A little hope is good for the soul, but when it comes to retirement planning, wishful thinking can lead to serious financial mistakes. Today, we’re walking through five common examples of wishful thinking that can quietly damage your retirement and how you can build a plan that protects your future instead of relying on luck.
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Transcript:
Marc:
A little hope is good for the soul, but when it comes to retirement planning, wishful thinking can lead to some serious financial mistakes. So we want to talk about a few ways wishful thinking could possibly damage our retirement this week on Plan with the Taxman.
What's going on, everybody? Welcome into the podcast. Thanks for hanging out with Tony Mauro and myself as we talk invest and finance in retirement. Tony is a CPA, CFP, and an EA with 30-plus years of experience, and he is the Tax Doctor at Tax Doctor Inc., serving you all around the, well, Iowa and other areas as well. He's got clients all over the place. But we appreciate your time here on the podcast. And this week, we got a few wishful ways that, wishful thinking ways, I guess, that maybe could damage us, Tony. And there's nothing wrong with being optimistic and hopeful. Well, that's all good stuff. But you want to not kind of carry that so far, I guess, that it clouds your judgment and costs you in the end, right?
Tony Mauro:
That's right.
Marc:
Yeah.
Tony Mauro:
Some of these topics are some we hear all the time.
Marc:
All the time? Well, we'll try to tackle some of the biggest ones for you.
Tony Mauro:
Yeah.
Marc:
You doing all right this week?
Tony Mauro:
I'm doing good. Yeah. I mean, we're getting ready to spend a little more time outside, although the weather here is cool.
Marc:
I think it's cool across the country, actually, a little bit.
Tony Mauro:
Yeah.
Marc:
In some places.
Tony Mauro:
A lot of rain and stuff.
Marc:
Yeah.
Tony Mauro:
Hoping for something warmer.
Marc:
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Well, that's wishful thinking, right?
Tony Mauro:
That's wishful thinking on my part. Yep.
Marc:
Well, let's get into a couple of these and talk about it. We got to go with a standard classic, really, financial myth, I think, and that's the wishful thinking thought of, "I'll be in a lower tax bracket once I retire, so that's going to help me out from my cost savings standpoint," or whatever. And Tony, I've been talking with you for years and lots of other financial professionals, and they all tell me the same thing, that more times than not, people are in the same tax bracket when they retire, not a lower one. What's your thoughts?
Tony Mauro:
That's correct. Yeah, we find that too. It's the same or sometimes even higher depending on what they have coming in and how that is going to be taxed. And I mean, the traditional thinking is that, "Hey, my expenses are going to go way down, my income is going to go way down, and so therefore my bracket will go way down." But a lot has changed even with the brackets. There's not as big of a spread in each one, so they don't go down by that much. But a lot of times, people that have definitely planned and saved and are bringing in money, passive income from retirement sources, that a lot of times is the same or higher income than when they were working, which is a great thing, but they don't drop tax brackets, so we got to be very efficient about taking it out.
Marc:
Yeah. Okay. And that's the point. So it's the income strategy, where you're pulling it from and at what time, that's going to kind of dictate this a little bit, right?
Tony Mauro:
Yes.
Marc:
So that's when you start getting into the, which horse are you riding? The Social Security horse or your own, the 401(k)'s over here that you have or what on pulling out the income gap, kind of shoring up that income gap. Because they don't just, getting to Medicare, when you're 65, they give you Medicare. It'd be cool if they said, "Hey, you're 65. You're automatically in a lower tax bracket." But you don't get it as a retirement bonus. So if you want to be in a lower bracket, you have to strategize for it.
Tony Mauro:
You got to strategize, and you got to pull money out of the right buckets at the right time which I think is where a planner, if you're working with one, is going to really help you in that regard besides just trying to get the most return for whatever you're doing, whether you're taking some of the principal or just interest or whatever.
Marc:
What's the culprit that keeps us in that tax bracket the same? Is it typically the RMD withdrawals?
