[quote=AN]That in itself is an if. Since I started this thread talking about the future. Of course it’s all about ifs. What do you expect it to be when we’re talking about the future? My crystal ball is broken, so I have to use if. Is your crystal ball working?
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Yes, it’s all an unknown what will happen. I suppose I’ve noticed with what I do now, I tend to glaze over news articles that “propose” things rather than things that are already law. My point is it’s pointless to worry about things which will never pass or may/if/who knows (remember all the talk of canning mortgage tax deduction? what about deduction for MR fees?…)
if they will pass. I tend to just look at the tax landscape yearly and base my actions on that. If you’re like scaredy and work non-stop in 1 or a few professions and have millions saved and will get taxed a lot, I suppose just be glad that you will HAVE enough in retirement, even though you will tapped a lot when you withdraw. At that point, consult a tax pro and see what you can do at that point, but at the end of the day, you’re probably in the boat of people who will be ok regardless, no matter what the tax rates are. Just minimize at that point forward.
As mentioned, I’m sadly not in that boat with taking time off, career changes, being laid off, starting businesses, no pension, etc…
This is why my view is biased to this point. If you’re high tech and get laid off at 50+, maybe use that time to start a business, convert money, etc…I know when I was in tech, I certainly had hundreds of k in cash/stock so for most people here who saved diligently, you should have money to live off of if needed and maybe time your withdrawals based on how the tax landscape is that year.
tl;dr: be prepared for any situation. I don’t need a crystal ball if I’m diversified with all my accounts/cash/assets/real estate, etc…all this talk of 529s being taxed, raising capital gains, etc…is just a lot of hot air really and a waste of time/discussion currently.
