What You Need to Know About IRAs

Rob West: How well do you really know your IRA? Hi, I'm Rob West. An individual retirement account can be a helpful tool for long-term saving, but like any financial tool, it needs to be understood and used wisely. Today, we'll walk through a few common misunderstandings and maybe clear up some confusion along the way. Then we'll take your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance on American Family Radio, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.

Rob West: Proverbs 18:15 says, "An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." That's a good word for every area of life, including how we manage money. As stewards, we don't want to make financial decisions simply because an account is popular or because someone told us we ought to have one. We want to understand the tools available to us and use them in ways that reflect wisdom, patience, and trust in the Lord. So today, let's take a short IRA pop quiz. Don't worry, no grades, no pressure, just a few true or false questions to help us think more clearly.

Rob West: Question number one: You can contribute to an IRA even if you already have a retirement plan through your employer. True or false? That one's true. You can contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA even if you also participate in a 401(k), 403(b), or other workplace plan. In 2026, the total amount you can contribute to all of your traditional and Roth IRAs combined is $7,500, or $8,600 if you're age 50 or older. Now, you'll need enough taxable compensation to support your contribution, and income limits may affect whether you can deduct a traditional IRA contribution or contribute directly to a Roth. So yes, you can have both, but know the rules before you contribute.

Rob West: All right, question number two: An IRA is an account that holds investments, not an investment by itself. True or false? That one's also true. An IRA is more like a container. Inside that account, you may have mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds, money market funds, or other options, depending on what your custodian makes available. That distinction matters. Sometimes people say, "Well, I bought an IRA," when what they really mean is, "I opened an IRA and invested the money." The IRA is the account; the investments inside the account determine how the money is actually working. And there are limits. IRA funds generally cannot be invested in life insurance or collectibles. Certain precious metals may be allowed if they meet specific IRS requirements and are held properly. Something called self-directed IRAs can open the door to more specialized investments, but they also come with added complexity and risk.

Rob West: All right, let's get to question number three: Your will determines who receives your IRA regardless of the beneficiary listed on the account. True or false? That one's false. Like many financial accounts, an IRA allows you to name beneficiaries. When you die, those beneficiaries generally receive the account directly outside probate. And in most cases, the beneficiary designation controls, even if your will says something different. That's why it's important to review your beneficiaries after major life changes: marriage, divorce, the death of a spouse, or the birth of a child. Stewardship includes making your intentions clear.

Rob West: Question number four: Traditional IRAs are subject to required minimum distributions. True or false? Well, that one's true. Traditional IRAs are subject to required minimum distributions, or RMDs. In general, you must begin taking them by April 1st of the year after the year you turn 73. After that first year, annual RMDs are typically due by December 31st. If you don't take the required amount, the penalty can be 25% of the amount not withdrawn, though it may be reduced to 10% if corrected in time. Roth IRAs are different; they don't require distributions during the original owner's lifetime. Contributions are made with after-tax dollars, and qualified withdrawals may be tax-free later. But remember, retirement accounts are tools, not ultimate security. Our hope is not in an IRA, a pension, a 401(k), or a balance sheet—our hope is in Christ.

Rob West: All right, well, how did you do? The goal isn't to become a retirement expert overnight; the goal is to grow in wisdom. An IRA may be one piece of a wise financial plan, but the deeper question is always this: Am I using what God has entrusted to me in a way that reflects faithfulness, generosity, and eternal priorities? By the way, if you want to explore all of that further, check out my new devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship, when you visit faithfi.com/shop. Your calls are next at 800-525-7000. We'll be right back.

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Rob West: Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today, the number 800-525-7000. The lines have started filling up, but we've still got room for you at the moment. So if you'd like to be a part of the broadcast today, give us a call at 800-525-7000.

Rob West: Hey, we started today by talking about IRAs. How'd you do on the quiz? I know that can get confusing—a lot of terms, jargon, and as we think about investing. It doesn't have to be complicated; we try to simplify it and break it down for you here on this program. But hopefully you took something away that would be helpful to you as you keep your financial house in order. By the way, one of my favorite tools—you hear me talk about it often on this broadcast related to IRAs—is something called a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or short, QCD. Yeah, we like a lot of acronyms here in the financial world. QCDs are basically the only way to get money out of a traditional IRA without ever paying tax on it.

