Good evening.

You've got more than money.

You've got Jean Dickerson, you've got me as your host.

You've got me as your financial advisor.

You've got me doing everything multi-tasking at its best.

And for a guide, this is about the limit of multitasking.

You ladies, you can do it all.

Bottom line for us is that for the next half an hour, I'm all about you.

I'm all about serving you.

And I do that in a remarkably selfish way.

Because.

Because of you.

We're the most relevant financial show on television today.

No matter what station you're watching, no matter what time of the day or week, day of the week.

We're it because of you.

Yeah.

My 780 years of experience brings a little something to the table.

We would certainly hope so.

But bottom line is that without you, it's just another boring financial show.

Talking about the stock market was up today or down or sideways.

Your Honor, you know, 800 is is not what we're about.

Serving you is what we're about.

And because of you, we are able to do that every single week.

You send us your emails, Jean, and ask em TMZ.com.

Jeannie and ask mtm.com.

And we select some of those, to air on subsequent shows.

We can't possibly air all of them.

We get far too many, but we do answer every single one.

Back to you.

We have a complete team of financial advisors that do exactly that.

So if you have a question and you simply want, guidance, you simply want information, you simply want someone, to give you a, a second opinion, maybe a third opinion, depending on how you're going through these things.

We're happy to do that.

And maybe, just maybe, you'll become, reasonably famous for having your question answered on air.

It's kind of that time of the year, the fall, one of my favorite times of the year, where the the leaves are changing.

The mornings are crisp and clear.

But it also gives us a little more energy and maybe a little more energy to face the challenges that you've been kind of maybe putting off for your financial life.

And now it's time.

Now you want to get active and you want to get engaged.

Well, this is a great opportunity to make sure you have a pad and a pen pad and pencil so that you can take some notes during the next half hour or so.

As we answer questions for some of your they may be your friends, they may be your neighbors, they may be your colleagues at work.

They may be part of your family who have, decided to take that first step.

Reach out and ask for some assistance.

If you pick up a couple ideas.

Fantastic.

If the questions aren't exactly what you're interested in, send your own email, Jean, and ask Dot TMZ.com and we'll be able to serve you.

So let's start with our first question.

Is there someone who can help me?

Pretty universal question that lots of folks ask.

In this particular case, the email reads, I'm a 75 year old widower with no kids, still working part time, and I make about 3500 a month.

Not bad at all.

I stuff away fascinating term.

I stuff away 2000 a month in my employee sponsored 41 K. Wow.

I have $1,100,000 in an IRA, mostly 6040 and stocks and bonds, about $50,000 in my current 401 K stock and bonds as well.

I have about $275,000 in CDs that will mature soon, and I'm getting 2400 a month in Social Security, in addition to a pension of 800 a month.

I have some funds in the bank for emergencies.

I have no credit card debt.

My health is pretty darn good.

My house is fully paid for.

My car is fully paid for.

I won't need to buy a new one for at least ten years.

I live a very simple life, but I need help to leave behind funds for my extended family.

How do I avoid taxes?

Protect my IRA funds from a big market fall?

What kind of advisor should I be looking for?

And is there someone who can help me?

There's your question.

Indeed.

First and foremost, is there someone that can help you?

The answer is yes.

Yes, indeed.

We use more than money.

Are more than money.

Advisors are MTM financial Group advisors as as kind of the model of what you're looking for.

Because under that umbrella, you will absolutely get advice on the investments that you're currently using inside your IRA and your four and one K. But that's kind of the basics.

Lots of financial advisory groups, offer that.

Many of the largest companies, whose names you recognize, the largest, from a marketing standpoint, that's all they offer.

And they're really not financial advisors.

They're investment advisors and investment advisors only.

So if you had a question about taxes, as you do, you have to talk to your tax professional.

If you have a question about estate planning, as you do, you have to talk to your estate planning expert, an attorney.

None of that is brought together by that firm as opposed to the more than money, advisors where all of that is under one roof, whether it's investments, income taxes, estate planning, Social Security planning, Medicare issues, life insurance, long term care, all of that is under one roof.

That's the model that you're looking for.

So wherever you may find yourself geographically, you're looking for a, an advisory firm that can do all of that for you.

All of that for you, by the way.

Geography used to be the determining factor when somebody was looking for a financial advisor, they would, maybe go to the, talking about old fashion.

The Yellow Pages.

Goodness.

No, they Google, financial advisors closest to me.

And if there was somebody a block away that was their financial advisor, nothing could be further from the truth.

Now, with technology readiness, we we are seeing coast to coast and border to border and have been able blessed to be able to serve clients now in more than 30 states.

