Looking Back At 2020’s Finances
Dec 30, 2020, 9:08 AM
A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 12, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – In order to learn from the past, as far as your family finances go, you have to look at some of the big events that shaped so many savings and retirement accounts this year.
“Peak to trough, that was a 32% drop in five weeks,” said Brian Decker with deckerretirementplanning.com. “That’s never happened before.”
Decker mentioned the volatility of the stock market once the pandemic hit, saying it was a shock to the bull market that was celebrating more than a decade of growth.
For those saving for retirement, it’s a good time to review the risk of some of those investments.
And for those who may have had to collect unemployment benefits, Decker also had another heads-up when it comes to tax time.
“Plan for taxes,” he said. “A record number of people … have filed for unemployment since the pandemic began. And while these benefits provide an important lifeline, they are taxable at the federal and state level.”
The federal government allows you to select a 10% flat withholding on unemployment benefits to be squared away already when you file.
