{"podcast":{"title":"The Power Of Zero Show","slug":"the-power-of-zero-show-1153145","podcast_index_feed_id":1153145,"rss_url":"https://powerofzeroaudio.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://davidmcknight.com/","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/f/9/e/d/f9ed0f6eba9e2ef3/NEW_POZ_Cover-Podcast_496kb.jpg","author":"David McKnight","episode_count":392,"summary":"Tax rates 10 years from now are likely to be much higher than they are today. Is your retirement plan ready? Learn how to avoid the coming tax freight train and maximize your retirement dollars.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-power-of-zero-show-1153145"},"episode":{"title":"The Three Biggest Retirement Planning Mistakes I See All the Time","slug":"the-three-biggest-retirement-planning-mistakes-i-see-all-the-time","published_at":"2026-04-15T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-power-of-zero-show-1153145/the-three-biggest-retirement-planning-mistakes-i-see-all-the-time","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-power-of-zero-show-1153145","url":"https://media.podcastpartnership.net/secure/powerofzeroaudio/POZ389.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/powerofzeroaudio/POZ389.mp3?dest-id=857507","summary":"David McKnight discusses the three biggest retirement planning mistakes that show up over and over again. Avoiding them will dramatically increase the likelihood that your retirement savings will last as long as you do. Mistake #1 pertains to over-accumulating in tax-deferred accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs – a mistake that surprises many people as they feel they're doing everything right. The problem here is that you're taking a deduction at historically low tax rates only to postpone the payment of those taxes to a point in the future where tax rates are likely to be much higher than they are today. The moment you hit age 73 or 75, Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) kick in. In other words, the IRS is forcing you to take money out, whether you need it or not. Those RMDs get combined with all your other sources of income: The taxable portion of your social security, your pension(s), and your investment income. David notes that, before long, you can find yourself in a higher tax bracket in retirement than you were during your working years. Remember, RMDs count as provisional income, which can cause up to 85% of your social security to become taxable – plus, it can trigger IRMAA surcharges on your Medicare premiums too. Building a retirement plan that is almost entirely tax-deferred looks good on paper but leaves you entirely exposed to the impact of higher taxes in the future. The second mistake is waiting too long to execute Roth conversions. David touches upon the so-called \"retirement income valley,\" the ideal window within which to fully execute your Roth conversion. Many people ignore it. They're hesitant, reluctant to pay a tax to the IRS before it's absolutely required of them. Failing to take advantage of the \"retirement income valley\" puts you at risk of ha…","meta_description":"David McKnight discusses the three biggest retirement planning mistakes that show up over and over again. Avoiding them will dramatically increase the lik…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":441,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-power-of-zero-show-1153145/episodes/the-three-biggest-retirement-planning-mistakes-i-see-all-the-time/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-power-of-zero-show-1153145/the-three-biggest-retirement-planning-mistakes-i-see-all-the-time.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}