Joe Anderson, CFP® and “Big Al” Clopine, CPA discuss what you need to know about Roth IRAs in this episode of “Your Money, Your Wealth℠.” Find out the tax benefits of investing in a Roth IRA, who qualifies for a Roth and how to convert your IRA to a Roth IRA. With all future growth being tax-free, Roth IRA conversions are a great strategy for many investors to grow their wealth. Joe and Al close off this episode with email questions from viewers.
Key Points:
0:25 “Taxes will be one of the biggest expenses that you have in retirement – do you know how you can reduce your tax bill in retirement?”
1:22 “It (the Roth IRA) is one of the best retirement tools the IRS has ever given us but there’s a lot of misunderstanding with how to use it”
3:01 “If you can save taxes in retirement, your money can go a lot further and then you don’t have as much risk of running out of money”
4:09 “What can you invest in a Roth? It’s the same as an IRA or 401(k). You can invest in stocks, bonds, you can invest in real estate…Realize that a Roth IRA is simply an investment account”
6:52 “If you’re single and make more than $132,000 you cannot contribute directly into a Roth IRA. If you’re married, you cannot contribute to a Roth IRA if you make more than $194,000…however you can still do a conversion”
9:23 “How do you determine how you should handle your money when you don’t know how long you’re going to live?”
9:52 “Here’s the toughest part about financial planning and investing your money: you have to protect purchasing power”
10:10 “As inflation goes up, you need a certain rate of return on your portfolio because we don’t know when we are going to die”
11:25 “[A Roth IRA conversion] is taking money out of your retirement account and converting it to a Roth IRA. You have to pay tax on this money but then all future growth will grow 100% tax-free”
12:48 “Who can actually do a Roth conversion? It’s anyone who has a retirement account, and any age, any income level, working or retired”
15:41 “There no harm in doing conversions, realizing that you can re-characterize or change your mind later. You can always undo it”
17:02 “[True or false:] Withdrawals from my Roth IRA are generally not taxable after the age of 59 ½. Joe, that’s generally true – but there’s an exception”
21:40 “[Email question:] I just inherited an IRA from my mom with a balance of $240,000. Can I convert this to a Roth IRA?”
