The Bird’s Eye View:
In light of COVID-19 and how it’s affecting the economy, there’s an added incentive to move money into a Roth. Scott Dougan explains the process and the benefits.
Your Guide:
If you want to be in charge of how much money you’ll have in retirement, you should get as much as possible into tax-free accounts now. A lot of people are realizing that even more now while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
On this episode of Your Retirement Elevated Podcast, Scott Dougan explains how to do this. We’ll expand this recent article that Scott wrote, which was featured in Kiplinger. You can read that for more context on this conversation.
If you’re still earning income, you can open a Roth IRA or participate in your employer’s Roth 401(k) to start making after-tax contributions. You can do a Roth conversion regardless of income.
You’ll have to pay taxes on the withdrawals you make from your tax-deferred retirement savings you are converting, but you can spread out the conversion process over several years to manage your tax bracket.
You can also roll over all the money that’s already in your existing 401(k) or traditional IRA and pay the taxes you owe all at once.
“Right now, unless something changes, we’ve got between now and 2026 to make some big tax moves, if it’s appropriate,” said Scott.
Also on this episode, Scott explains why it’s important to get out of debt and take stock of where you are financially. As always, it’s best to talk with a professional who can analyze the pros and cons of all the options.
If you want to learn more about tax planning opportunities, we had a great conversation with David McKnight and he shared some very valuable insight. You can check that episode out here.
1:19 – How COVID affects retirement
3:01 – Big takeaway for future-proofing retirement
4:57 – No doom and gloom
6:57 – Getting out of debt
9:31 – Take stock of where you are
12:43 – How this could affect other investments
16:38 – Final thoughts
Thanks for checking out the Your Retirement Elevated Podcast. We’ll talk to you again on the next show.
Your Guide:
Scott Dougan, RFC, Investment Advisor – Contact
