Joe Anderson, CFP® & Alan Clopine, CPA share common retirement mistakes they've seen for years. These mistakes that could cost you thousands, if not more, can easily be avoided if you learn how. Original publish date August 6, 2016 (hour 1). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed.

00:00 - Intro

02:27 - "What we have found with a lot of you is that potentially you're not going to be in a lower tax bracket."

05:37 - "The people we work with have assets in retirement accounts, and in most cases they will be in the same tax bracket or higher because most people that will come into our office want to at least maintain their same lifestyle."

09:32 - "You have to put a plan together to take a look at a forward-looking strategy."

13:37 - "The first one (mistake) seems so obvious but we see it over and over again – it's not having beneficiaries on your retirement plan or IRA or having the wrong ones on your IRA."

17:34 - "As a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) for over 30 years, it does amaze me how many people fail to get the message about tax planning and strategies until they make a mistake that costs them thousands of dollars."

22:57 - "There are a lot of different requirements to name the trust as the beneficiary."

25:49 - "There is good justification for actually having a separate trust; it's called an IRA trust which has nothing to do with your living trust and you set that trust up in such a way that when you pass away, your beneficiaries become sub-trusts and you can actually have the RMD (required minimum distribution) based upon each individual beneficiary."

28:02 - "This isn't so much a mistake but an underutilized strategy because a lot of people don't really know about it. It's called net unrealized appreciation (NUA)."

30:55 - "If you keep your tax bracket low enough, you can avoid the capital gains tax so you can get those assets out tax-free to you."

34:46 - "Interest rates are at all-time lows, markets are volatile, we're living a lot longer and healthcare costs – the list goes on and on."

Aired: 8/7/2016 11 AM:: The IRS changed the rules for IRA rollovers and not everyone is catching on. Taxpayers can only perform one 60-day IRA rollover in a 12-month period, no matter how many IRAs they own. Joe an Al go over this new rule and share how you can avoid getting hit with high tax bills.

Aired: 8/6/2016 10 AM:: Joe and Al share common retirement planning mistakes they’ve seen for years. These mistakes, that could cost you thousands, if not more, can easily be avoided if you learn how.

Joe Anderson, CFP® & Alan Clopine, CPA answer frequently asked investing questions and explain key factors to look for when choosing a financial advisor on YMYW podcast 52. Should you choose a fee-only or fee-based advisor and does it matter if they follow the fiduciary standard? Find out. Original publish date July 30, 2016 (hour 2). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed.

00:00 - Intro

02:27 - "I'm currently employed by two employers, which brings my yearly income to $170K. I understand my pre-tax contributions. One of my employers now offers a Roth contribution. Am I eligible to contribute to only one employer's Roth?"

04:54 - "Yes, you can contribute to both plans…can you contribute to a Roth in either or both plans? The answer is yes."

08:15 - "I just purchased a home in January 2015 and I'm now wanting to sell with a potential profit of about $60K. I am newly married as of May 2016, and would like to file Head of Household to avoid paying Capital Gains. My income alone is $44K and married we are at $74K. I would like to be sure that I am under the radar and not having to pay capital gains tax if I sell today."

09:32 - "When you're married, you can't file head of household unless you've been separated for six months and have not lived with your spouse for six months."

15:46 - "You want to work with a fiduciary 100% of the time where there are no other licenses. If they have a broker-dealer affiliation, they sell products."

20:45 - "An overwhelming percentage of retirees are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their financial health."

25:39 - "If you look at the average 401(k) or IRA balances of those who are 55-64…it's $100,000. If you look at all people age 55-64, the median retirement account balance is $12,000 (Source: TIAA CREF Survey)."

28:52 - "My wife and I both draw on our Social Security Insurance benefits. We are both 68 years old. We just adopted 3 grandchildren. Does this change our benefits in any way?"

30:38 - "I will be retiring in a month or so and will be about 2 years before the mandatory withdrawal. Where can I park my money so that I have the least management fees and can earn some returns?"

On YMYW podcast 51, Joe Anderson, CFP® & Alan Clopine, CPA discuss three major tax-saving strategies that might be going away: the backdoor Roth IRA, net unrealized appreciation (NUA) and the stretch IRA. Learn how you can take advantage of them before it's too late. Original publish date July 30, 2016 (hour 1). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed.

00:00 - Intro

04:07 - "That's why the government is trying to get rid of it (the backdoor Roth IRA), because it's a way for those who make a lot of money to do a Roth contribution kind of the backdoor way."

05:25 - "The downside of doing a conversion is that you have to pay the tax on the dollars that go into the Roth."

05:45 - "If you're under 70 ½ and you have earned income, you can contribute to a traditional IRA."

09:57 - "The most important investment, by far that you can make is an investment you make in yourself."

