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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, February 9, 2024 Page 19 Friends of the Malden River Meeting moved to Everett I n order to attend the Everett City Council meeting, the Friends of the Malden River’s February meeting has been moved to Everett City Hall (484 Broadway, Everett) on February 12 at 6:30 in the Keverian Room adjacent to the City Council Chambers. Please sign up to submit public comment in the back of the City Council Chambers at 6:30. The City Council welcomes public comment on the need for National Grid to install an attractive, user-friendly and easily accessible path along the Malden River shorelines connecting the Northern Strand Community Trail to Everett’s River Green Park. National Grid’s community liaison will be in attendance to listen and to relay the comments. The Conservation Law Foundation along with the Malden River municipalities, Mystic River Watershed Association and state legislators are in negotiations with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and National Grid attorneys. The Friends’ goal is to demonstrate public opinion on the importance of this critical piece of the Malden River Walk that would not only circle the Malden River but also connect the Malden River to the Mystic River Greenway, a future 25-mile circuit connecting communities and parks. National Grid hired and paid Shadley Associates to design and create an estimate for the River Walk. ROTH IRA ACCOUNTS T he Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 created the ROTH IRA MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 6 Sullivan hot dogs with some home fries and I said to myself, fuhgeddaboudit!! Darn good choice, Pistol! Thank you, Neil, your place is a treasure in case you didn’t realize it. And you are too, friend. As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – growing up in Edgeworth by Jimmy Walker: “Just some quick random Edgeworth thoughts and memories. “Chestnut fights, fruit trees and vegetable gardens in most backyards (sometimes good for the taking if you could outrun the dogs) but most folks would give them to you if you asked. Stickball at Emerson or Immaculate, street hockey everywhere (that damn orange ball), pick up baseball at Devir, tackle football without pads, Peter Levine riding his bike all over Edgeworth with his long hair and Celtics tank top. Delivering papers to Bobby Barry house right after a snowstorm, knowing I was going to get pelted good with snowballs, but I had a job to do, lol. “Going to visit my grandmother Connie in the kitchen at Forgione’s (after getting pelted by snowballs) for a hot meatball and a piece of bread while my aunt Rose tells my grandmother she’s giving away the profits for the day, lol. “Growing up next door to Mike’s Cafe and learning what excessive alcohol consumption is all about at 7 years old from my bedroom window at 2 am. “Working at Skip’s Auto on the corner of Highland and Medford with Paul Trulli and Art Rogers, they taught this 14-year-old a lot about cars and life....and hockey. “Growing up in Edgeworth with some of the best people that I still call friends today. A privilege to know most of you folks. Thank you for a great childhood and many awesome memories.” Postscript: In the photo, at City Hall on Pleasant Street, happily pictured side by side are recently retired Big A owner Nick “Steak Bomb” Kombouras and Mayor Gary “The Bomb” Christenson right after Mayor Gary handed Nick a sheet of paper thanking him for his many years making Malden a happy place. Good to see the two pictured together smiling. I recall back in the day driving by the Big A, in the front window spying a sign hanging prominently supporting the mayor’s opponent that year and saying to myself, Nick, Nick, Nick, you’re backing the wrong mayoral candidate this race (Gary won – again – btw). Insert great big smiley face. —Peter is lifelong Malden and a regular contributor to the Malden Advocate. He can be reached at PeteL39@aol. com for comments, compliments or criticisms. effective January 1, 1998. Although ROTH IRA’S are not tax deductible, if certain requirements are met, the earnings can be withdrawn tax free. Furthermore, the so-called “minimum distribution rules” that apply to Traditional IRA’S do not apply to ROTH IRA’S. Traditional IRA’S require withdrawals no later than April 1 following the Calendar Year in which the owner reaches age 73. Earnings in a ROTH IRA can accumulate tax-free during the owner’s lifetime. An individual can contribute the lesser of his or her earned income for the year or $6,500 to either a ROTH IRA or a Traditional IRA. The Taxpayer, however, must meet certain adjusted gross income (AGI) limitations. In addition, the owner may still participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. If