Your Unbiased Advisor: Is the Roth 401k right for you?

Is the Roth 401k right for you?

Over 70% of defined contribution plans allow retirement investing designated a Roth. More plans are offering higher matching contributions. More plans are REDUCING the number of options so you can make a better choice of long-term investments. Using the Roth tax-advantage means you can spend your entire retirement fund—no taxes. For those who can’t put much into their plan, this may not seem much of a benefit since they may not have enough income to cause an income tax bill. However, if you have a family income over $100,000, you will definitely benefit from the Roth tax shelter. Yes, you pay income tax now on your current income but the Roth advantages can be astounding. Investing just $250 a month from age 30 or a total of $99,000 ($3,000 a year X 33) and you will have about $1 million—all TAX FREE. You follow Warren Buffett’s strategy—buy and hold a low-cost stock fund. You do nothing else—market timing or trading funds only hurts your compounding rate.

Your tax shelter: https://www.amazon.com/Buffett-Strategy-854-000-not/dp/1978481020

Charity deduction may take some planning

With the standard deduction at $24,000 for many couples, you may not use your giving deduction as in former years. Some planning—put 2 years of donations into 1 year to take the deduction—may make it possible. For those with itemized deductions over the standard, you can now up the donations and give up to 60% of your income. Gifts other than cash can create a donation deduction of the item’s fair market value. The IRS actually demands receipts when a donation is more than $250. In some cases, appraisals also are required but in most cases, the receipts are for your records only. Larger amounts may trigger an audit and the receipt is required. For instance, one client gave a motorized wheelchair to a hospital and got a receipt for the current fair market value or $900 about half the price they had to pay.

Use your tax shelter: https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Tax-Shelter-Avoid-taxes/dp/1985448300

What is your broker/advisor selling?

Can you tell when your salesperson is right about the market? What are the risks in market timing, puts and calls, options of any sort? Can your salesperson really predict the future? Why are brokerage recommendations wrong more than half the time? Does market research really help your guru newsletter? Does it really have an audited true positive track record of getting you out of the market in time and back in when it is safe? So why does Warren Buffett’s buy and hold beat the hedge fund manager who uses 5 different strategies? Are salespeople helping you get rich or just getting rich themselves? Did you ever compare your total return over time to a low-cost buy and hold strategy? The average advisor-assisted investor earned just 3.79% over time compared with a low-cost market index fund of 11%. Is this strategy better for you: http://www.saferchild.org/power/

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robo-Advisor-Ultimate-Automatic-Management/dp/1537111957

Is legal guardianship right for you or your family?

What happens to you or your family member when their memory starts to fade? When you or someone in your family can no longer care for the person with diminished capacity, what can you do? A court-ordered guardianship can shatter their life. This form of control can lead to the isolation and exploitation of older Americans. For full guardianship, a judge transfers the individual’s civil rights — including the right to sign contracts, make medical decisions, and choose with whom to associate and where to live — to the guardian. If the guardian is a company or poor relative, things can go wrong fast. Some states don’t maintain regulations that assure that guardians act in the best interest of those in care. Since there is no oversight except a court judge, financial and emotional abuse is common. Fixing problems can be a daunting task especially if caregivers are apart physically and legally. You may be fighting a company with the legal rights over a person (and their resources) who can no longer make decisions. AARP has provided an example that must give every caregiver pause.

Discuss a plan earlier not later: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Plan-Live-Age-100/dp/1548180793

Are Suze Orman’s legal documents right for you?

The so-called “

America

’s personal finance expert” wants to sell you the wills and trusts she claims you need to “protect every aspect of your financial life.” And you receive a $2,500 value for only $63! Since her ad appears in AARP material, I assume AARP receives payment for the sales like they do from Hartford Auto Insurance and other vendors. But is just filling in a form online really all you need to ‘protect every aspect’? You can ask questions but are lawyers giving you the right answers? It looks like some customers are having technical problems. Some reviewers seem to disagree with her trust advice. Also, remember that most people have their largest assets in a form that avoids any of the problems this non-legal ‘expert’ cites. Your home is usually held jointly. Your pensions and IRAs are already protected and go to the joint owner and beneficiary automatically. Before you pay $63 ask your other advisors about this kit. Compare other options like LegalZoom and NOLO. Suze is a marketing genius not a lawyer.

Plan your retirement spending well: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Spending-Plan-enough/dp/1461084016

Most affluent people do NOT know what to do with their RMD

A study of affluent savers finds that 80% do not need this retirement money for their everyday needs. They are not clear on the options for this money after they pay tax on it. Fact: At age 70 1/2, you must start taking required minimum distributions (RMD) from your 401(k)s and IRAs whether your need the money or not. That was the 401k bargain: (employers stopped funding company pensions): You could save for retirement without current taxes on contributions. The IRS now wants its tax money and you must treat your annual 3-4% RMD as regular income. Up to 85% of SS benefits are taxable depending on your other income. So, what to do with the money you don’t need right now. You can’t make tax-deferred contributions anymore even if you are still working. After you pay the tax, how can you avoid paying tax on future growth if you chose to invest the money? Can you donate the money and create an offsetting deduction?

Consider all the options: https://www.amazon.com/What-do-with-your-RMD-much-spend/dp/1718946716

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Make

~~America~~

, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis

Two

Americas

: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

McGahn is ‘lodestar’: Told Trump ‘NO’ - saved Mueller!

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How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have!