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With the congressional midterm elections only weeks away, here's how we think things will shake out.
In early spring, Republicans appeared well on their way to steamroll through the midterms and win back control of the House and Senate. Democrats were struggling to compete, weighed down by an unpopular president and sky-high inflation and gas prices.
But as the summer wore on, Democrats' prospects improved. Gas prices dropped, supply chain problems got better and the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade energized their voters - all good news for the party. Some big-ticket Democratic bills that passed Congress in recent months also helped.
Meanwhile, several Republican candidates, particularly Senate hopefuls endorsed by former President Donald Trump, underwhelmed, both on the campaign trail and with fundraising. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) even downplayed his party's chances of retaking the Senate, openly worrying about the "quality" of many GOP candidates.
On top of everything else, Trump's high-profile legal woes have been a drag on his party's midterm hopes.
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But momentum in politics is fickle and can swing back quickly. In recent weeks, Republican candidates have done better in midterm polls and improved on the campaign trail.
So it's increasingly likely that control of the next Congress in January will be split. We anticipate that Republicans still will take control of the House, though they'll likely net fewer seats in the 435-member chamber than we initially expected - 15, versus the 25 sea
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Editor's note: This is the final part of a seven-part series. It dives more deeply into the third strategy for defusing a retirement tax bomb, which is Roth conversions. If you missed the introductory article, you may find it helpful to start here.
Because they offer tax-free qualified withdrawals, Roth IRAs and Roth conversions can be a critical strategy for defusing the retirement tax bomb that traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and other pre-tax savings accounts can set you up for in retirement.
A Roth conversion is when you transfer money out of a pre-tax retirement account into an after-tax Roth. Typically, every dollar you convert is taxed as ordinary income, unless the pre-tax account was also funded with after-tax dollars.
SEE MORE Don't Move to Another State Just to Reduce Your Taxes
Here's the problem though: Most people who are facing a retirement tax bomb and are still working probably have high incomes and are in a high marginal tax bracket. The last thing they want is a Roth conversion, which adds to their income and would be taxed at high tax rates.
Instead, this is a good strategy to consider in low-income years, especially for people who retire early in their 50s and early 60s who may have several years to do conversions before Medicare means testing surcharges, Social Security income and RMDs kick in. Many of my clients do several years of annual Roth conversions starting early in retirement.
Three Windows for Roth Conversions
The first window for Roth conversions is the years before enrolling in Medicare, but recal
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