I’m a Retirement Planner: 4 Steps To Secure Your Retirement Now, Whatever Policy Changes Come Andrew Lisa Sat, November 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST 4 min read GC=F +0.03% DD -0.59% Trade DD on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
Social Security faces a precarious future, with partial insolvency less than a decade away if Congress doesn't act to shore up the trusts that fund the program. Potential adjustments could include higher taxes, reduced benefits, an increased full retirement age, or some combination of the three — and Social Security is hardly the only wildcard.
Tariffs, taxes, regulations, and the rules governing retirement accounts can change with each new administration, and other than voting, ordinary people can't do much to change any of it. What they can do, however, is take steps to future-proof their retirements while they're still working, earning, saving, and planning.
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MoneyLion spoke with Gregory DuPont, certified financial planner (CFP) and founder of Dublin, Ohio-based Advocate Wealth Solutions. DuPont offered practical, actionable tips that professionals can use now to strengthen their future financial security against the impact of policies that can change as quickly as the country's political whims.
Diversification is the primary buzzword in portfolio building — spread your investments across various industries, sectors and asset classes to avoid unnecessary risk concentration.
What's discussed far less is how important that same principle is for retirement tax strategies.
"The single best hedge against future tax law changes is building tax diversification into your plan before you need it," DuPont said. "Many of my clients have assets in three different buckets: A traditional 401(k), Roth IRA and taxable brokerage account. This gives you more flexibility and control over your taxable income in retirement."
Contributing to multiple accounts during the accumulation phase is half the battle. The other half is strategizing for retirement withdrawals while you're still working and making contributions.
Start with your 401(k) plan: Required minimum distributions begin at 73 to 75 years old, depending on your birthday, and you must take them to avoid a 25% penalty. If you don't need the cash for expenses, diverting your RMDs to a taxable brokerage account can offset the associated income taxes. However, you should draw from your 401(k) first, no matter your age, because withdrawals from it incur the heaviest tax burden, since the IRS treats distributions as ordinary income.
Next, your taxable brokerage account: Pull from this bucket second, as taxable accounts enjoy the lower capital gains rate.
Leave Roth accounts for last: Since the IRS doesn't tax withdrawals from after-tax accounts, allow as much tax-free growth as possible by saving Roth accounts as your final bucket.
The key to navigating potential future policy changes is to allocate your contributions strategically across all three accounts while you're still working, rather than relying solely on an employer-sponsored account.
"Retirees who have only a traditional 401(k) have handed that flexibility over to Congress," DuPont said.
The 21st century began with the banking boom, then came the FAANG obsession, followed by the AI gold rush and the Magnificent Seven, which continues to dominate in 2026. Tomorrow will be something else — and if your retirement date arrives as a policy change leaves you holding yesterday's declining trend, the sequence of returns risk could sink your plans.
"Reactive retirement planning that chases headlines is not the way to go," DuPont said. "Intentional, structural decisions outlast stock picking every time. Build in flexibility now, and you won't have to worry about what the next administration does."
Finally, DuPont insists that planning for the inevitable is as important as planning for retirement.
"Working professionals should not forget about estate planning," he said. "Retirement plans and the beneficiary designations on those plans need to work together with your will and trust. Most people think estate planning is just for rich old people, but anyone with any amount of assets or people who depend on them needs a will at the very least. These documents keep your wishes intact regardless of politics."
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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