422: Managing Tax Rate Uncertainties & Contribution and Decumulation Strategies with David Hulse, PhD

Today, I’m talking to Dr. David Hulse, recently retired Professor Emeritus at the Von Allmen School of Accountancy and the Martin School of Public Policy at the University of Kentucky. He’s a contributing author for federal taxation textbooks and has written about our tax system in several journals.  He recently published a white paper called Roth Vs. Traditional Account Contributions and Tax Rate Uncertainty in the Journal of Financial Planning. It’s a fantastic and informative paper, and we wanted to bring David onto the podcast to break his complex argument down into something simpler and allow him to answer your questions. With that in mind, in this episode, we discuss the difference between different contribution and decumulation strategies with someone who’s implementing them in his own life as we speak, the changing pace of life for new retirees, and how many people use a mix of retirement accounts and tools to avoid costly mistakes in this phase of life. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: Important facts that many advisors don’t understand about Roth IRAs compared to traditional ones. How to understand the government’s role as a “silent partner” in a traditional IRA. How to assess whether a traditional or Roth IRA is right for you based on whether or not overall (or your personal) tax rate is going to go up. Strategies you can use to address potential problems around required minimum distributions (RMDs) with traditional IRAs. Why David is using a mix of traditional and Roth IRAs across his retirement accounts. The reasons why there’s no simple “set and forget” strategy when it comes to retirement account planning.  Our Market Outlook Webinar is live! Visit https://bit.ly/4bmHkUb to register. Show Notes: RetireWithPurpose.com/422 Rate & Review the Podcast: RetireWithPurpose.com/review