Money Myths

Money Myth Busters

 I will be in a lower tax bracket when I retire. 

This is not necessarily true.  When most people retire, they have the least number of deductions that they have ever had.  Your children are all grown so you cannot deduct them.  A lot of people have paid off their houses so there is nothing to deduct for that either.  Also, most people do not retire on less income.  In fact, you will probably need more money each year as you’re in retirement due to inflation and high medical expenses.

I do not have to pay taxes on my retirement accounts. 

This is incorrect.  ALL retirement savings plans, whether it be a 401k, Traditional IRA, 457b or a 403b, are completely taxable.  Anytime you withdraw money out of these types of accounts you will have to pay income taxes on the money.  In fact, you will be paying a lot higher taxes because you deferred these tax payments then when you earned the money.

It’s a smart idea to pay off your mortgage before you retire. 

This answer will vary based on several factors.  In general, the equity in your home earns you 0% in interest.  If you pay down a mortgage of $200,000 that means that you have $200,000 out of your portfolio that you are NOT earning interest on.  Plus, you can use real estate as a tax deduction if it is not paid off because you can deduct the interest.

The stock market is where most people make a lot of money. 

This answer could vary immensely.  Even during a strong market environment, a lot of people lose money.  There are day traders, short-term investors and long-term investors.  On average, less than 50% of people who participate in trading actually turn a profit.  I would compare that to a coin toss.

I do not have enough money to invest, or I do not make enough money to invest. 

This is not necessarily true.  Sometimes slow and steady wins the race.  Even at smaller amounts, steadily investing for your later years could work out better than you think.

529 Plans are the best way to invest for your children’s college fund. 

I strongly disagree for several reasons.  First being, if your child grows up and does not attend college you will have to pay taxes and penalties on the money you have placed into a 529 Plan when you withdraw it.  Second being, 529 Plans are visible on the FAFSA form as an asset and will severely decrease any reward money offered by the universities.  There are far better vehicles to use to save for college that do not have the potential to harm you in the future.

Election results will not affect my retirement savings. 

Whoever is elected to office could severely change your retirement outcome.  Retirement funds are taxed at the time of distribution.  If taxes are much higher by the time you retire, it would severely effect your lifestyle and savings for retirement.  If taxes spike, you will obviously have less money to live off of.

I have no control over whether my assets are placed into Probate or not. 

This is not true.  There are MANY things you can do to assure that none of your assets go into Probate.  There are certain types of assets that are protected from Probate.  Also, the way accounts and assets are titled could prevent Probate.