Martin retired in May 2020. His pension is $1,000 per month from a qualified retirement plan to which he contributed $42,000, and to which his employer contributed $12,000. Martin was 67 when the plan payments started. In 2020, he received 8 months of payment for a total of $8,000 from the plan.



a. Using the simplified method, calculate Martin's taxable income for 2020 from the retirement plan distributions.

b. If Martin's contributions to the plan had been $25,200, instead of $42,000, using the simplified method, how much taxable income would he have to report in 2020 from the plan distributions?