The U.S. $17 trillion national debt means tax rates will rise, making traditional 401(k)s and IRAs risky. Required minimum distributions at 70 force withdrawals at higher future rates. Roth accounts and tax-free annuities protect retirement savings instead.
Chapters
We now have a tax-saving opportunity we may never have again. According to the Government Accounting Office, the United States government is more than $17 trillion in debt, but our current tax rates produce barely enough tax revenue to cover the interest payments on this $17 trillion debt. So can there be any doubt that tax rates will go much higher? And if we currently have money in a tax-deferred retirement account like a 401(k), 403(b), or IRA, we have set ourselves up to pay higher taxes on all of that money when tax rates will be much higher than they are now. Even if we don't need that money for retirement, the IRS will require us to begin taking taxable distributions at age 70. Which means that the IRS has a lien against our savings that could be as high as 50%, 60%, or even 70%. So why would we want to defer our tax liability?