Investing Advice for Presidential Election

Hosts answer questions on investing for retirement and share strategies for managing your portfolio during an election year.

6:32 “When you inherit a retirement account, it blows up on the heirs because it’s [taxed at] ordinary income for the heirs”

8:20 “With this Bipartisan Policy Center, one of the things they want to do is get rid of the stretch IRA because it’s really a pretty good deal”

12:20 “Can an SEC licensed broker-dealer transfer your 401(k) account into an IRA without your permission?”

13:38 “Your retirement accounts are separate properties…there’s no such thing as a joint retirement account”

18:54 “I am 47 years old. I have around $100K in a Traditional IRA. I haven’t contributed anything in that account for a long time now. My current job offers a 457 and 401a plan, which I try to contribute to every paycheck. Should I transfer my Traditional IRA funds to my job’s 401a or 457 account? What are the tax consequences of that transfer? Should I just keep my Traditional IRA and use it until I retire? If I transfer that money to the 457 or 401a account, should I do it in a one time transfer or installment transfers (in 5 or so years for less of a tax penalty)?

19:57 “There’s no reason to roll the IRA in the plan. I will give you an advantage.. but let’s say you decide to keep it separate – there are advantages to that but probably the main one is you have more investment choices when it’s in an IRA”

21:44 “One benefit of the 457 plan is that you can take that money out at any age”

23:47 “I have read about the presidential election cycle and am curious as to what actions I should be taking in terms of my asset allocation. When should I take those actions? How conservative would you recommend I become prior to the election? What are the most effective portfolio management strategies you would recommend in order to maintain or at least mitigate risk?

I am a small time investor. I work with a small amount in an online brokerage account as well as accounts with companies such as Acorns and Betterment. I do not have the ease and benefit of diversifying risk away (referring to the Modern Portfolio Theory)”

25:22 “Here’s my answer: there’s no evidence that there’s any sort of market swing one way or another with a presidential election. It can happen and it may happen but there’s no reason to make any drastic changes in your portfolio just because of that”

29:42 “My wife and I are 83 years old. We will sell our home for about $400,000. Will we pay capital gains tax when moving to an apartment for $2,500/month?”

31:56 “It’s June and I have not taken my RMD (required minimum distribution). Should I let the funds grow until end of the year or take average withdrawals until end of the year?”

33:34 “I am 69 years old. My husband is 71 years old. We cannot afford the note on our home with our retirement income. We have two annuities. One for $300,000 and one for $600,000. Both are about 3-6 years old. I want to know if I cash in the $300,000 annuity, what kind of penalties and taxes will I have to pay?”

34:00 “The first question you should ask yourself is: is the annuity in a retirement account or not? If not, every dollar you pull out is fully taxable”