Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Dirty Little Secret About Your 401(k) Plan That You Aren't Supposed To Know


Do you have a 401(k) plan that you make contributions to? What about a Simplified Employee Pension? An Individual Retirement account? It doesn't matter what the title is, what matters is that the money you have in those accounts will be 100% taxable.


Don't misunderstand, the percentage of tax you pay will not be 100%, although it will be high. What I am stating is that every dollar in the account has not had ANY tax paid on it. So, it is 100% taxable.


Tax deferred savings plans are sold on the premise that A.) It will cost less to live in the future. B.) The amount of tax we pay will be less in the future, since we will have less income.


How anyone could possibly think it will be less expensive to live in the future doesn't do the grocery shopping.


Secondly, if it will cost more to live in the future, how is it possible that we would need less income in the future? More importantly, who would want less?


Here is the dirty little secret I am talking about. The best way I can explain it, which I have been doing for a number of years now, is to ask yourself, what 401(k) actually represents.


It represents a reference to the Internal Revenue Service's code, or tax law that covers tax deferred savings plans. Few people know very much about their retirement plans, so I think it is time to disclose the truth about how we , Americans, are being set up to fail.


Now that you know what 401(k) represents, ask yourself this question;


Is it a logical assumption to think that our government, who has trillions in debt, and runs a deficit every year, would devise a way for you to pay LESS in taxes?


I don't think so, and I will tell you why:


1. PROBLEM: The Baby Boomers are coming of age, and they are going to demolish the Social Security Plan. Since Congress raided the Social Security Trust fund like a band of pirates, and spent the money leaving nothing but some worthless I.O.U's, there is no money. There is no surplus. Social Security is a pay as you go plan these days. RESULT: The ONLY way to salvage the Social security plan is to either dramatically CUT benefits by extending the age of eligibility (which they have already been doing) or to raise taxes.


2. PROBLEM: Medicare is scheduled to be broke sometime around 2019. The first Boomers, who were born in 1946, will only be 73 years old at that time. Life expectancy is about 88 years now, so they will be on it a while. There were about 76MILLION babies born between 1946-1964. Medical costs are climbing at 4 to 5 times the inflation rate. RESULT: There is no mathematical way this program can sustain itself, in it's present form, without shifting more costs to you, or raising taxes. Or a combination of both.


3. PROBLEM:The infrastructure in the U.S. is crumbling, and needs repair. Bridges and roads are falling apart. RESULT: Not too long ago there was a bridge that collapsed in Missouri from neglect. It is the just an indicator of the condition of our transportation system. This will cost hundreds of billions above current highway and gasoline taxes currently being collected.


4. PROBLEM: The inflation rate in this country is being skewed by changing the components of the calculations. RESULT: The result is lower numbers and a false sense of security. As if that wasn't bad enough, with countries like China and India who each have populations in the BILLIONS putting pressures on consumable and durable goods, the prices we pay have no where to go but up. Our monetary policy is in distress. Look at the banking business.


5.) PROBLEM: State governments are being heavily burdened with unfunded mandates from the federal level and most are running deficits. RESULT: State taxes and property taxes will have to rise. Medicaid is a primary culprit.


6. PROBLEM: The average American family, in particular, Baby Boomers, are seriously in debt and will not likely escape the debt trap before retirement. RESULT: Serious cash flow problems in retirement and a loss of a huge part of our lifetime earnings to banks and credit card companies.


So, here is where your retirement monies come in to play.



  • If all of the money is taxable and taxes go up, which they will, you will have less of it to spend and you will need to withdraw more if it each month. This will cause your money not to last as long.

  • If Social Security cuts benefits or raises taxes, you will need more of your retirement money each month to survive. See above item.

  • If Medicare cuts benefits you will pay more of your health care costs at a time when you are more likely to need benefits, placing additional pressures on your savings.

  • If it will cost more to live in the future, which it will, your future dollars will not buy as much, and you will need more to survive. You will probably outlive your money.

  • If you are not debt free before you retire, a large portion of your retirement money will go directly to your creditors. the sacrifices you made to save it would be for nothing.

That's bad news, here is the good news. There is a chance to avoid this mess. You MUST get out of debt NOW. As fast as possible, including your mortgage.


The money you are placing in a 401(k) plan would be better used to pay off your debt. You will save thousands of your own dollars, and you will alleviate the cash flow pressures you are destined to experience in the future.


While I am not a conspiracy theorist, I can tell you that if I am smart enough to see this stuff, you can bet the farm the government knows it too. There are trillions of dollars in 401(k) plans and tax deferred plans and the government can't wait to get their taxes on it.





Friday, April 4, 2008

If You Don't Know Who The Patsy Is ...


My grandfather, who I speak of frequently, was the wisest person I have ever known. What was so interesting about him, wasn’t that he lived to be almost 100 years old and witnessed such dramatic changes in the world.

What was so interesting was that he had made his living as a professional gambler. Not like the people you might see on in the poker tournaments on television. He was the real deal. He was the “Gambler”.

As I knew him, he was merely my grandfather, a simple man with platinum blue eyes that pierced you, like he was looking in to your soul. He liked to play the fiddle, chew tobacco and watch the world unfold in front of him.

My mother told me stories of his skills, and how when she was a girl, he would come home after being gone a few days, and have a roll of hundred dollar bills that could "choke" a horse. He once made 31 straight passes at a craps table. This guy knew the odds, and he played them with one objective. To Win.

This was back in the late 1930's and 1940’s, when money and jobs were scarce. He understood human nature, and knew “people”, because he studied them closely.

He was my personal version of E.F. Hutton. As a kid, I thought he didn't talk much because he was so old. As it turns out, he just didn't have anything to say. But, when he did, it was worth paying attention.

One hot August day, as he rocked slowly in his favorite chair, never sweating even though it was incredibly hot, he began to speak. So, I will share this piece of wisdom from him with you and I hope you might see the importance and appreciate it as much as I do.

As he reminisced on a lesson he had once taught my father and uncle, he said, "If you sit down at a card game, and in the first five minutes you don't know who the “patsy” is. It’s you! You would be smart to politely take your money and leave, because you are about to get your pockets emptied.”

I have always found that particular piece of advice to be very insightful.
Perhaps, in the big scheme of things, one man's bit of wisdom cannot change anything. But, if faith can move mountains, then maybe it can. Because as I see it, we need to employ some wisdom right about now, with all that is going on.

We have millions of families in debt beyond belief. We have families struggling to fuel their automobiles just to get back and forth to work. We have a banking system in trouble. Foreclosures are occurring at a pace that is unprecedented. We have a government that is spending our money as fast as they can print it, and we have a mountain of national debt that is spiraling out of control.

Here is where knowing who the patsy is becomes important.

Just in case you hadn't already figured it out, the patsy is us, the American people. We are the patsy because we continue to believe we can win this game. We think we can depend on Social Security and Medicare. We think we will have enough money in our 401(k) plans to live on. And, none of it is true. We are anxiously waiting to draw that miracle card to complete an inside straight, and the odds are seriously against us.

The only real meaningful solution to our issues is to improve our cash-flow and get out of debt. This applies to our government and to us.

The government has an advantage we don’t have. They can print more money to improve their cash flow, and they can raise taxes on everyone.

Your family is in this game all alone, just like mine, and your neighbors. The solution must begin in your house, and my house, and your neighbor’s house, etc.

The “players”, namely; banks, credit card companies and government don’t care what your future looks like. They are playing to get your money. If we don't get up from the “table”, and do it soon, we WILL get our pockets emptied.

Wisdom only works when you USE it and our five minutes is just about up.