THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2025 Page 17 tion Financial Aid Road Show,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “The students we spoke with expressed overwhelming interest in going to college, but many said they were unaware of the historic levels of available state fi - nancial aid. Massachusetts has nearly $400 million in fi nancial aid and we want students and families to know the fi rst step to accessing this money is to complete the FAFSA.” “Too many students leave money on the table by not completing the FAFSA, and the implications of that are significant,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega. “Accessing fi nancial aid has an impact on whether a student attends the institution of their choice or attends college at all. College access, and the upward mobility that comes from a college degree, all start with applying for fi nancial aid.” Students and families can learn more about FAFSA by visiting Mass.Gov/FinancialAid which has links to free FAFSA. QUOTABLE QUOTES — LET THE 2026 RACE FOR GOVERNOR BEGIN “Massachusetts means business. We need to support our entrepreneurs and companies, cut their costs and make it easier to do business in our state. That’s what we are doing by cutting red tape, simplifying regulations and saving thousands of businesses and business owners signifi cant time and money so they can focus on what matters most — growing jobs and contributing to our economy.” ---Gov. Maura Healey announcing that she is eliminating a series of regulations for the purpose of saving businesses and business owners time and money. “Gov. Maura Healey has spent her days in the Corner Offi ce devastating Massachusetts’ business environment and making life unaff ordable for working people through her support for increased regulations, fees and taxes. As a result, Massachusetts is bleeding businesses, private sector jobs and workers, and is now dead last in the country in job growth.” ---Brian Shortsleeve, candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. “Gov. Healey’s so-called regulatory reform is nothing more than political theater. Any small business owner can see right through this. These symbolic tweaks won’t even begin to fi x the hostile business climate, sky-high taxes, and runaway spending that are making Massachusetts unaff ordable and unattractive to employers.” ---Mike Kennealy, candidate for Republican nomination for governor. HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of May 2630, the House met for a total of four hours and 11 minutes while the Senate met for a total of three hours and 22 minutes. Mon. May 26 No House session. No Senate session. Tues. May 27 House 11:01 a.m. to 1:33 p.m. Senate 11:32 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wed. May 28 No House session. No Senate session. . Thurs. May 29 House 11:01 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Senate 11:20 a.m. to 12:44 p.m. Fri. May 30 No House session. No Senate session. Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019. ASSET PROTECTION CONCERNS WITH IRA’S T he Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) protects assets held in a qualifi ed retirement plan from the reach of creditors. What about IRA’s? Are they a protected asset? The trend in recent years has been to bring IRA’s in line with qualifi ed plans in terms of protection against creditors. In Patterson v. Shumate, 504 U.S. 753 (1992), the Supreme Court ruled that an interest in an ERISA qualified trust is excluded from a debtor’s bankruptcy estate. In Rousey v. Jacoway, 544 U.S. 320 (2005), the Court ruled that Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s) are similarly exempt. Subsequently, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 amended the Bankruptcy Code to provide that IRA’s and Roth IRA’s are exempt up to certain limits that are adjusted every three years. The latest update in March of this year brought the level of protection up to $1,711,975. In Massachusetts, under Mass General Laws, Chapter 235, Section 34A, amounts that have been rolled over from a qualifi ed retirement plan into an IRA are protected from all creditors’ claims other than those connected with divorce, child support, or criminal penalties or restitution. This is exactly the same degree of protection as is provided by the statute for qualifi ed plans. If you roll money from your 401(k) plan into an IRA account that includes non-ERISA contributions, the liability protection level will not be unlimited. Liability protection will be limited to $1,711,975. This is an example of a co-mingled IRA account. IRA contributions other than rollovers made during the 5-year period preceding the IRA owner’s declaration of bankruptcy are protected only to the extent of an amount equal to 7% of the individual’s income during that 5-year period. For the calendar year 2025, the maximum amount you can contribute to an IRA is $7,000. For anyone 50 years or older, the additional catchup contribution is $1,000. These same limitations apply to Roth IRA’s. Individuals who receive compensation (e.g. W-2 income), including alimony, that is includible in gross income, are entitled to make contributions to Traditional or Roth IRA’s per the SECURE Act of 2019, regardless of age. Previously, the age limit was 70 ?. When you or your spouse are an active participant in a qualifi ed retirement plan, the deduction may be reduced or even eliminated depending on how high your adjusted gross income is. You need to make the contribution by 4-15-26 for a calendar year 2025 deduction. Filing for an extension will not give you extra time to make the IRA contribution for calendar year 2025. For married individuals fi ling joint returns, if both taxpayers are active participants in an employer’s qualifi ed retirement plan, their ability to claim a deduction for contributions made to traditional IRA’s depends upon the amount of their modifi ed adjusted gross income. The allowable deduction will be reduced when modifi ed adjusted gross income is between $126,000 and $146,000. For a single taxpayer, the deduction for an IRA is phased out if he or she is an active participant in a qualifi ed retirement plan and modifi ed adjusted gross income is between $79,000 and $89,000. However, if only one of the married taxpayers is an active participant in a qualifi ed retirement plan, the deductible contribution by the spouse who is not an active participant is phased out if the couple’s modifi ed adjusted gross income is between $236,000 and $246,000. Knowing that you not only get a tax deduction for a contribution to a Traditional IRA and that the IRA account is exempt from creditors, one might have one more reason to contribute each year to an IRA. Joseph D. Cataldo is an Estate Planning/Elder Law Attorney, Certifi ed Public Accountant, Certifi ed Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation.
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