Paul Ferraresi

No, I do not mean the TV show. If you or your children enjoy watching the stars in the sky, you have a few options. Sure the old telescope or binoculars are a good standby. A good computer astronomy program can cost more than $200.

I found a FREE downloadable alternative … Stellarium (www.stellarium.org). It shows the sky as it looks now from any point on Earth that you specify. You can go back and forth in time and even see displays from other planets.

The site is a work-in-progress and improves every day. It is really power packed. So, instead of watching the “stars” on TV as they make millions, visit the “heavens” with your family and you may all learn something.

Now, do I hear Tony Bennett singing … “climbs halfway to the stars”?

Enjoy!

Are IRAs Safe?

Retirement accounts are federally insured up to @250,000 per account at every bank. Congress raised the limit from $100,000 in 2006. This insurance is only for federally insured deposits.

The $250,000 limit for federal deposit protection applies to retirement accounts at banks and savings associations insured by the FDIC, as well as credit unions insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). (For non-retirement accounts, the FDIC or NCUA limit temporarily increased to $250,000 from $100,000 as part of 2008 Economic Stabilization Act, effective Oct. 3.)

The federal insurance coverage for retirement accounts applies to traditional and Roth IRAs, simplified employee pension (SEP) IRAs and savings incentive match plans for employees (SIMPLE) IRAs. In addition, the coverage also includes self-directed Keogh accounts, 457 plan accounts for state government employees and self-directed employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, including 401(K) and SIMPLE 401 (k) accounts.

DEFINING SELF-DIRECTED

For purposes of FDIC insurance, self-directed means that the plan participant can instruct administrators how his or her retirement funds are to be invested, including the ability to direct those funds to an FDIC-insured account. A retirement plan whose only investment option is the deposit accounts of a specified bank is not considered a self-directed account and is not covered by FDIC insurance. A plan for a single employee/employer can limit investments to a single option and will still be a self-directed plan under the insurance rules.

Under the FDIC/NCUA rules, all of an individual’s retirement accounts at the same insured bank are added together and insured up to a limit of $250,000. Thus, if you have $200,000 in a traditional IRA and $100,000 in a Roth IRA at ABC Bank, federal deposit insurance would cover $250,000 of those accounts, leaving $50,000 uninsured.

BENEFICIARY ISSUES

If an individual has a personal IRA and an inherited IRA at the same bank, they are insured separately for $250,000 each. Naming different beneficiaries on an individual’s retirement accounts will not affect the coverage limits for the individual, according to the rules.

If someone is a beneficiary of an account and not an owner, They have up to $250,000 in coverage on this account in addition to the $250,000 in coverage on their own personal IRA account. Retirement accounts are separately insured from any other deposits you may have at the same institution.

MOVING PARTS

For each IRA, you can do a rollover no more than once every 12 months (the once-per-year IRA rollover rule). If someone has done a rollover to or from an IRA within the past 12 months, they must wait until 12 months (365 days) have passed before doing a rollover from the same IRA. What happens if they violate the 12 month rule? They will owe income tax on the second withdrawal, plus 10% penalty if they are under age 59½, and those funds are no longer IRA funds.

The bottom line, then, is that you must check the history of each IRA account before determining whether you can do a rollover from it. Without this careful due diligence, you risk paying taxes and penalties on your retirement funds.

When a bank fails, depositors usually want to get their funds out as quickly as possible. That could mean receiving a check or cash. If the account is an IRA, a check made out to you is considered a rollover, and the 60-day rule and the once-per-year rollover limit both apply. If other IRA funds were rolled to or from the IRA account within the past 12 months, the depositor will have a taxable distribution.

To add insult to injury, if the funds come from an IRA at a failed bank and the balance is over $250,000, then, the depositor might only be able to withdraw $250,000 (the FDIC insured amount). But since that $250,000 cannot be rolled over to another IRA (because IRA funds were already rolled to or from that IRA within the past 12 months), then the entire $250,000 will be taxable and possibly subject to the 10% withdrawal penalty.

NON-BANK PROTECTION

Remember that FDIC/NCUA insurance applies only to bank deposits such as checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs and others. There is no federal deposit insurance for IRA investments in mutual funds, stocks, bonds and annuities; even if they are purchased from an FDIC- or NCUA- insured institution.

However, there is some protection for investments through the Securities Investor Protection Corp. (SIPC). Virtually all securities brokers belong to this organization. SIPC members contribute to a reserve fund that will reimburse investors up to $500,000 per customer, including up to $100,000 in cash.

Of course there is no SIPC reimbursement for investments that lose money.

In our Western culture, we take many things for granted. We take comfort in the fact that the laws of gravity will not be surreptitiously repealed while we sleep, catapulting us and all we have into the ever-expanding universe as dawn arrives. The sun will rise and set each day. When it comes to retirement planning, we mentally quote Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind: “I can’t think about that right now. If I do I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.” In essence, we expect a fair amount of certainty. This shared deception about retirement planning is what keeps our existential crises at bay as well as present retirement planners with their greatest challenge: How to create in clients a realistic sense of urgency without inviting panic. To address this conundrum you might want to revisit some ideas and retool your approaches.

