expertise in cash flow projections, financial restructuring, profit improvement services, and more, clients look to him for guidance when facing difficult choices.

Source: kiplinger.com

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Retirement Options For the Self-Employed

Being your own boss is great. You get flexibility and the ability to pursue the things you care about. But as the boss, you also have to deal with all the administrative and financial details an employer might typically take care of—like choosing the right retirement plan.

Though it may require a little more action on your part, there are different kinds of self-employed retirement plans to explore. In fact, some self-employed retirement plans actually have high contribution limits and tax benefits.

And it’s a good thing too, since more people than ever are self-employed or starting their own businesses. According to Fresh Books third annual self-employment report annual self-employment report, 27 million Americans are expected to leave the traditional workforce for self-employment in the next two years.

So what does retirement for self-employed people look like? Well, a little like retirement for the traditionally employed. The general rules of thumb still apply: You can calculate how much you’ll need to save for retirement based on your current age and when you plan to retire.

No matter what your age, it’s a good idea to do the math now, so you can hypothetically see how much money you could be contributing to your retirement and whether you’re on track for your age and retirement goals.

Self-Employed Retirement Plans

In some ways, self-employed retirement plans aren’t too different from regular retirement plans. Certainly, the principles of retirement are the same: set aside money now to use in retirement—ideally providing an income when it’s time to retire.

The most common retirement savings plan, though, is a 401(k), but a 401(k) is, by definition, an employer-sponsored retirement account. For those who are self-employed that’s not an option.

The IRS breaks down a number of retirement plans for the self-employed or for those who run their own businesses, but we’ll lay out the basics here for you to start thinking about.

Traditional or Roth IRA

One of the most popular self-employed retirement plans is an IRA—or an individual retirement account. Anyone can open an IRA either with an online brokerage firm or at a traditional financial institution. And if you’re leaving a regular job where you had an employer-sponsored 401(k), then you can roll it over into an IRA.

If you meet eligibility requirements, you can contribute up to $6,000 annually to an IRA, with an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution allowed for people over 50 years old. (These limits are for 2021—the IRS does adjust them from time to time.)

The main difference between a traditional vs. Roth IRA is when the taxes are paid. In a traditional IRA, the contributions you make to your retirement account are tax-deductible when you make them, and the withdrawals during retirement are taxed at ordinary income rates. With a Roth IRA, there are no tax breaks for your contributions, but you’re not taxed when you withdraw.

Choosing which IRA makes sense for you can depend on a few factors, including what you’re earning now vs. what you expect to be earning when you retire. Additionally, you can only contribute to a Roth IRA if your income is below a certain limit : For 2021, that’s less than $208,000 adjusted gross income (AGI) for a person who is married filing jointly, and less than $140,000 for a person who is filing as single.

Solo 401(k)

A solo 401(k) is a self-employed retirement plan that the IRS also refers to as one-participant 401(k) plans . It works a bit like a regular employer-backed 401(k), except that in this instance you’re the employer and the employee.

For 2021, you can contribute $19,500 (or $26,000 if age 50 or over) in salary deferrals as you would normally contribute to a standard 401(k). Then, as the “employer”, you can also contribute up to 25% of your net earnings, with additional rules for single-member LLCs or sole proprietors. Total contributions cannot exceed a total of $58,000.

From there, it works more or less like a regular 401(k): the contributions are made pre-tax and any withdrawals or distributions after age 59.5 are taxed at the regular rate. You can also set up the plan to allow for potential hardship distributions under specific circumstances, like a medical emergency.

You can not use a solo 401(k) if you have any employees, though you can hire your spouse so they can also contribute to the plan (as an employee; you can match their contributions as the employer). 401(k) contribution limits are per person, not per plan, so if either you or your spouse are enrolled in another 401(k) plan, then the $58,000 limit per person would include contributions to that other 401(k) plan.

A solo 401(k) makes the most sense if you have a highly profitable business and want to save a lot for retirement, or if you want to save a lot some years and less others. You can set up a solo 401(k) with most wealth management firms.

