Client Relationship Manager Maria Malloy, CFP®, details ways employees can get the most out of their benefits.
Safe Travels: Tips for Leaving Home During the Holidays
The holidays are a wonderful time to travel and spend time with friends and family. Whether you’re flying across the country or spending a few days with loved ones nearby, these practical tips can help ensure peace of mind while you’re away.
Secure Your Home
- Leverage home automation: program smart lights, thermostats, video doorbells, and home security cameras in advance and monitor remotely for real-time updates.
- Inform a neighbor or friend: ask someone you trust to keep an eye on your home, collect unexpected packages, and report anything unusual.
- Lock up and unplug: double-check that all doors, windows, and garage entries are locked. Unplug small appliances to prevent electrical hazards. Store jewelry, legal documents, and valuables in a safe or secure deposit box.
Plan with Health and Comfort in Mind
- Pack medications in your carry-on and bring extra doses in case of delays. Carry a list of your prescriptions and your doctor’s contact information.
- If you have a chronic condition or allergies, wear a medical ID bracelet. Request mobility assistance as soon as you can. Airports, hotels, and attractions often provide free or low-cost options like wheelchair or shuttle services or priority boarding.
- Keep your body moving when you are able, stretch regularly, and stay hydrated.
Manage Finances and Documents Safely
- Call your bank and credit card companies and tell them when you will be traveling to avoid flagged transactions or freezes.
- Carry only essential cards and a limited amount of cash and leave unnecessary documents at home.
- Make digital or paper copies of your passport, ID, travel insurance, and emergency contacts. Share these copies with a trusted family member or friend and store them for yourself in a separate location.
- Consider travel insurance, especially if the trip is especially long or complicated. Even the most well-prepared travelers have to pivot sometimes, and coverage can protect against severe weather, medical emergencies, and cancellations.
Stay Connected While Gone
- Share your itinerary with a trusted family member or friend and include the details of your accommodations.
- Use secure connections when accessing the internet and conducting financial transactions. Avoid using public Wi-Fi and opt for a VPN while abroad.
- Wait to post travel updates or photos online, especially on social media sites like Facebook, until after you return home to avoid alerting bad actors that you are away, and your home is empty.
Enjoy the Journey!
With your home secure and your visit planned thoughtfully, you can focus on connecting with loved ones, making fond memories, and enjoying the spirit of the holiday season.
Year-End Financial Planning Checklist
As the year draws to a close, we would like to highlight two key activities we’re undertaking on behalf of our clients and provide reminders on other best practices for year-end.
Tax-Loss Harvesting
Our investment team actively monitors portfolios for tax-loss harvesting opportunities. This involves selling securities at a loss to offset capital gains, while simultaneously reinvesting in a way that remains aligned with your long-term goals and risk tolerance. We also manage cost basis considerations to support overall tax efficiency.
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
Clients age 73 or older are legally required to take annual Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as traditional IRAs and 401(k)s. Vision Capital will assist in coordinating these distributions through your Fidelity or Schwab account as needed. If you have an inherited IRA, Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) may still be required, regardless of your age, depending on the terms of the inheritance and current IRS regulations. If you hold an inherited IRA or have any questions regarding your RMD obligations, please contact your client relationship manager for guidance.
Additionally, the following items can help clients get organized and ready to welcome in the new year.
Maximize Retirement Contributions
Even if you can’t contribute the full annual limit, increasing contributions before year-end can significantly enhance long-term retirement savings. If eligible, consider making “catch-up contributions,” which vary in amount depending on the type of retirement account.
Optimize Charitable Giving
To receive a 2025 tax deduction, charitable donations must be completed by December 31. We recommend acting early, as nonprofits can be overwhelmed during the final weeks of the year. Additional strategies to consider include bunching donations into a single year for greater impact, donating highly appreciated long-term assets, or making qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) directly from an IRA.
Evaluate Income Tax Withholding
Now is a good time to reassess your withholding elections to make sure they still match up with your current income level and tax situation heading into the new year.
