Will your taxes go up? Stay the same? Go down, even? Jeffrey Levine is Chief Planning Officer at Focus Partners, Professor of Practice in Taxation at the American College of Financial Services, and the Lead Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com. In other words, he’s one of the savviest tax minds in the country. Jeff returns to the show today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcast number 524 with Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA, with his thoughts on what will happen to taxes under the new administration, saving for retirement in a Roth IRA vs. a traditional IRA, managing inherited retirement accounts, and the future viability of Social Security. Plus, what should you do with required minimum distributions when you don't need the money to live on? How do you calculate the maximum amount you should convert from your retirement account to a tax-free Roth account, and how much should you convert - or not - to keep RMDs under control? Finally, how can minor beneficiaries avoid probate?

Free financial resources & episode transcript: https://bit.ly/ymyw-524

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro: This Week on the YMYW Podcast

01:05 - Will These Historic Low Tax Rates Be Extended? Insight from Jeff Levine, CFP®, CPA/PFS, ChFC®, RICP®, CWS, AIF, BFA™, MSA

19:54 - Make These 3 Investments for a Happy Retirement and Watch Take Control of Your Retirement Plan on YMYW TV

21:06 - What to Do With Required Minimum Distributions When You Don't Need the Money to Live On? (Judi, San Diego)

24:40 - How Much NOT to Convert to Roth to Keep RMDs Under Control? (DH from SoCal)

32:26 - LIMITED TIME SPECIAL OFFER: Download the DIY Retirement Guide by Friday, April 11, 2025!

33:39 - How to Calculate How Much Roth Conversion I Should Do? (Joe, voice)

38:42 - How Can I Reduce My Required Minimum Distributions? (Joel, CA)

40:18 - How Can Minor Beneficiaries Avoid Probate? (Esther, San Francisco)

46:04 - YMYW Podcast Outro

What are the three predictors of retirement happiness? Dr. Michael Finke, CFP® from the American College of Financial Services tells us what his research shows. He also shares his insights on the four percent rule for retirement withdrawals and whether there is anything we can do to stave off the effects of aging on our cognitive abilities. That’s today on Your Money, Your Wealth podcast number 523 with Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA. Plus, Joe and Big Al do some retirement spitballing: can Jon in Pennsylvania retire early at age 56, and would it be better for him to take his pension monthly or as a lump sum? Steve and his wife in Colorado are 48 and 54 and have $3 million saved. When can they retire? Eager Eagle and his wife in Washington state have $2 million saved at ages 61 and 63. Can they retire next year?

Free financial resources & episode transcript: https://bit.ly/ymyw-523

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