- And good evening.

You've got More Than Money.

You've got Gene Dickison, your host, your personal financial adviser, for the next half an hour, I am at your service and honored to be so.

We have had such an amazing run these last few weeks of tremendous opportunities to serve both you and a wider audience.

So the fact that you're part of that, hopefully that gives you a good, warm feeling.

It certainly gives us a good, warm feeling, indeed, as we lay claim to being the most relevant financial show on television today, we say that with no hesitation because we center on the most relevant topics to you.

We craft our entire show around you.

The ideas, the questions, the concerns that are at the top of your mind allow us to give you questions that hopefully bring you peace of mind.

So this balance of important information that you're requesting with important information we can share with you is the key.

It is the secret sauce that allows us to be the most relevant television show on the air today.

And it's all about you.

And it always has been.

So when you send us your emails, I'll give you that email address shortly, every single email is answered back to you by our tremendous staff, an amazing staff.

I answer a few here and there, of course, but we've got a great staff answering back.

It might be a question about your retirement or investments.

It might be a question about executors or estate planning.

It might be a question about Roth conversions or 401Ks, or about a business, how somebody starts a business, runs a business, maybe sells a business.

All of those are general topics that you might see in your life.

But most importantly, we're interested in this... "The specifics," he tried to say, the very important details that apply only to you.

That's the key.

That's what allows More Than Money to be more than the financial show that lots of other folks have.

It is more the humanity, more the human side and the answers we give.

We try, we try, we pray, we try to give you answers that are sensitive, not just correct, but sensitive to your personal needs.

Well, goodness, we've talked enough about what we do.

Send me your emails, Gene@AskMTM.com.

Let's give you a demonstration of how that works precisely.

We turn to our financial correspondent, Megan.

Where do we start this evening?

- Hi, Gene.

Our first email tonight says, "My-27 year-old daughter makes a good living waitressing.

"Naturally, it's all cash.

"She's an excellent saver, but only in "a regular standard account.

"Please tell us the best way to invest for "her financial security.

"Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you so much."

- Well, thank you and congratulations.

You've got a wonderful daughter.

That's fantastic.

As the father of three daughters, always good to hear that when we have success stories, and hopefully those get shared and encourage each other to do as best a job as we can as parents, and gosh, for our girls to have the best lives that they possibly can.

So obviously, we know she's terrific.

She's a hard worker.

She's a saver.

Can we enhance this a little bit?

I think the answer is yes.

Number one, I would encourage her to keep very good financial records.

The fact that she's being paid in cash can be challenging.

From an income tax standpoint, it is incumbent upon her to report accurately her earnings.

So while we understand cash, businesses have historically been a little loose on occasion with how they do their reporting.

Don't allow her to fall into that trap.

Make sure that we are squeaky clean with the IRS.

So that's my first piece of recommendation, that she makes sure that she is keeping good records and using a financial advisor or a tax professional, whichever she finds most useful at the moment, to assist her.

A tax professional for someone in this situation, if the records are good, can create the tax return that will be squeaky clean in short order.

A financial professional financial adviser would assist, perhaps, in exposing your daughter to additional ideas about where her savings might go.

As a parent, you might be asking yourself, how might you assist personally your daughter?

And I think in this case, one of the first things that would come to my mind would be a Roth IRA.

If she is simply saving in the bank at this moment, not creating any kind of a retirement program for herself long term, and you have hopefully a few extra dollars, maybe mom and dad can help.

maybe grandma and grandpa can help, maybe multiple folks can help.

But the idea is that in this current year, she can put away as much as $6,500 and have that either be tax deductible to her, maybe not the best, or be tax-deferred for the rest of her life in a Roth IRA.

No tax deduction now, but no income taxes in retirement.

That could be a tremendous opportunity.

That's the maximum she can put away.

She can put away less.

So if she needs to build up to that, it absolutely would be a huge advantage to her.

The other question I would have to her personally is whether she plans on buying a home herself.

If that is the case, then she's going to need to balance her savings between retirement, very long-term for her, 40 years away, and the immediacy of needing to keep money close at hand.

Down payment kind of money.

That challenge needs to be met very safely, very securely, likely in the bank, whereas her retirement money, 40-year money, actually, let's be honest, for her life expectancy, 70-year money should be invested aggressively, should be invested for growth with, again, some guidance available to her.

But goodness, congratulations to you for raising strong, independent, bright, hardworking, diligent, frugal daughter.

Congratulations to her for learning all that and applying it in her life.

And of course, of course, if she would like to have direct information about herself and her situation, specifically have her send us that email, we'll be happy to help.

Ah, Megan.

Excellent start.

Excellent start, indeed.