Simplified Employee Pension (or a SEP IRA)

A SEP IRA is an IRA with a simplified and streamlined way for an employer (in this case, you) to make contributions to their employees’ and to their own retirement.

For 2021, the SEP IRA rules and limits are as follows: you can contribute up to $58,000 or 25% of your net earnings, whichever is less. As is the case with a number of these retirement for self-employed options, there is a cap of $290,000 on the compensation that can be used to calculate that cap. You can deduct your contributions from your taxes, and your withdrawals in retirement will be taxed as income.

A key difference in a SEP vs. other self-employment retirement plans is this is designed for those who run a business with employees. You have to contribute an equal percentage of salary for every employee (and you are counted as an employee). That means you can not contribute more to your retirement account than to your employees’ accounts, as a percentage not in absolute dollars. On the plus side, it’s slightly simpler than a solo 401(k) to manage in terms of paperwork and annual reporting.

SIMPLE IRA

A SIMPLE IRA (which stands for Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees ) is like a SEP IRA except it’s designed for larger businesses. Unlike the SEP plan, the employer isn’t responsible for the whole amount of an employee’s contribution. Individual employees can also contribute to their own retirement as salary deferrals out of their paycheck.

You, as the employer, have to simply match contributions up to 3% or contribute a fixed 2%. This sounds complicated, but the point is it’s designed for larger companies, so that you can manage the contributions to your employees’ retirement plans as well as your own. The trade-off, however, is that the maximum contribution limit is lower.

You can contribute up to $13,500 to your SIMPLE IRA, plus a catch-up contribution of $3,000 if you’re 50 or over. And your total contributions, if you have another retirement employer plan, maxes out at $19,500 annually.

There are a few other restrictions: If you make an early withdrawal before the age of 59 ½ , you’ll likely incur a 10% penalty much like a regular 401(k); do so within the first two years of setting up the SIMPLE account and the penalty jumps to 25%. (There is also a SIMPLE 401(k) that does allow for loan withdrawals, but requires more set-up administrative oversight on the front end.)

Defined Benefit Retirement Plan

Another retirement option you’ve probably heard a lot about is the defined benefit plan, or pension plan. Typically, a defined benefit plan pays out set annual benefits upon retirement, usually based on salary and years of service.

For the self-employed, your defined benefit has to be calculated by an actuary based on the benefit you set, your age, and expected returns. The maximum annual benefit you can set is currently the lesser of $230,000 or 100% of the participant’s average compensation for his or her highest three consecutive calendar years, according to the IRS.
Contributions are tax-deductible and your withdrawals during retirement will be taxed as income. And, if you have employees, then you typically must also offer the plan to them.

Defined benefit plans guarantee you a steady stream of income in retirement and with no set maximum contribution limit, if you’re earning a lot (and expect to keep earning a lot through retirement), they may be a good way to save up money.

These self-employed retirement plans can, however, be complicated and expensive to set up and require ongoing annual administrative work. Not every financial institution even offers defined benefit plans as an option for an individual. You’ll also have to be committed to funding the plan to a certain level each year in order to achieve that defined benefit—and if you have to change or lower the benefit, there may also be fees.

Other Retirement Options for the Self-Employed

While these are the most common self-employed retirement account options and the ones that offer tax benefits for your retirement savings, there are other options self-employed individuals might consider, like a profit-sharing plan if you own your own business.

Plus, don’t forget: You also have Social Security funds in retirement. Full retirement age for Social Security is considered 67 years old.

The IRS does offer what it calls annual check-ups to check on your retirement account and to go through a checklist of potential issues or fixes. However, you may want some additional human guidance, especially if you have specific questions.

The Takeaway

When you’re an entrepreneur or self-employed it can feel like your options are limited in terms of retirement plans, but in fact there are a number of options open, including various IRAs and a solo 401(k).

Looking to open a new retirement account? SoFi Invest® offers traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs. Plus, you’ll get access to a broad range of investment options, member services, and our robust suite of planning and investment tools.

Find out how to save for retirement with SoFi Invest.

SoFi Invest®
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Source: sofi.com