So technology allows you to access the investment advice that you want from the firms that you want, almost independent of where you may find yourself geographically.

However, in almost every geographic area, there are some really wonderful financial advisors doing it just the way that more than money advisors do it.

Do it with, with great skill, great care.

So that's what you're looking for.

You've got a substantial, estate, no question about that.

Having said that, the the, estate tax issue is not a federal estate tax issue.

You will have a no tax, removed from your estate for federal, purposes for, for for the United States government purposes.

Because, you would have to have an estate above about $13 million right now in order for it to even begin to be taxed at a federal level.

At a state level.

That's a very different question.

That's a very different question.

And you may, depending on the state that you find yourself in.

For example, in the state of Pennsylvania, if you had direct descendants, the estate tax rate is 4.5%.

If you go to an extended family, it could be 12, it could be 15.

So some states have zero.

Florida has no estate or inheritance taxes at all.

So make sure you're checking whether they trusted estate planning attorney that that, has the experience to guide you in the state in which you live.

Since we're seeing coast to coast and border to border, that's extremely important because every state is a little bit, different.

Your, interest in getting as much of your money to your extended family tax free as possible is understandable, but it's challenging the vast majority of your money.

Over $1 million is in an IRA.

Another big chunk is in A41K.

None of that has had income tax paid on it yet.

The IRS is expecting that when you pass.

If that goes to anyone else as an inherited IRA, they will need to take that money out and pay income taxes on it.

Perhaps even above and beyond a state taxes that they may pay in whatever state that you reside in.

So the challenge here is, at what point is it enough if you're looking at an after tax number of I'm picking a number out of thin air, $1 million in your mind, is that enough?

Well, then you have very little more that you need to do.

If, on the other hand, you're saying, now wait a second, $1 million is wonderful, but then my in my beneficiaries have to pay income tax on that.

That could be as much as 200, maybe more 200,000 plus dollars.

I really don't want that to happen.

One solution you might consider, life insurance.

You mentioned that you're in reasonably good health at, 75.

Reasonably good health is fantastic.

Good for you.

So if you are eligible for life insurance, you might very well consider taking some of what you're currently stuffing.

Love the term stuffing into the 41K.

You're putting $2,000 a month into savings that eventually will be taxed to your beneficiaries.

Maybe you take some or all of that and fund a a life insurance contract.

Let's pick a number out of thin air and say that the tax that you're worried about is a quarter of $1 million to your heirs.

You get a life insurance contract set up correctly.

Life insurance is not only not income taxable.

It also can be set up.

So it's not a state taxable.

In other words it's money that's free and clear.

And let's just say for the next ten years, you're you're putting in a thousand bucks a month.

You've put 120,000 in it blossoms into $250,000 tax free when it's most needed.

So life insurance is something you should explore, and explore is exactly the right word.

You need to work with a a financial advisory firm that has all that under one umbrella, with a partner that will educate you, explore with you, examine different alternatives in terms of life insurance contracts to see if there is one that fits your needs.

If there is, I think our our our work here is done.

If there is not a second alternative, something that you should consider is converting some pieces of your current IRA into a Roth IRA doing some conversion process.

You're 75.

If you are willing to join our club triple H club Happy Healthy hundred.

You've got 25 years to be moving money from where it will be taxable to your beneficiaries, to where it will not be taxable to your beneficiaries, and particularly if you're in a relatively low tax bracket, this could be a wonderful strategy for you to employ to move money out relatively inexpensively and get it into the hands of people that you care about and that you love at the lowest possible income tax as well.

I know I've covered a lot of ground there.

I know that there's a lot of details that you may want to delve deeply into, but your email is very, very clear.

I appreciate that very much.

Your intentions were very, very clear.

That's also very helpful.

And I think if we explore a couple of those strategies, you'll be well-served.

What's back there next?

What are we up?

Is a pension as good as savings?

That's that's an odd question.

Even I thought it was an odd question and I wrote it.

Is a pension as good as savings?

There was a time in America where if you were, employed by almost any significant company, you had a pension.

In some cases, the pensions were modest.

In some cases they were very generous.

That wasn't really the point.

The point was at your retirement, you had a guaranteed income for as long as you lived.

And if you did it correctly, it was for as long as you lived and as long as your spouse lived.

So it was a tremendously reassuring process to find yourself in.

Having said all of that, as an intro gentleman writes, I'm a 63 year old retired government employee.

Can I make it with a $95,000 a year pension income and only $100,000 in savings?

I owe $240,000 on my home, but I want to sell it and rent for the rest of my life for camaraderie sake.

I'm single.

I don't want to be by myself.

As I get older, what type of advisor might be able to help me and make sure my money lasts?

