#141 - Determining how much Roth conversion to do in a given year

Andy discussed how to determine how much Roth conversion to do in a particular year (assuming you've decided Roth conversions make sense for you). He walks through how to do a current year income & tax projection, and what tax "targets" or "goals" are commonly used in determining how much conversion to do.Links in this episode:DinkyTown 1040 online tax return projection tool - hereTenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: Can Donor Advised Funds ("DAFs") be funded with pre-tax IRA money ( 2:22 )How to do a backdoor Roth IRA contribution and avoid the pro rata rule if you have pre-tax funds in other IRAs  ( 5:46 )What are the must have important things to address and get right in retirement planning, vs what are nice to have optimization things ( 10:51 )How come most flat fee advisors don't work with clients with net worth in excess of $10 million ( 19:50 )How to invest excess money in taxable brokerage accounts ( 26:21 )Can funds or investments in taxable brokerage accounts be exchanged in-kind with others to avoid consequences ( 30:07 )Why is the 10-year Treasury bond used as a benchmark for many fixed income products, and why do bond prices change when interest rates change ( 32:49 )How to know if you're over-saving ( 38:27 )Thoughts about timing in when you take distributions vs doing Qualified Charitable Distributions ("QCDs") to satisfy Required Minimum Distributions ("RMDs") ( 41:51 )My thoughts on crypto assets ( 46:29 )To find an "advice only" advisor - www.AdviceOnlyNetwork.comTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with John McLaurin. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as planning for special needs and the "generational" planning involved, investing, Social Security, when they got serious about retirement planning, and more!  Links in this episode:The book John mentioned - The Special Needs Planning Guide: How to Prepare for Every Stage of Your Child's LifeTenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]

Andy chats with fellow retirement planner Liz Yoder, CFP®, ChSNC® from Dependent Financial Planning. In this episode they talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics with a particular emphasis on special needs planning and the unique considerations and areas to consider when you or your child has or is likely to have a disabilityLinks in this episode:Liz's advisory company website - Dependent Financial PlanningLiz's LinkedIn profile - Elizabeth (Wolleben) YoderTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Andy discussed seven common scenarios where it might be beneficial to do Roth conversions:You know your income now is much lower than it will be in the futureYou're married (and may eventually be single)You have large pre-tax accountsYour eventual heirs are likely to be in higher tax situations than you currently areYour plan on moving to a state that will have higher income taxes than your current stateYou're convinced tax rates will increase markedly in the futureYou want greater tax "diversity" amongst your investable accountsLinks in this episode:Tenon Financial newsletter summarizing the 7 potential Roth conversion scenarios - hereTenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.comTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]

Special guest host, Mike Powers, CPA, PFS, CFP®, from Manuka Financial sits behind the microphone to walk through his 22-point retirement planning checklist, which includes financial, insurance and lifestyle considerations.  Links in this episode:Mike's blog post about the retirement planning checklist - hereGeorge Kinder's life planning three questions - hereMike's company's website - Manuka FinancialTenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.comTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: What it means between an advisor who calls themself a financial planner vs wealth manager vs any other label they choose to use ( 10:24 )My thoughts on the recently repealed Windfall Elimination Provision ("WEP") and Government Pension Offset ("GPO") parts of Social Security ( 20:35 )A follow up to a previously discussed Q&A topic about how much umbrella insurance to purchase ( 31:18 )How income is taxed to a recently deceased person vs their heirs or their estate ( 37:08 )How best to gift money to grandchildren to get them started with saving and investing ( 42:10 )Understanding a bond or bond fund's "duration" and how to use it measure the bond or bond fund's interest rate price change risk. And what it means to have a recommended "holding period" for a bond fund ( 46:45 )To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Brian Alexander. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as investing, Social Security, when they got serious about retirement planning, funding potential long term care needs and more!  Links in this episode:Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]

Andy chats with fellow retirement planner Eric Niergarth, CFP®, RICP® from Retirement Roadmap Financial Planning. In this episode they talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as tax planning, distribution strategies, investing, annuities, long-term care insurance, how to know when people have enough to retire, what consumers often overlook in retirement planning and much more!Links in this episode:Eric's advisory company website - Retirement Roadmap Financial PlanningTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Andy explains how there is definitely value in good financial advisory services, but how it's impossible to quantify that value and is often disingenuous for advisors to claim they can, or for studies to try to put a number on itLinks in this episode:Vanguard's research paper - Putting a value on your value: Quantifying Vanguard Advisor's AlphaMy article - How Much are Your Services Worth?My article - Advisors Fees are BrokenTenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.comTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]