The Truth About Buy-and-Hold Investing in Retirement
Release Date: 06/17/2026
Why Not Put Your Entire Retirement into 5.25% Treasuries? (Have You Won the Game?)
The Power Of Zero Show
Is putting your entire retirement planning strategy into 30-year treasuries really the safe bet it seems? David McKnight reveals why this approach could expose you to two hidden risks, and explains how the stock market and annuities might hold the real key to protecting your income. In this episode, David McKnight looks at whether putting your entire retirement portfolio into 30-year treasuries is the way to go. While it may seem like a pretty compelling argument, there’s a major problem with this strategy – and it comes down to two things: taxes and inflation. The U.S....
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Dave Ramsey’s 8% Retirement Rule: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The Power Of Zero Show
Dave Ramsey says retirees can safely withdraw 8% a year from the stock market, but does his retirement planning math actually hold up? David McKnight breaks down why Ramsey’s approach overlooks a critical risk, and why annuities may be the missing piece to sustainably boosting your retirement income beyond the traditional 4% Rule. In this episode, David McKnight examines Dave Ramsey’s 8% withdrawal rate claim and why retirement planning may need annuities, and not just the stock market. For Ramsey, you can take 8% per year out of your stock market portfolio in retirement, despite what...
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The Three Biggest Reasons Americans Hate Annuities
The Power Of Zero Show
Most Americans hate annuities and would tell you to avoid them… But what if the version you’ve been warned about isn’t the only option for retirement planning? David McKnight breaks down a strategy that’s quietly helping retirees sleep better at night and safeguard themselves against the 3 biggest annuities-related problems. In this episode, David McKnight looks at three perfectly legitimate reasons why Americans have been reluctant to embrace annuities, as well as a solution. The first problem is liquidity. David points out that one of the biggest fears in retirement is...
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Should High Earners Contribute to a Roth 401k?
The Power Of Zero Show
Should every dollar go into a Roth 401(k) if taxes will be higher? David McKnight reveals why that instinct could actually be one of the most expensive tax decisions a high-income earner can make when it comes to retirement planning. In this episode, David McKnight addresses two frequently asked questions: “If tax rates are going to be higher in the future, should I be putting every dollar into a Roth 401(k)?” and “Should I be converting as much of my IRA to Roth as quickly as possible?”. David believes that the current tax rates are as low as we’re likely to see in your...
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The Latest Proposal to Tax Roth IRAs: Should you be worried?
The Power Of Zero Show
Should you stop doing Roth conversions as part of your retirement planning after Senator Ron Wyden’s new legislation targeting specific retirement accounts? David McKnight breaks down the key aspects of the proposal and what it actually means for the average American (and their retirement). Show Notes In this episode, David McKnight looks at whether you should stop doing Roth conversions following Senator Ron Wyden’s introduction of legislation for taxing Roth IRAs. For David, 99.9% of Americans should continue investing in Roth accounts with a high degree of confidence. One of...
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The Hidden Reason Married Couples Need Roth Conversions
The Power Of Zero Show
One spouse passes away, and suddenly the survivor is filing alone, pushed into tax brackets they never saw coming. David McKnight explains why a Roth conversion, done now through smart retirement planning, could spare your loved ones the painful surprise known as Widow’s Penalty. Show Notes In this episode, David McKnight discusses something that could cause your taxes to rise dramatically even if Congress never raises taxes by a single percentage point! That's the so-called Widow's Penalty, and it's a critical piece of retirement planning that too many people overlook. The U.S....
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What If I Retire Into A Market Crash?
The Power Of Zero Show
David McKnight addresses one of the biggest fears people have as they approach retirement: “What if I retire right into a market crash?”. Not only this represents one of the biggest challenges in retirement planning but it’s also one of the reasons why David advocates for protecting yourself from sequence of returns risk. When it comes to long-term stock market investing, it’s important to understand the difference between retirement years and accumulation years. Sequence of returns is the order in which market returns occur in your portfolio. That order, David stresses,...
