Are you eligible to claim the IRS saver’s credit?

NAPSI -— Here’s good news, for a change, from the IRS: It offers an incentive to lower your tax bill when you save for retirement. With pandemic-related employment disruptions last year, more taxpayers may be eligible to claim the Saver’s Credit but may not even know this tax credit exists. Also referred to as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, the Saver’s Credit can reduce federal income taxes for eligible taxpayers who save for retirement through a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). 

The 22nd Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey finds that fewer than half (48 percent) of workers are aware of the Saver’s Credit. 

"People who are saving for retirement may be able to claim the Saver’s Credit and reduce their federal taxes," says Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of nonprofit Transamerica Institute and its Center for Retirement Studies. "Perhaps people are confusing the tax credit with the tax-advantage treatment of retirement accounts. The idea of a double tax benefit may sound too good to be true but both are available to retirement savers."

What Is the Saver’s Credit? 

The Retirement Savings Contributions Credit is a non-refundable tax credit for contributions an eligible taxpayer makes to a 401(k), 403(b) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan, a traditional or Roth IRA or an ABLE account. In this context, "non-refundable" means the credit cannot exceed a person’s federal income tax for the year. The maximum credit is $1,000 for single filers or individuals and $2,000 for married couples filing jointly. 

Tips for claiming the Saver’s Credit

1.Check Your Eligibility

To be eligible, the maximum Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for single filers is $33,000 in 2021 and $34,000 in 2022. For the head of a household, the AGI maximum is $49,500 in 2021 and $51,000 in 2022. For those who are married filing jointly, the AGI maximum is $66,000 in 2021 and $68,000 in 2022.

You must be 18 years or older by January 1 and cannot be a full-time student or be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return. Consider using the IRS’s online tool to help determine if you are eligible for the Saver’s Credit.

2.Save for Retirement

To claim the Saver’s Credit for 2021, you must have contributed to a 401(k), a 403(b), a similar employer-sponsored retirement plan or an ABLE account during 2021. Contributions to traditional or Roth IRAs are also eligible and you have until April 18, 2022 to make an IRA contribution for tax year 2021. Roll-over contributions are not eligible for the credit.

3.File Your Tax Return and Claim the Saver’s Credit

Let the IRS help you file your federal taxes with its Free File program. The program’s eight partners offer online tax preparation tools free to taxpayers with an AGI of $73,000 or less. More at www.irs.gov/FreeFile. 

•When using an online tax preparation tool, be sure to answer questions about the Saver’s Credit, also referred to by the IRS as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit and Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions.

•If you prepare your tax return manually, complete Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions, to determine your exact credit rate and amount. Then transfer the amount to line 4 on Schedule 3, which is used with Forms 1040, 1040-SR, and 1040-NR. 

•If you use a professional tax preparer, be sure to ask about the Saver’s Credit.

"Consistently saving for retirement is fundamental to helping achieve financial security in retirement,” says Collinson. “Another way to help boost your retirement savings is to directly deposit any tax refund into an IRA. Saving more now could help you reap more later."

Remember, this important tax credit may help reduce what you owe in federal taxes or increase your refund. Check your eligibility, particularly if you had pandemic-related employment impacts in 2021. Help spread the word about the Saver’s Credit by telling family, friends, and colleagues.

Learn More

For more details and resources on the Saver’s Credit in English and Spanish, visit Transamerica Institute at www.transamericainstitute.org/SaversCredit or the IRS at www.irs.gov. 

Study finds firefighters’ risk of irregular heartbeat linked to the number of fires they fought

Photo: Matt C/Unsplash

American Heart Association

DALLAS —- Among firefighters, the risk of having an irregular heart rhythm, known as atrial fibrillation (AFib), increases with the number of fires they respond to, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

Compared with people in other occupations, firefighters are known to have a disproportionately high risk of heart disease, and almost half of fatalities in on-duty firefighters result from sudden cardiac death – when the heart suddenly stops beating and pumping blood to vital organs. An increased risk of an irregular heart rhythm or arrhythmias from the ventricles, the bottom chambers of the heart, has been documented in firefighters, however, prior to this study, little was known about AFib, which is an arrhythmia involving the top chambers of the heart. According to the American Heart Association, AFib is the most common type of irregular heartbeat with at least 2.7 million people living with it in the United States. People with AFib have an increased risk of blood clots, heart failure, stroke and other heart complications.

