Bala Planning Team

For some executives, the most important tax deadline of the year isn't April 15. It's December 31.

If you have access to a nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan, deferral elections typically must be made before the compensation year begins.

Under IRC Section 409A, once that window closes, retroactive elections are not permitted.

Eligible executives may be able to defer salary, bonuses, and incentive pay and delay taxation until a lower-income year.

Missing the election means missing that opportunity entirely for that year.

What often gets overlooked is the timing.

Year-end is busy, and a deadline that arrives before income is received can be easy to miss.

📅 If this applies to your situation, now is the time to review your elections before Q4.

💡 Consider asking your financial professional to work with your tax, legal, or accounting professionals if you want more information on how nonqualified deferred compensation works.

✈️ Do you have a college student studying abroad this fall?

Before they pack a single bag, there are a few financial details that can catch families off guard.

Families sometimes underestimate the true cost of studying abroad by 20-40 percent.

Budget the program fee, then add up to 25 percent for travel, shopping, food, and a “just-in-case” fund.

Things to know:

📚 529 funds can cover tuition and housing at eligible foreign institutions, but not airfare, visa fees, or passport costs.

🏥 Most U.S. health plans provide little to no coverage abroad. Medical evacuation alone can cost $20,000 to $200,000, and most domestic plans don't cover it at all.

💳 Cards with foreign transaction fees add 3 percent to every purchase. No-fee options may be worth exploring before they leave.

Most parents remember to ask, “Do you have your passport?”

What gets asked less often is, “Are we aligned on what this semester may really cost?”

The packing list gets them to the airport.

The financial details you discuss before they leave can help everyone manage surprises and unnecessary expenses once they arrive.

📝 A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged education savings plan. Before choosing a plan, it's important to consider not only the state tax treatment but also any associated fees and expenses. Availability of a state tax deduction will depend on your state of residence, as state tax laws and treatment may vary from federal tax laws. If you make nonqualified distributions, earnings will be subject to income tax and a 10 percent federal penalty tax.

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🏠 Most families have the same strategy for long-term care: deal with it when it happens. The problem is, by the time it happens, the choices have already narrowed.

Nearly 70 percent of today's 65-year-olds will need some form of long-term care, according to a 2025 study by Schwab.

The median cost of a private nursing home room is $116,800 per year.

An in-home health aide runs $75,504 annually.

With the average need lasting three years, you're looking at $226,000 to $350,000 at today's prices, and that number only grows over time.

Most people know it's coming. They just don't want to think about it.

And while they wait, premiums rise, health conditions develop that can limit eligibility, and options quietly disappear.

A few things worth knowing now:

🔸 LTC insurance can be most cost-effective when purchased sooner rather than later

🔸 HSA funds can be used to pay LTC premiums

🔸 Hybrid policies offer alternatives if you prefer more flexibility

There is no coverage that works retroactively. The conversation your family keeps putting off is worth having before the decision gets made for you.

🎓 Most of the conversation around college savings is about whether you're saving enough. Fewer people talk about what happens when a 529 plan outlasts the beneficiary’s education needs.

Maybe your child earned a scholarship. Maybe they chose a less expensive school. Maybe the plan changed entirely.

However it happened, you built this account carefully, and now it has more in it than you need.

For years, your options were limited: take a taxable distribution and pay a 10 percent penalty on earnings, or change the beneficiary and hope someone else uses it.

SECURE 2.0 added a third option. Not everyone knows that you can roll unused 529 funds directly into a Roth IRA for the account's beneficiary.

Here's what to know:

🔹 $35,000 lifetime cap per beneficiary

🔹 The account must be at least 15 years old

🔹 Annual rollovers are capped at that year's Roth IRA contribution limit ($7,500 in 2026)

🔹 Only contributions made at least 5 years before the transfer date qualify

🔹 No income limits apply (unlike regular Roth contributions)

This doesn't happen overnight.

If your 529 has more in it than your child will use, it may be worth a conversation before that money sits idle any longer.

📝 A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged education savings plan. Before choosing a plan, it's important to consider not only the state tax treatment but also any associated fees and expenses. Availability of a state tax deduction will depend on your state of residence, as state tax laws and treatment may vary from federal tax laws. If you make nonqualified distributions, earnings will be subject to income tax and a 10 percent federal penalty tax.

📝 To qualify for the tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings, Roth IRA distributions must meet a 5-year holding requirement and occur after age 59½. Tax-free and penalty-free withdrawals can also be taken under certain other circumstances, such as the owner's death. The original Roth IRA owner is not required to take minimum annual withdrawals.

#529

Your family could know every password you have and still be legally locked out of your photos, email, and accounts after you're gone.

☁️ Most estate strategies never address this gap.

A password helps practically. But it doesn't give your family legal permission to access an account.

Many platforms restrict access under their terms of service, and privacy laws can limit what companies disclose, even to a spouse or adult child.

These tools exist because knowing someone's password is not the same as having the right to use it.

Here are some suggestions:

◆ Reference digital assets generally and name a digital executor or fiduciary

◆ Keep a separate, secure inventory with accounts, passwords, recovery keys, and wishes

Many states have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, or RUFADAA. It creates a legal path for fiduciaries to access digital assets. But the law works best when paired with documented instructions and properly configured platform settings.

Your memories are saved. Make sure your family can access them.

☂️ One lawsuit has the potential to undo what it took a lifetime to build.

Most people assume their home and auto insurance policies cover everything. For everyday situations, they often do.

The problem is the situation that you never saw coming.

Think about where liability risk actually shows up.

🔹 A serious car accident where you are found at fault and multiple people are injured

🔹 A guest getting hurt on your property

🔹 A defamation claim from something posted online

🔹 A teenage driver in your household

🔹 An incident involving a rental property you own

🔹 A dog bite that leads to a settlement

Standard home and auto policies typically cap liability at $300,000 to $500,000. For someone who has spent decades building wealth, that coverage limit can leave a gap.

An umbrella policy extends that coverage to $1 million or more.

Most people who add an umbrella policy say the same thing afterward: they wish they had done it sooner.

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🎒🎒 The backpacks are back.

Every year around this time, the phone calls change. ☎️

➡️ Tuition wires.

➡️ Grandparents asking how to help.

➡️ Parents of high school seniors are thinking about FAFSA for the first time.

➡️ Empty-nesters are asking what to do with the spending that just freed up.

➡️ New questions about insurance coverage when a teen starts driving to an out-of-state campus.

If any of this is sitting on the family list, it could be a good time to meet with a financial professional.

We were all once someone’s intern.

Today is National Intern Day, and it made me think about the person who took a chance on me early in my career.

Most of us still remember that person.

For families, there is another reason to pay attention to the teenagers or young adults working this summer.

A paycheck can make a teenager eligible for a Roth IRA.

A teenager who contributes $2,300 a year starting at age 15 could have more than $707,000 by age 65, assuming a 6 percent average annual return.

And the contribution does not have to come out of the teen’s pocket.

A parent or grandparent can fund it, as long as the teen has enough earned income to qualify.

A summer job can be more than a first line on a resume.

It can be the start of a long-term financial habit.

If a teenager in your life is earning money this summer, have the Roth IRA conversation sooner rather than later.

📝 To qualify for the tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings, Roth IRA distributions must meet a 5-year holding requirement and occur after age 59½. Tax-free and penalty-free withdrawals can also be taken under certain other circumstances, such as the owner's death. The original Roth IRA owner is not required to take minimum annual withdrawals.

📝 Consider talking to your tax, legal, or accounting professional before moving ahead.