A benefit that federal government employees receive under the thrift savings plan. More specifically, this refers to how the agency for which the individual is working will match 100% of the individual's contributions up to the initial 3% of his or her pay and a contribution of $0.50 for every dollar from the next subsequent 2% of pay used toward contributing to the thrift savings plan. For example, a federal government employee working for the Department of Labor earns $1,500 each pay period and contributes 5% (or $75) into the thrift savings plan. The Department of Labor will then contribute a total of $60 (or 3% of $1,500 + (0.5 x 2%) of $1,500) toward his retirement in additional to his $75, which creates a total contribution per pay period of $135.Federal government employees that are able to contribute to a thrift savings plan should take advantage of the agency matching contribution.
A type of relationship whereby one party can make essential decisions for another party. Agency by necessity is recognized in the courts and typically applies when one party is unable to make. If, for example, an individual is sick and unable to make a critical decision, agency of necessity would allow an attorney, parent or spouse to make decisions on behalf of the incapacitated party. Agency by necessity refers to a situation where an agent by necessity makes a critical decision on behalf of another party who is not in a condition to do so. For example, if Person A was severely injured in a car accident and was in a coma, Person B could make the decision to allow medical staff to operate on Person A. Under normal circumstances, Person A would have to give consent, but if he or she was unable to do so, an agent can make the decision instead.
A benefit that federal government employees receive for participating in the thrift savings plan. More specifically, this benefit refers to how the government agency in which the individual works will automatically make contributions that equal 1% of the individual's pay, regardless of whether the individual elects to make his or her own contribution. For example, if a federal employee elects to make a 5% contribution toward his or her thrift savings plan, he or she will receive an equivalent amount from the government (assuming that you add the 1% contribution automatically gained from the agency automatic contributions to the 4% gained from the agency matching contributions).These government contributions are not added to taxable income for the current year's income taxes.
A document expressing a person's wishes about critical care when he or she is unable to decide for him or herself. However, it does not authorize anyone to act on a person's behalf or make decisions the way a power of attorney would. With an advance directive, individuals have the power to make future decisions about their own critical care without outside influence. A person who wishes or does not wish to be placed upon life support can create an advance directive that will be followed by hospital staff should the person become incapacitated.
A bond that is posted on behalf of an administrator of an estate to assure that he or she conducts their duties according to the provisions of the will and/or the legal requirements of the jurisdiction. The bond covers any financial losses to the estate due to dishonest or improper acts by the administrator. An administrator is appointed to handle the estates of individuals who died without a will, had a will but not an executor, or in cases when the executor has died, been removed from the case or has declined to serve.
A type of annuity distribution structure that gives the annuitant periodic income payments for the rest of his or her life, or a specified period of time. This is different than the systematic withdrawal method, with which the annuitant chooses the amount he or she would like to receive each month, which he or she receives until the amount in the account runs out. Upon annuitization of his or her account, the annuitant effectively converts the entire savings in the account into an income stream. If he or she choses the life option, the income stream is guaranteed by the insurance company to last the rest of the annuitant's life, even if he or she should live much longer than originally expected. Of course, the risk in chosing the life option is that, should the annuitant die sooner than expected, he or she will not receive all of value of the annuity account - the insurance company gets to keep the remainder of the account upon the annuitant's death. Most annuities, however, offer period-certain options or spousal coverage, which can reduce the risk of the annuitant's funds not being sufficiently paid out because of an earlier-than-expected death.
A type of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) allowed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in which contributions are paid into the bank's interest-bearing financial instruments or a self-directed account. The difference between a self directed account and the bank's interest bearing financial instrument is that the investor is in charge of investment decisions. Self-directed accounts are usually set up by a brokerage and the investor is charged an amount above trading costs. ERISA is federal legislation enacted to ensure that pension/retirement plans of employers are fair and secure. It is the law that established rules and regulations to govern private pension plans, including vesting requirements, funding mechanisms, and general plan design and descriptions.
A type of personal savings system in which the plan contributor automatically deposits a fixed amount of funds at specified intervals into their investment account. The typical structure of this type of savings system is an automatic transfer from an individual's bank account into a different savings or investment account every two weeks. Then, every time the individual receives a paycheck from their employer, their desired savings amount is automatically transferred into their savings account. An automatic savings plan has other advantages than just the convenience of not having to manually deposit funds into your savings account each month. For instance, this type of system makes it easier to stick to a personal budget, since it is harder to overspend and dip into your savings once they are automatically removed from your bank account. This type of system also helps investors continue contributing savings to their investment portfolio over a long period of time, something that can become emotionally difficult to keep up after suffering losses on a few investments or personal experiences.