I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

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JamesSFO
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I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by JamesSFO »

So it's only ~45 days from the Nov 1 I/EE bond date, any educated guesses where rates will land?

Similarly, thoughts on whether the 401K limit will bump up to 18K for 2015?
amfox1
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by amfox1 »

The raw, unrounded figure under the 401(k) law rose to $17,820 for 2014, so it is almost assured that the 401(k) limit will increase to $18k for 2015 as it would only require an annual COLA increase of 1.01%.

As for Series I bond rates, the increase in CPI-U from March through July is 0.83%. It is fair to assume the rate will approach 1.00% for the next six month period, excluding any additional fixed rate. The next CPI release date is September 17th.

As for Series EE bond rates, the calculation of 5 yrs rate from May 1 through September 12 would provide for a rate of 0.71% for the next six month period. Although Friday's rate (1.83%) was the highest this year, the overall Series EE rate is not likely to go higher by more than a basis point or two by the end of this calculation period. The next rate will be published on or about November 1st.
Last edited by amfox1 on Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JamesSFO
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by JamesSFO »

Thanks! I love this forum (and its members)
WHL
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by WHL »

amfox1 wrote:The raw, unrounded figure under the 401(k) law rose to $17,820 for 2014, so it is almost assured that the 401(k) limit will increase to $18k for 2015 as it would only require an annual COLA increase of 1.01%.
Care to elaborate on this?

http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Announces-20 ... ns-in-2014 [link fixed by admin LadyGeek]

"The elective deferral (contribution) limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan remains unchanged at $17,500."
poker27
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by poker27 »

JamesSFO wrote:So it's only ~45 days from the Nov 1 I/EE bond date, any educated guesses where rates will land?

Similarly, thoughts on whether the 401K limit will bump up to 18K for 2015?

Last time I tried guessing the I bond rate, I guessed it would rise a bit, and it dropped slightly. :confused
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Langkawi
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by Langkawi »

WHL wrote:
amfox1 wrote:The raw, unrounded figure under the 401(k) law rose to $17,820 for 2014, so it is almost assured that the 401(k) limit will increase to $18k for 2015 as it would only require an annual COLA increase of 1.01%.
Care to elaborate on this?
Perhaps you missed the "raw, unrounded" part.
WHL
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by WHL »

Langkawi wrote:
WHL wrote:
amfox1 wrote:The raw, unrounded figure under the 401(k) law rose to $17,820 for 2014, so it is almost assured that the 401(k) limit will increase to $18k for 2015 as it would only require an annual COLA increase of 1.01%.
Care to elaborate on this?
Perhaps you missed the "raw, unrounded" part.
I didnt miss anything. I asked for the post to be clarified.

Thanks for not helping.
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Langkawi
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by Langkawi »

WHL wrote:I didnt miss anything. I asked for the post to be clarified.

Thanks for not helping.
[OT comment removed by admin LadyGeek]
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The529guy
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by The529guy »

Hopefully this helps subsequent visitors to this thread.
WHL wrote:
Langkawi wrote:
WHL wrote:
amfox1 wrote:The raw, unrounded figure under the 401(k) law rose to $17,820 for 2014 [but the law requires the IRS to round down to the nearest $500, i.e. $17,500], so it is almost assured that the 401(k) limit will increase to $18k for 2015 as it would only require an annual COLA increase of 1.01%.
Care to elaborate on this?
Perhaps you missed the "raw, unrounded" part.
I didnt miss anything. I asked for the post to be clarified.

Thanks for not helping.
tecmage
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by tecmage »

And in case anyone is wondering about the calculation itself:
For 2007 and later years, the amount for year X
equals $15,000 times the ratio (rounded to 4 decimal places) of the sum of the year X-1 third
quarter CPI-U over the sum of the 2005 third quarter CPI-U.

For the Section 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) limits, and the Section 414(v) limit , rounding is to the
next lower multiple of $500.
From - http://www.buckconsultants.com/portals/ ... ximums.pdf
WHL
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by WHL »

The529guy wrote:Hopefully this helps subsequent visitors to this thread.
WHL wrote:
Langkawi wrote:
WHL wrote:
amfox1 wrote:The raw, unrounded figure under the 401(k) law rose to $17,820 for 2014 [but the law requires the IRS to round down to the nearest $500, i.e. $17,500], so it is almost assured that the 401(k) limit will increase to $18k for 2015 as it would only require an annual COLA increase of 1.01%.
Care to elaborate on this?
Perhaps you missed the "raw, unrounded" part.
I didnt miss anything. I asked for the post to be clarified.

Thanks for not helping.
:sharebeer thanks
amfox1
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by amfox1 »

WHL wrote:
amfox1 wrote:The raw, unrounded figure under the 401(k) law rose to $17,820 for 2014, so it is almost assured that the 401(k) limit will increase to $18k for 2015 as it would only require an annual COLA increase of 1.01%.
Care to elaborate on this?

http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Announces-20 ... ns-in-2014 [link fixed by admin LadyGeek]

"The elective deferral (contribution) limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan remains unchanged at $17,500."
Sure. The press release you cited only includes the final figures. The raw amount gets rounded down to the nearest $500 by law. Therefore, the raw number of $17,820 was rounded down to $17,500. Assuming a 1.01+% COLA (which is highly likely), the raw number will be in excess of $18,000 and will therefore be rounded down to $18,000 (assuming it is not in excess of $18,500, which is unlikely).