Tony Mauro:
I find it's the RMD withdrawals and then other income. People will go back and work a little bit. And then what they don't realize is that sneaky Social Security being taxed is that they bring in this income from other sources. And oh, by the way, now all of a sudden, a lot of my Social Security is taxed, and they weren't ready for that. They thought they were going down in income, which they are a little bit, but then that Social Security creeps back in for taxation purposes, and it screws up a lot. I just saw a lot of it this year. We had a lot of retirees that went out and had RMDs, and then they were also, a lot of them went back to work. You could look at their comparisons on their tax returns, and last year, hardly any of their Social Security was taxable. This year it was the full max, 85% of it, and all of a-
Marc:
Because of the income pullout.
Tony Mauro:
Yeah. Because of the income pullout.
Marc:
Yeah.
Tony Mauro:
And so you got to watch that. And you can plan some of that away a little bit, but that's the culprit that I saw this year with the Social Security.
Marc:
And that's where, again, some of that strategy comes in. And then when you do bump that income up higher, also with the Social Security, that then also affects the IRMAA conversation, right, the IRMAA penalty.
Tony Mauro:
Yeah. Yeah, it affects that. And then that obviously affects the tax bracket. And it's very sneaky because the clients, like I say, none of them realize that about the Social Security.
Marc:
Well, you kind of mentioned it, so we won't dive into it, but another one that was on my list was I'll spend less money when I retire because I'm no longer going to work and stuff. But I mean, you kind of touched on that. I think I sum it up all the time with the way my dad said it to me many, many years ago, which I've shared on this podcast before. And he was like, "Hey, retirement's great. I'm digging it. Every day's a weekend." I was like, "Awesome." He's like, "Yeah, but I spend all the money on the weekends." Right?
Tony Mauro:
Yeah. That's right. Yep.
Marc:
So you just got to be careful. Right?
Tony Mauro:
That's a good saying. Yeah, I like that.
Marc:
Yeah. And he, unfortunately, passed away, wasn't retired for very long. But it's always stuck with me because I was 15 or 16, something like that. I was like, "Okay, well, every day in retirement's a weekend, and you spend a lot of money on weekends, so be careful." So don't assume that that's, and again, wishful thinking, being well, like this next one, "Well, as long as I keep getting this good return, Tony, that I've had for the last, let's say 10 years, then my plan will work." Well, that's wishful thinking. I mean, as we saw this year, obviously, we had a new administration, we had the tariffs come in, made things pretty rocky. Now it's smoothed out there. We're almost back to all-time highs, but still, don't go into things with the assumption that every single year the market's going to give you 20% returns or 12% returns or whatever.
Tony Mauro:
Yeah. And I think most retirees shouldn't be looking at that like that anyway, because it's time to be more conservative. And if you're banking on that, and we have a prolonged, we haven't had a lot of it in the last, what, prolonged 15 years?
Marc:
17 years?
Tony Mauro:
Yeah, 15 years. Yeah. We've had little blips, yes, and some months of-
Marc:
I mean big blips, but they didn't last long, right?
Tony Mauro:
No, it didn't last long. And if you're not prepared for that or worse, you're not diversified, and you've got a lot of stuff, meaning your retirement income or not income, but your nest egg in something a little more aggressive, and that particular sector has a bad three to five years, that's going to blow that whole thing right up. You won't be just fine.
Marc:
Yeah. And so the wishful thinking, again, being, "As long as this and this and this happen, I'm good." Right?
Tony Mauro:
You're right.
Marc:
Well, you can't control this and this and this, so get a good strategy to hopefully retire in any economy. And maybe what you were talking about there a little bit, right, is sequence of risk return, right? Or sequence of return risk. Because if you literally retired in the down market, and it lasted for a couple years, obviously those accounts are going smaller, and you're pulling money out. That's what you're talking about, right?