Rob West: Now you might say, "Wait a minute, Rob, how does that work?" Well, remember, when that money went in, maybe into a 401(k) or 403(b) initially, perhaps straight into a traditional IRA, in either case, you got a deduction. So that money went in pre-tax. Actually, it wasn't a deduction; it was just excluded from your taxable income in the year that you made the contribution. So no tax paid on the money going in. Now, the money grows tax-deferred. So you invest it, you put it in mutual funds, stocks, ETFs, bonds—it grows over a lifetime through your working years. And the nice thing about that tax-deferred growth is the taxes are not a drag on the investments. You can buy or sell or change investments inside that 401(k) or IRA, and there's no capital gains, there's no impact to those buying and selling from a tax standpoint that would cause your growth to be limited. So you don't pay any tax on that money as it goes in (it's excluded from your taxable income), then you get that tax-deferred growth.

Rob West: Then typically, when you roll that 401(k) to an IRA, or you have the IRA itself and you start taking withdrawals in retirement, well, you're going to pay tax on it as it comes out. That's your deal with the IRS: "We're not going to make you pay tax on it upfront, we're not going to make you pay tax along the way, but we are going to expect that as you pull money out, it's added to your taxable income after 59½, and then we get our tax." Well, the only way to eliminate that third step where the IRS gets their money is when that money goes straight from your IRA—and this is only after age 70½ or older—straight from that IRA, not to you as what's called a distribution, but straight to a qualified ministry, so a 501(c)(3) organization like American Family Association. When it goes straight to that ministry, including your church, you never pay tax on it. It doesn't get added to your taxable income like it normally would. So it went in without paying tax on it, it grew without paying tax on it, and then it comes out without paying tax on it, but it does have to go straight to a ministry.

Rob West: What an opportunity for you to do some hilarious giving as you support ministries on the heart of God, again, like American Family Association. So if you'd like to do something like that and consider what it would look like to do your giving out of your IRA to your church, to AFA, or even here to FaithFi, we'd love to talk to you about that, help you with that. The team at the AFA Foundation—Chelsea, Jessica, and Riley—would be delighted to talk to you. Just go to afafoundation.net and you can schedule a call with the team there if you want to get some of that IRA money over to AFA. But regardless of where you send it, think about doing some giving after age 70½ to your favorite ministry straight from your IRA. It can make a lot of sense. By the way, at 73, not to confuse you, you're going to start having required minimums. Well, the QCD satisfies that, so that's another benefit.

Rob West: All right, that's enough for that. We're going to dive into your questions today. 800-525-7000 is the number to call; we would love to hear from you. Let's go to Texas. Joyce, how can I help you?

Joyce: Um, yes, hi. Um, I was calling because I wanted to find out if I should sell a second home. I have a retirement home that I'm not living at, but it's really smaller. I'm afraid of selling this home, the other home, because it's in a very popular area, and I'm not confident in the stock market and where to put the money after I sell so I won't lose it.

Rob West: Yes. So let me make sure I've got the situation here. The retirement home is the home that you're not currently living at, but you do plan to move there at some point, is that right?

Joyce: Correct. And um, yes, it's a down—a very much downsized home that I wanted to move to. So, yeah.

Rob West: Yes. Yeah, and when you sell the current home, if that's what you decide to do, is that the point—what's the triggering event that would cause you to move from where you're living now to the smaller retirement home? When is that going to happen?

Joyce: Um... Oh, my gosh. I guess the expense of it.

Rob West: Now tell me more about that. The expense of what?

Joyce: Of this—of the home I'm living in now.

Rob West: Okay, but in your current plans, when do you plan to relocate and make the retirement home your primary residence?

Joyce: Probably in another two to three years.