Hope this helps.
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by LadyGeek »

I removed an off-topic comment. As a reminder, see: Forum Policy
We expect this forum to be a place where people can feel comfortable asking questions and where debates and discussions are conducted in civil tones.
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crowd79
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How are future I-Bond rates looking?

Post by crowd79 »

Does anyone know what the current CPI-U information is at this time and how are I-Bond rates looking for this fall? Trying to decide if I should wait to buy some I-Bonds or take advantage of higher rate 5 Yr CD's right now with some cash I have on the side. Thanks
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Re: How are future I-Bond rates looking?

Post by JamesSFO »

See thread I started a few days ago: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 2&t=146914
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by LadyGeek »

FYI - I merged crowd79's thread into here.
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by amfox1 »

The CPI-U for August fell 0.2 percent, although the CPI-U increased 1.7 percent over the last 12 months.

As for Series I bond rates, the increase in CPI-U from March through August is 0.66%. There is one month to go until the rate for the next six month period, excluding any additional fixed rate, is determined. The next CPI release date is October 22nd.
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by ajcp »

tecmage wrote:And in case anyone is wondering about the calculation itself:
For 2007 and later years, the amount for year X
equals $15,000 times the ratio (rounded to 4 decimal places) of the sum of the year X-1 third
quarter CPI-U over the sum of the 2005 third quarter CPI-U.

For the Section 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) limits, and the Section 414(v) limit , rounding is to the
next lower multiple of $500.
From - http://www.buckconsultants.com/portals/ ... ximums.pdf
Somewhat related, is there a similar link for IRAs and/or HSAs?
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by amfox1 »

ajcp wrote:Somewhat related, is there a similar link for IRAs and/or HSAs?
Not that I am aware, but according to thefinancebuff.com, the IRA contribution limit is likely to remain at $5500 in 2015. Last year, the government issued a press release on October 31 with the 401(k) and IRA contribution limits.

http://thefinancebuff.com/2015-401k-403 ... imits.html
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by JamesSFO »

College of Financial Planning has nice summaries of limits, 2014 here: http://www.cffpinfo.com/pdfs/2014_Annual_Limits.pdf

This attorney has good summaries in a table format that includes IRA limits: http://benefitsattorney.com/charts/maximums/
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by Ice-9 »

JamesSFO wrote:So it's only ~45 days from the Nov 1 I/EE bond date, any educated guesses where rates will land?
At the moment, the ten-year TIPS is very similar to the yield it had around the first of May. However, I've noticed CD rates generally have gone up slightly. It will be interesting to see what happens to I-Bond rates Nov 1. If I had to guess today, my gut says the fixed rate will go back up to a whopping 20 basis points. :happy
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by amfox1 »

The CPI-U for September increased 0.1 percent, and the CPI-U increased 1.7 percent over the last 12 months.

As for Series I bond rates, the increase in CPI-U from March through September is 0.74%. The rate for the next six month period, excluding any additional fixed rate, is 0.74%.
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

amfox1 wrote:The CPI-U for September increased 0.1 percent, and the CPI-U increased 1.7 percent over the last 12 months.

As for Series I bond rates, the increase in CPI-U from March through September is 0.74%. The rate for the next six month period, excluding any additional fixed rate, is 0.74%.
Look for them to cut the rate on the EE bonds. 0.50% as low as that is for the next 19 years and 11 months is a gift right now.
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by JamesSFO »

The benefits attorney now is showing $18K as 401K deferral ($53K for total EE + ER contribution limits) for 2015. Link: http://benefitsattorney.com/charts/maximums/

IRAs are going to $6K, catch up (over 50) to $6K.

All appears to have been posted today.
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by LadyGeek »

Caution on the source for that table. Footnote 1 states the 2015 IRS limits are projected. The only credible source is from the IRS, which is not used here.

Social Security limits are based on: Social Security Announces 1.7 Percent Benefit Increase for 2015, which states the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $118,500 from $117,000. No other SS limits are described in this announcement.

Update: After receiving a PM, there is a formula for predicting the IRA 2015 limits which is discussed in this thread: CCH Projects 2015 Brackets, IRA Limits etc. Also, SS automatic determinations are found here.
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by JDDS »

I'm sure the IRS will get the official word out soon, but TFB says IRAs are staying at a $5.5k limit http://thefinancebuff.com/2015-social-s ... -base.html
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by JDDS »

amfox1 wrote:The CPI-U for September increased 0.1 percent, and the CPI-U increased 1.7 percent over the last 12 months.

As for Series I bond rates, the increase in CPI-U from March through September is 0.74%. The rate for the next six month period, excluding any additional fixed rate, is 0.74%.
The other thread says this amount annualized is doubled? http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... st=2234250
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by tfb »

JDDS wrote:I'm sure the IRS will get the official word out soon, but TFB says IRAs are staying at a $5.5k limit http://thefinancebuff.com/2015-social-s ... -base.html
So did CCH. http://news.cchgroup.com/index.php/tax- ... -for-2015/
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by JamesSFO »

Thanks for the catch on those being estimates. Her page usually had been so accurate and also it had just been updated. Oh, well.
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by JamesSFO »

And new thread with the 2014 actual announcement is here: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... st=2234839
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Re: I/EE Bonds Nov Rates and 2015 401K Limits?

Post by LadyGeek »

Thanks. It's time to update the wiki. :)
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