you are age 50 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000 to a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA. For single Taxpayers, eligibility phases out with AGI between $138,000 and $153,000 and for married, filing joint Taxpayers, eligibility phases out with AGI between $218,000 and $228,000. For a married, filing joint Taxpayer, if the couple’s AGI is less than $218,000, and the working spouse has at least $6,500 in earned income, then each spouse can contribute $6,500 to a ROTH IRA. This is so even if the non-working spouse has no earned income. The non-working spouse in effect “borrows” the earned income of the other spouse. If you are an active participant in a qualified retirement plan, and a single taxpayer, your contribution to a Roth IRA is phased out with AGI between $73,000 and $83,000. If you are married filing a joint tax return, the contribution is phased out with AGI between $116,000 and $136,000. For a spouse who is not an active participant in a qualified retirement plan, the Roth IRA contribution is phased out with AGI between $218,000 and $228,000. Why contribute to a ROTH IRA? The benefits of “tax-free” earnings are simply too good to ignore. You may, however, still decide to contribute to a Traditional IRA if you (i) expect to retire relatively soon; (ii) you expect that your tax bracket will significantly drop during retirement; (iii) you will need the funds soon; (iv) and you plan on investing the savings in tax dollars generated from the Traditional IRA contribution itself. If you were to be laid off, switch jobs or retire, tremendous flexibility is gained when viewing basic ROTH IRA planning. When you terminate your employment, your 401(k) balance, for example, can be rolled over first into a Traditional IRA “roll-over” account. This would constitute a taxfree “roll-over.” From there, you could convert the Traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA. This would constitute a taxable conversion. You have the flexibility of determining in which calendar years to perform the conversion, based upon whether or not you had been working in a particular calendar year, whether or not your other income is unusually low in a particular year, or whether or not you had sufficient mortgage interest or real estate tax deductions to help offset the “conversion” income. One problem with Traditional IRA’S is that the “deferred income” is ultimately taxed to the beneficiaries. Under the Secure Act, non-spousal beneficiaries have 10 years to withdraw the account balance as opposed to over his or her life expectancy. This is a game changer. With ROTH IRA’S, the income when received is received “tax free.” Furthermore, tax-free growth can continue after your death unlike with a Traditional IRA. Spousal beneficiaries can establish their own Spousal Roth IRA account and continue with tax deferral. There would be no required minimum distributions during the surviving spouse’s lifetime, unlike with a Traditional IRA account. Children old enough to earn income should be encouraged to earn at least $6,500 per year in order to contribute to a ROTH IRA. This will result in a tremendous benefit based upon many years of contributions. The investment accumulates income tax free. One often overlooked benefit of a ROTH IRA is found in the Medicaid Planning area. An individual who foresees the possibility of being admitted into a nursing home, expecting to apply for MassHealth benefits, could withdraw the account balance and place into an irrevocable trust in order to commence the five-year look back period. None of the withdrawal would be taxable so there is a much greater incentive to take action to protect the assets in the Roth IRA. This is not the case with a Traditional IRA account. The entire withdrawal would be taxable. Once the required five-year look back period is satisfied, that individual may be eligible for MassHealth benefits as a result of having transferred the countable ROTH IRA assets from his or her name.. ROTH IRA’S offer significant planning opportunities. If you are eligible to make a contribution, it is almost always a good idea to do so. A ROTH IRA contribution must been made by April 17, 2024 for Calendar Year 2023. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a master’s degree in taxation. REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS BUYER1 THALI, AMOGH BUYER2 SELLER1 DEJESUS, MARCIO SELLER2 Copyrighted material previously published in Banker & Tradesman/The Commercial Record, a weekly trade newspaper. It is reprinted with permission from the publisher, The Warren Group. For a searchable database of real estate transactions and property information visit: www.thewarrengroup.com. ADDRESS 13 PRESTON ST CITY MALDEN DATE 01.22.24 PRICE 755000\

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