"A few years ago, I treated a local firefighter for atrial fibrillation, and he felt dramatically better with the treatment, so he referred other firefighters to me for care, all with AFib. I decided to methodically examine AFib in the firefighter population, as it may shed light into the cause of atrial fibrillation in non-firefighters as well," said Paari Dominic, M.D., senior author of the study, the director of clinical cardiac electrophysiology and associate professor of medicine and molecular and cellular physiology at LSU Health Shreveport in Louisiana.

Participants were recruited through five professional firefighter organizations. The study was conducted from 2018-19 among active firefighters throughout the U.S. They completed a survey about their occupational exposure (number of fires fought per year) and about their history of heart disease. Of the 10,860 firefighters who completed the survey (93.5% male, and 95.5% were age 60 or younger), 2.9% of the men and 0.9% of the women reported a diagnosis of AFib.

"Among adults in the general population younger than age 60, there is a 0.1-1.0% prevalence of having AFib. However, among our study population, 2.5% of firefighters ages 60 or younger had AFib," Dominic said. "Of the few respondents who were 61 or older, 8.2% reported a diagnosis of AFib."

When occupational exposure was factored in, the researchers found a direct and significant relationship between the number of fires fought and the risk of developing AFib. The analysis found:

2% of those who fought 0-5 fires per year developed AFib;

2.3% of those who fought 6-10 fires per year developed AFib;

2.7% of those who fought 11-20 fires per year developed AFib;

3% of those who fought 21-30 fires per year developed AFib; and

4.5% of those who fought 31 or more fires per year developed AFib.

After adjusting for multiple risk factors for AFib, such as high blood pressure and smoking, researchers found a 14% increased risk of atrial fibrillation for every additional 5 fires fought annually.

"Clinicians who care for firefighters need to be aware of the increased cardiovascular risk, especially the increased risk of AFib, among this unique group of individuals. The conditions that elevate their risk further, such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, lung disease and sleep apnea, should be treated aggressively. In addition, any symptoms of AFib, such as palpitations, trouble breathing, dizziness and fatigue, should be investigated promptly," Dominic said.

According to the researchers, multiple mechanisms may be involved in the association between firefighting and AFib. "First, and foremost, are the inhalation and absorption through the skin of harmful compounds and substances produced by the combustion of materials during a fire, including particulate matter, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and benzene. Exposure to these substances, especially particulate matter in air pollution, even for a short time has been previously linked to an increased risk of AFib. In addition, firefighters are exposed to high physical and psychological stress together with long work hours, all of which can increase their adrenaline levels and cause an imbalance in the mechanisms that maintain heart rate. Finally, heat stress (exposure to high temperatures) can cause an increase in core body temperature and severe dehydration, both of which increase the demand for a higher heart rate, and may subsequently trigger AFib," Dominic said.

"Studying firefighters, who personally make sacrifices for the safety of us all, is essential to prevent disease and death in this population that makes a big impact on the well-being of our communities," Dominic said.

The study is limited by basing the presence of atrial fibrillation and all other medical conditions on the firefighters’ survey responses. However, the researchers were able to corroborate the self-reported responses by linking them to well-established associations between atrial fibrillation and the presence of risk factors such as high blood pressure and sleep apnea, suggesting that the self-reports were accurate.

The researchers are currently analyzing the survey data to investigate the association between the annual number of fires fought and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis is a buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries that can thicken blood vessel walls and reduce blood flow to the heart muscle, brain, kidneys or extremities.

Based on the results of this study, researchers suggest future studies systematically screen firefighters for AFib to detect asymptomatic or new cases to evaluate the relationship between fire exposure and stroke risk in firefighters with AFib to allow a better understanding about which of the components of occupational exposure to fires plays a key role in causing fibrillation. They should also examine the reluctance of firefighters with AFib to use blood thinners. Blood thinners are a standard treatment for AFib; however, the medication carries an added risk of bleeding and firefighters are concerned about their increased risk of bleeding injuries due to low-visibility firefighting situations.