What the Midterms Could Do to Your Money
What Could the Election Actually Do to Your Money? Stress-Testing Plans Instead of Guessing Outcomes
What Could the Election Actually Do to Your Money? Stress-Testing Plans Instead of Guessing Outcomes
This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/4ywqFrr
Host Blaine Carver talks with Brett Bonecutter and financial planner Matt Gregory about Gregory’s article, “What Could The Election Actually Do To Your Money?” Gregory says election anxiety commonly shows up in planning as questions about taxes, inflation, Social Security, healthcare, investing, and ultimately whether clients will be okay, and that advisors should uncover the “question under the question.” They discuss how fear is amplified by media, and how planners can make concerns actionable by stress testing assumptions (inflation, healthcare, taxes, Social Security benefits, spending) rather than making knee-jerk portfolio changes. The Bahnsen Group currently uses 2.5% long-term inflation and 5.5% healthcare inflation, revisiting assumptions annually. They note markets historically perform well across political outcomes, and that tax planning (including Roth conversions) should consider bracket changes and Medicare impacts. The episode ends with tentative election predictions and a reminder to focus on 20-year plans.
00:00 Welcome and Setup
00:50 Why This Article
04:54 Questions Under Questions
07:13 Fear and Media Noise
09:32 Inflation Stress Tests
13:59 Do Elections Move Inflation
17:22 Taxes and Roth Moves
23:47 Social Security Reality
29:37 Investing Around Elections
35:38 Should You Change Anything
37:50 Stress Testing Metaphor
40:10 Predictions and Wrap Up
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