Political giving 101

Do you make contributions to political candidates? Would you like that process to be as simple as possible? If you answered yes, we can help you!

WISMedDIRECT is the Wisconsin Medical Society’s political conduit and it’s like having your own political checking account at the Society. You control your contributions. If you want to attend a political fundraiser or send money to a candidate, let Heidi Green, Society Director of Development and Political Giving, know and she’ll send the funds on your behalf from your account. She can also RSVP for you. You can use your account for local, state and federal candidates.

When we receive solicitations from campaigns we think you might support, we will provide you that information as well. Your WISMedDIRECT contributions are treated just like a personal contribution and are recorded as such, but the Society benefits because we aggregate and distribute these contributions which makes an impact. It’s really a win-win.

Another way to contribute is through WISMedPAC, the Society’s state political action committee. When you contribute to the WISMedPAC, your money goes into a fund. The WISMedPAC board makes contributions out of this fund based on leadership roles, key races, committees and candidates that are identified as being pro health care and pro physician/patient relationship. Physicians who contribute to the PAC can keep a lower profile because PAC checks do not identify individual contributors.

Whichever you choose, you can do both, we make it easy for you. Contribute here or call Heidi at 608.358.6116.

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Patricia Téllez-Girón Salazar, MD and Roger Kapoor, MD, MBA, FAAD, recognized for their outstanding service at Foundation Awards Presentation

On Thursday April 21, 2022, the Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation held a special online presentation to recognize the outstanding contributions Patricia Téllez-Girón Salazar, MD, and Roger Kapoor, MD, MBA, FAAD, have made to the profession of medicine and to their communities.

Patricia Téllez-Girón Salazar, MD, is the 2022 recipient of the Superhero of Medicine Award. The award was established in 2014 to honor Wisconsin Physicians considered superheroes of medicine who battle the enemies of good health with compassion, courage, intelligence, respect, selflessness, humility, kindness, caring and a willingness to take risks to make a difference in their community and go above and beyond the call of duty to increase health access and equity in Wisconsin. Dr. Téllez-Girón Salazar, a Family Medicine physician with UW Health in Madison and chair of the Latino Health Council won the award because of her ceaseless work to promote and advocate for health, health literacy and support to the Latinx community and to mentor and encourage a diverse health and physician workforce that represents the needs of the community. In her acceptance of the award she expounded on the important work of the Latino Health Council in providing services to the underserved to increase their health access, educating others on how to better serve them and advocating and creating community services for them. She also discussed the importance of mentoring and teaching minority students and other students at various levels of training to increase diversity and the importance of knowing and being part of the community you serve.

Roger Kapoor, MD, MBA, FAAD, Senior Vice President of Beloit Health System, was nominated for the Viste award by many colleagues for his leadership, advocacy, integrity, vision and dedication to the profession of medicine, including his leadership around COVID-19. The Kenneth M. Viste, Jr., MD, Young Physician Leadership Award was established in 2006 in honor of and to remember Dr. Viste’s extraordinary commitment to patients, the profession of medicine and the community. Dr. Kapoor shared about the work of the Beloit Health System in leading community conversations regarding improving patient experience, support of workforce well-being and the collaborative response to COVID-19.

Both awardees emphasized the value of being part of supportive teams and the importance of seeing and reaching out to others as partners in the important work of improving health. The full presentation can be viewed here. The Foundation is proud to recognize these two outstanding physicians. To learn more about the Foundation and how you can get involved in supporting medical education and research and programs that increase health equity and access in Wisconsin, please visit our website at foundation.wismed.org or email foundation@wismed.org.

 

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I Bonds are great! …sometimes

I Bonds currently have a stated interest rate of 7.12% through the end of April and are expected to earn 9.62% after May 1.

How they work

I Bonds are government issued and pay a fixed interest rate plus an inflation adjuster. The interest rate is announced every 6 months in May and November each year. However, each investor’s rate resets every 6 months from their purchase date. That means an investor today could earn 7.12% April to October then an anticipated rate of 9.62% October through April of next year. They are only available through treasurydirect.gov.

Sounds good, so what’s the catch?

• You must hold them a minimum of 12 months.
• Redeeming them between 1 and 5 years will cost you 3 months of interest.
• The growth is taxed as ordinary income for federal purposes, but they are not taxable on your Wisconsin tax return.
• Each person is limited to $10,000 per year with an additional $5,000 purchase available via tax refund.
• I Bonds cannot be purchased in retirement accounts.

When are they worth it?

For a guaranteed fixed investment, you really can’t beat an annualized blended return of 8.54%.

When are they not worth it?

Let’s take the math a step further to see what we really earn.

• After subtracting the 3-month interest penalty for cashing in at 12 months, the return is reduced to 6.05%. Now subtract federal income taxes on the 6.05%. At the 24% tax bracket, the net return is 4.6%. Still pretty darn good for a fixed investment.
• The interest rate is higher if you wait until month 15 to redeem so you don’t lose 3 months of the high 9.62% interest rate. That’s equivalent to an annualized return of 6.78%.¹ After 24% federal taxes, the net return is 5.15%, a great return for a guaranteed investment.
• What about just holding the bond for the full 5 years to avoid the 3-month interest penalty? Well, inflation for the next 5 years is projected to be 3.25%.² So, that’s the 5-year before tax return expectation for I Bonds.

However, before buying I Bonds, look into the following.

• Get your full employer matching contribution on your 401(k) or 403(b). A dollar-for-dollar match is equivalent to a 100% rate of return immediately.
• Maximize your tax-free Roth and Health Savings Accounts. Long term investments can net more than 4.6% or 5.15% on an annualized basis and there’s no tax drag in these accounts.³
• Have a proper emergency fund because you cannot redeem I Bonds for at least 12 months.
• Pay off all high interest debt.
• Those with Medicare should understand I Bond income is included in AGI and can therefore impact Medicare premiums at higher income levels.
• I Bonds income can also increase the taxation on Social Security income in some circumstances.

What other investments can traditionally do well if inflation is expected to rise or is high?

• Real estate
• Commodities
• TIPS
• Stocks
• Floating rate bonds

If you have the cash, met the other criteria and can make the purchase before the end of April, now may be a great time to purchase I Bonds.

For personalized help eliminating debt, investing smart and securing retirement, please contact Mark Ziety, CFP®, AIF® 608.442.3750.

Mark Ziety, CFP®, AIF®
WisMed Financial, Inc. part of the Wisconsin Medical Society.

¹ 8.54% blended return for 12 months + 0% for 3 months = 8.54% for 15 months = 6.78% for 12 months

² 5-Year breakeven inflation rate, FRED Economic Data. 

³ Roth accounts are tax free after 5 years and age 59 ½. HSA has tax free withdrawals for qualifying medical expenses only.

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