Uplifting.

Where do we go next?

- Our next question is also about investing.

It says, "I have this extra money that I got "from cashing my stocks.

"I would like to invest some in something "that is a little more secure.

"My wife and I are both 84 years young and are "doing fine at this point in our lives.

"Thank you for your suggestions."

- Love it.

"84 years young."

Good for you.

"We have some money to invest.

We're 84 years old.

"We're in good health.

Where should we look?"

Well, the answer is, it depends.

It is an answer that we use often on More Than Money when we have a very good email that doesn't give us quite enough information.

It depends on what the goal of this money, what is the intent of this money for these two young folks at 84?

If it is short-term savings, a cookie jar, so to speak, an emergency fund, then we would go a certain direction.

If it's, hey, we want to invest this money and kind of forget about it, maybe use it in our senior years, when we're in our 90s.

Well, now we have 6-7 years to invest.

That would be a very, very different answer.

What I can assure you, though, is that unlike an answer I may have given a year-and-a-half or two years ago, where putting money in a very safe environment was very disappointing in terms of its return, that has changed rather significantly.

If you were putting money away, say, in a six-month CD a couple of years back, you might have received a whopping one half of 1%, 0.5%, 0.6-7% if you were very lucky.

Currently, six-month CDs are available, paying 4.25%.

Now, of course, as you're watching my show, you might be watching it as it's released, you might be watching it on the podcast, you might be watching it months and months, and months from now.

So those numbers might change.

But the fundamental issue is the same.

You must look at the current available landscape.

So CDs are available currently, short term, four-and-a-quarter.

There are even shorter term liquid money market accounts that are available, paying 3% plus.

There are lots of different investments that currently are paying very reasonable rates of return, even though they're not in the stock market.

And again, the term "very reasonable rate of return," Einstein was right, it's relative.

For someone who's 84, young and looking for something safe, a 4-4.5, "Wow, that sounds pretty good perhaps."

For someone who is 35 and looking for a good, reasonable rate of return, something double that is probably appropriate, 4-4.5 simply doesn't do the job.

So making sure that you're matching the investment options that you're looking at with your intent, what is the purpose of this money?

That is the most important foundational action that you need to take.

And of course, allowing a financial professional to review some of those with you is appropriate, as well.

In addition to guaranteed money, short of investing directly in the stock market and its attendant risks or going to the opposite end 100% guaranteed and its relatively lower returns, 4-4.25.

There are lots of items in the middle.

Lots of ways to blend together investments to kind of tune this in almost precisely to your needs and your timeframes.

So good start, but of course, a discussion going further will be necessary.

But you'll zone in on that.

You've got plenty of time.

You're young.

Outstanding.

Megan, wonderful.

We're two for two.

Where do we go from here?

- Our next question says, "I've watched More Than Money "on PBS a number of times now, and I'm impressed with your "knowledge and attitude toward financial management.

"I'd like to consult you on two questions.

"First, how to manage RMD withdraws to pay the least "amount of taxes possible.

"And second, where to find a reliable executor contingent "trustee when one has no reliable relatives.

"My executor has passed away.

"The alternate executor and contingent trustee is "getting on in years and not in the best health.

"I'm wondering where can I find a reliable executor and someone "who watches what the person "is doing when I am dead or incapacitated?

"Some financial articles I've read recommend direct donations "from RMDs to charities, but there may be other ways to "avoid some taxes, as well.

"And if I continue to withdraw money from the IRAs now, "would it be better to invest it in a taxable account "or the Roth IRA?

"I'd like to get a plan in place now so there won't be "any surprises when it's time to take RMDs.

"What should I really be doing now with the 401K and IRAs, "and other investments?

Thank you for your help."

- Well, you're very kind.

Thank you for your kind words, and for the detail in your question.

You, by your question, are not currently taking RMDs.

So we're looking in advance at that challenge coming up.

We don't know exactly how long we have between now and then, so I'll use numbers that I have made up to give you an example.

Let's say that with the current change in the tax law, your RMD age is 73, you are currently 68.

That gives you a nice round five years between now and when you must begin taking a portion of your IRAs, whether they're of your retirement plans, whether they are IRAs or 401Ks, or others in RMDs, required minimum distributions.

So it will require you to do some math, either yourself personally or through the assistance of a tax professional to determine your tax bracket and whether you're comfortable, I'm picking the number out of thin air, you're in the 15% bracket, whether you're comfortable paying more taxes now so you can pay less taxes later.

So, for example, if your current gap between your taxable income and the very top of the 15% bracket is $20,000, you could convert $20,000 from your retirement funds into a Roth IRA, never paying income tax again.

