The Power Of Zero Show

In today's episode, David McKnight discusses what many people don't get about the IRS and what happens to their IRA and what their children are supposed to get at some point. Many people spend decades building up tax-affirmed retirement accounts without fully appreciating what happens when those accounts pass to the next generation. When a spouse inherits an IRA, they get the most favorable treatm...

David McKnight kicks off this Power of Zero Show episode by stressing that, in his opinion, tax rates in the future are likely to be much higher than they are today. Why? Because the U.S. has a national debt that continues to grow at an alarming rate. It has hundreds of trillions of dollars in unfunded obligations for programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. At some point, the Govern...

David McKnight discusses the Woman's World article Suze Orman Reveals When to Buy an Annuity - and the One Question You Must Answer First. For years, Orman has warned investors away from annuities, often lumping them into the category of expensive financial products that enrich salespeople at the expense of consumers. David has been surprised by what the current views of Orman appear to be, comple...

In this episode, David McKnight addresses one of the biggest myths in retirement planning: once you retire, you need to dramatically reduce your exposure to stocks. The reason why most financial advisors recommend reducing stock exposure in retirement has very little to do with stocks and everything to do with sequence of returns risk. Sequence of returns risk is what happens when you're forced to...

David McKnight kicks this episode off by explaining how, for decades, conventional financial wisdom has been saying that, as you approach retirement, you should begin dialing down your stock exposure and increasing your bond allocation. A 60-year-old, for example, would have 40% of their portfolio in stocks and 60% in bonds.  Historically, bonds served three primary functions: They provided income...

A recent landmark study from BlackRock caught David McKnight – he shares what it was all about and why you should care in this new episode of the Power of Zero Show. For decades, Americans were told that if they simply contributed faithfully to their 401(k) and avoided emotional decisions during market downturns, they would have enough money in retirement. According to the BlackRock study, retiree...

Today's episode of The Power of Zero Show revolves around a question host David McKnight gets asked all the time: "Should I still be doing Roth conversions in my 60s, even if I'm already retired?" In short, David believes that you should not only do a Roth conversion in your 60s, it's actually one of the most optimal times in your entire life to do it. When doing a Roth conversion, you're choosing...

David McKnight unpacks the five most common objections to Roth conversions and why they simply don't hold up under scrutiny.  The first objection has to do with people not wanting to voluntarily pay taxes before the IRS requires them to. While on the surface, postponing this may sound logical, it ignores a fundamental aspect: the state of the U.S. national debt. It has just passed $39 trillion, an...

David McKnight dissects a topic that causes a lot of confusion for retirees and pre-retirees: How  Roth conversions affect social security taxation and Medicare premiums (IRMAA). Some warn against Roth conversions in retirement as they can cause your Social Security to become taxable and could also raise your Medicare premiums. While that's true, David believes that the long-term benefits of Roth...

David McKnight addresses one of the biggest threats to your retirement plan: sequence of returns risk. Are you retired or within 10 years of retirement? Sequence of returns risk may be the single most important concept you need to understand if you want to ensure your money lasts as long as you do. Sequence of returns risk refers to the danger of experiencing a market downturn early in retirement...

David McKnight breaks down the approach he would follow if he were to invest a $2 million 401(k) in retirement. David points out that when you retire, you're no longer just investing for growth; you're investing for income.  Remember: If you get this wrong, you don't get a do-over. In the case David discusses, many financial advisors would recommend investing the $2 million in the market and withd...

David McKnight explores the so-called "22% Roth conversion mistake," which he considers a common and costly mistake when it comes to Roth conversions. He points out that, despite Trump tax cuts being made permanent with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, tax rates can change at any time with a simple act of Congress. That's why he refers to this as a "temporary permanent t...

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 pro...

David McKnight explores a retirement planning phenomenon that almost nobody discusses, but that has been documented repeatedly in academic research. It's the idea that when retirees convert some of their savings into guaranteed lifetime income through an annuity, they actually spend more money and enjoy retirement more than those who rely on their liquid retirement savings alone. Even though many...

David McKnight touches upon what he considers the most overlooked tax-free income stream. What he's referring to is to leave enough money in your traditional IRA so that your required minimum distributions can be completely offset by your standard deduction in retirement. David believes that focusing on tax-free retirement strategies is more crucial than ever, since it's becoming increasingly clea...

David McKnight addresses an issue he sees more and more in his conversations with retirees and pre-retirees: the so-called Roth over-conversion trap.  The problem stems from converting too much money with the result of shortening the lifespan of your retirement savings. David believes that the reason why many Americans are racing to convert everything they have in their IRAs and 401(k)s has to do...

In this episode of the Power of Zero Show David McKnight gives you a blueprint with the key steps to follow for a successful and stress-free retirement if you're about five years away. The first step is figuring out your retirement income shortfall, the income you'll need every month in retirement, as well as how much of that will be covered by sources like Social Security and pensions. The retire...

Today's episode of the Power of Zero Show sees David McKnight address one of the most important decisions you'll ever make in retirement: where you should withdraw money from first. It's important to note that the sequence in which you draw down your retirement dollars can dramatically affect how long your money lasts and how much of it you get to keep. Since the Trump tax cuts were permanently ex...

David McKnight discusses the allocation of $1M if he had it to invest in 2026.  David sees a taxable brokerage account as the least efficient investment account you could possibly own – since it's taxed every year and it's exposed to both short- and long-term capital gains. While this type of account is liquid and can serve as an excellent emergency fund, it's the most tax-unfriendly of all the in...

This episode of The Power of Zero Show sees David McKnight discussing the single most hated retirement strategy in America: annuities. Interestingly enough, annuities are also one of the most powerful tools you can use to protect yourself from the biggest financial risk you face in retirement. Longevity risk, a retirement danger most retirees never fully grasp, is the reason why this topic matters...

David McKnight dissects Elon Musk's recent claims that, because of AI robotics and automation, the future will have such hyperabundance that ordinary people may no longer need to save for retirement.  In Musk's future, robots are going to do all the work, AI will create prosperity, and society will provide everything you need at a little or no – cost. While David likes Musk's vision for the future...

David McKnight explores one of the most fascinating and misunderstood topics: Retirement planning annuities. In the article Annuitization Puzzles, Economics Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler tries to answer a deceptively simple question: If annuities are so good at protecting retirees from outliving their money, why don't more people buy them? Thaler, one of the founding fathers of behavioral econ...

David McKnight discusses the three assets he believes you really need for a stable, predictable tax-efficient retirement.  Getting them right will dramatically reduce the risks that derail most retirements: Market risks, sequence of returns risks, longevity risks, tax risks, and long-term care risks. Stock market investments, with a 70% total US stock market index and a 30% total international sto...

David McKnight explores the five biggest retirement mistakes people make. When it comes to retirement "traps", the obvious things such as picking the wrong stock, missing the next bull market or retiring at the wrong time are what typically comes to mind… The first mistake people tend to make when it comes to their retirement is believing that tax diversification is good enough. "Having the bulk o...

The focus of this episode is on what Dave Ramsey refers to as the only three investments he owns. "I have three investments: my business, paid-for real estate with no mortgages, and mutual funds," says Ramsey.  He goes on to emphasize that he doesn't play single stock, doesn't screw around with gold or Bitcoin, and that he doesn't need your stock tip from your "broke golfing buddy with an opinion....