Stop Basing Your Retirement Savings on This Outdated Assumption
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Stop Basing Your Retirement Savings on This Outdated Assumption

Why This Matters

Market analysis reveals The type of retirement account you choose to invest in will make a huge impact in how you access your money -- and how much income your...

January 28, 2022
08:58 AM
4 min read
AI Enhanced

Market analysis reveals The type of retirement account you choose to invest in will make a huge impact in how you access your money -- and how much income your account vides -- once you become a senior.

Unfortunately, far too many people end up selecting an account int to secure their future based on an assumption that may very well be incorrect. Here's why.

Nevertheless, Image source: Getty Images, given current economic conditions. Are you making this faulty assumption when deciding which retirement account is best for you.

However, On the other hand, Far too many people opt to invest in a traditional 401(k) or IRA based on an assumption they make their taxes.

Specifically, both workers and many financial experts firmly believe that retirees are ly to end up in a lower tax bracket.

Additionally, If this is the case, a traditional account ly makes the most sense because it vides an up-front tax break, given current economic conditions.

Furthermore, Roth accounts, on the other hand, defer tax savings until later (quite telling), in this volatile climate.

With traditional accounts, contributions are deducted from taxable income in the year you invest in your account, given the current landscape.

At the same time, So if you're in the 22% tax bracket, you'd up to $220 on your tax bill for each $1,000 invested in one.

With Roth accounts, you don't get to deduct contributions, considering recent developments. You nothing on each investment in the year it's made (fascinating analysis).

But you benefit from tax-free withdrawals. At the same time, If you expect your tax rate to fall to 20% as a retiree, you'd up to $200 for each $1,000 withdrawn.

On the other hand, Additionally, This's less than the $220 in savings a traditional account could offer, so you'd be better off with the up-front savings, given current economic conditions.

Furthermore, The only blem: The assumption that your tax rate will fall could very well be wrong.

Why you can't count on your tax rate going down There are a few big blems with assuming you'll automatically be in a lower tax bracket as a retiree.

Moreover, First and foremost, many people think they'll end up in a lower tax bracket because their income will be lower in retirement (quite telling).

Furthermore, However, But this isn't necessarily the case (an important development). Many retirees spend as much, or more, than they did before leaving the workforce.

Nevertheless, If your taxable income in retirement is close to the same as it was while working, you can't assume you'll be in a lower tax bracket later (remarkable data).

Second, there's a good chance the government will raise taxes as time goes on. Tax increases are ly because: Rates are very low right now by historical standards.

Younger generations have generally expressed more support than older generations for government grams that would require tax increases to support them, considering recent developments.

As this demographic group takes more political power, an expansion of government may lead to higher taxes.

An aging population will raise the cost of grams such as Social Security and Medicare, requiring more government support (this bears monitoring), given the current landscape.

The deficit and debt are both growing, and paying them down may eventually become a bigger priority.

Since there's solid reason to believe tax rates may rise across the board, many future retirees may end up in a higher tax bracket even if their income does go down.

As a result, it's best not to assume that traditional accounts are always going to vide more tax savings.

Moreover, Instead, you may want to hedge your bets by putting some money in both traditional and Roth accounts.

Or you may want to do a little more re into determining how your personal tax situation is ly to change over time so you can develop an individualized apach that's right for you (which is quite significant).

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