Give mom a gift to help her financial future

 With Mother’s Day around the corner, you might wonder if you should go beyond chocolates and flowers this year and give mom something that can help her far into the future. What sort of financial gift can improve her life? You could, for instance, encourage your mother to fund her IRA. As long as she has any earned income, she is eligible to invest in a traditional or Roth IRA (although a Roth IRA does have income limits which, if exceeded, will reduce and eventually eliminates contributions). In 2017, the IRA contribution limit is $5,500; or $6,500 for individuals 50 or older. Traditional IRA contributions may be deductible, depending on one’s income, and earnings can grow tax deferred. Taxes are due upon withdrawal and withdrawals prior to age 59-1/2 may be subject to a 10% IRS penalty. Roth IRA contributions are not deductible, but earnings are distributed tax-free, provided an investor has had the account at least five years and doesn’t start taking withdrawals until age 59-1/2. You can’t contribute directly to your mother’s IRA, but you can give her money to use for that purpose, if she chooses. And since she has until April 17, 2018, to fully fund her IRA for the 2017 tax year, your gift now may help make it that much easier for mom to “max out” on her account. Here’s another suggestion: Consider helping mom pay one or two months’ worth of insurance premiums. It’s possible that your mother is paying for multiple insurance policies, like life insurance and disability or long-term care insurance, so any financial help on your part would be valuable.

You might also want to give mom some tips on how she can help maintain her financial independence throughout her life. If she ever needed some type of long-term care, such as an extended stay in a nursing home or the services of a home health aide, the costs could be extremely high, and Medicare typically pays little of these expenses. So you might want to connect your mother with a financial professional, who can provide strategies for protecting her from long-term care costs.

Here’s one more suggestion: Give a gift to a charitable organization your mother supports. Even though you’re making the gift in mom’s name, you should be able to reap some benefits yourself, even apart from the good feelings you’ll get by helping a charitable group. As long as the charity has 501(c)(3) status (named after the section of the Internal Revenue Code that governs such groups), your gift can offer you tax advantages. On the most basic level, a gift of cash can earn you a tax deduction. So, for example, if you are in the 25% tax bracket, and you give $1,000 to a qualified charity, you will be able to deduct $250 from your taxes.

You may be able to get even more tax benefits if you donate appreciated assets, such as stocks, to a charity. If you give appreciated stocks you’ve held for more than one year, you can deduct the value of the securities, based on their worth when you make the gift – and neither you nor the charity will have to pay capital gains taxes on the donated investments.

Your mother has done a lot for you. This Mother’s Day, show her you appreciate her efforts.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

Suicide and Overdose Awareness

 The Berrien County Health Department is leading an effort along with the Berrien County Suicide Prevention Coalition and other Recovery Oriented System of Care collaborators to raise awareness of the number of suicides and overdose deaths that occurred in Berrien County in 2016 in an effort to prevent further losses of life.

The Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) represents a network of organizations, agencies, and community members that work to coordinate a wide spectrum of services to prevent, intervene in, and treat substance use problems and disorders in Berrien County. Together, these partners are bringing awareness to the unprecedented number of suicides and drug overdose deaths that are occurring in Berrien County in order to prevent further loss of life by suicide or overdose. In 2016 alone, there were a combined total of fifty-five deaths due to suicide (21 deaths) and drug overdoses (34 deaths). Sadly, this equates to more than one preventable death due to suicide and overdose each week.

In order to highlight the tragic loss that this number represents and to honor these fifty-five lives lost during 2016, the campaign will feature visual markers at high-traffic intersections around Berrien County through mid-May. To further respect the individuals who lost their lives to suicide and drug overdose, the group will host a “1 is 2 Many Life Fest” event for the community on Sunday, May 21, 2017 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Riverfront Park Pavilion in Niles. This event will provide an opportunity for survivors, family who have experienced a loss to suicide or overdose, and community members to share stories, show support, and provide hope as the work continues to address these important public health issues of suicide and drug abuse.

Community members are encouraged to visit the website www.1is2many.com to find more information regarding the “1 is 2 Many Life Fest” event, the ROSC efforts, and other organizations including the Berrien County Health Department, Riverwood Center, the Suicide Prevention Coalition, the Voice.Change.Hope. Alliance, and Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health.

Plan to amend Brownfield Redevelopment Act

 Since 2011, Republicans have managed to turn the state around through strategic reforms and a better tax climate. We must continue, however, to look for opportunities to attract new business and economic activity to Michigan. One such way is restoring areas that remain blighted, commonly referred to as brownfields.

Brownfield redevelopment sites include contaminated and blighted properties. The revitalization, redevelopment and reuse of the brownfield sites are not often financially feasible with existing economic development tools and therefore remain vacant.

Last week, the House approved a plan to amend the Brownfield Redevelopment Act to add a tool that would help local units attract large developments and remove blight.