Rob West: Okay, yeah. And so if you were to sell the current home, why would you do that? Would you do that to accelerate that plan and move quicker than two to three years, or are you just looking to maximize the housing values? What is it that's driving this decision to sell the current home that's in the popular area?

Joyce: Um... Well, the upkeep. I'm just tired of taking care of it, actually. It's becoming problematic.

Rob West: Okay, yeah, yeah. And then if you were to sell it to get rid of that upkeep, and I understand that, would you just accelerate that plan and move to the retirement home sooner, or would you stay closer to where you're at now and rent something, or what would you do?

Joyce: I would accelerate it.

Rob West: Okay, yeah, yeah. Well, I think, you know, this is more of a lifestyle decision than it is a financial decision, because, you know, you certainly could sell the home now, and, you know, that would be—there'd be nothing wrong with that. And that would alleviate what your primary concern is, at least that I'm hearing, which is, you know, the upkeep on it. You're ready to have a smaller home and not as much of the carrying costs and the upkeep and so forth. And it sounds like the primary concern for you proceeding with that plan is, "What am I going to do with the money? I'm going to have a large what we call liquidity event, meaning that illiquid cash in the current home is now going to be liquid, and you're going to have to decide what to do with it."

Rob West: And I think that's a perfect opportunity, Joyce, for you to bring a Certified Kingdom Advisor into the equation that allows you to say, "Okay, I'm going to take this money, I'm going to meet with somebody that shares my values, that has a lot of experience, and that I develop a good rapport with, and we're going to develop a strategy around how that money is going to be invested. And it can be as conservative as you want it to be, such that now we move from, you know, more of a hands-on investment—you know, a piece of property that requires a lot of upkeep—to a more passive investment that doesn't require any upkeep, doesn't have any property taxes associated with it, can generate income through dividends and interest and things like that, does certainly have market risk, but has, you know, a greater potential for return as well."

Rob West: It sounds like that might, you know, be the sweet spot, so long as you're ready to go ahead and make that move to the smaller place, which, what I'm hearing is, you may appreciate the ability to be in a smaller, more manageable place sooner rather than later, because that's what's driving this decision. Now, I want to get your take on all of that and see if you have any other follow-up questions. I've got to hit a break, so Joyce, I'm going to ask you to stay right there, and we'll pick up the conversation on the other side. Dolores, coming your way as well. 800-525-7000.

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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today. Three lines open, the team ready for you. Any financial question: 800-525-7000, call right now. Before the break, we were talking to Joyce in Texas. She's got two properties: one she's living in and it's in a more popular area, a little larger, requires more upkeep than she'd like. She has a retirement home that's smaller, less upkeep. Her plan currently, or at least what she had been thinking, was that in two or three years she would move to that retirement property, but she's wondering, "Should I go ahead and do that now? I'm tired of the upkeep, that would kind of alleviate some of this burden, but what would I do with the money?" And so we were talking about, perhaps, this is an opportunity to accelerate this plan and find an advisor that could then manage that money on her behalf, grow it, still be fairly conservative if that's what she's looking for, but get her out from under just all the upkeep that comes with two properties, including this one property that's a little bit larger. But at the end of the day, this being more of a lifestyle decision than a financial decision. But Joyce, give me your thoughts on all that.

Joyce: Um... That would be a good... Well, the more I think about it, the more I want to sell the house, because it's... standard becoming burdensome, a little burdensome.

Rob West: Yeah, and that's what I'm hearing from you for sure. So I would concur.

Joyce: Yeah.

Rob West: Yeah, and so what is your biggest concern? If you—let's say you were to go ahead with that: we put it on the market, it sells quickly, you feel like you get a fair price for it, you're on your way to that next property. If you're in that situation, at that point, what is your primary concern that would be weighing on you at that point?

Joyce: Um... I'm still—I still work, and I'm still—I'm healthy, and I still like to work, and getting back and forth to my work, cuz it's like a little bit away. But... that would not be a problem. I guess I'm just... All the work involved with selling a house, actually!

Rob West: Yeah! Yeah!

Joyce: I think that's it.

