Mark Mazour

Information Services Manager. Sail, food, single malt scotch, cigars, fine wine and family

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@tracknumber06 @KurtSupeCPA Cash and increased ROTH conversions.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@KurtSupeCPA Agreed. Rather than guessing, we're doing a conference room pilot before go-live. Two direct deposits: a retirement-sized paycheck in one account and the rest in another. If that account runs short, it's a failed test. Nothing exposes flawed assumptions faster than a dry run.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@KurtSupeCPA Most retirees see a market crash and panic. I see a Roth conversion clearance sale. Lower share prices mean more shares moved to Roth for the same tax cost, and the recovery happens tax-free. Bear markets aren't fun, but they can be remarkably tax-efficient.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@KurtSupeCPA Down year, use your cash, convert in plan 401k to ROTH.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@KurtSupeCPA It’s not just math—it’s a lifecycle strategy, not a one-time decision.

Roth early, Traditional in higher earning years, then intentional conversions pre-RMD.

Plans excel at driving participation, but fall short on helping participants understand the long-term tax implications.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@KurtSupeCPA I have often wondered why you and other advisors put the hard stop on $19,000, when so many are FAR away from the $15 Mil lifetime exclusion. Could it be this is a convenient number to "pump the breaks" on how much to give? Filing a 709 is not by any stretch complex.

[Kurt Supe, CPA & Retirement Planner @KurtSupeCPA]

Couple comes in for their annual review.

$2.8 million. Well invested. Solid Pension. Completely on track.

I ask the question I ask everyone.

"How is your daughter doing?"

Mom's face changed first.

Their daughter is 39. Hasn't asked for anything. Never complained.

But she's been in the same apartment for six years.

Daycare alone is $1,800 a month. Down payment feels impossible.

Dad said "we always figured she'd get it eventually."

I pulled up a simple chart.

Statistically they live to 88. She inherits at 56. Maybe 60.

At 60 her own retirement is eight years away.

The money that could change everything at 39 arrives when her finish line is already close.

Neither of them had ever seen it framed that way.

The annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per parent per child.

They can move $38,000 a year to her. No gift tax. No estate implications.

Over ten years that's $380,000 transferred while they're healthy enough to watch it matter.

Dad looked at his wife.

"Why are we waiting?"

Most families leave everything at death because nobody showed them the math of giving it while they're alive.

[Kurt Supe, CPA & Retirement Planner @KurtSupeCPA]

The retirement industry will spend 3 hours building your Roth conversion ladder. They won't spend 3 minutes on what happens when you wake up that first Tuesday and nobody needs you anymore.

I made a video about the 5 psychological phases almost every retiree hits. Most never reach phase 5.

https://t.co/8cRbFAo2Ni via @YouTube

[Kurt Supe, CPA & Retirement Planner @KurtSupeCPA]

The market's been on fire. And that's exactly when retirees forget about risk.

After years of gains, they lie to themselves. "I can handle volatility."

Then the market drops 20% and they panic-sell at the worst possible time.

I've watched this play out in 2000, 2008, and during COVID.

Same pattern every time: After big bull runs, people load up on risk when the market is at its riskiest. Then when it crashes, they dump everything—right when risk is actually LOWER.

One of my advisors just met with an 82-year-old who gets it.

"When the market tanks, do you get scared and want to change things?"

His answer: "I never change anything during good times or bad. I know better."

Plus he has reserves to weather the storm.

THAT is real risk tolerance.

This guy? We'd put him in a Moderate allocation without hesitation.

Someone who panics easily? Conservative portfolio—even if it means potential lower long term returns.

Your risk tolerance isn't what you THINK you can handle.

It's what you'll actually DO when your account is down.

Not investment advice. Hypothetical scenario for educational purposes.T

[Tydirium @TeslaUberRide]

@KurtSupeCPA I believe my kids would rather have a life changing $100k in their early 20s (and the responsibility that goes with it) than a few million in their 60s or 70s when they are too old to do much other than bury me.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@DrAlice @KurtSupeCPA You may want to do a little research on who pays taxes on gifts and the lifetime gift limit, you have to report it but no one will pay a tax on it. Federal anyway, I don't know about state.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@GovLarryRhoden @LGVenhuizen I would be supportive of SB216 if it were amended to include the "base amount" reset, Section 3 of SB191. I do like Section 4 of SB216 over the proposed SB85 for two reasons; first it is income based rather than age based and Section 4 Line 3 only requires 200 days vs. 10 yrs.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@LGVenhuizen @GovLarryRhoden I would be supportive of SB216 if it were amended to include the "base amount" reset, Section 3 of SB191.

I do like Section 4 of SB216 over the proposed SB85 for two reasons; first it is income based rather than age based and Section 4 Line 3 only requires 200 days vs. 10 yrs.

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@DonaldTNews Indifferent

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@JDVanceNewsX 👍

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@therabbithole Why the hell is this so hard to understand?

[Link Lauren @itslinklauren]

RFK waiting for his cabinet spot

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@proudelephant What happens when they elect JD Vance? Will the abstinance continue to 2036?

[Mark Mazour @MarkMazour]

@therabbithole so consensus is only achievable if we lie?

[The Rabbit Hole @TheRabbitHole]

“I think our reverence for the truth might have become a bit of a distraction that is preventing us from finding consensus and getting important things done.”

— Katherine Maher (NPR CEO)