The Clark Howard Podcast 03.31.26 Ask An Advisor With Wes Moss
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Mar 31, 2026 A deep dive into a financial hack that turns new Trump accounts into lifelong savings starting at birth. Practical retirement strategies contrast the extreme FIRE approach with a more realistic Retire Sooner plan. Tax timing, Roth conversions, pension strategies, and how to assess target-date funds are also discussed in short, actionable segments.
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Start Retirement Savings At Birth With New Accounts
- New Trump-era child savings accounts shift the savings conversation to Day Zero and can seed lifetime wealth from birth.
- A $1,000 signup plus $5,000/year for 18 years ($90k) invested at 7% could become ~$278k by age 24 and >$3M by 59½ if left untouched.
Use Child Accounts As Long Term Roth Engines
- Do treat these new child accounts as long-term Roth-like vehicles and plan conversions after age 18 to lock in tax-free growth.
- Consider parents, grandparents, and employers contributing the $5,000 annual cap to maximize compounding over decades.
Avoid All Bonds Trap Use An 80/20 Conservative Mix
- Do avoid 100% bond/CD allocations even in retirement; aim for balance because extreme safety can increase portfolio risk relative to a conservative mix.
- Consider an 80% bond / 20% stock mix as a very conservative efficient-frontier point and scale into it gradually.