Rob West: Yeah. Well, a couple of thoughts there. Number one is, you know, maybe you move to that other retirement house for 30 days and just do a dry run, and drive to work, and see what it's like, and look at the traffic patterns, and see if if you're, you know, if it's more taxing on you when you get home at night. And let's just, you know, before you make that big decision, just kind of see what your lifestyle would look like in that scenario and give it a shot. And and then re-evaluate. That would be one option. The second is get a a really competent realtor, a real estate professional—maybe somebody who goes to your church or somebody that could be referred to you—that could come alongside you and just start talking about what would it look like to stage the property and, you know, what does the process of selling look like? I mean, obviously, if you've been there a long time, you know, I know if your house is like mine, you've got closets that need attention and all kinds of things, and that can seem overwhelming. You know, you could hire a crew to come help you pack that up, maybe there's friends or family that could help. Maybe you do it over time, and you just say, "Listen, I'm not going to rush this. My goal is to sell it by the end of the year, and so I'm just going to, you know, start cleaning out one room at a time." I mean, you know, it's not an all or nothing. We can start making steps in this direction without adding a whole lot of burden or stress to your life. Does that make sense?

Joyce: That makes perfect sense.

Rob West: Yeah, good. Well, I I think you're on the right track. I hear you saying that it's going to, once you get through the sale—and you will, and again, you don't have to do it all at once—you're going to have a big load lifted off because now you're not going to have this property, you're going to have much less upkeep. But we need to make sure you're comfortable because I agree, I love the idea of you continuing to work. I mean, we were created to be workers before the fall of man! We're to be productive, and that keeps us healthy, and it keeps us, you know, in a mode where we can contribute to the flourishing of others, and, you know, that we weren't designed to sit on the front porch. And I'm not saying that's what your retirement plan is, but I'm just saying I like the idea that you're saying, "I like my work and I want to continue." That's great! We need to make sure that you moving to that other property is still pre- you know, conducive to your desire to continue to work as long as you're able. So maybe give that a test, maybe start making some steps toward the sale so you get a better understanding of what that would look like, and then start making measured progress in that direction. Joyce, Lord bless you. Appreciate your call today, and if I can help further along the way, please reach out, okay? God bless you. Let's go to Mississippi. Dolores, how can I help?

Dolores: Hey, good morning!

Rob West: Hi there.

Dolores: Can you hear me?

Rob West: Yes, ma'am.

Dolores: Oh, yeah, you do hear me. Oh, thanks for taking my call! I was listening to you yesterday morning, and I think I heard you talking about reverse mortgages? I think that's what I heard?

Rob West: Yes, ma'am. You sure did.

Dolores: Oh, yeah. Well, I was wondering if I qualified for a reverse mortgage—and I'm mortgage. I'm in... I got bad credit, and I need some money. And I was—and I'm buying a home. I don't have anything but my military income, you know, I'm 100% service-connected disabled veteran, Army veteran.

Rob West: Okay. Okay.

Dolores: And um, I have a little small piece of land. I don't have any 401(k)s or none of those things that everybody's talking about.

Rob West: Yes, ma'am.

Dolores: But I do have my home that I'm buying with a little bit of equity in it, and I was just wondering, how do I—does it does it look like I would ever qualify for some kind of way to get myself out of this debt I'm in?

Rob West: Yes. Well, first of all, thank you for your service to our nation. We're grateful. And um, you may qualify for a reverse mortgage, and it could be a really helpful tool in this season of life given what you're describing. Tell me about that home you're purchasing. How much are you buying it for, and uh, how much are you going to put—how much are you going to put down?

Dolores: Well, I've already done—done it all in 2020. In 2020, it was $249,000.

Rob West: Okay.

Dolores: And I moved from California to Mississippi. This is my very first home, and um, I'm loving it, actually. I've been using it to try to make some money. Every once in a while, I, because I'm on the lake, I rent out rooms, and people love to come there and... But it's just I got so tired of doing—I was doing Airbnb.

Rob West: Mm-hmm.