Well, the type of advisor is very similar to our answer to the first question, which is you want somebody that's got the big picture in mind.

You don't want an advisor that's an investment only advisor.

They're going to look at $100,000.

And for many firms, that doesn't even reach their minimum.

There are many, many firms in my world, firms I have very little respect for.

To be perfectly blunt, I know for many of you, you're saying, wait a second, some of the biggest firms in America, some of the most well-recognized firms in America, require you to start with a half $1 million, million dollars and in some cases, much more.

Doesn't that make them better?

The answer, in a word, is no.

It doesn't make them better.

It makes them more profitable for their shareholders.

I get that, but does it make them a better servant to their clients?

Not not in the least.

And for the financial advisors who are watching, and there's a fair number of you.

Thank you all.

You many of you have sent me emails, I'm showing appreciation for their, willingness to share great ideas that they then take and serve their clients was fantastic.

More than money, we can't possibly serve everyone in America, so helping other advisors do a great job for their clients is a bonus.

It's it's absolutely fantastic.

But minimum requirements of those types eliminates, service to people who may, to be blunt, need it.

The very most.

And so it's a great pleasure to serve someone of significant assets and modest assets equally.

And gosh, in many cases, it's not equally it's way more fun.

So bottom line is here the question becomes what do you need on a monthly basis in your retirement.

So you're happy, you're healthy and your bills are paid.

This gentleman has a $95,000 a year pension.

Most of you heard that number went, oh my goodness, that's fantastic.

He is absolutely, in the driver's seat.

What could be better?

100,000 could be better.

It it could be better if his monthly need is exactly nine or his annual need is exactly 95,000, then it could be much better.

And here's why.

He's 63.

Joining our triple H club.

Happy, healthy 100.

He's got 37 years to go.

If you think back 37 years to the mid 80s, what might have been a good income?

30 grand a year, 40 grand a year now, 30 or 40 grand a year is less than you will get on Social Security.

So 30 or 40 grand needs to grow so that over 37 years it could be 2025 and you'd have enough income that you wouldn't be, pinched.

This gentleman's pension undoubtedly is fixed.

So the first five years.

Fantastic.

Perhaps next five years, maybe just a little tight after that, 73 years old and the pension is fixed.

But his costs are going up.

That's a real concern.

That's a real concern.

So, for us, the first most important question, what do you need?

If he says to us, I need $5,000 a month and I'm getting $8,000 a month, we may very well have just solved our problem because we spend five, but we take the extra three.

And using the same phrase as our first, emailer.

We stuff it into an investment program.

So the 100,000 doesn't get touched, it grows.

And let's say that we can stuff 3000 a month, 36,000 a year into an investment program upon his retirement.

Well, in, in ten years, age 73, he's not limping along on the same income because his 100,000 hopefully has doubled.

That's 200,000.

And if he's saving 36,000 a year over ten years, he has saved 360,000 without any investment return at all.

He's got over half $1 million.

So at age 73, even using a very simple, 4% withdrawal pattern, he could pull another 1500 and $20,000 a year on top of his 95.

And if done correctly, in ten more years, he hasn't eaten into his half a million.

The half a million is now maybe 700,000, maybe 800,000.

And instead of $115,000 income, he has 125,000 our income.

So having this pattern is dependent on knowing what he needs to spend and reinvesting the differential.

Hopefully there is differential.

Now one last point I'd like to make.

There's a he makes a note.

He wants to sell his home for camaraderie purposes.

He wants to rent.

So he's around people.

It's a very interesting idea.

It's certainly one that I understand.

Being active, being social is a very important part of a healthy retirement, but there are a lot of ways to do that without giving up your home.

My fear is, gosh, for many of you who have looked at rentals of late, you know how dreadfully high they are.

What used to be a nice, simple apartment for 500 a month is now 1500 a month or two, depending on your geography.

It might be 2000 or 3000 a month.

And goodness, always going up.

Mortgage payments might be fixed, rental payments always go up.

They always have an increase in inflation rate that they have to pay attention to.

Maybe you consider a roommate.

Maybe you consider staying in your home and securing a roommate or roommates.

If you have a full size house so that you have that camaraderie built in, maybe you consider staying in your own home but joining a number of groups in retirement.

Maybe there's a organization at your church that gets together on a regular basis.

Maybe it's something in sports that you really like build into your retirement.

The social aspect that you absolutely are correct that you need, but maybe not give up your home.

In the long run, that may end up being your ace in the hole from an equity standpoint as well.

Just a personal opinion.

Hopefully that helps.

Where do we go next?

Is this even possible?

So dramatic.

Good.