Tony Mauro:
That's what I'm talking about. As I always preach to people, I can't control what the market does. Nobody can. All we can do is make sure we're invested in the right things that, over time and depending on what your plan is, that's going to get you to where you need to go. But I definitely would not, say somebody comes in and says that to me, it's like, "Whoa, we got to change your thinking real fast here because that's going to get you into some trouble."
Marc:
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. All right, so let's see. What else have we got on this list? Well, okay, let's piggyback off of that one. "Well, if things go south, I'll just keep working." The wishful thinking of, "Well, if it all goes to crap in a hand basket, I'll just go back to work." Maybe you can, but maybe you can't. Your body may not let you, your company may not want you, or you may not be able to make the kind of living that you thought you were going to make.
Tony Mauro:
I agree with all of those, and what I see is the biggest ones are my health or abilities won't allow me to do that. When I was working, things were different. I don't have that skill set that a lot of people were looking for, but I do see a lot of it, even though nobody admits it, is age discrimination. Nobody wants to hire.
Marc:
Right? Isn't it funny?
Tony Mauro:
Yeah. A 70-year-old.
Marc:
But it's easy to go, "Well, we just don't have anything." Or whatever. Even if you're sharp as a tack. Yeah, it definitely exists out there.
Tony Mauro:
There's a car dealer here that the drivers that drive me back for when I have my car.
Marc:
Oh, like the shuttle service thing?
Tony Mauro:
Yeah. They were telling me that they are driving for this company because the last company said they have a mandatory retirement age of 70. We don't want you if you're 70 or above and you have to get out.
Marc:
I wonder if that's an insurance thing because we don't want to have to cover the insurance that it's going to cost in case you have a driving, an accident.
Tony Mauro:
In case you wreck. Yeah.
Marc:
Because your response isn't fast enough. It's not as fast as it used to be, your motor skills or whatever. So yeah, it's a fine line. So they think they can cry safety for the public, but it's also bordering on age discrimination. So we're in a weird world.
Tony Mauro:
It really is. It's very weird.
Marc:
We're in a strange world.
Tony Mauro:
I do see that though.
Marc:
No, for sure.
Tony Mauro:
If a 70-year-old-
Marc:
Airline pilots. I've got a client that does a podcast, Tony, he's an airline pilot, and they have mandatory retirement. I think it's 65. They can't be in the skies anymore, right?
Tony Mauro:
Yeah. For controllers it's 56.
Marc:
Oh, there you go.
Tony Mauro:
The only reason I know that is because I do fly, private pilot, that is, and it's funny because you're kind of in tune with all that and the whole air traffic control issues that they've got, and I don't think they pay those people enough.
And then of course they have a limited shelf life because they make them get out so early.
Marc:
I guarantee it's insurance-based. What do you want to bet that some lawyers and some insurance people somewhere said, "Let's just reduce our risk mitigation here?"
Tony Mauro:
Risk, yeah, very well could be.
Marc:
Yeah. Interesting. So yeah, I mean, again, back to the topic, wishful thinking. I'll just go back to work is not a great strategy either. So could you? Maybe, but don't plan on it. And right along with that, Tony, is maybe we want to make this the last one is, "My kids will cover it. My kids will help me if it's bad." And a lot of us get in that situation. I mean, I help my mom. She's not living the retirement she wanted, but it was not a conversation we ever had. And she's in this position not by, well, sort of by choice, but at the same time, don't just assume that your kids are going to go, "Yeah, no problem. I'm going to help you out." Because they're probably raising their family at that point, and they may want to, but they may not be able to actually do much more than maybe drive you around or something like that.
Tony Mauro:
Yes, I agree. I'm trying to think when you were talking about it, if I've had any clients that actually have ever said that my kids are going to help me. A lot of them think they're going to help them, but nobody's ever come out and said, "Yeah, my kid, he's just doing everything for me." I do think that's very wishful thinking, and I think that's a lot of burden to throw on a child.
Marc:
I'm glad you said that. That's a funny, because when we do those surveys to potential retirees, what's the top five things? Almost always one of the top five, Tony, and I'm sure you'll agree with this, is, "I don't want to be a burden on my family."