Dolores: And I got so worn out doing laundry all the time, changing beds, people were coming because I bought kayaks, and it was just too much! So I quit doing that. It was three years of that. Well, in the meantime, you know, with this being my first home, and me being homeless before I moved into this home, I needed everything! I I moved from out of my car into this house.

Rob West: Let me—let me interrupt you. Uh, this is all really helpful. Unfortunately, I'm up against a break, but I want to hear the rest of the story, and then I'll give you my thoughts, but I want to ask you to stay right there, and we'll pick it up on the other side. We'll be right back.

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Rob West: Thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. Coming up in the next segment, Walker Wildmon stops by. We'll get Walker's take on the work of AFA in the area of corporate engagement, making some incredible impact for biblical values in our country by engaging with the largest companies in the world. Walker will update us on that straight ahead.

Before the break, we were talking to Delores. She served our nation as an Armed Services person, and is now a disabled veteran as a result of her service. She does not have any savings. She did buy a home, and she did that about five years ago. And she's wondering if a reverse mortgage could be an option for her.

And Delores, did you say you bought that home for $249,000 in 2021? Was that right?

Delores: In 2020, it was $249,000. I think it's $222,000 now that I owe. Something like $220,000, something like that.

Rob West: Okay, yeah. So, it's probably worth—homes on average, and of course, it depends on the home and the location—but just roughly, over the last six years in this country, we've had about a 40% appreciation. So, that home may be worth $350,000 today.

The challenge is, in order to do a reverse mortgage, you're going to need, you know, 50% in equity. And that would mean, you know, that you'd need a balance on your mortgage of $175,000 or less. And at age 67, you know, that really is going to be the target.

So, I think you're probably in a situation where you couldn't quite qualify for a reverse mortgage. Now, one of the things you might be able to do is refinance the existing mortgage with a reverse mortgage, which would just simply—wouldn't give you any extra cash, but it would eliminate that mortgage payment. And obviously, that could be a game-changer for you if you no longer had to make that mortgage payment.

The only question is just whether you have enough equity to do that at 67. Certainly, as you age, and as that balance comes down, there will be a point at which you could refinance it with the reverse mortgage. That may or may not be true today, just given that your balance is up at $220,000. It's really going to come down to, you know, ultimately what that home is worth. Does that all make sense?

Delores: Um, yes, it does. Thank you.

Rob West: Yeah, you're welcome. If you want to learn more, you could go to faithfi.com/movement. If you're comfortable on the internet, faithfi.com/movement, or you could call 580-REVERSE, and talk to the team at Movement Mortgage, and they could evaluate it a little more closely.

Again, thank you for your service in the Army, Delores, we're grateful, and call anytime. Let's go to Daryl in Texas. Daryl, go ahead.

Daryl: Hello. Yeah, I'm about to turn 74, and I have had a traditional IRA in a brokerage, and in December of 2025, I opened up a Roth at Advice AI so I could get a year's counting toward it. And I'm trying to—I was thinking I need to deplete the traditional IRA into the Roth as much as I can as far as contributions. I have one for me and my wife, we both have separate accounts and all this, but we have the brokerage joint.

But what I'm thinking is I'll take all of our monthly income out of the traditional and put all the contributions out of the traditional IRA and have my qualified charitable donations come out of the IRA—try to drain it, in other words, into the Roth and the brokerage. And what I was wondering also is, should I maximize the growth in the brokerage and the Roth? And I was even thinking about turning all of those profitable stocks in the IRA, transfer them over to the Roth. But the problem is it increases your income, you know, and then it threatens your tax bracket. It gets a little complicated, you know what I mean? It gets really complicated.

Rob West: It does. And I generally like the direction your head is at where you're going to spend down the IRA. I mean, is the goal ultimately to leave tax-free money to your heirs? Is that what you're trying to solve for, or something else?

Daryl: Yeah, that's a big—I don't want them to have to deal with the 10-year constant addition to their tax burden with the income, and, you know, because they only have 10 years to get rid of it.

Rob West: Sure. Yeah. And then, do you have earned income? Are you working?

Daryl: Well, I have been working, which has been—actually, I've been wasting my time because I'm having to pay it in taxes, as it turns out. So, I'm quitting, next week is my last, as a matter of fact.

