Published by Taylor Financial Group
Dear Humans,
If you believe that being a dog is all upside, you would be incorrect. There are both negatives and positives to being a dog. Some of the main negatives include lack of variety (our owners somehow think we want the same meal for both breakfast and dinner every day) and lack of privacy (as the only large mammals in the house without proper bedrooms, we protest!).
However, I will admit that when it comes to evaluating the dog lifestyle, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. For instance, we can eat treats every day without getting fat (I dare you to contradict me) and we NEVER have to pay taxes! When I was younger, I used to take the whole “not paying taxes” thing for granted, mostly because I didn’t earn that much money anyway. But now that I am approaching my golden years and I have acquired a pretty sizable nest egg, it is something that I definitely appreciate.
Unfortunately, my sources (Debbie and Rob Taylor) recently confirmed that unlike dogs, humans have to pay taxes. Moreover, many retirees do not understand the effect taxes can have on their retirement income! In fact, according to a new survey from Nationwide Retirement Institutes conducted in August 2018, nearly 60% of future retirees, 70% of recent retirees and 75% of all those retired for more than 10 years said that they were only somewhat knowledgeable or not at all knowledgeable about tax planning. Not understanding tax planning is a problem for older folks because it often means that they owe tax money at the end of the year. Specifically, the survey discovered that more than 25% of older citizens end up owing tax money each year, and more than 25% of recent retirees end up paying thousands of dollars more in taxes than they expected to. At Taylor Financial Group, they refer to it as a “tax time bomb,” and boy is it ever. The good thing is that my humans are on top of it and are working with clients who have large retirement balances BEFORE they need to pay taxes in order to drive down that tax bill. There are lots of potential strategies, so be on the lookout for these conversations!
Although that information is scary (I am currently trembling as if there is a vacuum right next to me), there is hope! The survey also showed that more than 80% of soon-to-be retirees want to learn more about taxes and avoid these pitfalls. According to Eric Henderson, president of Nationwide’s life insurance business, the key to avoiding these tax pitfalls is “Building tax flexibility into a retirement income plan.” My favorite human, Debbie, is doing just this by communicating with her clients about the new New Tax Act and reviewing retirement distribution optimization strategies with clients who are in their 50’s and beyond. If you are a soon-to-be or recent retiree and you would like to learn more about how to keep more of your retirement monies and not give it away to the government, please contact the Taylor Financial Group team for assistance!
Till next time,
Lucky Taylor
This piece is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information on the subjects covered. It is not, however, intended to provide specific legal, tax or other professional advice. For specific professional assistance, the services of an appropriate professional should be sought.