Q: Now that COVID-19 vaccinations are being rolled out, what affect will it have for overseas travelers?
A: When a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, international travelers will most likely need proof of vaccination to travel. The International Air Transport Association has proposed an IATA travel pass, a digital health passport that a passenger can create by downloading an app onto a smartphone. The passport would contain vaccination and testing certificates from authorized labs and test centers showing that the passenger is clear to travel and meets the requirements of the country to be visited. Australian airline Qantas has already announced it will require passengers to show proof of vaccination before boarding an international flight.
Q: Since the pandemic, I’ve been working from home and driving far less. So I don’t understand why my car insurance premium is going up. Can you explain it?
A: Blame COVID-19 for higher auto insurance rates. Insurify, a website for comparing insurance costs, projects a 6% increase in 2021 for auto premiums, rising from an annual $1,463 to $1,554 on average.
That might fly in the face of most people’s reasoning. After all, with more folks working from home, cars aren’t getting driven as often, so shouldn’t premiums be falling? Not if accidents and road fatalities are rising. At the height of the pandemic last spring, driving rates plummeted 28%, while fatalities from car accidents spiked 23%, according to Insurify. Fewer cars on the road led drivers to speed excessively, causing more accidents.
Q: I want to put money into an IRA this year but haven’t decided whether to go with a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. In either case, what are the income limits to contribute to an IRA in 2021?
A: Taxpayers can earn a little more and still contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA, as income limits rose. In 2021, contributions to a traditional IRA for single filers gradually phase out when their modified adjusted growth income ranges between $66,000 and $76,000, up from $65,000 to $75,000 in 2020. Married couples filing jointly are phased out when modified income hits $105,000 to $125,000, an increase of $1,000 at each end.
For Roth accounts, the phaseout range is $125,000 to $140,000 for single filers and heads of households, up from a MAGI of $124,000 to $139,000. Contributions for married couples filing jointly phase out at $198,000 to $208,000, up from $196,000 to $206,000 in 2020.
Contribution amounts stay the same. The maximum total contribution for all your IRA accounts is unchanged at $6,000 for people under age 50, and $7,000 for those older.
Catherine Siskos is managing editor at Kiplinger’s Retirement Report. For more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.
(c)2021 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.
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