085 Bob Carlson: The Good News and Gotchas Around Tax Wise Investing

About Fun With Annuities Episode #85

With our “friends” in Washington, DC spending money at historic levels it’s common sense that taxes are probably going to go up and politicians will be targeting existing tax-saving strategies.  When taxes are the topic, my first phone call is always to Bob Carlson.  I’m so glad he’s back on the Fun With Annuities mic because his factual insights are phenomenal.

There are a ton of “proposed” tax targets and changes currently floating around DC.  Bob pretty much covered every single one of those and gave his qualified opinion on what will/might change and what will not about taxes.

Bob also dives into Roth IRAs and the changes that might happen with those.  Also swirling around the mic was 529 plans, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), bunching deduction strategies, Donor Advisor Funds (DAFs), and Family Income Shifting & Family Loan strategies.

We then shifted to Permanent Life Insurance Strategies, QLACs (Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts), Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), and how to properly use Charitable Remainder Trusts. 

You will really enjoy when Bob pivoted to Tax Wise Investing strategies with numerous examples of how you can apply these nuggets of wisdom to your portfolio.

I predict that you will have to listen to this podcast more than once to even attempt to retain all of the information provided. I would recommend grabbing a pen and paper and take notes. It’s that good. I promise that you will not be disappointed. This is a must-listen to podcast. Enjoy!

In case you missed his first visit to Fun With Annuities, here you go >> 062 Bob Carlson: Unlocking the Secrets of Social Security and Your Retirement Plan

Brief Bio on Co-host Bob Carlson:

I have been a fan of Bob’s for years because he is always trying to give investors the straight goods on how their retirement will be impacted by regulatory and legislative changes. He is a constant champion for retirees. In addition to being editor of the Retirement Watch newsletter I mentioned, Bob has a monthly video series Retirement Watch Spotlight, and the weekly free e-letter Retirement Watch Weekly. Bob is also the Founder of The Center for Retirement Security, a research and collaboration vehicle for retirement finances, investments, taxes, and estate planning. As the educational arm of Retirement Watch, the Center for Retirement Security offers retirees and pre-retirees the tools they need to survive and even thrive the changing landscape of retirement planning.

His latest book is Where’s My Money: Secrets to Getting the Most out of Your Social Security (Regnery Capital:2021) and it talks about the biggest retirement mistake we can make – not taking full advantage of your Social Security benefits. It’s a mistake that almost every retiree makes. Bob has written many books over the years and has been interviewed by all of the top financial publications. You can also follow him of the Retirement Watch Twitter page.

You thought I was done? Nope. Bob is an attorney and has also passed the CPA Exam. He received his J.D. and an M.S. (Accounting) from the University of Virginia and received his B.S. (Financial Management) from Clemson University.

And just to pile on…he also is an instrument rated private pilot.

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Bob Carlson discuss:  

• Current taxation and retirement climate 
• Changes in Roth IRA rules 
• Strategies you can use to get around IRA changes 
• Donor-advised funds and some investment strategies 

Key Takeaways:  

• A lot of proposals are being thrown around, but the votes even out enough to not allow anything to be done yet. There are proposals that completely upend some tax or retirement strategies.  
• Roth IRA holders are a minority in the eyes of the congress, so it’s easy for them to either make actions that make them mad or paint them as “the evil rich”.  
• If you or your heirs take the money from your IRA, that’s taxable as ordinary income. Consider how taxes in the future can be very different from ours now. What you can do instead is take the money out of your IRA today, pay the taxes, use the after-tax amount to buy a permanent life insurance policy.  
• A lot of people favor and back charitable giving because it helps and the tax deduction from it will not be taken away since some from charitable industries argue that some of the things they do are helping the government do its job at helping citizens.  

Fun With Annuities Podcast is hosted by America’s Annuity Agent®, Stan Haithcock, The Annuity Man®. Hear brutal annuity facts with no sales pitches from the top independent agent in the country, licensed in all 50 states. Author of 7 books, Stan dives deep on all annuity types and strategies. It’s fun, learning the contractual truths on how annuities actually work and if they’ll fit your personal retirement lifestyle.

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