Category: Financial Planning

Here’s What Michael Kitces Missed in His Bank On Yourself Review, Part 1

January 17th, 2017 by Pamela Yellen | 91 Comments

Financial planner and investment advisor Michael Kitces understands a lot about many areas of money and finance. He has been to school. He has twice as many letters after his name as he has in his name. Literally.

Surprisingly, Kitces does not understand some basic fundamentals of the Bank On Yourself strategy for personal finance.

Kitces wrote a review of the Bank On Yourself concept. And while he got some of the fundamentals right, he missed some very important points.

From time to time, readers ask us about Kitces’ article, so I want to clear up the misconceptions in it. I’ll cover four things he got right about the Bank On Yourself strategy, then I’ll reveal the things Kitces got wrong—including five fundamental concepts.

Here’s What Michael Kitces Got Right in His Bank On Yourself Review …

In his Bank On Yourself review, Michael Kitces correctly stated four things:

1. Kitces: Permanent life insurance “gives an insurance company the means to provide policy owners a personal loan at favorable interest rates, because the cash value provides collateral for the loan”

Well stated! You can’t take out a life insurance policy loan unless you have a life insurance policy with enough cash value to serve as collateral for the loan. And the interest charged for policy loans is generally at competitive, below-market rates.

2. Kitces: “Even as cash value life insurance operates as collateral for a life insurance policy loan, it also remains invested, earning a rate of return that slows the erosion of the net equity in the policy”

Why Most Early Proponents of the 401(k) Now Say It’s a Failure

January 10th, 2017 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

Herbert Whitehouse was one of the first proponents of the 401(k) 35 years ago, when he was a human resources executive at Johnson & Johnson.

Today the 65-year-old Whitehouse says he will have to work into his mid-70s if he wants to maintain his standard of living, after his own 401(k) took a hit in 2008.

Whitehouse is one of a chorus of early 401(k) supporters who have changed their minds.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reveals how pre-retirees at all income levels are falling short – way short – of the amount of money they need to have to be able to retire.

Fully half of those between ages 50-64 have less than one year of their income saved.

The top 10% (those making $251,000 or more annually) have an average of only two years of their income saved.

The article mentions that “financial experts recommend that people amass at least eight times their annual salary to retire.”

Those “experts” ought to have their heads examined, because even a $1 million nest-egg would provide you only $28,000 a year at the current recommended withdrawal rate of 2.8% per year. [Read more…] “Why Most Early Proponents of the 401(k) Now Say It’s a Failure”

4 Mistakes to Avoid to Make This Your Best Year Yet

January 5th, 2017 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

It’s a brand new year, and I’m very excited! Are you?

Are you reviewing last year’s goals and accomplishments? Taking note of who you’ve become in the process of pursuing your dreams? Setting your sights on even more growth and achievement in 2017?

When you look at the key areas of your life – your finances, relationships, health, career and personal/spiritual growth – can you see how far you’ve come in the past twelve months?

Or when you think back to January 2016, do you realize that you’re almost exactly where you were twelve months ago?

Bummer.

Or as Yogi Berra said,

It’s like déjà vu all over again.”

If your life is beginning to feel like the movie Groundhog Day, you might be shooting yourself in the foot with one of the following four missteps:

Mistake #1: Repeating What Didn’t Work Last Year

Six Reasons Your 401(k) is a Scam

November 30th, 2016 by Pamela Yellen | 14 Comments

UPDATED: March, 2020

I’m going to make a very bold statement that’s sure to get me some nasty blowback. But as a financial investigator who’s exposed the truth about the conventional financial wisdom, I’m used to that, so here goes…

401(k)s are a scam. Want proof?

Here Are Six Reasons Why 401(k)s Are a Scam…

Reason #1: The 401(k) Tax-Deferral Scam

In our immediate-gratification society, deferring your taxes by funding your 401(k) sounds so good, doesn’t it?

But when the tax man eventually comes calling, he won’t ask you to pay what your tax liability would have been if you’d been paying taxes all along. He’ll tell you what your tax liability is at the time your taxes are due.

Conventional wisdom says you’ll come out ahead by deferring taxes. After all, doesn’t that mean your entire contribution can go to work for you immediately? Unfortunately, like many assumptions about personal finance, this simply isn’t true. According to the Society of Actuaries, if tax rates remain the same…

“It doesn’t make any difference whether the taxes are taken away from you at the beginning (before you put the money in a savings vehicle) or at the end (tax-deferred). It’s the same fraction of your money that is left to you.”

If tax rates are lower in the future, you’ll come out ahead. However, most people, including most financial experts, believe tax rates must head higher, not lower, over the long term. And your retirement could last 20-30 years or more.

The reality is that you are probably sitting on a tax time bomb. Simply put, the government is going to need more money in years to come for several reasons. For example, let’s look at the numbers impacting Social Security and Medicare.

Today there are 62 million Americans using Social Security and Medicare. By 2045, 140 million – twice as many – Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers will be over 65 and requiring Social Security and Medicare. Where do you think the money to pay for that will come from?

Social Security and Medicare’s financial condition has deteriorated despite a long economic expansion. In fact, Social Security is already in a negative cash flow situation. What will happen to those funds in the next downturn?

