And it gets more money out of your name that could be subject to estate taxes.

If you cash in your savings bonds, you will owe tax on the accrued interest. That's because you need that long to overcome policy expenses, and to allow cash value to build up and surrender charges to disappear. Your mother needs to file a gift tax return, but will not owe any gift taxes until she's given away at least a cool million. You are still working for the employer sponsoring the plan.

And it gets more money out of your name that could be subject to estate taxes. Petersburg Times does not edit posts but reserves the right to delete comments that violate our policy. Using your required minimum distributions for charity also could keep Social Security payments from being subject to income tax because of your lower taxable income, he said. That's a long time to cover living expenses and inflation, even for very large portfolios. And yet retirement is a time when some people begin to think about leaving a legacy and giving back to society. Please be sure your comments are appropriate before submitting them.

The Senate voted 30-9 to okay the measure, approved last month by the House, sending the legislation to Bush with a little more than a week left in his last regular session as governor. Some in retirement worry that money donated today will jeopardize their standard of living later. If all of these are met, you do not have to take your first minimum distribution until April 1 of the year after the year you retire. Lockwood says you need to pay premiums into this kind of plan for at least a decade before tapping any of the cash. The plan rules allow you to delay distributions until after you retire.

It would be nice if down payments were deductible, but alas, they are not.