WCI #142: Should You Raid a Roth IRA To Pay Off Your Loans?

Should you raid your Roth IRA to pay off your student loans? No, I think raiding your Roth IRA for any reason is a bad decision. You only get so much Roth space in your life. Raiding the Roth IRA for anything except retirement is not a good idea because that money is compounding tax-free for years, and the longer you let it do that, the more valuable that benefit becomes. But the Roth IRA has other benefits too. It is great for estate planning. Even with the recent changes in the estate tax laws, you can still stretch a Roth IRA for 10 years after you die. So basically it can double in value before anyone has to take anything out of it. Plus you can name a beneficiary for it, so rather than having to wait for it to go through a will and go through probate and become public, it just goes straight to the beneficiary. It is also very good in almost every state for asset protection. Money in retirement accounts is generally not touchable in the event of an above policy limits judgment that isn't reduced on appeal. That is another great reason not to raid your Roth IRA, especially to pay off a loan that goes away when you die. We discuss this question of raiding your Roth IRA in more depth in this episode as well as discuss the state of this podcast in the last year including the best and worst episodes we've put out and a long rant on podcast guests and questions. Leave your comments about this episode at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/classic-blog/ 

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The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you!

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