2019 - What a Year! We shared the most exciting news with you yesterday, but we have more! The Mason team and our clients have successfully made it through another tax season. This tax season was different than prior years for several reasons.  First, tax payers who always received a refund, may have had to write a check. Second, anxiety levels were higher than prior years because of the lack of clarity on Virginia conformity as well as the overall level of uncertainty in how the new tax code would impact each family. Third, the Mason team was more prepared than ever before which helped alleviate the pain of number one and two. We want to thank every client who contributed to Traditional and Roth IRAs well before the April 15 th deadline. We had fewer last minute contributions this year than ever before. In addition, we have been pushing for as many electronic contributions as possible. Electronic funds transfers from bank accounts to IRAs is by far the most efficient way for our office to process these contributions. Thank you for helping us get through this busy and stressful time of year. We also thank you for support during this time and understanding that the first couple months of the year are often our busiest.

New Rules for 2019 Medical Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Increased to $2,700 per individual or $5,400 per family. IRA contribution limits: Less than 50 = $6,000 50 or older = $7,000 401k/TSP contribution limits: Less than 50 = $19,000 50 or older = $25,000 Several clients are contributing to Traditional and Roth IRAs on a monthly basis. Many have already increased contributions to reflect the new limits. Again, please contact our office to increase monthly contributions to your IRAs or other investment accounts.

The Year of Long-term Care Ken Mason said it best: “I thought the hardest part about long-term care insurance was convincing clients to purchase it. It turns out, the hardest part of long-term care is convincing clients it’s time to use it.” Ken’s statement is accurate and powerful. It also illustrates why our team approach to financial planning is so important. One of our biggest values as financial planners is helping clients through the toughest times of life. Benefit eligibility for long-term care is defined as: You are unable to perform, without substantial assistance from another person, at least two activities of daily living for an expected period of at least 90 days You require substantial supervision due to your severe cognitive impairment John is currently in the process of helping one family through the long-term care claims process. During the phone call to initiate the claim, he learned the following: Substantial assistance means hands-on assistance or standby assistance . Hands-on assistance means physical help by another person without which you would not be able to perform the activities of daily living. Standby assistance means that you require the presence of another person within arm's reach of you to prevent, by physical intervention or cueing, injury to you while you are performing the activities of daily living. If you or a loved one needs standby assistance, it may be time to activate the long-term care policy. Call us and allow us to help. We know the claims process, the questions to ask, and have the ability to help make the experience as pleasant as possible.

Remember to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn and tune in to the radio show. We will be sharing helpful information, and updates on end-of-year scheduling and planning (and baby photos)! Thank you, as always, for your trust, confidence, and friendship.

RADIO SHOW Download the WNIS app to listen to our radio show with Mike and John. First and third Tuesday of every month 6:00 - 7:00 PM Next Show Date: May 21, 2019

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Michael R. Mason, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, Kenneth T. Mason, RICP®, John M. Mason, CFP®, and Holly L. Remsing, CFP® offer securities & advisory services through Centaurus Financial, Inc., Member FINRA and SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor. Mason & Associates, LLC and Centaurus Financial, Inc. are not affiliated companies. This is not an offer to sell securities, which may be done only after proper delivery of a prospectus and client suitability is reviewed and determined. Information relating to securities is intended for use by individuals residing in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. This e-mail and attachment(s) may contain information that is privileged, confidential, and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copy of this message is strictly prohibited. If received in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete/destroy the message and any copies thereof. This e-mail was sent in accordance with US Code 47.5.11, Section 227. We respect your privacy and pledge not to abuse this privilege. To stop future mailings, please respond by typing “remove” in your reply. The CLU®, ChFC® and RICP® are the property of The American College, which reserves sole rights to its use, and is used by permission.