Strengthen physician advocacy by contributing to GO PAC GO

The Wisconsin Medical Society’s (Society) political action committee (WISMedPAC) makes contributions to Wisconsin state candidates and committees who are in key races, are in leadership roles or are identified as being pro health care. If you haven’t seen the Legislative Wrap Up, click here to see the advocacy work that is being done on behalf of physicians and their patients.

Dan Bennett, MD, from District 2 is the MVP of quarter two of the GO PAC GO campaign. Thank you, Dr. Bennett! There’s plenty of time to get in the game and run up the score to help your district team and more importantly, the Society’s lobbying team by contributing to WISMedPAC today.

“Every day in Madison and DC corporate interests and non-physician providers are spending millions to impact health care and the work we do. Physicians are best positioned and informed to guide health care forward and contributions to WISMedPAC helps our team build relationships, so this important work is effective,” noted Bradley Burmeister, MD, emergency medicine specialist and WISMedPAC Board Member on the importance of contributing to WISMedPAC.  

Each week-long quarter, we’re hoping to see our contributions grow so we can reach our goal of $25,000. Each MVP (highest contributor of each quarter) will receive a prize and the district team that raises the most money at the end of the game, will celebrate with the Government Relations team and a trophy! Last year’s celebration in Eau Claire was fantastic.

Before halftime is officially here and the Labor Day weekend begins, please make your contribution now so quarter three, which ends in a week, will be our highest score so far! Rally your district members to give and take pride when your district is leading the others.

Thank you to everyone who’s in the game! If you have questions or need more information, contact Heidi Green at 608.358.6116 or heidi.green@wismed.org.

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Giving to charity using a Qualified Charitable Distribution

Our world is better because of gracious people who donate. Thank you for your gifts.

If you are age 70 ½ or older, the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) typically provides the biggest tax break to donors. For those age 72 or older, a QCD also reduces your required minimum distribution dollar for dollar up to $100,000. Unlike other charitable gifts, you get the deduction whether you itemize deductions or not.

Here’s how it works. Funds are distributed from your pretax IRA directly to charity by completing a distribution form or writing a check against the IRA. Please confirm which method applies with your account custodian. At the end of the year, the custodian will produce a 1099-R. However, the custodian is not required to track charitable distributions vs non-charitable distributions. Therefore, keep a record of your QCD transactions and written acknowledgement of the donation from the charity. When your tax return is prepared, the amount on the 1099-R will be reported as the gross amount, but the taxable amount will factor in the QCD deduction. This lowers your adjusted gross income, which lowers your taxable income and tax bill.

Most charities can accept QCD donations. Some that cannot include donor-advised funds, private foundations and supporting organizations. Like other charitable gifts, you are also prohibited from receiving a benefit in return for your gift.

To better understand, let’s assume a married couple has $140,000 of gross income. This is their resulting tax savings.

Notice the $10,000 QCD provides a benefit, but the $10,000 gift does not because it requires the couple to itemize their deductions. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became law, few people itemize. By using the QCD, they receive the tax break even if they don’t itemize. In addition to the federal tax savings, they would also benefit from state income tax savings too.

Thank you for considering a gift to the Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation so we can continue improving the well-being of our communities on behalf of physicians. The Foundation provides more than $800,000 annually in financial assistance to medical students, medical research and community health grants championed by Wisconsin physicians to improve health equity and access. For assistance making a gift to the Foundation, please contact Foundation Executive Director, Elizabeth Ringle at elizabeth.ringle@wismed.org.

Key Points:

• Charitable taxpayers over age 70 ½ years old can benefit from Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) to lower their adjusted gross income and therefore taxes.
• Itemizing deductions is not needed to benefit from this strategy.
• QCD helps to satisfy some or all the required minimum distribution for those age 72 and older.
• Gifts are made from a tax deferred IRA directly to charity.
• Taxpayers should document the gift in their tax records so it can be reported on their tax return.

To learn more about tax planning and giving, click here.

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

WisMed Financial, Inc. is part of the Wisconsin Medical Society.

