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* TUESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 30, 2003
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Chris Kinnas
Investment Advice
'Stretch IRA'
can help
shrink tax bite
After you open an IRA,
you need to decide how to
invest your contributions.
But, other than that, you
don’t really have a lot of
decisions to make. It’s a dif
ferent story, however, once
you inherit a traditional
IRA. At that point, you need
to make some choices - and
by making the right ones,
you could save thousands
and thousands of dollars.
As you probably know, a
traditional IRA grows on a
tax-deferred basis, so you
pay no taxes on your earn
ings until you start making
withdrawals. But tax defer
ral also ends at another
time - death. So, when you
inherit an IRA, you could be
facing a big tax hit - if you
take the money as a lump
sum.
Do you have an alterna
tive? Yes. You could use the
money to set up a “stretch
IRA,” which, as the name
suggests, lets you stretch
out IRA withdrawals - and
the subsequent taxes - for as
little as a year or as long as
your lifetime. And since
you’re not liquidating the
IRA all at once, it can con
tinue growing over time.
If you decide to establish a
stretch IRA, you must begin
taking annual distributions
by the end of the calendar
year following the year of
the original IRA holder’s
death. (You can calculate
your life expectancy, which
determines your required
annual withdrawals,
through a “Single Life
Table” available from the
government.)
Furthermore, new
Internal Revenue Service
rules give you a “second
chance” if you inherited an
IRA before 2002. Under the
old rules, if you didn’t start
taking payments by Dec. 31
of the year following the
IRA holder’s death, you
gave up the right to lifetime
distributions and had to
take them all within five
years. But now you’ve got
until Dec. 31, 2003, to take
advantange of the stretch
IRA provisions. See your
financial and tax experts to
find out the specifics of this
“second chance.”
Plan ahead
A stretch IRA can benefit
you in some important
ways. But it won’t happen
by itself. For one thing, your
parents or other relatives
might have their IRA
administered by a small
bank - which might not
even offer the “stretch”
option. So, if you think a
family member may be
planning on leaving you a
traditional IRA, you’ll want
to check on where it’s being
held - and possibly move it
to a more “stretch-friendly”
place.
Obviously, you can’t make
such a decision on your own
- you’ll have to talk with
your parents or other rela
tives about what you’d like
to do. In other words, you’ll
have to plan ahead.
You’ll also need to do
some advance planning if
you’re in doubt as to who is
listed as the beneficiary of
an IRA. Depending on
where the IRA is being kept,
See KINNAS, page 7A
Reception held for MSC faculty
WARNER
ROBINS
McCall’s Tastes to
Remember on
Watson Boulevard
hosted a reception
Thursday evening
for faculty from
the new nearby
Macon State
College Warner
Robins Campus.
Faculty members
and guests came
by the restaurant
to sample its line
of sandwiches,
salads and soups.
Dahtys Hamilton,
executive secre
tary for MSC’s
Executive
Director Mike
Hale, samples
some of McCall’s
fare.
HHJ/Heather Faaciocco
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HHJ/Luci Joullian
Al Brown, the audio/visual technician specialist for Macon State’s Warner Robins
Campus.
(To send in your event for
the Business Calendar, fax
the details to 988-1181, e
mail to hhj@evansnewspa
pers.com or mail to Houston
Home Journal, P.O. Box
1910, Perry, GA 31069.)
Tuesday, Sept. ' 23:
Understanding Your
Credit
MACON - This seminar is
designed to assist you in
understanding your credit
history report. Find out
what the bank looks for and
how to fix common errors.
The seminar will be from 6
until 8 p.m. at 401 Cherry
St. Prepaid registration is
S3O. Call (478) 751-6592 for
more information.
Wednesday, Oct. 1:
Advertising and
Marketing: Is It Really
Worth It?
WARNER ROBINS - The
Warner Robins Chamber of
Commerce and Ann H.
Smith, CPA, are co-sponsor
ing a series of seminars this
year as part of the cham
ber’s effort to support the
business community with
meaningful continuing edu
cation programs. The
“Small Business
Networking Roundtable”
series is designed as an
opportunity for small busi
ness owners and key
employees to meet other
Business
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BUSINESS CALENDAR
professionals, network with
each other, as well as discuss
issues that affect the growth
of their business. The next
roundtable will be on
Advertising and Marketing:
Is It Really Worth It?, from
8-11 a.m. in the chamber
boardroom, 1420 Watson
Blvd., Warner Robins.
Cost is either per session
or for the entire series.
Chamber members pay S4O
per session in advance, or
SSO at the door. Non-mem
bers pay $65 per session in
advance, or $75 at the door.
Cash, check, Visa,
Master Card, Discover and
American Express are
accepted.
