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Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (November 05, 2024) – LeTort Trust, an independent trust company providing Qualified Retirement Plan Management and Family Wealth Management services, is excited to announce the promotion of Patricia Lauchle to Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective November 1, 2024.

Patricia joined LeTort Trust in 2019 as Personal Trust and Tax Officer, immediately making significant contributions to the financial management and strategic direction of the business and earning a quick promotion to the position of Controller/Tax Operations Manager.  During the time in that role and with over 15 years of experience and nearly a decade in public accounting, Patricia has been instrumental in overseeing the tax reporting processes and compliance for LeTort Trust and for our clients. Her commitment to excellence and deep understanding of the financial landscape of our business have made her an indispensable part of our leadership team.

“Patricia’s promotion to the CFO position is a recognition of her exceptional leadership and the integral contribution she has made to the financial management and regulatory oversight of our business.” said Katie Clarke, President of LeTort Trust. “Patricia has acclimated quickly to our unique structure and has developed into a pivotal member of our team” said Dan Eichelberger, CFA CFP

Patricia holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Penn State University, is a licensed CPA, and maintains active memberships with the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She is an alumna of the Leadership Harrisburg Area (LHA) program and was honored with the Young Leader Award by the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA).  Passionate about numbers, she balances her professional accomplishments with quality time with family and friends, embracing opportunities for outdoor adventures and competitive activities.  Committed to community service, she dedicates her time and expertise to several local nonprofit committees, serves as Treasurer of the LeTort Trust Foundation, and volunteers with Junior Achievement.

About LeTort Trust
LeTort Trust is a private trust company, providing comprehensive Qualified Retirement Plan and Wealth Management services designed for complex financial needs of businesses and individuals. For additional information on LeTort Trust or LeTort Trust Foundation, please visit our website at www.letorttrust.com.

Mechanicsburg, PA, (March 6, 2024)- This was a move intended to better align the business success with its charitable giving, LeTort Trust proudly announces the official name change of its charitable foundation from Atgooth Foundation to the LeTort Trust Foundation.

The Atgooth Foundation was originally founded in 2011 as the charitable arm of LeTort Trust. Leveraging the financial success of LeTort Trust, the foundation has been primarily dedicated to providing financial literacy and educational opportunities for youth in the Harrisburg area.

Over the last 13 years, LeTort, through the Foundation, has supported organizations in the Greater Harrisburg and surrounding areas that have helped fulfill our mission, including The Joshua Group, Junior Achievement of South Central Pa, the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education (PFEW), Harrisburg University and the STEAM Academy, among many others. The Foundation has also extended its support beyond the general mission to respond to general community aid, through financial gifts to organizations such as the YWCA, the Bethesda Mission, Leadership Harrisburg Area, CREDC, and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Since the foundation’s initiation, LeTort has supported local non-profit initiatives and organizations with direct gifts exceeding $1.5 million dollars.

LeTort Trust President, Katie Clarke, expressed enthusiasm about the change, stating, “We are excited to unveil our new identity as the LeTort Trust Foundation. The communities in which we serve have been critical to our business success. This name change brings it all together.”

The LeTort Trust Foundation’s commitment to making a positive impact in our community remains steadfast, and the name change is just the next step in our continued journey to support our local youth to live better lives and brighter futures.

About LeTort Trust
LeTort Trust is a private Trust Company, providing comprehensive Qualified Retirement Plan and Wealth Management services, designed for complex financial needs of businesses and individuals. For additional information on LeTort Trust or LeTort Trust Foundation, please visit our website at www.letorttrust.com.

Mechanicsburg, PA (January 23, 2024) – LeTort Trust is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Aimee Hultzapple as Communications Manager.

Aimee is responsible for overseeing the strategic planning of all our internal and external communications, including client communications, press releases, website administration, and the maintenance of the Financial Literacy program. She plays a key role in preserving LeTort’s story and mission. Before joining LeTort Trust, Aimee held the position of Head of Communications, where she managed strategic and corporate communications, media relations, and event planning.

Aimee earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication and Media Studies from Penn State University.

“We are thrilled to welcome Aimee to the LeTort Trust team,” said Katie Clarke, President of LeTort Trust. “We are confident in her ability to foster effective communication strategies through her art of visual storytelling and compelling narratives. Aimee brings a touch of innovation that will be critical in continuing to evolve LeTort’s digital presence and strengthen our relationships with clients and the community.”

LeTort Trust is an Independent Trust Company, providing comprehensive Qualified Retirement Plan, Personal Trust and Wealth Management services designed for the complex financial needs of businesses, institutions and individuals. For further information on LeTort Trust, please visit our website at www.letorttrust.com.

Washington (August 25, 2023) – Today, the Internal Revenue Service announced an administrative transition period that extends until 2026 the new requirement that any catch-up contributions made by higher‑income participants in 401(k) and similar retirement plans must be designated as after-tax Roth contributions.

At the same time, the IRS also clarified that plan participants who are age 50 and over can continue to make catch‑up contributions after 2023, regardless of income.

Today’s announcements were included in Notice 2023-62PDF, now posted on IRS.gov. This notice provides initial guidance for section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act, enacted in December 2022. Under that provision, starting in 2024, the new Roth catch-up contribution rule applies to an employee who participates in a 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457(b) plan and whose prior-year Social Security wages exceeded $145,000.

The administrative transition period will help taxpayers transition smoothly to the new Roth catch-up requirement and is designed to facilitate an orderly transition for compliance with that requirement. The notice also clarifies that the SECURE 2.0 Act does not prohibit plans from permitting catch-up contributions, so plan participants who are age 50 and over can still make catch-up contributions after 2023.

