military

Are vets getting what they deserve?

November 12, 2013 By Liz Weston

Yesterday on Bob McCormick’s KFWB show Money 101 we talked about veterans’ benefits that are often overlooked. If you’re a vet or have a vet in your life, you should know about:

Aid & Attendance: This benefit helps pay for nursing home, assisted living and home health care for low-income vets. The benefit can be $1,700 a month for the veteran, $2,000 a month for a couple and $1,000 a month for a veteran’s widow. Yet few people take advantage or even know about this benefit, and the VA isn’t always forthcoming. A New York Times article last year said only about 38,000 of the 1.7 million World War II vets alive in 2011 were receiving it. The site VeteranAid.org has details on how to apply.

Family Caregiver Program: Eligible Post-9/11 veterans can opt to receive home health care from a family member, and that family member may be eligible for a stipend, mental health services, respite care and access to health care insurance. Family Caregiver program application are available at www.caregiver.va.gov and Caregiver Support Coordinators are stationed at every VA medical center and via phone at 1-877-222 VETS (8387) to help with the application process.

VA Mortgages: These mortgages aren’t exactly unknown, but Terry Savage wrote in a recent Huffington Post column that 70% of younger veterans had yet to take advantage of this program which offers zero down payment home loans at attractive rates. Find out more from the VA mortgage loans help desk at 800-983-0937.

Post 9/11 GI Bill: Again, not a hidden benefit, but one that’s probably underused. This version of the GI bill has paid college expenses for nearly 1 million veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, but there are nearly 6 million vets from those conflicts. At a time when college educations are all but essential for staying in the middle class, more vets should be looking into this program, which provides up to 36 months of benefit, including full tuition and fees for in-state schools plus possible help with housing and books. You’ll find details here.

Combat zone contractors don’t get Roth IRA perk

March 4, 2013 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I’m working as a contractor in Afghanistan. Since we are overseas in a combat zone, our pay is nontaxable. Can I contribute some of this untaxed money to a Roth IRA and still be able to withdraw it tax free in retirement? I’ve heard that’s true, but the way I read the law it seems that the money has to come from “taxable” wages or something along those lines. I need clarification.

Answer: If you were serving in the military, rather than as a contractor, you would be able to contribute some of your untaxed combat-zone pay to a Roth IRA and have tax-free withdrawals in retirement. That’s a unique perk of the military, however.

Service members’ tax-free combat zone pay qualifies as income for purposes of making an IRA or Roth IRA contribution because of the 2006 Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities Act, said Joseph Montanaro, a certified financial planner with USAA.

If your pay is tax free as a contractor, it’s probably because you qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, which protects some or all of your pay from U.S. taxes (up to $95,100 for 2012), Montanaro said. Your eligibility for this exclusion has nothing to do with working in a combat zone. It has to do with your residence or physical presence abroad.

Income that is excluded this way cannot be used as compensation for the purpose of making an IRA contribution, Montanaro said. It would, however, have to be included when determining your eligibility to make a Roth contribution.

Even military careerists need a Plan B

December 10, 2012 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I’m about to marry an active-duty military man. We’re in the process of marrying our finances, and I have several questions.

First, what is a good emergency fund for us? We run our household on his salary because I’m recently unemployed. I’ve always had a six-month emergency fund for myself, but because he’ll theoretically always be employed, should we have less savings in emergency funds and more in retirement and investments?

Second, along with my unemployment, I’m bringing about $15,000 in savings and $9,000 in student loan debt (at 4.5%). He has about $5,000 in savings and no debt at all. Neither of us has a retirement account or any other investments. I’m leaning toward paying off my debt so that we start on even ground, but I have a feeling that you’re going to tell me not to do that. What should I be considering at this time?

Answer: The military offers good benefits and generous pensions to people who make the armed services their career. But the pension probably won’t cover all your expenses in retirement. (Remember, if he retires after 20 years of service, he’ll get only 50% of his base pay.) Besides, there’s really no such thing as “guaranteed” employment, even in the armed services, so it’s smart to have a Plan B.

Your husband-to-be should be taking advantage of the federal Thrift Savings Plan, which works like a 401(k) for civilians, although there’s no employer match for service members. He can contribute up to $17,000 a year ($17,500 in 2013), his contributions are excluded from his taxable income, and the money grows tax-deferred until it’s withdrawn in retirement, at which point it’s taxed as regular income.

The Thrift Savings Plan also has a Roth option. Withdrawals from a Roth in retirement are tax-free, although contributions usually are included in taxable income. The exception: If your fiance is deployed, most or all of his income would be tax-free, so he would be able to make contributions to the Roth with tax-exempt income, said Joseph Montanaro, a certified financial planner with USAA. That’s a pretty great deal: no tax on the contributions going in, and no tax on the withdrawals coming out.

If your man isn’t deployed, he still might want to divide his contributions between the regular and Roth plans so that he would have different savings “buckets” to tap in retirement and thus more control over his tax bill.

He probably wouldn’t get a full military pension if he leaves or is forced out of the military before he has served 20 years. But he would be able to take his Thrift Savings Plan balance with him.

When you return to work, you also should start contributing to a retirement fund. If you don’t have access to a 401(k) or 403(b), you might contribute to an IRA or a Roth IRA.

Although you would be smart to pay off any high-rate debt, such as credit card balances, you need not be in a rush to pay off low-rate, tax-deductible debt such as student loans, especially if the rate you’re paying is fixed. Instead, focus on building up that emergency fund. The exact amount you need is more art than science, but a six-month fund would be prudent.