Process

Glossary

401(k) plan

a type of employer-sponsored retirement plan in the United States and some other countries, named after a section of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. A 401(k) plan allows a worker to save for retirement while deferring income taxes on the saved money and earnings until withdrawal. The employee elects to have a portion of his or her wage paid directly, or "deferred", into his or her 401(k) account. In participant-directed plans (the most common option), the employee can select from a number of investment options, usually an assortment of mutual funds that emphasize stocks, bonds, money market investments, or some mix of the above. Many companies' 401(k) plans also offer the option to purchase the company's stock. The employee can generally re-allocate money among these investment choices at any time. In the less common trustee-directed 401(k) plans, the employer appoints trustees who decide how the plan's assets will be invested.

403(b) plan

A retirement savings plan, similar to a 401(k), for employees of charitable and educational organizations.

457 plan

A retirement savings plan, similar to a 401(k), for employees of state and municipal governments.

Assets

Any item of economic value owned by an individual or corporation, especially that which could be converted to cash.

Budget

Refers to a list of all planned expenses and revenues. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods. In other terms, a budget is an organizational plan stated in monetary terms.

Credit

Money that a lender gives to a borrower on condition of repayment over a certain period

Credit Card

A system of payment named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. A credit card is different from a debit card in that it does not remove money from the user's account after every transaction. In the case of credit cards, the issuer lends money to the consumer (or the user) to be paid to the merchant. It is also different from a charge card (though this name is sometimes used by the public to describe credit cards), which requires the balance to be paid in full each month. In contrast, a credit card allows the consumer to 'revolve' their balance, at the cost of having interest charged.

Certificate of Deposit

A time deposit, a financial product commonly offered to consumers by banks, thrift institutions, and credit unions. Such CDs are similar to savings accounts in that they are insured and thus virtually risk-free; they are "money in the bank" (CDs are insured by the FDIC for banks or by the NCUA for credit unions). They are different from savings accounts in that the CD has a specific, fixed term (often three months, six months, or one to five years), and, usually, a fixed interest rate. It is intended that the CD be held until maturity, at which time the money may be withdrawn together with the accrued interest.

Debt

Is that which is owed; usually referencing assets owed, but the term can cover other obligations. In the case of assets, debt is a means of using future purchasing power in the present before a summation has been earned. Some companies and corporations use debt as a part of their overall corporate finance strategy.

Financial Advisor

A professional who renders investment advice and financial planning services to individuals and businesses. Ideally, the financial adviser helps the client maximize their net worth by proper asset allocation. Financial advisers use stocks, bonds, mutual funds and insurance products to meet the needs of their clients.

Financial Plan

This can be a budget, a plan for spending and saving future income. This plan allocates future income to various types of expenses, such as rent or utilities, and also reserves some income for short-term and long-term savings. A financial plan can also be an investment plan, which allocates savings to various assets or projects expected to produce future income, such as a new business or product line, shares in an existing business, or real estate.

Gross Income

It is commonly defined as the amount of a company's or a person's income before all deductions or any taxpayer’s income, except that which is specifically excluded by the Internal Revenue Code, before taking deductions or taxes into account.

Insurance

In law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium. Insurer, in economics, is the company that sells the insurance. Insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount, called the premium, to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage.

Money Market

The global financial market for short-term borrowing and lending. It provides short-term liquid funding for the global financial system. The money market is where short-term obligations such as Treasury bills, commercial paper and bankers' acceptances are bought and sold.

Mortgage

A method of using property (real or personal) as security for the performance of an obligation, usually the payment of a debt. The term mortgage (from Anglo-Norman_language, lit. death wage) refers to the legal device used for this purpose, but it is also commonly used to refer to the debt secured by the mortgage, the mortgage loan.

Pensions

A steady income given to a person (usually after retirement). Pensions are typically payments made in the form of a guaranteed annuity to a retired or disabled employee. Some retirement plan (or superannuation) designs accumulate a cash balance (through a variety of mechanisms) that a retiree can draw upon at retirement, rather than promising annuity payments. These are often also called pensions. In either case, a pension created by an employer for the benefit of an employee is commonly referred to as an occupational or employer pension.

Roth IRA

An individual retirement account (IRA) in which earnings on contributions are not taxed at distribution, as long as the contributions have been in the account for five years and the account holder is at least age 59 1/2, disabled, or deceased. Contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax-deductible.

Self-insured plan

A retirement plan funded through a fiduciary—generally a bank but sometimes a group of people—which directly invests the accumulated funds. Retirement payments are made from these funds as they fall due. Also known as trusteed plan or directly invested plan.

(back)