Northwest Bank Blog

The Internal Revenue Service announced retirement plan contribution limits for 2023. As retirement plan investors will notice, the changes are more significant than in past years.

A simple estate plan typically consists of a will, durable or financial power of attorney, health care directives, including a medical power of attorney and living will, plus perhaps a revocable trust. This four part series will review the structure and purpose of these basic estate planning documents.

Since 1902, the Humane Society of Scott County (HSSC) has been helping animals in our community. What started off as an organization to promote and enforce humane treatment of horses, has evolved into a full-service animal welfare organization.

During the last few weeks of December 2022, the government passed the most recent rendition of retirement plan legislation. With this comes a number of changes for retirement plan investors.

Thank you to our friends at Northwest Bank & Trust for giving me the opportunity to share some detail about the work of the Vera French Community Mental Health Center.

“Vera French” is a family of non-profit Iowa corporations encompassing the Vera French Community Mental Health Center (the Center), the Vera French Housing Corporation (Housing), and the Vera French Foundation (the Foundation).

The passing of the 2019 Secure Act changed the rules starting January 1, 2020, as to when non-spouse beneficiaries must begin taking money from inherited retirement accounts.

Effective January 1, 2023, Iowa taxpayers will catch a break on the state taxes paid on “retirement income”. The new law exempts Iowa taxation on all “retirement income” for those who are disabled or 55 years of age or older. It also exempts retirement income received by a surviving spouses.

As many of you are already aware, we recently announced that the Investment Management Group is taking steps to become an independent trust and investment company. We are very excited about this change as it brings with it new opportunity for us to continue to grow and serve more clients in the Quad Cities region.

Generally, traditional IRA distributions, whether as a required minimum distribution (RMD) or other distribution, are taxable income in the year you receive them. However, there is an exception to this rule that may be advantageous if you are charitably minded and need a tax break.

You have created a revocable living trust. Great! Now what do you do with it? Setting up your trust by creating a trust document is only the first step in establishing a trust based estate plan. Take a look at what the next steps are and how to retitle your assets.

Handicapped Development Center’s services are essential to allow participants the chance to become active members of the community, but also to make society more inclusive of people with disabilities. Read more in our community spotlight.

We learn the skill of generosity from people who model it for us throughout our lives. Whether from our parents, a relative, a kind neighbor, a scholarship, or help offered during a time of need, we’ve all been recipients of acts of kindness and generosity. Here are a few ways to help teach children about generosity.

Melissa Uzzell is the newest member of the Investment Management Group team. She is an attorney with over 14 years of experience in estate planning and administration. She joins us as Director of Fiduciary Services.

Life changes and priorities have a way of shifting. But one thing stays the same: how important family is and our desire to protect them. That’s why reviewing your life insurance is an important financial decision.

During times of market stress when stock prices fluctuate up and down significantly, it’s normal to worry about your retirement investments. The good news is that you have likely planned for uncertainty and invested in a diversified mix of stocks and bonds which will help your retirement portfolio weather market volatility.

Market volatility is inevitable, but panicking can be a costly mistake. Selling when stock prices have declined and then buying back in after the markets rebound and stock prices have moved higher simply doesn’t make sense—especially for long-term investors. But unfortunately, this is exactly what happens when investors let emotions influence their decisions.

Ridgecrest Village has been a proud provider of senior services for the Quad Cites for over 50 years! As the leader in retirement communities, Ridgecrest Village has flourished over the years. We look forward to continuing to support our residents and staff to live purposefully and passionately.

Many people own assets that will not be controlled by their Will or Trust. Instead, on the owner’s death, those assets are distributed to designated beneficiaries identified by the owner. Such assets include life insurance, retirement accounts, annuities, stock option plans, and health savings accounts.

The IRS announced retirement plan contribution limits for 2022. For the most part the 2022 contribution limits are unchanged from the 2021 limits. Learn what the most notable changes are.