Assess Medicare Coverage
We recommend reading the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) document, which details changes to costs and coverage. If you have experienced significant changes with your health, are seeing new providers, or have new prescriptions, it may be worthwhile to move to a new plan during open enrollment, which takes place from October 15 to December 7.
Contribute to Your Health Savings Account
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) carry the unspent funds over to the next year. If you are able, it is advantageous to maximize your contribution to your HSA for a triple tax advantage: tax-deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical costs.
Use Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
Flexible spending funds are generally subject to a “use it or lose it” rule. Depending on your plan, unused balances may expire at year-end. Eligible purchases include new contacts or glasses, prescriptions, appointment copays, and over-the-counter items such as first aid supplies, sunscreen, and cold and flu remedies.
Review Estate Planning Documents
Outdated beneficiary designations are unfortunately common and can lead to unintended consequences. Take the time to review and update your beneficiary forms to ensure they accurately reflect your current wishes and circumstances.
If you have any questions about the topics outlined above, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to support your financial goals with thoughtful, proactive guidance.
Maximizing Employee Benefits
Over time, the way humans work has evolved, and so have employee pay and benefits. The concept of employee benefits emerged during the Industrial Revolution in response to harsh working conditions when industrialists began offering housing, medical care, and educational opportunities to attract workers. As labor rights developed, benefits became a formal part of the employer structure. In the late 19th century, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck introduced a formal health insurance system for workers. This watershed moment influenced organizations and governments worldwide and eventually evolved into the employee benefits we know today.
Today, it is estimated that 90% of U.S. companies with 50 or more employees offer healthcare and/or other benefits to their workers. According to one study, benefits account for roughly 30% of an average worker’s total compensation. However, while employers now provide more benefits than ever, employee usage has not kept pace. More than one-third of employees report that they do not fully understand the benefits offered to them, and nearly half (46%) do not take all their paid time off.1, 2
To make sure you are getting the most out of your employee benefits, consider the following best practices:
Understand Total Compensation and Review Annually
Go beyond your base salary to calculate the full value of your compensation package. This may include 401(k) or other retirement account contributions and matches, health insurance premiums, stock options, tuition or continuing education reimbursement, paid time off, and bonus pay or profit-sharing. It is also important to find out if you have left any funds behind with previous employers. As of 2023, there were 29.2 million accounts left behind with approximately $1.65 trillion in forgotten assets, but thanks to SECURE 2.0, the Department of Labor created a database for workers to find old plans.3
We recommend clients review their benefits annually and adjust contributions and expenses as needed.
Max Out Employer Contributions
If your employer offers a 401(k) or other retirement account match, contribute at least enough to receive the full match, otherwise, you are leaving free money on the table and missing out on the power of compound growth. Similarly, if you have access to a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA), use it whenever possible to manage health and childcare expenses while lowering taxable income.
Leverage Equity Compensation Wisely
Stock options and equity-based pay can be a powerful part of your compensation package, but it is important to understand how they work. Do your research and find out your vesting schedules, your options for selling, and the potential tax implications. We recommend collaborating with your advisor at Vision Capital, as well as your tax and legal professionals, to plan for liquidity events such as an IPO or buyout, or personal shifts such as a career change or retirement.
Optimize Benefits Use
Take advantage of preventive care appointments and wellness programs through your insurance plan to reduce long-term healthcare costs. Explore additional benefits such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), which may offer mental health counseling, legal guidance, financial education, and career coaching. And don’t forget to use all your paid time off (PTO); it’s a valuable part of your compensation, essential for career longevity, and critical for preventing burnout.
Sources:
- “Voya Survey Finds One-Third of American Workers Don’t Understand the Benefits They Selected During Open Enrollment,” Voya Financial website, January 29, 2021.
- Juliana Menasche Horowitz and Kim Parker, “How Americans View Their Jobs,” Pew Research Center, March 30, 2023.
- Jessica Kickler, “Forgotten 401(k) Fees Cost Workers Thousands in Lost Retirement Savings,” CNBC, June 7, 2025.