Rob West: Okay. All right. The only reason I ask is the only way that you're going to be able to make new contributions to that Roth is if you have enough earned income to do so. Otherwise, the only way to get the money in there is the conversion, which is going to be then added, of course, to your taxable income for the year. And to your point, you've got to be careful on that. You can't just, you know, transfer it. It's got to be through a conversion process, and you've got to be careful with the IRMAA on your Medicare, because two years after you have a spike in income, you could have hundreds of additional dollars a month in Medicare premiums.

Daryl: Yeah, I'm worried about that.

Rob West: But—

Daryl: Well, we own a real estate company, so we occasionally have some sales with friends and family. We don't make it active, you know, because we just don't want that burden, but we do sell for friends and family, and our own even, but—

Anyway, yeah, I think we might keep enough income to justify making contributions, though.

Rob West: Okay, so that would allow you to do, at least for this year—and it'll probably increase next year—between the two, $17,200, because you could do $8,600 apiece. So, you could do that as new contributions, and then you could work with your CPA, or if you do it yourself, you could look at the, you know, kind of "filling up the bucket" strategy, where you say, "Okay, what tax bracket am I in, and how much can I convert without tipping over into the next bracket?"

But then also, make sure you're mindful of that IRMAA, which, you know, is going to hit you two years later, and you just don't want to get caught by surprise on that. But this idea that you would spend down the IRA, do your giving out of your traditional IRA, make new contributions to the Roth, and then convert certain portions each year on a judicious basis, you know, just evaluating the tax impact, I think overall, I'm on board with that strategy.

Daryl: Good idea. So, should I move what I'm retaining in the traditional IRA, should I put it in like the Schwab Money Market Investor or something that doesn't really grow much to keep—because it's going to be like a snowball, I've got to keep trying to smush it down.

Rob West: Yeah, no, that seems counterproductive to me, because, you know, even if you convert it and pay the tax on it, there's not a 100% tax. You know, you're probably paying 22%. So, you know, I wouldn't intentionally try to, you know, squash your potential for gains inside that IRA just because you're trying to drain that account.

I mean, worst case, you have a wild, you know, wildly successful return, and then you convert it to Roth and pay the tax on it, and you're still in the money at that point, because, you know, you're only paying tax at whatever marginal tax rate you're at. Does that make sense?

Daryl: Yes, sir. Yes, sir, very much so.

Rob West: So, I would try to make as much as you can, and then let's deal with the strategy, you know, to drain that account over time separate from that. I wouldn't intentionally try to limit your upside potential.

Daryl: Okay, don't choke it down just for the sake of trying to get rid of it, right?

Rob West: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Because we can always convert it. We'll have to pay a little tax, but you're never going to pay more than probably 30% in tax, and it's probably going to be less than that. So, you'd still come out ahead to do really well in the IRA, even if you have to pay the tax as you try to move it over to the Roth. And don't forget the giving opportunity there as well—you've got even more money now to give away when you have great returns.

Thanks for your call, Daryl. We'll be right back. Stay with us.

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Rob West: Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. We may have time for one or two more questions before we round out the broadcast today. Call right now, 800-525-7000.

Each Friday in this segment, we're joined by Walker Wildmon. Walker is, of course, with the American Family Association and leads the team at AFA Action. And one of their most successful strategies as of late has been corporate engagement—really advocating on behalf of religious freedom and biblical values in this nation as they engage with the largest companies in the world through the corporate engagement work of American Family Association. Walker, we're getting ready for another season here of engagement. I know you and the team have been strategizing and thinking about where we go next. Give us an update on what you're working on.

