December 2022 Proactive newsletter

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December 2022 – Messages from your retirement system

Anthony Estell

From Anthony's desk

Notes from ORS Director Anthony Estell

Welcome to your December 2022 issue of the Proactive newsletter.

In October, the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) and Voya Financial asked you to review your retirement goals and build your future. Voya offered virtual Q&A sessions and one-on-one appointments for those who have a Voya account. ORS offered resources and tools for pension plan participants.

Many of you found the one-month campaign’s offerings personally beneficial and we’re glad you did.

Nearly 16,000 opened our weekly tips and suggestions via email. About 1,400 dove into early- and mid-career and nearing retirement checklists. Some 1,000-plus checked out our informative landing page. More than 300 registered for question-and-answer sessions, gaining some personal attention in those group discussions. There were 750 who took matters further by registering for one-on-one sessions with Voya.

Retirement is a journey, and we are here to help you with every step along yours.

May you and yours be safe, healthy, and prosperous over the holidays and into 2023.

Anthony Estell, director
Michigan Office of Retirement Services

Hands typing keyboard

Five things you should do

Over the past year, the Michigan Office of Retirement Services and Voya Financial have been sharing information and resources designed to help women better prepare for retirement.

While education is an important first step, an even more important step is to act on what you’ve learned.

Consider setting aside time to do the following:

The information shared through our Women & Retirement campaign is about empowerment in navigating your retirement journey. Remember, small steps taken today help your big plans happen.

For more information on any of these topics or others, please visit and learn more on our Women & Retirement website.

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Consider making changes for retirement savings and investments

There’s still time to make retirement savings and investment adjustments with income-tax impacts for year-end 2022.

However, with the holidays looming, the opportunity is narrowing, said Eric Hoogstra, a Grand Valley State University clinical associate professor of finance and Seidman Financial Planning Certificate Program director.

“With the market being down, probably the biggest thing now is to move some of your traditional IRA funds into a ROTH IRA,” he said. “If you transfer them now, and pay taxes on this reduced amount, going forward the growth would be tax free.”

Contributing to a ROTH or traditional IRA can be done through April 18, 2023, to take the tax benefit for the 2022 tax year.

“The biggest thing today is to look at your investments and make sure you’re diversified enough within this current environment,” he said.

Retirement savings differs for someone age 30 compared to a 60 year old, said Hoogstra, the son of a Holland Public Schools psychologist and Hamilton Community Schools kindergarten teacher and a beneficiary of their Michigan Public Schools Employees’ Retirement System pensions.

“Most people, as they age, they should probably get a little bit more conservative,” he said. “When you’re 50, you probably shouldn’t be 100% in stocks anymore.”

In addition, doubling up on your charitable contributions within one year to push you over the standard limits and then take standard deductions in alternate years is also something that people do.

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Tax season arrives in January

Income tax season looms for filing your 2022 taxes.

Get organized by gathering all your required forms to make filing your taxes easier. You want to be sure to report benefits you’ve received and claim the credits you’re eligible for. In addition, make sure you understand where to go for tax help and know the federal Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Tax season begins in late January 2023, when the IRS will begin accepting and processing 2022 federal tax returns. Jan. 31, 2023, is the due date for employers to send W-2 forms, although you might not receive them by then.

The deadline for filing federal, state, and local income tax returns for 2022 gained income is April 18, 2023.

taxes 2023 blocks

Prepare for 2023 taxes now

Now’s a perfect time to get ready for the 2023 tax year, too.

The IRS announced tax year 2023 annual inflation adjustments for more than 60 tax provisions, including tax rate schedules and other tax changes.

The tax items for tax year 2023 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include:

  • The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly will be increasing to $27,700, up $1,800. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $13,850, up $900; and for heads of households, the standard deduction will be $20,800, up $1,400. 
  • The top marginal rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $578,125 ($693,750 for married couples filing jointly).
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