And on the way, of course, that becomes a taxable event.

You'll need to pay the tax on the $20,000.

But over five years, you'll be able to move perhaps 100,000, perhaps more, perhaps less, but as a good demonstration from a taxable account to a Roth account, which is not taxable upon withdrawal.

So that will reduce your RMDs, your expected RMDs, by some perhaps significant amount, and maybe enough that now you're in a position that you're comfortable with, that you know that your RMDs will be taxed at a low rate.

It may not be enough.

That action in and of itself over the next few years may not lower that RMD enough to make you comfortable.

So is there an additional option?

The answer's yes.

As you enter that RMD age, 73 plus now, you may direct your custodian to send some all of your RMD directly to charities of your choice.

It could be your church, could be Folds of Honor.

It could be Laughing At My Nightmare.

It could be any number of approved on the list of nonprofits that the IRS recognizes.

As long as they are on that list, then they can accept these donations directly.

You do not pay tax.

They do not pay tax.

A rather efficient system, requires a little bit of work, not very much, instructions to your IRA custodian as to the organization or organizations, whichever you choose to direct the funds.

And then, the checks go directly to those organizations, they never touch your tax return.

They don't affect your taxes.

They don't affect your Medicare premiums, if that were a concern at all.

So a couple of different ways that you can take care of both of those issues.

Finding someone to act as executor and/or power of attorney is a bit easier than you might expect if, if you are successful at identifying a trusted estate planning, either attorney or firm.

If you found a trusted estate planning attorney, quite often that attorney can act as the executor of the estate when it is being settled, and/or the power of attorney prior to your passing.

So the challenge that you are facing with, "I need these people, "I need to fill these roles and people in my life are "passing away or are reluctant to do it, "or perhaps their health isn't what it needs to be," going to a professional is very often a pretty darn reasonable alternative.

A professional... By the way, I've mentioned the attorney, that's a natural kind of a selection, especially if it's the same attorney that's drafting your documents.

It kind of makes sense, but it could be another type of professional.

It could be a CPA, it could be a tax professional, an enrolled agent.

It could be someone in your church, the deacon of your church, someone that you trust a great deal.

Any of those could be, could be an effective alternative to the situation you find yourself in, which is right now, you're kind of high and dry, and you don't need to be.

So exploring all of those options is a very, very good idea.

But of course, particularly if you don't have your documents already constructed, make sure, make sure, first call, trusted, experienced estate planning attorney.

Not all attorneys are trusted.

Not all attorneys are experienced.

Not all attorneys are estate attorneys.

There's lots of folks out there that do lots of different kinds of law, make sure that you're following all three of those.

Trusted, experienced estate attorney, you'll do quite well.

Megan, very interesting.

Very interesting indeed.

Where next?

- Our next question has a lot of detail and some good numbers.

It says, "Would it be better to take my full Social Security "benefits now at age 68 and three months "for $3,650 a month?

"Or wait until I'm 70, for $4,080 a month?

"I'm currently collecting $901 as I applied and deferred off "my wife's Social Security.

"I have ample investments to cover my wife and myself "until then, but would have to start drawing "on those investments.

"It would take about $5,000 a month to cover our expenses.

"We have combined IRAs of $1.2 million.

"Thanks for your help.

You have a great show."

- Well, thank you very much.

The reason we have a great show is because we have a great audience.

We have folks who are very, very interesting, and they ask interesting questions like yours.

I think your answer is going to be much simpler than you might have expected.

I think the concern that you may have is that the gap over the next couple of years, between 3,650 and 4,080 needs to be filled by drawing against your 1.2 million, and add 60,000 a year.

That may be more than it's currently earning.

I understand that concern.

I think that concern is very, very small.

I think even if it were... A reduction dollar for dollar, 60,000 coming out every single year from your savings, to get you to that increased, what, $300, almost $400 a month additional base Social Security, I think, is a great investment.

I think it's an outstanding investment.

Keeping in mind that Social Security is, in essence, money you can never outlive.

Your savings, you can outlive.

You can make mistakes, the markets can decline.

There's all kinds of things that can go wrong, but currently, I emphasize currently... Social Security system is a forever kind of system.

So I think getting yourself from point A to point B makes perfect sense and is in your best interest.

Spend a little bit of the extra money, by the way, look carefully at how your money is being invested currently, you may find you can get $60,000 a year, a 5% return by adjusting or focusing your current investments.

And if you can do that, you've lost nothing and you've gained a great deal, and your wife perhaps has gained a great deal, as well, because at your passing she will get a survivor benefit based on your Social Security.

I think it's a great question.

Very thoughtful.

I hope I helped a little.

Megs, let's help somebody else.