Walker Wildmon: Yeah, you know, one thing that we've focused on with some of these companies is their employee resource groups. So, anybody who's been in corporate America knows that these major corporations have employee resource groups that are set up by the employees. And for example, you can have a Christian employee resource group, you can have basically all kinds of employee resource groups based on interest and hobbies and what what what think people like to do. But what we've noticed over the years is that some of these companies are telling Christians that they can't have an employee resource group. So, you can have a ERG, an employee resource group, for LGBTQ stuff, where they meet once a month and talk about, you know, activism in the corporate world when it comes to the transgender and homosexual agenda. But then you have Christians wanting to get together during their lunch break and read the Bible, and the company is saying, "No, we can't do that. We don't do religion here." So, that's one thing we're going to focus on. There's a few companies—Charles Schwab is one of them. There's a few others as well that we're going to focus on that have had issues in this arena. So, our position is that if you're going to have employee resource groups, then Christians ought to be able to have their employee resource group as well. Otherwise, if you're just not going to—if you're going to pick and choose who can have a group, then let's just not do groups at all. Let's focus on our core, our core business functions. So, that's our position.

Rob West: Yeah, that's fabulous. And Walker, the good news is, some of these companies have been responding, isn't that right?

Walker Wildmon: Yeah, they have, they have. And the public sentiment is very much on our side because the public in general—and this is even polls well amongst Democrats—they're tired of companies meddling around in social issues and things that are really outside of their of their purview as a business and as a company. And now, at AFA or, you know, at the Republican National Party or the Democrat Party, you know, they exist to weigh in on these social issues and these policy battles, and that's completely fine. We don't think people need to, you know, ignore what's going on civically and otherwise. But when you're a company, for example, Home Depot, you just have no business or expertise weighing in on, you know, transgender treatments for minors. That's—that's just not something that they're good at, known for, or that their their shareholders care about them weighing in on. So, we want businesses to focus on focus on business, and whatever their core goods and services are, that's what they need to be the best at. You know, Chick-fil-A, even though they're still privately held, they they have mastered the chicken sandwich, they have mastered the efficient drive-thru. So, they're focused on doing the best that they can with their business. And that's the kind of mentality that we want corporate America to embrace.

Rob West: Yeah, that's exactly right. You brought up Chick-fil-A. I was just with one of their former executives the other day. He was telling me that, you know, they have 14% less service hours because they're closed on Sunday, and Sunday in the fast-food business is often the best day of the week, and yet they're the highest-grossing per store fast-food, quick-service company in the world. And so, when you do things with excellence, and you focus on your core business, and you operate out of biblical values, it's actually good for business, isn't it?

Walker Wildmon: Yeah, it is, and it's less distracting. I mean, when you count in the hours and the money that some of these these woke companies put into diversity classes and DEI training and sponsoring these LGBTQ events and, you know, fundraising or funding some of these Democrat Super PACs and stuff through their through their management. And then now we've got, you know, some indication of some companies that have given money to the SPLC through their corporate charitable giving programs. So, it's just a complete distraction. And so, my the position of my grandfather back in the '80s and '90s with these companies that he was meeting with on these very same topics and and with with Hollywood is that is that you guys need to to remain neutral. And and whatever your whatever your core business is, you know, whatever your core area is that you're known for, you just need to focus on that. And when you do that, consumers are happy, and they'll spend money at your stores.

Rob West: Yeah, that's exactly right. And then the other side of this, you know, beyond what you all are doing through the engagement and actually having the conversations and writing the shareholder proposals, is that Christians haven't understood that they've been delegating their proxy votes to the BlackRocks of the world. And I can guarantee you the way they're voting on their behalf is not in line with their values, isn't that right?

Walker Wildmon: No, it's not. The the cultural left in in the country has dominated the the proxy voting arena for a very long time. And so, conservatives and those who are Christian are beginning to really wake up to this reality. And and Jerry Bowyer and others have been absolutely leading the charge on this. So, we're moving this in the right direction. We're we're beginning to to catch up, if you will, with the left on this. But what makes us—what makes what we're doing and what Jerry's doing different than the left is we're not we're not petitioning companies to be, you know, political hacks or to be, you know, in the back pocket of the Republican Party. That's not what we're pushing for. We're just pushing for them to make good business decisions that that serve their shareholders and the public well. And so, we're not going in demanding, you know, "You need to donate to AFA," or "You need to, you know, become, you know, part of the MAGA movement as a company," which is what the left has been doing for the Democrats and the Marxists. We're just saying, "Hey, you guys need to stay neutral and focus on your core business functions." And that's a very appealing message for corporate America, because they're honestly tired of having to kowtow to whatever the vibe is of the day.