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$111,000 more from Social Security

With more than 2,700 rules and 567 separate filing strategies for Social Security, 96% of people fail to make the optimal claiming decision and miss out on $111,000 of benefits for the average household.

$111,000 – that’s a lot of money. Let’s look at some of the rules for Social Security so your decision is better informed.

• Normal benefits: Benefits can be claimed between ages 62 and 70. The longer you wait, the larger your check. However, the increase is not linear. In fact, the growth is backloaded thereby encouraging people to delay.

Change in benefit amounts from ages 62 to 70

• Spousal benefits: Married people can claim a spousal benefit worth up to 50% of their spouse’s full retirement age benefit if it’s larger than their own and their spouse has started their benefit. As above, spousal benefits are reduced before full retirement age. However, they do not increase after full retirement age.
• Divorced benefits: Divorced spouses can also claim a spousal benefit if the marriage lasted at least ten years and they are unmarried at the time they file for spousal benefits.
• Survivor’s benefits: Spouses and surviving divorced spouses can receive the deceased spouse’s benefit starting at age 60 if the marriage was at least nine months (married) or ten years (divorced).
• Withheld benefits: Benefits may be withheld if you are under full retirement age and still working. Once you reach full retirement age, the amount will be recalculated to include previously withheld amounts.
• Taxable benefits: 0% to 85% of Social Security benefits may be included in taxable income. The higher your total income, the more of your Social Security you’ll owe tax on.

Optimizing Social Security also requires coordination with retirement investments, something most Social Security calculators omit. For instance, if you retire at age 65 and delay Social Security until age 70, you’ll spend your retirement investments while you wait. It may make sense to start Social Security earlier, even though the amount is less, allowing you to preserve your investment nest egg.

For many people, it’s wise to get professional help to determine the optimal timing for Social Security. Get it right and it could be worth $111,000.

The Social Security Timing Guide in our resources has even more details. Or, for one-on-one help schedule an appointment.

Originally posted in the Antidote, August 19, 2022 

Don’t miss the upcoming online educational sessions presented by WisMed Financial exclusively for Wisconsin Medical Society members. Session topics include retirement planning, social security and tax planning. Learn more and register here.

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.

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Identifying Opioid Abuse Risk in the Chronic Pain Patient: Techniques for Mastering Accuracy webinar available on demand

Identifying Opioid Abuse Risk in the Chronic Pain Patient: Techniques for Mastering Accuracy* will provide learners a comprehensive review of the many ways to identify abuse risk factors and how to assign them appropriate importance. Presented by Michael McNett, MD, Medical Director for Chronic Pain, Aurora Healthcare, who specializes in addiction and pain management, this risk assessment process integrates several factors while providing a concise approach.

The Wisconsin Medical Examining Board (MEB) approved a rule requiring physicians with a DEA number to complete two CME credits on its Opioid Prescribing Guideline biennially. To help physicians comply with this rule, the Wisconsin Medical Society developed a series of on-demand webinars. This course will need to be combined with additional education to meet the two-hour requirement.

Learning objective for Identifying Opioid Abuse Risk in the Chronic Pain Patient: Techniques for Mastering Accuracy:

• Describe the problems associated with drug diversion, misuse, addiction, and overdose deaths
• Identify steps in regular practice to mitigate the risks of opioid prescribing and minimize the incidence of prescription drug diversion, misuse, addiction, and overdose deaths.
• Identify techniques for maximizing accuracy of assessing the risk of opioid abuse in the chronic pain patient.

Click here to register for Identifying Opioid Abuse Risk in the Chronic Pain Patient: Techniques for Mastering Accuracy or click here to learn about other courses that have been approved by the MEB. Wisconsin Medical Society Members get discounted registration on many of the courses. Please contact education@wismed.org with questions or for assistance logging in.

*Accreditation Statement
The Wisconsin Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

1 MOC Part II Credit
Application for MOC Part II credit has been filed with the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) for approval by ABMS Member Boards. See course description for more information.

1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ (Enduring)
The Wisconsin Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Wisconsin Medical Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

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