A type of registered retirement savings alternative that locks in the pension funds in investments. While the funds are locked in, they are unavailable for cash-out. Pension funds that are transferred to a LIRA are used to purchase a life annuity, transferred to a life income fund (LIF) or to a locked-in retirement income fund (LRIF). Upon reaching the retirement age, the life annuity, LIF and/or LRIF provide a pension for life. The locked-in retirement account is designed to hold pension funds for a former plan member, former spouse or common-law partner or a surviving spouse or partner. The LIRA may be elected at any age to hold funds transferred from a pension plan upon the termination of membership in a pension plan; the disintegration of a marriage or common-law partnership; or death before retirement. Unlike RRSPs, which can be cashed in whenever the owner decides, a locked-in retirement account does not provide such an option.
The day that the average American has earned enough money (in theory) to pay off his or her total tax obligations for the year. The calculation used to determine this date assumes that everyone in the nation works for eight hours a day beginning January 1, and that every dollar earned is not spent. The Tax Foundation calculates Tax Freedom Day and also publishes a short report that summarizes trends relating to this measure. In 2008, Tax Freedom Day was calculated as April 23, which means that it took Americans 113 days of work to pay their tax obligations. Tax Freedom Day is a useful indicator for gauging the impact of taxes each year. The calculation includes all taxes incurred, including income tax, federal tax, state tax, medicare and excise taxes. Examination of the trends related to Tax Freedom Day illustrates how changes in tax law, government monetary policy, and even World War I and II have affected when Tax Freedom Day will fall.
A situation where an investor is unwilling or unable to exit a position because of the regulations, taxes or penalties associated with doing so. This may be an investment vehicle, such as a retirement plan, which can not be accessed until a specified retirement date. If there is an increase in value of stocks held by an individual they will be subject to a capital gains tax (with some exceptions). To reduce their tax burden, an investor could shelter these gains in a defined retirement account. The individual is considered locked in because if a portion of this investment is withdrawn prior to maturity the owner will be taxed at a higher rate than if they waited.
Tax fraud occurs when an individual or business entity willfully and intentionally falsifies information on a tax return in order to limit the amount of tax liability. Tax fraud essentially entails cheating on a tax return in an attempt to avoid paying the entire tax obligation. Examples of tax fraud include claiming false deductions; claiming personal expenses as business expenses; and not reporting income. edit Tax fraud involves the deliberate misrepresentation or omission of data on a tax return. In the United States, taxpayers are bound by a known legal duty to voluntarily file a tax return and to pay the correct amount of income, employment and excise taxes. Failure to do so by falsifying or withholding information is against the law and constitutes tax fraud. Tax fraud is investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI) unit.
An annuitization-method option with which the annuitant chooses to receive regular income payments that are guaranteed to last the rest of his or her life but also guarantees income payments for a minimum number of years (the term) following the start of the annuitization period - even if the annuitant dies before the end of the term. This annuitization-method option guarantees you a lifelong retirement income but also removes the risk associated with an early death, in which case you would lose the value of your contributions to the annuity account. However, compared to the annuitants who have the standard life option (without guaranteed term coverage), annuitants who choose this option generally receive smaller income payments as a price paid for the added safety.
The selling of one's life insurance policy to a third party for a one time cash payment. The purchaser then becomes the beneficiary of the policy and begins paying the premiums. Typically the purchaser is an experienced institutional investor, and policies will have face amounts in excess of $250,000.A life settlement is similar to a "viatical settlement". Life settlements are usually only done when the insured person doesn't have a known life-threatening illness. They are often done with "key individual" insurance policies held by companies on executives who no longer work there; the company has a chance to cash out on a policy that was previously illiquid.Sometimes people outgrow their need for a specific life insurance policy, and a life settlement may offer the chance to gain more than the policy's cash surrender value.
As the name implies, this number is a nine-digit number used as a tracking number by the IRS for tax purposes. Whereas Social Security numbers are in the format of XXX-XX-XXXX, tax ID numbers are read as XX-XXXXXXX. This number is required information on all tax returns filed with the IRS. Tax ID numbers come in three different forms. Individuals are assigned TINs in the form of Social Security numbers (SSNs), whereas businesses such as corporation and partnerships are assigned Employer identification numbers (EINs). Trusts, fiduciaries and other non-business entities are assigned straight tax ID numbers (TINs).
An annuitization-method option for a typical annuity offered by an insurance company with which the annuitant chooses to receive regular income payments from his or her annuity account for life. The insurance company guarantees that the annuitant will receive payments for the rest of his or her life, and structures the payment amounts to provide room for the insurance company's profit margin. With this type of annuitization-method option, the annuitant is essentially converting the lump- sum value of his or her annuity account into a guaranteed income, thus removing the risk that his or her retirement savings will run out before death. In this way, the primary benefit of the life option is peace of mind. However, should the annuitant die relatively soon after starting to receive funds, he or she will not receive the full value of his or her savings (the insurance company gets to keep what's left over).