Rob West: Yeah, it's refreshing, Walker, and I'm sure it is for these boards of directors as well that you're engaging with. Well done, sir. We appreciate the update, and we'll look forward to talking to you next week.

Walker Wildmon: All right. Thanks, Rob. God bless.

Rob West: You too. That's Walker Wildmon from the American Family Association. By the way, folks, when you make a gift of stock to the AFA Foundation, they can evaluate that company and see, before they sell it to use it for the culture-transforming work of the AFA, they can say, "Is this a company we want to engage with? Is there something that we need to to bring before the company leadership?" That gift of stock gives them the ability to do that. So, think about that—rather than donating cash to AFA, think about donating appreciated stock, and there could be kind of a double win that comes out of that. If you want to learn more about that, just go to afafoundation.net.

Rob West: All right, let's round out the broadcast today. We'll finish with Mary's call from Tennessee. Mary, how can I help you?

Mary: Okay. I am I'm 90 years old. I'm in good good health, but I have a big home that I'm thinking about selling. I'm concerned about the capital gains tax, the Medicare premiums going up. I have a will. The only thing on my will would be the that would have to go through probate would be my house, because I have all my CDs beneficiaries, you know, all that's taken care of. So, the only thing that would go through probate would be my house. I want to know which is the better to do, to sell it—I'm tired of the upkeep, but and I was going to move in with my son, I will not be buying another house. And I was wondering also someone told me that you had a one-time thing in your life that you didn't have to pay taxes on a home that was sold. Is that true?

Rob West: No, not quite, but there is an exclusion that's available. When you file your taxes, do you file as a single person or married filing jointly?

Mary: No, I am a widow, and I file single.

Rob West: You're a widow. Okay, yes, ma'am. And what is the value of the home?

Mary: It's about $400,000 plus.

Rob West: $400,000?

Mary: Yes, $400,000 plus.

Rob West: And do you remember what you paid for it roughly when you bought it?

Mary: Well, we built the house and 30 years ago, and my husband was a subcontractor and everything, he did it he subbed it all out. We built it probably for $150,000 back then.

Rob West: Okay. Yeah, and you and you think it's worth about $400,000 today. So, the good news is that you get—and not one time, you can use this every two years—as long as you've lived in a home for two out of the last five years as your primary residence, which clearly you have a lot more than that, you get a a $250,000 capital gains exclusion, okay, as a single filer. And so, if you sell it for $400,000 and we subtract the roughly $150,000 that it cost you to build it—not to mention all the improvements you made along the way, not maintenance, but improvements—that puts you right at $250,000, which means you'll basically have no capital gain. Because the gain, the difference between what you built it for and what you sell it for, you only pay capital gains tax for anything beyond $250,000 of gain, as long as you've lived there two out of the last five years. So, you should be in great shape, and, you know, that will not affect you whatsoever in terms of your capital gains taxes. Does that make sense?

Mary: Okay. What about my income tax for the year and the premium on my Medicare?

Rob West: Yeah, so in terms of the the IRMAA, is that what you're talking about on the medical Medicare premiums?

Mary: Yes, whatever I—

Rob West: Yeah, so capital gains does affect IRMAA. So, realized long-term capital gains are included in your modified adjusted gross income, and so that means two years after, you are going to have an increase, and it could be, you know, a couple hundred dollars a month. So, I would recommend you get with a certified public accountant to work through the exact impact on your IRMAA so that you know what is coming, and maybe you just plan to pull some of the proceeds of the home out and set that aside for that one year, which is all it would be, of increased premiums. But I wouldn't let that drive the decision, but I would get some tax counsel so that you don't get hit by surprise with that. God bless you, Mary. Thanks for calling.

Big thanks to my team today: Taylor, Devin, Patty, everybody here at FaithFi. We'll see you next time.

Female Announcer: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.

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