Love, Marriage, and LGBT Retirement.  Marriage Equality isn’t just about a fabulous wedding.  Valuable financial tools (including tax planning strategies, estate planning benefits, and wealth-building strategies) are now available to help make Gay retirement planning a bit easier for all couples in LOVE. Gay Retirement will be changed by both love and Marriage Equality.  As a gay financial advisor, I have seen the difference this has made in the finances of many of my gay couple clients.

Until now, LGBT+ people have avoided using many of the typical spousal retirement planning strategies used by their straight counterparts. Often, it was because these strategies were overly complicated by our lack of legal recognition. Meanwhile, committed couples without legal recognition were less likely to truly run their finances together, which can make it much easier to ignore gay retirement planning.

One benefit of marriage is that couples can share money without raising any red flags, or causing tax problems. This makes a few tax-saving strategies a bit easier to accomplish. Hopefully, with new filing statuses, married same-sex couples will develop comprehensive gay financial planning strategies together, to help make reaching gay financial independence faster and easier.

When completing a financial plan for a gay couple, often one person may earn more than his or her spouse, or may just have disposable income. Now that gay spouses can freely pass money between each other, one spouse can help indirectly fund the other’s retirement account. This can dramatically increase the total amount saved between the couple, and reduce their overall check owed to Uncle Sam.  The rules for inheriting an IRA are dramatically more beneficial for married beneficiaries than non-married beneficiaries.

This may just mean one spouse giving the other money to fully fund an IRA or another retirement account. With a 401(k), there is a potential $19,500 tax deduction in 2021 ($26,000 for people over 50).

Would you rather pay yourself first? Or write a big tax check to the government?  At least with Joe Biden as President, paying taxes is just a little less painful.  Gay tax planning is also a major part of a gay retirement plan.

LGBT Retirement  Biggest Deduction Version:

Some of my married clients are in a situation where one spouse is highly compensated and the other is self-employed. With one couple, in particular, the self-employed spouse sets up a Solo 401(k) Profit Sharing plan for their business and have been able to contribute nearly 100% of their income (the max being $58,000, or $64,500 for those 50 and older in 2021)

This large of a retirement plan contribution may not have been possible without the financial help of the highly compensated spouse paying some of the family’s other bills. They happen to be in the 37% tax bracket, so this 401(k) offers a potential income tax savings of around $23,865 Federal and over $6000 states (Taxes in California are quite high). (Not to mention reduction in Social Security, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act taxes.)  Most importantly, this will help them stay on track for their goal of early gay retirement. The high-earning spouse will continue to max his contribution to his job’s various retirement options.

Some of the best strategies for couples to reduce tax bills are the simplest. I always get looks of amazement when I pitch the idea of one spouse essentially funding the other’s retirement account. It’s usually followed by, “Why did we never think of that?” or “Why has no one ever told us about this before?” I really think many strategies like this have been ignored by the financial planning community.   Sadly, many gay couples have faced homophobia when looking to put together a gay retirement plan.  Why spend your hard-earned dollars with a financial planning firm or financial advisor that doesn’t support your marriage? Or worse is actively hostile towards the LGBT+ community?

Financial Planner LA is here to help with your

–Gay Financial Planning

–Gay Retirement Planning

-Gay Wealth Management

-Gay Personal Finance Guidance

LGBT Retirement now  may include The Spousal IRA:

This is a potential new benefit to sack a few more dollars with big tax benefits. Right now, a stay-at-home spouse (or spouse with little or no income) can contribute to a Roth or Traditional IRA. Contributions were limited based on income. A Spousal IRA may increase the amount of money that can be stashed away into retirement accounts in any given year, and thereby reduce the overall tax burden of the couple.

In regard to reducing the “marriage penalty,” the tax deductions for retirement contributions may now actually be more valuable. The higher your combined tax bracket, the bigger the savings from your IRA contributions.

LGBT Retirees can now Adopt a Spouse’s IRA:

Currently, if one spouse passed away, the surviving spouse can adopt his or her IRA as a nontaxable event. Another option would be to roll it over into an existing IRA. Prior to this, an IRA would have to be taken out in a condensed time frame, potentially pushing other income up into dramatically higher rates, and leaving less money for the surviving spouse to live on (though keep in mind, anyone under age 59 ½ who withdraws money may be subject to a 10 percent penalty).

New Social Security options for LGBT Retirement:

Social Security will play a major role in many Baby Boomers’ retirement plans. With so many Boomers behind on retirement savings, Social Security may play a major role in their retirement income. A non-working spouse is entitled to at least half of the benefit of a working spouse. On a similar note, a spouse with a smaller benefit can “step up” to a higher benefit if their spouse passes before them. This area of financial planning is quickly evolving, so hopefully, some of these gaps and questions will be answered.

Tax Questions for LGBT retirees:

While marriage equality has been a hard-fought battle, we have to take the good with the bad. Some couples may get hit with the “marriage penalty.” We now have a few tools that have become easier to use to combat the increased tax burden.

Money can be a top cause of friction between spouses. Work together with the help of a trusted fiduciary financial planner to develop a comprehensive wealth plan to help you both reach your specific financial goals. As your income combines and climbs, various tax planning strategies and tax deferral from a retirement account may become even more valuable. This plan will hopefully help you keep more of the money you’ve earned, which may make some of your financial goals closer to being achieved than you thought.

Remember Gay Money Matters!  Live For Today, Plan For Tomorrow!

DAVID RAE, CFP®, specializes in retirement planning for the friends of the LGBT community. He lives in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with his husband and their two Chihuahuas. Follow him on Facebook on Twitter @davidraecfp or via his website, DavidRaeFP.com.

An Earlier Version Love, Marriage, and Gay Retirement Originally Published in the Advocate Magazine

Who Makes the Most Money Straight or Gay Married Couples