Keep traditional IRA or convert to Roth or switch to fixed no risk accounts.
My wife and I have IRA’s with Edward Jones with a combined total of approximately $360,000.00. With Government pensions and Social Security our annual income is approximately $155,000.00. We do get combined yearly increases on our pensions of around $2500.00 and whatever the Social Security increase is. If I die before my Wife her income will be reduced to about $ 94,000.00 and if she dies first my income would be about $125,000.00. I am 68 years old and my wife is 66 and both in good health.
We do have Life Insurance $100,000.00 for me $50,000.00 for my wife. We also have Long Term Care Insurance that pays approximately $100.00 a day which ends after six years. We also have a $220,000.00 Mortgage on our home with a market value exceeding $400,000.00 with no other major debt. We do not plan on using any of our IRA money and hope to leave it to our three children. My question is should we start getting away from the IRA and converting to a Roth IRA or put it in a fixed no risk account. I worry that if the market took a huge hit we would not be able to recoup our losses in our lifetime. I would appreciate any advise or recommendations you think would be helpful.
Thank you,
Gary Naydenoff
Terry Says
There are about FIVE huge questions inside this. Let me start with this: You need UNBIASED (ie not from a commissioned broker) about all this financial planning. You need a fee-only FIDUCIARY advisor. To find one, start here: https://www.terrysavage.com/pam-krueger-wealthramp/
You will be matched with a Certified Financial Planner who is on your side! That person will tie everything together — your investments, your income stream, your insurance, and something you didn’t mention — your ESTATE PLAN!
BUT, in the meantime, even before you go through the process of meeting and choosing one of the recommended planners, I can understand your concern about your exposure to the stock market. So just tell your current broker that (even with the stock market at new highs) you want to liquidate/sell one-third of your stock/bond portfolio INSIDE your IRA, and put the proceeds into a money market fund inside the IRA. That will let you sleep better while you decide on your next move.
