In this episode of “Your Money, Your Wealth” Joe and Al discuss retirement mistakes that could potentially cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Forgetting about income taxes, not considering the costs of investments and not contributing enough to your savings are mistakes often made by retirees, but can easily be avoided. CFP® Joe Anderson and CPA “Big Al” Clopine highlight the importance of calculating total investment fees and staying mindful of taxes.
3:30 “For those of you who have a 401(k) plan, I would recommend that you consider saving right now”
5:01 “If you are in your 30’s and 40’s, start saving as much as you can; if you’re in your 50’s and 60’s, don’t get depressed”
8:14 “According to U.S. News, getting a 401(k) match is the quickest way to build a large 401(k) balance”
14:05 “Stocks haven’t gone down in fifteen years, so if you have enough liquidity to start pulling some money from your bond portfolio, your safe money, you’re going to be okay to weather the storm”
15:06 “You want to make sure that you really take a look at those benefits to see if they’re really going to work for you. It depends on your age, your tax bracket and so many different considerations”
15:17 “Things that you can control: one of them is the risk that you’re taking, how you’re constructing your overall portfolio, and then the fees”
17:25 “Here’s how an annuity works: you’re giving your money to an insurance company and basically from there they’re going to guarantee you a certain income”
17:35 “If I want to buy a guaranteed income stream, the best way to do it is buying immediate annuity”
18:29 “Most annuities, commercial annuities, are very expensive. They have internal charges of between 2% and 4%. Where do you think that money goes? It doesn’t go to you, it goes to the insurance company, so your rate of return is significantly lower than other types of investments”
20:30 “You can set up a donor-advised fund where you control it, but you put all that money into that fund and you get a $25,000 tax deduction today”
21:39 “If you’re an American citizen, then you’re taxed no matter where you live; if we move to any foreign country and we’re an American citizen, you’re still taxed in the U.S. for your worldwide income regardless of where you live. The only way to get rid of that is to renounce your citizenship”
23:56 “You’ve got to take a look at the fees, the costs, stay invested; don’t jump in and out of the markets—it is costing you thousands, if not hundreds of thousands”