11:56 - "Our opinion is that if you don't have a Roth [IRA], start one now."

17:17 - "You want to make sure you understand all of these rules to truly maximize the amount of tax-free income you have in retirement."

20:32 - "We're talking about a couple different strategies that you might want to consider before the door closes on you. We talked about backdoor Roth IRAs and here's another one – net unrealized appreciation."

24:04 - "Capital gain rates – event though they're a lot cheaper than ordinary income rates, in some cases about half of ordinary income rates – the higher your capital gain, the higher the rate goes up."

31:15 - "If you pass away with a retirement account, it is completely different from any other asset that you will pass on to the next generation."

35:04 - "It's a matter of taking control over your own taxes to figure this out so not only yourself will be in a better spot or your spouse, but your kids as well with regards to your IRA."

Aired: 7/30/2016 12 AM:: Hosts discuss three major tax-saving strategies that might be going away. Learn what they are and how you can take advantage of them before it’s too late.

Aired: 7/30/2016 11 AM:: Joe and Al start the hour answering frequently asked financial questions then explain key factors to look for when choosing a financial advisor. Should you choose a fee-only or fee-based advisor and does it matter if they follow the fiduciary standard? Find out.

How often do you come out on top if you try to beat the odds? Most active-fund managers fail to beat the market. Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine CPA share a more reliable way to invest for your future in YMYW podcast episode 50. Original publish date July 23, 2016 (hour 2). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed.

00:00 - Intro

04:12 - "As the market declines, we are buying the same great companies at a discount, so now is the time to invest."

06:24 - "You want to make sure you're diversified."

07:03 - "Small companies and value companies tend to outperform large and growth companies over the long-term. But we haven't seen that the last few years. Does that mean we abandon that strategy? No, it still works if you give it enough time – that's where patience is really important."

11:01 - "We have all-time lows for the 10-year treasury…"

12:29 - "If you're a U.S. investor and getting 60% of your portfolio going to return 6% and 40% going to return 1%, you're talking about a 4% return which is half of the nominal return that the typical 60/40 portfolio has earned over the last 90 years. That's a real problem for many investors who make the mistake of relying on historical returns; they're likely to end up alive with no money."

13:20 - "Clearly there are problems in the global economy. The credit markets are telling us a different story than the stock markets. They think that economic growth is very weak and likely to continue to be very weak. The stock market, on the other hand – at least in the U.S. where stock valuations are high – one assumes then that the market thinks growth will be somewhat reasonable."

17:27 - "Bonds are not for return. They are to dampen the risk of the overall portfolio to an acceptable level…"

20:00 - "Whatever your political views are, I think it's important that you hear this message. What the academic research shows is the following: when the party you favor is in power, you earn higher returns than the people in the opposing party."

22:25 - "It's important to not let your political biases or your political views influence your [investing] decisions."

29:47 - "REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust), to me are the riskiest investments – or at least among them right now – as you can get a higher expected return by investing in a 10-year CD with a hell of a lot less risk."

32:50 - "Get realistic on your budget; take a look at your bank statement… try to figure out where that money is going, what kind of retirement lifestyle you want and then start figuring out a savings plan and start early."

Markets are at all-time highs despite recent events. In episode 49 of the YMYW podcast, Joe and Al share smart investment strategies you can learn from past performance and give advice for investing in a bull market versus a bear market. Original publish date July 23, 2016 (hour 1). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed.

10 Steps to Improve Investing Success - free download

00:00 - Intro

02:33 - "If you're invested in the stock market today, the question is: now what? Should you keep your money in the market? If you've been sitting on the sidelines sitting in cash, is it a good time to jump in?"

03:23 - "Trying to time the market is a fool's game, not to mention pretty dangerous."

05:36 - "By being fully invested when you need to be fully invested – that's the appropriate way to do it. Get invested properly and stay invested."

09:02 - "Because the stock market is volatile and you can lose money, over the long term you make a lot more money and that's the premium that you have to pay to make that extra return."

16:42 "Most of you have assets inside your 401(k) plans, IRAs, 403(b)s – that's where a bulk of your retirement assets are. Guess what? There's a tax risk there because every dollar that comes out of that plan is taxed at ordinary income rates."

21:59 "Donald Trump would like to change our tax structure with four brackets, starting at 0% and the highest bracket being 25%...the highest bracket right now is 39.6%."

27:21 "When's the last time you fully reviewed your portfolio? Are you having conversations about Social Security, taxes and Medicare?"

31:32 "No one knows when these asset classes are going to perform so you want to have some of each. People chase near term performance all the time…that's not a good formula."

Aired: 7/23/2016 10 AM::
Markets are at all-time highs in spite of recent events. Joe and Al share investment strategies you can learn from past performance and give advice for investing in a bull market versus a bear market.