Retirement Answers: Recent Episodes
Jacob Duke, CFP®
Retirement Answers is a podcast built to do just that - answer your retirement questions!
As a retirement planner, I find that many people often have similar questions. So, I wanted to create a podcast that answers those unique real-world questions.
There are so many boring retirement podcasts out there that are just fluff and filler. They provide a ton of information, but that information only raises more questions and you aren't sure what to do with what you just learned.
Retirement Answers changes that! This podcast will provide answers to your real-world questions in an easy-to-understand format so you can apply what you've learned directly to your situation.
I look forward to talking with you each week.
Do you have an old 401k from a previous employer? Or maybe even a few straggling out there?
I'm a fan of keeping things organized and simple, so rolling over those old 401ks into an IRA to consolidate your money could is typically a good idea. The hard part is knowing how to actually do the rollover correctly.
It can be scary because it is your life savings that you are trying to move from one account to another.
Well, in this episode, I guide you through the exact process to make sure you do your 401k rollover correctly. Also, I share the benefits of doing a rollover and different times it might not make sense to do a rollover.
- If you enjoy the episode, subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes!
- Send me an email at jacob@retirementanswers.net to have your question answered right here on the show.
Thanks for listening!
When you want to save Roth money for retirement, but your income is too high... what do you do?
Do a Backdoor Roth IRA contribution!
Listen in where Jacob shares what a backdoor Roth contribution is, when you should do this (and when you SHOULDN'T), and how to do this correctly.
If you would like to your question answered here on the show, shoot me an email at jacob@retirementanswers.net.
Also, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes.
Thanks for listening!
We all know that Roth conversions can be a powerful tax savings strategy for retirees, but how do you actually pay the taxes when doing a conversion?
Listen in to this week's episode to learn about the 2 ways to pay your conversion taxes:
- Withhold the taxes
- Pay the taxes with cash
Also, I share a few things to look out for and which of these two options I think is the best way to pay the taxes on your Roth conversions.
Be sure to stay to the end to hear this week's listener question. Enjoy the show!
Submit a question by emailing me here: jacob@retirementanswers.net
Roth conversions are often a useful tax savings strategy for retirees, but the hardest part is deciding WHEN to actually do them. In this episode of Retirement Answers, Jacob walks you through what he calls the "Roth Conversion Sweet Spot".
The "Sweet Spot" consists of a few things:
- Low Income
- Large Tax-Deferred Accounts
- Retired
- Not taking Social Security
- Good cash savings
- Not RMD age yet
When all of these things are true, you are a prime candidate for Roth conversions. Even if only a few of these items apply to you, Roth conversions could still be beneficial for you.
If you are enjoying Retirement Answers, go ahead and rate the show.
Thanks for listening!
Over the last 18 months, the Federal Reserve has been increasing it's interest rates. And because of this interest rates on cash, CDs, Money Markets, Mortgages, and Car Loans have also increased.
In fact, interest rates are the highest we have seen in quite some time. Which can create some issues after such a long period of low interest rates.
We got used to really low mortgage rates, but it seems like those are a thing of the past. And now you can get 5% on a 6-month CD! What a welcome sight...
Well, these higher interest rates have led to some bad investing behavior. People are trading in their long-term "risky" investments for short-term "safe" investments.
In this episode, I share why this is could be a major investing mistake. I hope you enjoy the show!
We all know about how important it is to have a plan for taxes in retirement. So, we create Roth conversions strategies, but what if I told you there is simple tax savings strategy that is available to anyone.
It's called Asset Location.
This is when you align the tax type of your investments when the tax type of your accounts to minimize your annual tax burden.
For example, your IRA will always be taxed as normal income when you take money from it. Because of this, you would want to have investments that are taxed as normal income in this account type.
Asset location is a simple way to lower your tax bill annually, but many don't know about it or are overlooking this - even advisors...
If you find this episode helpful, please give a rating on whatever platform you are listening. It helps me know I am providing helpful information.
Enjoy the show!
Welcome back to Retirement Answers!
This week I share 5 things that you need to be doing 5 years before retirement. These are things that will help you have the most successful and fulfilling retirement.
Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy the show!
We all think stocks are risky because they are volatile. "Oh no! My account is down 25%, I'm losing all of my money!!"
Well, today let's have an honest conversation about risk... I want to flip this idea of risk on its head and share my thoughts on what risk really is and what it isn't.
Enjoy the show!
We are all curious if we have enough saved to retire. What most people don't do is dig into the details of their savings to see how strategically positioned they are to successfully retire.
In this week's episode of Retirement Answers, I walk through a case study from a recent question I received. Be sure to listen in to hear about some of the questions I think about and ask as I evaluate someone's ability to retire.
Enjoy the show!
Ever wonder if you can take money from your Roth IRA before age 59.5? Well, the short answer is yes, you can. But tune into today's episode to learn more about the order in which Roth IRA distributions occur and how you can use this to your advantage in your retirement plan.
In this episode of Retirement Answers, I discuss the things you need to know about Social Security survivor benefits. I see people often confuse survivor and spousal benefits, so I wanted to answer a question I received about survivor benefits and how they are different from spousal benefits. Enjoy!
We all know about IRAs and 401ks, but are there other ways to optimize your retirement savings? Yes, and it involves the investment account. In this episode of Retirement Answers, I discuss some of the potential tax issues that lie in waiting if all of your retirement assets are in tax-deferred accounts and provide some ideas around how you lower that future tax risk.
Are you curious about the requirements to get the Social Security COLA? This episodes clears up any confusion around COLAs and what has to happen for you to qualify.
So, you know about the Social Security spousal benefit, but do you understand it completely? This episode of retirement answers tells you everything you should know about how spousal benefits work and how your Social Security elections could change the spousal benefit you receive.
Welcome to Retirement Answers! This is a quick introductory episode explaining what you can expect from the show moving forward. I invite you to subscribe so you do not miss any future episodes where I will be answering some of the most important retirement questions I receive on a daily basis.