Department of Labor Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database:
https://lostandfound.dol.gov/
Giving before You Are Gone: Clever Ways to Distribute Wealth
For a long time, putting your estate in order and planning your legacy was a straightforward process. You wrote out a will, named your survivors, and detailed who would receive what when you passed.
These days, there are new ideas around how wealth is transferred, including distributing the funds while the benefactor is still alive and able to witness the ripple effects of their gift(s). Here are a few examples of creative ways to share your wealth with your loved ones and charitable causes now or in the immediate future.
Give Generously – and Tax Free
The IRS allows individuals to give up to $19,000 per recipient (in 2025) each year without triggering gift taxes. That means a couple could jointly give $38,000 per recipient per year. This is a smart way to gradually transfer wealth to children, grandchildren, or even friends, without eating into your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. Some savers opt for an annual gifting strategy where they help pay for a loved one’s tuition, down payment or other savings, all while reducing their taxable estate.
Pay Directly for Medical Expenses or Tuition
Instead of giving cash, you can pay tuition or medical bills directly on someone’s behalf. These payments aren’t subject to gift tax limits, no matter how large. It’s a stealthy, IRS-approved way to support someone you love without affecting your annual gift limit.
Set Up a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF)
While not new, donor-advised funds are being used in new and creative ways. A donor-advised fund is like a charitable investment account. You contribute cash, stocks, or other assets, get an immediate tax deduction, and then recommend grants over time to your favorite charities. A donor-advised fund could be co-managed by parents and children and centered around the values and philanthropic efforts dear to them.
Start a Legacy Business or Family Foundation
If you want to blend entrepreneurship, family, and philanthropy, consider starting a small business or foundation with your loved ones. It could be a scholarship fund, a nonprofit, or a community initiative. Involve your children early so they can help shape the mission and be inspired to carry it forward.
Establish a Family Trust or Living Trust
A trust allows you to control how your wealth is distributed, both while you’re alive and after. A revocable living trust lets you maintain control of your assets and smoothly pass them to heirs without going through probate. You can also set conditions – like age restrictions or purpose-based use (education, housing, etc.) around the funds. Additionally, an irrevocable trust may be used to remove assets from your estate, potentially lowering estate taxes and protecting wealth from creditors.
Gift-Appreciated Assets
Rather than selling appreciated stocks and paying capital gains tax, gift them directly to loved ones in lower tax brackets or donate them to charity. Charities can sell these assets tax-free, and you get a full-value deduction. Family members who receive the assets may also benefit from a stepped-up cost basis if they inherit it, but that benefit doesn’t apply to lifetime gifts, so remember that timing is crucial.
Invest in Life Experiences, Not Just Inheritance
Sometimes the best gift isn’t cash, it’s shared experience. Use your wealth to fund family travel, multi-generational events, or special experiences that create lasting memories. These are hard to replicate and deepen emotional bonds. Better yet, frame these experiences as value-based with a visit to a place connected to your family history or by volunteering together as part of a trip abroad.
Make Loans with Forgiveness in Mind
You can make intra-family loans at below-market interest rates. If structured correctly, they can fund a loved one’s home, education, or business venture. You can then forgive these loans over time within gift tax limits which essentially makes a loan into a gift gradually.
Talk About It Early
The biggest financial gift you can give is clarity. Don’t keep your wealth plans a secret. In many cases, adult children are not inheriting as much as they think they will. Talk with your family about your intentions, your values, and how you want your money to reflect both sides of the coin. These frank conversations may prevent future disputes and may also help them to understand you and carry your legacy forward with perspective and wisdom.
Parting Thoughts: Give While it Matters Most
Distributing wealth before you’re old or gone isn’t just about smart tax planning, it’s about living generously. You can see the results of your giving, help your loved ones avoid stress, and bring more purpose to your financial decisions. Whether it’s helping your child buy their first home, funding your grandchild’s tuition, or expanding a charity’s impact, you get to be part of that story now.