Tony Mauro:
Exactly. That's right up there.
Marc:
Yet these wishful thinking things, folks, that we're talking about this week also come from retirees. These are actual literal sentences from retirees that we surveyed. So to say, on the one hand, I don't want to be a burden on my kids, but then on the other hand, well, if all else fails, the kids will help me. It's a weird dichotomy. So just get a strategy so that you don't have to put them in that spot.
Tony Mauro:
Absolutely. And a plan will certainly help you with that. And so will certain types of insurance and understanding some of that toward the end of life, so you have options so that you're not in that situation. And then if you wishful think that and the kids aren't able to help you, well now you're in a real pickle because you've got all kinds of not probably too desirable ways to live and take it around and it's bad.
Marc:
The options are not super, super fantastic. So look, wishful thinking, again, good stuff can be there, but if you don't put it into practice or if you don't put a backup plan or a strategy in practice and then the wishful thinking is the backup plan, then you're maybe setting yourself up. And a lot of these, again, are kind of normal. There's a lot of other ones. We won't spend a lot of time on it because they're very similar, but it's, "I'll be in the lower tax bracket." Or, "I'll spend less money when I retire." Or, "The kids will help me." Or, "I'll just keep working." Or, "I'll sell the house and downsize." Right? That's another one that happens sometimes. Why go with the worst case scenario if this happens wishful thinking instead of getting a good strategy into plan together and saying, "Okay, let's run some stress test scenarios if this happens, and then let's run some if that happens." And that's what you guys are doing when you're starting to build these plans.
Tony Mauro:
That is, and it's much better to be in that situation rather than, "Well, if this, this, and this happens, I'll be okay." I mean, I don't like to have three or four things that have to happen and everything line up for you to be okay. We want to make sure you're okay if nothing happens. And then if some of those things do happen, that's great.
Marc:
Well, and you run those scenarios. So let's say you run the scenario and, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it looks like, based on this, here's what you're going to need to make this goal happen." Maybe that's working a little longer. Maybe that's saving a little more. So you have all those options laid out. Or plan B is, "You do have enough, right? It is going to make it, but here's what happens if one spouse passes early." So you get all these different kinds of outlooks to structure your life around versus just hoping.
Tony Mauro:
I agree. I agree 100% because again, relating it back to the real world, I've got some family that haven't done this, they haven't planned, and they're getting ready to retire, and they have a lot of these wishful thinkings going through their mind. I'm trying to set them straight saying, "You're planning on too much. You got too many things that have to go right." And we sat down, I told them the, well, it wasn't the truth that they wanted to hear, but it's the facts. And they're now, we're working to get some things in alignment according to a plan that they can handle and at least they know.
Marc:
Yeah, that's good. And it happens, right? I mean, you're in the industry and you have family that doesn't listen or whatever or didn't listen for a while. So we all have that in walks of life, mechanics. It's like, "Oh, my wife's car's falling apart." And it's like, "Well, you're a mechanic." "Well, I don't have time to fix it, and she never listens to me." That kind of thing. So it happens in all walks of life.
But what do you need to do? You got to do the best things for yourself. And a lot of times that starts with sitting down, getting an analysis done, and looking at what it's going to cost you. Often it's not nearly as expensive as people think it is, and the reward and the risk reward ratio is much, much better. So if you need some help, get yourself some time with a qualified professional like Tony Mauro and his team at Tax Doctor Inc. Find them online at yourplanningpros.com. That is yourplanningpros.com.
But don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and share it with others who might benefit and enjoy the message as well. And that's Plan with the Taxman on Apple or Spotify or whatever podcasting app you like using. Again, Plan with the Taxman, with Tony Mauro. Tony, my friend, thanks for hanging out. Have yourself a great week. I'll talk to you a little bit later on this month.
Tony Mauro:
All right. You do the same, and we'll talk to you next time.
Marc:
We'll see you next time here on Plan with the Taxman.
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