Long Term Care - Inherited IRA - Qualified Dividends (Phil Ferguson Show podcast, #537)

Investing Skeptically topics in this episode:

• How to remove funds from an Inherited IRA 
• Should you get Long Term Care Insurance 
• What are Qualified Dividends 
• New Rules for 401k (catch-up only in ROTH starting in 2026) 
• Ronald Reagan on free Trade

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-xpajv-28774a8a

 

Opinion | Before Slashing Social Security, Cut 401(k)s - POLITICO

Perhaps, you might suppose, these programs are ignored because they exist in the private sector — but they are actually heavily subsidized by the government. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the tax advantages for DBs, DCs and IRAs will cost the federal government $371 billion this year. There is no similar tally for state tax breaks, but including those would likely bring the total bill close to half a trillion dollars. 

Given these tremendous expenses, it is initially hard to understand why people who seem so worried about the costs of old-age benefits choose to focus solely on Social Security. But it becomes easier to understand once you realize who benefits the most from the various parts of the old-age system...

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/03/01/social-security-cut-401ks-00084730

The 7 biggest changes proposed for 401(k) and other retirement plans - The Washington Post

For workers earning less than $71,000 per year, the federal government would provide a 50 percent match for the first $2,000 in employee cash contributions, meaning the government would provide a maximum of $1,000. That cash would be deposited directly into the retirement accounts. Under current law, the matching program is a tax credit — but that doesn't help lower-earning workers who don't owe taxes. 

"This is a big deal," Hansen said. "It will help current savers save more and bring newer people in the system, knowing there is government match."…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/21/401-k-changes-secure-20/

Why 401(k) plans won’t fix the U.S. retirement crisis

1 in 4 American workers don't have even $10,000 saved for retirement...

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/14/why-401k-wont-fix-us-retirement-crisis.html

Trump Rule Change Will Likely Harm 401(k)s, Study Shows

AS THE TRUMP administration allows ordinary investors to move $5.6 trillion of 401(k) assets into private equity for the first time, one of the nation’s leading investment consultants published a paper arguing that pension funds’ and endowments’ forays into private equity have been duds.....
https://theintercept.com/2020/07/23/private-equity-401k-investment-risk/

Trump calls for new scrutiny of environmentally conscious investments in 401(k)s - CNBC

The Department of Labor now has 180 days to review trends in energy investments in retirement plans. Experts weigh in on what that could mean for burgeoning ESG investments....
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/17/trump-brings-scrutiny-to-environmentally-conscious-401k-investments.html

Retirees: Control This and You'll Pay Less Tax - The Motley Fool

For most people who are retired, much of their taxation depends on a single thing.
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2019/04/14/retirees-control-this-and-youll-pay-less-tax.aspx

House Republicans are coming for your 401(k) - The Hill

Why isn't the SEC stepping in? ....
http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/394803-house-republicans-are-coming-for-your-401k

Trump's attacks on Amazon are a problem for your 401(k) - CNN Money

Amazon's shares have tumbled since Trump started attacking the company. That's not just a Wall Street problem or worry for Jeff Bezos. Amazon is one of the most widely held stocks out there — a staple of big index funds popular in 401(k) plans and with ETFs. ....
http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/03/investing/amazon-stock-widely-held/index.html

Most Americans close to retirement have saved only 12% of what they need - CNBC

The average American close to retirement has only $120,000 saved, which won't last long, experts warn. ....
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/19/most-americans-close-to-retirement-have-saved-12-percent-of-what-they-need.html

The Real Reason the Investor Class Hates Pensions - The New York Times

No issue in America today better illustrates the divergent interests of working Americans and the 1 percent than pension reform. Substantial empirical evidence shows that America’s favored retirement vehicle — the 401(k), recently renounced by its own inventors — is grossly inadequate and will leave tens of millions of Americans with insufficient retirement assets. And yet states and cities are busy converting traditional pensions into these failing 401(k)s or equivalents, to the great benefit of money managers and the finance class.....
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/opinion/investor-class-pensions.html

Republicans Seem Bizarrely Determined to Pay for Their Tax Cuts by Crushing 401Ks -- Slate

For months now, Washington has been buzzing with speculation that Republicans would try to pay for their tax cut plan in part by mucking around with Americans' retirement accounts. Most recently, members of the House have been contemplating a plan that would lower the cap on annual 401K contributions to a measly $2,400 a year—an idea so self-evidently toxic among upper-middle-class savers that President Trump attempted to snuff it out on Tuesday, via tweet. ....
https://slate.com/business/2017/10/republicans-still-want-to-crush-401ks-to-pay-for-tax-cuts.html

You can’t make America great without killing the 401(k) and bringing back real pensions – ThinkProgress

A wonky fight brewing over specific rules of the 401(k) system is a shiny distraction from the real action on retirement security....
https://thinkprogress.org/dont-reform-the-401k-kill-it-f60e68dddcd0/

Republicans Consider Sharp Cut in 401(k) Contribution Limits -- The New York Times

A move to reduce contribution limits would almost certainly prompt a vocal backlash from middle-class workers who save heavily in such retirement accounts. ....
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/politics/republicans-tax-401-k.html

Labor Department seeks to delay rule that protects investors -- ThinkProgress.org

The Labor Department would like to delay a rule that would require financial advisors to act in the best interest of their customers and their retirement accounts. ...
https://thinkprogress.org/labor-department-delay-rule-protect-investors-a9307807b6d4/

Grab Your Pitchforks, America, Your 401(K) May Need Defending from Congress -- The Wall Street Journal

Congress is considering whether to reduce the benefits of contributing to a 401(k) and similar retirement plans -- even as U.S. representatives and senators bask in the safety of the pension system that taxpayers fully fund for federal employees. ...
https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2017/04/21/grab-your-pitchfork-america-your-401k-may-need-defending-from-congress/

11 ways to improve your finances on a lunch break (CNBC)

You can get a lot done in half an hour. ...
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/12/11-ways-to-improve-your-finances-over-a-lunch-break.html

Were 401(k) Plans Just a Big Mistake? | Mother Jones

The Wall Street Journal ran a piece yesterday about the folks who (accidentally) created the 401(k) retirement plan. They aren't happy with their creation:...
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/01/were-401k-plans-just-big-mistake

Bloomberg: What Trump Could Do to Your Retirement

Defanging the fiduciary rule could cost investors billions of dollars. Critics of the rule say it does more harm than good.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-02/what-trump-could-do-to-your-retirement?bcomANews=true

Hillary Clinton: After Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, "within 24 hours, Americans lost $100 billion from our 401(k)s."

In a speech attacking her opponent, Hillary Clinton said Donald Trump cheered while the economy reeled in the aftermath of Britain’s shocking vote to leave the European Union.

"On Friday, when Britain voted to leave the European Union, he crowed from his golf course about how the disruption could end up creating higher profits for that golf course, even though, within 24 hours, Americans lost $100 billion from our 401(k)s," Clinton said in Ohio June 27. "He tried to turn a global economics challenge into an infomercial."

Trump did say last week that Brexit would benefit Turnberry, his golf course in Scotland, because a weaker pound would bring more tourists.

We wondered, though, about the other part of Clinton’s claim: that Brexit caused 50 million Americans with 401(k) retirement savings accounts to lose $100 billion in just 24 hours....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/28/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-says-american-401ks-lost-100-billi/