This new “transformational brownfield” plan would allow potential developers to capture 50 percent of certain tax revenue generated by the development in a given year. This incentive mechanism will help close the funding gap for developers in Michigan, allowing them to invest in and revitalize brownfields that would otherwise remain blighted. The state would capture the other 50 percent of the tax revenue.

The legislation does not cost the state additional money to implement the program and over the long term, it would have a positive fiscal impact on State and local governments.

Furthermore, the plan is well-balanced. There are caps on the value of incentives, limitations on the amount of projects that can be approved in a year, minimum investment thresholds and population requirements.

I was glad to see the requirement that 35 percent of the approved plans must be located in communities with fewer than 100,000 people, putting communities in Berrien County right in the mix. The Strategic Fund could even waive the minimum investment to get the process moving for communities with fewer than 25,000 people, or that are under emergency management.

The package of bills will soon be headed to Gov. Snyder for his consideration.

As your state representative, I will continue to look for ways to attract jobs and foster opportunity for our community.

Repealing and replacing Obamacare

 Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which is a first step in the right direction to repeal and replace Obamacare and ensure all Americans have access to quality, affordable healthcare.

Obamacare is broken. Here in Michigan, folks saw their premiums increased by nearly 17 percent last year on top of increases for the past several years. One out of three counties across the country have only one insurance provider and it looks like the situation will only get worse as other firms are on the verge of pulling the plug. Nearly two dozen of the non-profit co-ops have gone belly up. Some forecast a 40 to 50 percent rate increase if nothing happens.

High premiums, lack of access, rising costs. These don’t just impact Republicans or Democrats. They impact us all. The status quo is simply unacceptable.

The AHCA expands and enhances Health Savings Accounts. It provides a reasonable transition until 2020 for those on the Medicaid expansion and then grandfathers all those folks until they’re off. It helps young adults stay on their parents’ insurance until they’re 26. It provides a monthly tax credit for low-and middle-income individuals and families who don’t receive insurance through work or government programs.

The AHCA also protects those with pre-existing conditions. I told the president directly that I would not support this bill as written without a fix. He took the challenge and we walked him through the problems and potential solutions. Covering those with pre-existing conditions is of the utmost importance to me. Our bill already ensures that insurance companies are prohibited from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. But I did feel we could do more. Leaving these folks out in the cold would be simply unacceptable. So our amendment further protects folks from the financial impact associated with having a pre-existing condition by providing $8 billion to help pay the premiums of folks in that population. This was included in the final passage of the bill.

We also voted in favor of legislation to ensure that the AHCA will apply equally to everyone. In other words, members of Congress and staff will be treated the same as any other citizen – as it should be. We should not – and will not – be exempt from any laws we pass here in Congress.

No, this process has not been perfect. But I have been on-the-record for more than seven years now in favor of revamping our health care system and moving away from Obamacare. I remain confident that as the Senate works on this legislation we could see an inclusive, bipartisan approach, one that brings a stronger bill to conference; where the House and Senate will work out differences and unify the two bills into one.

I have heard from so many folks on both sides of this issue and appreciate all the comments we’ve received. I pledge to continue listening and will be a constructive partner in making our healthcare system work better for all Americans.

To learn more about this and other important legislative issues, please visit my website: upton.house.gov or call my offices in Kalamazoo (269-385-0039), St. Joseph/Benton Harbor (269-982-1986), or Washington, D.C. (202-225-3761).

Senate passes 2018 budget plan

 I was proud to support a Senate budget plan for 2018 that continues to help improve our economy, make our government more accountable and increase support for our schools.

Education remains a top priority in this plan, with every school seeing an increase in per-pupil funding. The plan would also help direct more resources into the classroom by paying down more than $1 billion in legacy costs.

This plan continues our focus on career and technical education and increases skilled training to help fill the jobs gap. It includes funds for new equipment and $10 million for the Going PRO program to help ensure all Michigan residents are given the tools they need to meet our growing skilled workforce needs.

As chairman of the Senate Corrections budget subcommittee, I saved $40 million beyond the governor’s budget recommendation, with the majority of the difference due to a decrease in funding that coincides with an expected reduction of 1,000 prisoners.

The bipartisan criminal justice reforms signed this year will result in better outcomes, increased public safety and reduced costs to taxpayers. This budget reinvests some savings into programs that will help further reduce recidivism and prison populations.

The plan also would increase staffing for Michigan’s veterans homes, hire 150 new state troopers and put more than $230 million in additional funding into fixing our roads.

We’ve accomplished much during the last six years, yet we must continue to ensure that our tax dollars are used effectively and efficiently. The Senate’s budget plan would enable us to continue to attract new jobs to Michigan and provide vital services while paying down debt and living within our means.

As always, I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback on the important issues facing Michigan. You can contact me at 517-373-6960.