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The Five Biggest Roth Conversion Traps
The Power Of Zero Show
In this episode, David McKnight walks you through the five biggest Roth conversion traps, and how to avoid them. He is a big believer in Roth conversions. Because of the apocalyptic fiscal trajectory of the U.S., taxes in the future are likely to be dramatically higher than they are today. Hence, every dollar you reposition from tax-deferred to tax-free at these historically low tax rates may be one of the smartest financial decisions you ever make. However, while many people understand Roth conversions in theory, they still get them wrong in practice – David has seen some very costly...
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High Earners: Stop Making This Roth vs. Traditional Tax Mistake!
The Power Of Zero Show
David McKnight addresses one of the most common questions he gets: “If tax rates are going to be dramatically higher in the future, shouldn’t I be putting every dollar into a Roth 401(k)?”. Moreover, people often wonder whether they should be converting as much of their IRA to Roth as quickly as possible. David is a firm believer that the current tax rates are as low as we’re likely to see in our lifetime. The U.S. has over $39 trillion in debt and it’s going to increase by two trillion per year over the next 10 years and over $200 trillion in unfunded obligations for Social...
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What REALLY Happens When Your Kids Inherit Your IRA
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 treatment under the tax code. In fact, they have options that nobody else gets - like the spousal rollover. David touches upon the so-called Stretch IRA, which he considers one of the greatest estate...
info_outlineIn 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 withdraw money from your investment portfolio during a market downturn.
If the market falls 30% and you’re simultaneously taking withdrawals to pay for your living expenses, you’re locking in losses and permanently impairing your portfolio’s ability to recover.
According to David, the way to solve this problem is by ensuring that your essential expenses are covered before you ever retire.
When you’re at least five years out from retirement, David believes that one of the most important decisions you can make is to create the so-called income floor.
An income floor is a guaranteed stream of income that covers your basic living expenses regardless of what the stock market is doing.
The volatility shield adds a second layer of protection that has to do with discretionary expenses (e.g., a trip around the world, taking the grandchildren to Disney World, etc.).
Suze Orman has controversially recommended that retirees keep 3-5 years' worth of living expenses in a savings account, so they don’t have to sell investments during a market downturn.
While David agrees with the concept, he doesn’t see savings accounts as the most efficient place to put that money in.
Instead, he’d rather have retirees accumulate that money in a completely separate account (a volatility shield) – which, unlike a savings account, has the potential to grow 5-7% net fees over time.
Looking for an alternative volatility shield? Look at cash value life insurance in the form of indexed universal life (IUL), says David.
An Ernst & Young study found that retirees who included the volatility shield strategy and a guaranteed lifetime income annuity in the retirement plan were able to dramatically increase the sustainable withdrawal rate on their investment portfolio.
Since the early 1990s, the gold standard on sustainable withdrawal rates has been 4%.
The 4% Rule says that if you withdraw approximately 4% of your portfolio each year, there’s a reasonably high chance that your money will last a full 30-year retirement.
However, when retirees had access to a volatility buffer and could avoid taking distributions following market downturns, sustainable withdrawal rates increased dramatically (in some scenarios, up to 8%).
David is a believer of the fact that the portfolio that got you into retirement can also take you through retirement – with a recommended 70% in U.S. stock market index funds and 30% in international stock market index funds.
For David, the reason why this approach works well is that, with it, you solve the two biggest issues in retirement: income and volatility.
Moreover, if you can position these assets inside tax-free accounts through strategic Roth contributions and Roth conversions, you gain protection against yet another threat, tax rate risk.
David concludes by stressing that it is not that the buy-and-hold strategy doesn’t work, it’s that most retirees don’t have the protection tools necessary to stay committed to the strategy when markets become turbulent.
Mentioned in this episode:
David’s new book: The Secret Order of Millionaires
David’s national bestselling book: The Guru Gap: How America’s Financial Gurus Are Leading You Astray, and How to Get Back on Track
Tax-Free Income for Life: A Step-by-Step Plan for a Secure Retirement by David McKnight
PowerOfZero.com (free video series)
@mcknightandco on Twitter
@davidcmcknight on Instagram
David McKnight on YouTube
Get David's Tax-free Tool Kit at taxfreetoolkit.com