This, I have a question about Roth IRAs.

How traumatic can that be?

I have a Roth IRA that's currently worth 350,000.

My son is the beneficiary.

My son also has a Roth IRA currently worth about 20,000 goodies on his way.

When I pass, can my IRA be directly rolled into my son's IRA since he is a beneficiary?

And does that in some way prevent this rollover?

If it is inherited, then he has ten years to move it to his IRA.

The amount is too large to move in an equal proportion three 35,000 a year for each of ten years.

What other options does he have to get the money into his IRA?

Now I remember why it's so dramatic.

Is this even possible?

No.

Now, the IRS rules absolutely would forbid your IRA becoming part of his IRA.

The only exception to that rule.

Spouses.

If I pass, my wife can take my IRA and make it as if it were always hers.

A child cannot do that.

No one else can do that.

It can only be done by spouses.

So the first answer is no.

My apology is not possible.

The second is a little more interesting.

You're absolutely right.

$350,000.

Currently, the law says that that must be empty by the end of ten years.

Now it's a Roth IRA, so there's no income tax impact by taking the money out can be taken out earlier.

Can be taken out in equal amounts.

It can be taken out very late.

And that's a strategy that your, that your son will need to explore, that, he will need, as sitting with an advisor can explore his financial needs, his financial goals, and how best to utilize that money.

But if indeed we accept that what he should be doing or what what you expect he will be doing is moving that money into some form of retirement for himself.

We've already determined he cannot put it directly into his Roth IRA.

And you're quite right.

35,000 year is way above the current Roth contribution levels for IRAs.

So if he were making money, has a job, has earned income, and would like to move some of that, he has to take roughly 35 out.

He might be able to move seven or 8 or 9.

Hopefully that increases.

Maybe maybe it gets to ten, but it's not even close.

Is there a better way?

Maybe.

Maybe the maybe part is we don't know yet.

Your son's, employment situation.

If your son's employment situation is, a has an employer that offers a 401 K, depending on his age, he can currently put $30,000 a year or more, depending on his age, that it rises with age, $30,000 a year or more into his 401 K. Interestingly enough, this money is coming out of a Roth.

He pays no tax, so if he is wise, if this option is available to him, if he is wise, he looks at putting this money.

The maximum 30,000 plus into the Roth option of the 401 K, not the standard option.

Now, admittedly, if he took 30,000, put it into the standard for one K he would get a tax deduction.

He might save three 4 or 5 $6,000 in taxes today.

Lovely.

But that pales absolutely pales in comparison to having tax free income at his retirement.

So in my opinion, all things being equal, he has access to A41K plan.

He looks at possibly possibly, having 35,000 come out using 30 of that to go into his 41 K into the Roth option.

So over the course of ten years, will he be able to convert all of it?

The answer is probably not.

But he's going to get 8,090% of your Roth IRA into a Roth scenario and into a Roth scenario for a young person.

Over the course of ten years, an extra 300,000, he's already got 20,000 working for him.

That money could easily, in his retirement, end up being well over $1 million income tax free.

Now I will, I'll go off script just for a moment off script from your email and say to you, I pray he doesn't see this money for decades and decades.

And that becomes a a moot point because you're hanging around.

You become part of our triple H club as well.

You hang around for a very long time.

The very best way you benefit your son is not by giving him 3 or $400,000 in a Roth IRA.

It's by living a long life and living a successful and financially independent life, and having great energy and great spirit, great health throughout that life so that you can enjoy the experience.

As I think back to my mom and dad, God rest both their souls, financial aspects, they were real, but they were almost irrelevant.

What I remember, what I value most, the wealth they gave me, all the experiences, all the love, all the support, all the respect, all the care, all the joy, all the fun.

That's what's important.

Hang on to the money.

As long as you can hang on to life as long as you can.

And then let your son know that he's got some planning to do.

Folks, we've covered a lot of ground in a very short period of time.

I hopefully you took some notes.

Hopefully a couple of those ideas fit you.

If none of those ideas for you and they were just curiosities, make sure that you're asking the questions that do fit you.

We lay claim to being the most relevant financial show on television, anywhere, any time, any place.

The only way that is true is if we're answering questions that are relevant to you.

So please send those to us.

Jean at ask mtm.com.

We are blessed to have a complete team of financial advisors all experienced, well trained, all anxious to serve you in any way that they can.

Folks coming to you, on Tuesday evenings or whenever you get to see us, or maybe you see us off our website or the PBS website.

It's a great honor.

It's an honor to serve you.

So I hope that you picked up enough ideas that you're going to want to return again with us when we're back here next week for another edition of More Than Money.

Goodbye.