The Treasury Department and the IRS plan to issue future guidance to help taxpayers, and the notice describes several positions that are expected to be included. In addition, the notice invites public comment on the matters discussed in the notice and suggestions for the future. The notice provides details on how to submit comments.

The SECURE 2.0 legislation included in the $1.7 trillion appropriations bill passed late last year builds on changes established by the original Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE 1.0) enacted in 2019. SECURE 2.0 includes significant changes to the rules that apply to required minimum distributions from IRAs and employer retirement plans. Here’s what you need to know.

What Are Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)?

Required minimum distributions, sometimes referred to as RMDs or minimum required distributions, are amounts that the federal government requires you to withdraw annually from traditional IRAs and employer retirement plans after you reach a certain age, or in some cases, retire. You can withdraw more than the minimum amount from your IRA or plan in any year, but if you withdraw less than the required minimum, you will be subject to a federal tax penalty.

These lifetime distribution rules apply to traditional IRAs, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRAs and Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs, as well as qualified pension plans, qualified stock bonus plans, and qualified profit-sharing plans, including 401(k) plans. Section 457(b) plans and Section 403(b) plans are also generally subject to these rules. (If you are uncertain whether the RMD rules apply to your employer plan, you should consult your plan administrator or a tax professional.)

Here is a brief overview of the top five ways that the new legislation changes the RMD rules.

1.  Applicable Age for RMDs Increased

Prior to passage of the SECURE 1.0 legislation in 2019, RMDs were generally required to start after reaching age 70½. The 2019 legislation changed the required starting age to 72 for those who had not yet reached age 70½ before January 1, 2020.

SECURE 2.0 raises the trigger age for required minimum distributions to age 73 for those who reach age 72 after 2022. It increases the age again, to age 75, starting in 2033. So, here’s when you have to start taking RMDs based on your date of birth:

 Your first required minimum distribution is for the year that you reach the age specified in the chart, and generally must be taken by April 1 of the year following the year that you reached that age. Subsequent required distributions must be taken by the end of each calendar year (so if you wait until April 1 of the year after you attain your required beginning age, you’ll have to take two required distributions during that calendar year). If you continue working past your required beginning age, you may delay RMDs from your current employer’s retirement plan until after you retire.

2.  RMD Penalty Tax Decreased

The penalty for failing to take a required minimum distribution is steep — historically, a 50% excise tax on the amount by which you fell short of the required distribution amount.

SECURE 2.0 reduces the RMD tax penalty to 25% of the shortfall, effective this year (still steep, but better than 50%).

Also effective this year, the Act establishes a two-year period to correct a failure to take a timely RMD distribution, with a resulting reduction in the tax penalty to 10%. Basically, if you self-correct the error by withdrawing the required funds and filing a return reflecting the tax during that two-year period, you can qualify for the lower penalty tax rate.

3.  Lifetime Required Minimum Distributions from Roth Employer Accounts Eliminated

Roth IRAs have never been subject to lifetime Required Minimum Distributions. That is, a Roth IRA owner does not have to take RMDs from the Roth IRA while he or she is alive. (Distributions to beneficiaries are required after the Roth IRA owner’s death, however.)

The same has not been true for Roth employer plan accounts, including Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b) accounts. Plan participants have been required to take minimum distributions from these accounts upon reaching their RMD age or avoid the requirement by rolling over the funds in the Roth employer plan account to a Roth IRA.

Beginning in 2024, the SECURE 2.0 legislation eliminates the lifetime RMD requirements for all Roth employer plan account participants, even those participants who had already commenced lifetime RMDs. (Any lifetime RMD from a Roth employer account attributable to 2023, but payable in 2024, is still required.)

4.  Additional Option for Spouse Beneficiaries of Employer Plans

The SECURE 2.0 legislation provides that, beginning in 2024, when a participant has designated his or her spouse as the sole beneficiary of an employer plan, a special option is available if the participant dies before required minimum distributions have commenced.

This provision will permit a surviving spouse to elect to be treated as the employee, similar to the already existing provision that allows a surviving spouse who is the sole designated beneficiary of an inherited IRA to elect to be treated as the IRA owner. This will generally allow a surviving spouse the option to delay the start of required minimum distributions until the deceased employee would have reached the appropriate RMD age, or until the surviving spouse reaches the appropriate RMD age, whichever is more beneficial. This will also generally allow the surviving spouse to utilize a more favorable RMD life expectancy table to calculate distribution amounts.

5.  New Flexibility Regarding Annuity Options

Starting in 2023, the SECURE 2.0 legislation makes specific changes to the required minimum distribution rules that allow for some additional flexibility for annuities held within qualified employer retirement plans and IRAs. Allowable options may include:

• Annuity payments that increase by a constant percentage, provided certain requirements are met
• Lump-sum payment options that shorten the annuity payment period
• Acceleration of annuity payments payable over the ensuing 12 months
• Payments in the nature of dividends
• A final payment upon death that does not exceed premiums paid less total distributions made

These are just a few of the many provisions in the SECURE 2.0 legislation. The rules regarding required minimum distributions are complicated. While the changes described here provide significant benefit to individuals, the rules remain difficult to navigate, and you should consult a tax professional to discuss your individual situation.

It is important to understand that purchasing an annuity in an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement plan provides no additional tax benefits beyond those available through the tax-deferred retirement plan. Qualified annuities are typically purchased with pre-tax money, so withdrawals are fully taxable as ordinary income, and withdrawals prior to age 59½ may be subject to a 10% federal tax penalty.