To reserve a seat, contact
the Chamber at
akay@warner-robins.com or
Ann H. Smith, CPA, at (478)
471-1005 or
asmith@ahsmithcpa.com.
Wednesday, Oct. 1:
Leadership Development
Breakfast
PERRY - A monthly
breakfast hosted by Dennis
Hooper and Rick Parker.
Serving the Lord
-and His people
with gladness.
(475) »>SS-0237
Local leaders discuss John
Maxwell’s videotaped views
on “The Law of Identity:
Shared Values Define the
Team.” There is no charge,
and a note-taking outline is
provided. The group gathers
at 6:45 a.m. for juice, coffee,
fruit, and doughnuts. The
video starts at 7 a.m. Those
who must leave for work do
so at 7:20 a.m.; the rest dis
cuss the material until 8
a.m. All are invited -
Crosswalk Student Center,
1106 Swift St. Questions?
Call Dennis at 988-0237.
Thursday, Oct. 2: WBE
Certification seminar
MACON - WBE (Women
Business Entrepreneurs)
Certification can make a dif
ference in any woman
owned business that wants
See CALENDAR, page 7A
All-You-Can-Eat
Shrimp-$9' 9 /Catfish-$9' 9
Friday & Saturday - spm -10 pm
I-7B Ik It 1M • M7-M77
F. Dennis Hooper
Personal Coach and Collaborator
Consulting in the areas of
personal and leadership development.
Hooper and Friends, Inc. jj
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Leaders often ask for
help with time manage
ment. As leaders assume
greater responsibilities,
they are expected to han
dle the demands of multi
ple priorities.
The secret to handling
multiple goals and proj
ects is to accept the reality
that none of us manages
time. Successful leaders
have come to realize they
can redly manage nothing
but themselves. So what
we usually call “time man
agement” is really “self
management.”
Managing multiple goals
and projects requires that
you discipline yourself to
attend to the basics of
managing well each goal
and prqject.
Clear expectations. It
is vital that all the people
involved with the project
define with you the
desired outcome of the
effort and the frequency
and method to be used to
keep everyone informed of
progress. Make sure
everyone involved knows
who will initiate the status
reports, when they will
occur, how the informa
tion will be shared, and
who will be notified.
Design a tracking
system. Since you will be
managing multiple goals
and projects, you need a
system for tracking
progress on each one.
Inexperienced individuals
rely on memory or on mul
tiple pieces of paper, and
they soon find these sys
tems inadequate.
Experiment to learn what
works for you, but many
systems involve a simple
matrix with the multiple
projects listed down the
left-hand side of the sheet.
Column headings are usu
ally either future dates or
the sequential steps
expected to be taken.
Progress on each project is
then noted horizontally
from left: to right across
the page.
Use the tracking sys
tem. Once designed, the
tracking system should
support you as you serve
the customers of each
project. I’ve seen leaders
design elaborate tracking
systems - then never use
them! It is imperative that
you allocate time weekly,
maybe daily, to call “time
out” from the hectic grind
of “to do” items. Use this
time to update your track
ing system. And don’t just
fill in the blanks mindless
ly - use this time to work
“on” your systems (rather
than “in" your systems).
Ask yourself for each
project if there are ways
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478-053-6033
478-053-0047 (FAX)
Caivenlantly Located At 2706 Watsta Bird -
la Frul Of law's • Wanwr Bohlas, 6A «
PAGE 6A
Dennis Hooper
... even greater things .. .
dhooper2@juno.com
you can improve the
progress that is occurring
and whether you are keep
ing the right people
informed. Look over the
information recorded for
the past weeks and
months, and project for
ward to future weeks and
months. Challenge your
self to determine if this
tracking system is helping
you accomplish the tasks
necessary to achieve the
desired outcomes of these
projects.
Informal “check-in”
with stakeholders. Your
tracking system will
include the timing of for
mal progress reports to
those interested in the
project. However, every
stakeholder appreciates
informal “How’s it
going?” contacts, assuring
them that you are staying
on top of their projects.
Among the stakeholders
you should keep informed
are the client, collabora
tors working with you on ,
the project, and your boss.
Get comfortable
apologizing. Unexpected
disruptions will derail
even the best of plans.
When you fail to meet a
commitment, a genuine
and heartfelt “I’m sorry”
is very appropriate. It is
far better to acknowledge
our gaffes than it is to try
to cover them up or ignore
them. Obviously, if you
know you will not be able
to meet a commitment far
enough in advance, you
should contact the appro
priate individual and
establish new expecta
tions.
The key to successfully
managing multiple priori
ties is self-discipline. Add
only projects and goals for
which you have taken the
front-end time to under
stand the expectations
clearly. Then organize a
simple but thorough sys
tem for stimulating and
tracking progress against
each of the projects and
goals. And be sure to
pause periodically to
assess where you are - and
where you need to refocus
your attentions.