- Our next question says, "I am a new fan of your show.

"I am 75 years old and planning to continue working part-time "as a physician for a few more years.

"I currently have $120,000 in a SEP IRA.

"I'm wondering, should I do a Roth IRA conversion with this IRA now because of probable higher taxes in "the future, or never do a Roth conversion because of a lower "tax bracket after retirement?

Thank you for your help."

- Interesting question.

I really, really like when we get questions from young people.

84, 75, it's fabulous.

When I was growing up, if you were 75, you were four years passed, gone.

Now 75, gentleman still working.

Intends to continue to do so for at least a period of time.

And bottom line is, is he better off leaving his money as is?

Ahem, excuse me.

Or moving it to a tax-free environment on the Roth side?

Well, let's not forget the part that he's currently working, and depending on his income, his tax bracket right this moment might be reasonably high, and he is converting, adding to his taxable income by converting from his SEP IRA, Simplified Employee Pension IRA, into a Roth.

Is that in his best interest?

In all likelihood, no.

In all likelihood, unless he were to be able to say to me, "I don't ever think I'm going to use this money.

"It's not really for me, it's for the next generation," in which case I would encourage him to convert, because then the Roth is tax-free for the rest of his life and for the next generation.

But if it's money that he likely will use in his retirement, then I don't think the conversion at this point, particularly if his income is of any kind of substantial nature at all, if his income bracket is elevated at all, I don't think that serves a good purpose.

I think perhaps converting after retirement is a possibility.

But keep in mind that once you retire, you're going to start those RMDs and that may affect your tax bracket, as well.

The only way to definitively decide what's in your best interest is to make sure you check with a tax professional, or if you're a do-it-yourselfer, that's why God invented TurboTax, you can do that online, run it a couple of different ways, see which one fits you the best, and there you go.

Megan, do we have one more back there?

- We do.

Our last question says, "Our medical expenses for 2022 will exceed "our AGI, $165,000.

"If I convert 15,000 of my IRA to a Roth, I will pay little "or no taxes and not affect Medicare Part B premium.

"If I convert $60,000 of my IRA to a Roth, "I will pay some taxes, but Medicare Part B will "increase by $1,632 a year.

"Am I on the right track or am I missing something?

"Thank you.

I'm a long-time viewer of your show."

- Well, thank you very much for staying with us.

We appreciate that very much.

I think we're in our fourth season, and we're getting quite a collection of folks who have been with us for quite some time.

No, you're not missing something.

As a matter of fact, I'm very impressed.

You have brought into the equation a piece that most people miss.

And that's the Medicaid issue, the Medicare issue.

My apologies.

Medicare premiums are affected.

They are affected by income, in this case, currently, you're going to have no taxable income whatsoever.

By pulling out some money from your IRAs, you will still have little or no tax, but it may affect your Medicare premium.

Medicare premiums are affected two years into the future.

So what we do this year will affect 2024, etc, going forward.

So you've got some waiver, some opportunities to petition the IRS and say, "Hey, this was kind of a one-off situation.

"I don't think my premiums should go up."

But to be fair, 1,600 a year increased premium is not a large number.

Medicare premiums can top out at 400 more per month, almost 5,000 a year more than the base.

So you're not nearly into that kind of circumstance.

But yeah, I would look very, very carefully at pulling dollars out that will allow you to get some chunk of dollars out very inexpensively.

And if you look at that Medicare premium, knowing that it's two years in advance and that it may be softened between now and then, I think that's a good opportunity.

I think it's a good, what, bet on your financial circumstances that will slightly improve your overall picture, moving dollars from taxable to non-taxable, and yet not negatively affecting your cash flow to very much, if at all, keeping in mind it's not going to happen right away.

It's going to be two years down the line.

Megan, great questions.

We've covered a lot of ground, investment questions, Medicare questions, RMD questions, executor questions, the kinds of things that make the fabric of everyone's life a little more challenging, perhaps a little more interesting for sure, and yet demonstrates the relevancy how relevant answering questions, specific questions can absolutely be for everyone listening.

So hopefully, you picked up some ideas that apply directly to your circumstance.

And if it doesn't directly apply to your circumstance, maybe it applies to someone that you care about, someone that you can assist with new knowledge.

And of course, if you've got a question about something totally different, that's beautiful.

Send those to us, Gene@AskMTM.com Someone on our team will answer those questions.

We answer every single questions, even the hard ones, even the silly ones.

Every single question gets answered back to you.

And perhaps on a future show, you'll hear your question discussed right here.

If that interests you, hopefully it kept your attention right on through our show, you'll want to return next week when we're back in the studio to bring you more right here on More Than Money.

Goodnight.