Smarter or wiser. An old saying states that smart people learn by their mistakes. That should bring us some comfort, since we all like to fancy ourselves as smart people! But another saying shares a different pearl of wisdom: wise people learn by the mistakes of others. No wonder we have heard that “experience is a dear teacher and only a fool will learn by it.” As part of the retirement planning process, planners can assist their clients by pointing out the errors of the past so as to guide future directions and decisions so clients will not have to repeat mistakes of the past. What are these mistakes and can we avoid them?

• Living without a spending plan
• Using credit to expand standard of living far beyond income
• Believing that good times will roll on forever

• Save- save for the rainy day, save for the big-ticket purchase, save just to have some extra cash on hand.
• If it doesn’t make sense, then it probably doesn’t make sense.
• Learn more about how money works. Ignorance is not bliss!
• Strive for modest, steady returns on investments.

None of these require advanced education to understand, nor do they imply a high level of sophistication; rather, because they are so self-evident, they may have grown dim in our memories and relegated to a time long past and regarded as ideas that were part of the horse-and-buggy era- certainly not part of the great complex financial system we see today. It just may be that in our sophisticated world, there are more people who can claim the label “smarter” than those who would call themselves “wiser.”

The last few weeks have shown completely different approaches to managing energy by China and the U.S. China has lent $10 billion to Brazilian oil giant Petrobras to further its offshore exploration. In return China will get a future flow of oil equal to 160,000 barrels per day (bpd). China has lent Rosneft, Russia’s oil firm, $15 billion and Russian pipeline operator Transneft $10 billion for agreeing to supply 300,000 bpd from the new Siberian fields for the next 20 years.

In Venezuela, China will contribute $8 billion to a strategic fund for oil development mainly to increase Venezuela’s oil exports to China. China is paying now at today’s prices to insure growth in the supply of oil and their long term access to its share.

Meanwhile here in the U.S., the Obama administration is planning to severely tax exploration and production companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico (our core area of production). Boy, that will be a real incentive for any company to consider looking for oil (tish-tish). This will also make U.S. oil production more expensive (duh!).

The government has delayed and rescinded the opening of other offshore areas for additional incremental exploration and possible production (higher prices for us and less supply. Oh, and you did not know about this? HMMM! I thought we were to have full transparency in this new administration).

Since October 2004 the U.S. Department of Energy claims the global oil supply hasn’t grown much even though we had huge price increases. Most experts agree that large new oil supply is not in the picture.

So, if the supply for oil will be, say, “X” and China has already “bought up” an amount equal to “Y,” then, X-Y will equal the remaining supply. With the demand for oil rising and supply only at “Y”…..well better prepare for higher prices. Experts are predicting a price of $150-$180 a barrel very soon. That is without a major interruption in flow (war, terrorism, etc.) Ah, yes higher gas prices. Better prepare as well as make investments to benefit your family. Once again…discipline or regret.

For years Americans have complained that the interest rates, excess fees, overlimit fees and change in rates by credit card companies are not reasonable. Credit cards have been a profitable center for most banks and other issuers. Keep in mind that a large percentage of Americans are way behind on their payments (not just recently, but for years), many people run up charges and never pay a penny on the debt, and then, there are the fraudulent activities on cards. Well, not in defense of these card companies, but, someone needs to pay for these “bad transactions.” Guess what…. It has been you. Yes, the “good credit” people have and are paying for the “bad credit” people.

You know, I remember over 20 years ago when Representative Markey, from Massachusetts, brought the credit card companies into a Congressional hearing to go over the same complaints listed above. He demanded that all card interest rates should be no higher than 8%. The card companies agreed to return in two weeks to submit their thoughts and findings (you see, the card companies had testified before Congress about the “bad credit” people forcing them to keep rates high to make up for the losses).

Two weeks later the card companies presented a short list of those Americans whose credit scores were strong enough to support an 8% rate. Also, there was not one Senator or Congressman that made the listing of “good credit” people. The hearings were adjourned.

Well, your cries have been heard in Congress again. But be careful what you pray for…. The present administration passed a bill on May 19, 2009 to “protect the consumer.”

This new bill will not allow the credit card companies to raise your interest rate unless you have been late for 60 days. It eliminates the overlimit fee and many other benefits for you. BUT, there is a cost to you!!! DUH!!! The correct way to use a credit card is to make sure the balance is paid in full by the end of the billing cycle, say, 30 days. So, you will have no interest charges if paid on time and using OPM …other people’s money. That is the correct finance approach. Well, that is no longer true, “ol’ bankrupt breath,” under the new rules. Effective when you swipe your card…interest begins to accrue immediately. There is NO more grace period. So if you run up, say, a $1,000 charge today, at a 30% annual card rate, in 30 days when the bill comes you will owe $1000 + $25 interest = $1025. So, what did you gain? Well, to facilitate the “bad credit” people and their slow paying, the “good credit” people are paying the price. Sounds exactly like the bailout of the subprime mortgage people. Good payers are paying for bad payers. “From each according to his ability to each according to his need” – sound familiar? – Check your history books under the communist manifesto.

You wanted change? You voted for change, you’ve got change, but I don’t think it is the change you voted for…since with this new law you will no longer have any “change” left in your pocket.
Ah, discipline or regret.