And what about the national debt? Washington has not dealt with the government’s unsustainable debt and spending for decades, and as of March 2020, the national debt has ballooned to over $23.4 trillion— which comes to $189,585 for each US taxpayer! And it’s climbing at a head-spinning rate. (For a painful wake-up call, check out USDebtClock.org)

For all these reasons, the likelihood is that tax rates will go UP over the long term, and if they do, then OOPS! There goes the whole 401(k) “tax-deferral” argument.

Reason #2: The 401(k) Employer Match “Free Money” Scam

SuperMoney Interviews Personal Finance Expert Pamela Yellen on Savings and Investing Strategies

October 13th, 2016 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

Pamela Yellen, Founder of Bank On Yourself

I was recently interviewed by SuperMoney, a website that rates various financial products and the companies that provide them.

In this wide-ranging interview, I answered questions like these:

Why did you decide to start Bank On Yourself?

I reveal the frustrations my husband and I experienced following the conventional wisdom about investing and retirement planning. Maybe you can relate…

If someone were to say to you, “I don’t have the expertise to handle my finances. I’ll just hire some investment firm to deal with them,” how would you respond?

Here I discuss how and why 80% of all mutual funds, financial advisors and investment advisory services underperform the overall market. If the experts can’t even do it well, how can we regular folks be expected to? [Read more…] “SuperMoney Interviews Personal Finance Expert Pamela Yellen on Savings and Investing Strategies”

7 Reasons the Economy is Worse than it Seems

September 21st, 2016 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

Do you believe the economy has improved significantly since the Great Recession?

Or do you feel like we’re staring down the barrel of a cannon whose fuse has already been lit?

The stock markets should be down considerably by plenty of measures, but many investors appear to have been hypnotized to believe that nothing can go wrong.

I believe things are worse than they may seem on the surface, and extreme caution is warranted, for the 7 reasons I spell out here.

I’ll also give you some tips on how to protect yourself and have a “Plan B” in place in case the you-know-what does hit the fan.

Here Are 7 Reasons the Economy is Worse than It Seems…

1. Addiction to Stimulus and Low or Negative Interest Rates

Do You Have As Much Saved for Retirement As the Average Person?

March 30th, 2016 by Pamela Yellen | 3 Comments

How do you think you compare to other people when it comes to how much you’ve saved for retirement?

The results of a new survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) reveal some surprising insights into America’s preparedness for retirement.

Read on for the highlights of the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey and a 6-Step Action Blueprint to make sure your money lasts as long as you do…

The survey revealed that 54% of all workers report less than $25,000 in household savings and investments, excluding the value of their primary home.

That includes 26% who say they have less than $1,000 in savings.

10% have between $25,000-$49,999 saved, 10% have between $50,000 and $99,999 saved, and 12% have between $100,000-$249,999.

And how many have saved $250,000 or more? Just 14%.

Are people close to retirement any better prepared?

The Ticking Tax Time-Bomb of Conventional Retirement Plans

March 3rd, 2016 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

One of the biggest selling points of 401(k) and IRA retirement plans is that the money you put into them isn’t taxed right away. Bring out the bubbly to celebrate, right?!

Not so fast.

First of all, some people – hopefully not you! – mistakenly believe money placed into these retirement plans is “tax free.” It isn’t. It is “tax deferred,” meaning that you will pay tax on that money when you withdraw from your retirement plan down the line.

Deferred taxes might sound good, but deferring your taxes is like putting off a visit to the dentist. The problem compounds and will only get worse.

Deferring taxes creates a dangerous potential tax time bomb because you don’t have the answers to two critical questions…

First, what will the tax rates be when you retire? And what will they be 20 or 30 years later?

Is Your Money Frozen in Your Retirement Plan?

February 25th, 2016 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

One of my biggest beefs with government-controlled retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, IRAs, 403(b)s and Roth Plans, is the total lack of liquidity. The money you’ve socked away in your conventional retirement plan is about as solidly frozen as the iceberg that sank the Titanic! And because of this, if your financial ship hits rough waters, you might end up sinking as well.

Here’s the critical question: How quickly and easily can you get your hands on all the money in your retirement account if you need it before age 59½?

We all know life happens. Cars break down. Roofs need replacing. A tough medical diagnosis can create mountains of unexpected bills to pay.

Every year many participants in employer-sponsored government-controlled retirement plans make early withdrawals for a number of reasons. And every year, the IRS collects penalties related to those early withdrawals.

In fact, in the last year for which statistics are available, the Internal Revenue Service collected $5.7 billion dollars in penalties from Americans who took out $57 billion from their retirement funds before they were supposed to. [Read more…] “Is Your Money Frozen in Your Retirement Plan?”

Who’s Got Control of Your Retirement Plan?

February 18th, 2016 by Pamela Yellen | 3 Comments

Do you remember playing with that kid in the neighborhood who set up a game, and then changed the rules as the game went on to suit himself? Just like those games, you’ll never come out winning with your retirement plan if someone else sets – and constantly changes – the rules!

Here’s one of those inconvenient truths: When your retirement savings are in a government-controlled plan sponsored by your employer, your employer can change the rules at any time. And so can the government.

Despite the mass of paperwork your employer handed you when you first began your retirement plan, your employer’s retirement plan rules are not set in concrete. Employers can change their rules, even in midstream.

For example, not too long ago, IBM decided to change its retirement plan rules. Up until that time, IBM gave employees their 401(k) match with each pay check. But some smart bean counter pointed out that Big Blue could save a bundle if they waited to give the match until the very last day of the year instead of throughout the year.