Yes, the idea was to get rid of the long term pension obligations of companies.
Woolworth still pays its pension obligations as it has morphed into a shoe selling company with enough revenue to do that. So many similar companies have gone bankrupt.
Around 2009 my company disbursed its pension obligations. I got a $100k payout and put it all into the stock market with an index fund of the entire market. As the market recovered I diversified by putting 40% into bond funds It did very well before I just cashed out to sit on the sidelines for a while.
But I doubt many have done that well with similar circumstances as the market had just crashed really bad and most would't have done that. How bad? Two major indexes, the Dow Jones and S&P500 lost over 50% their value from October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009!
I know math so I've been able to use the tax code to my advantage, saving 10s of thousands of dollars in taxes.
The lowest tax brackets pay 0% in Long Term Capital gains. There are deductions that can be taken to legally go into lower brackets to avoid paying taxes. Now that I'm not earning a living I can pay taxes on that money at 12% instead of the much higher rate when I was working! If this sound terribly complicated it is! Worse, most advisors work with customers that have lots of money and income.
I doubt they understand what I'm doing as it is too different from normal.
If I don't pay enough tax now, I plan to avoid taxes in the future by donating it to Charity!
I've already donated a lot in my lifetime.
28 May 2025, 1:33 pm
