[groanup]

Wouldn't that be a lot of retired people? Looks like your plan would hit them pretty hard.

Actually, for most of them it would be a tremendous boon. They wouldn't be taxed when they HAVE to withdraw their qualified money at age 70 1/2. As it is now the HAVE to take their money out so Uncle Sam can get his. Nice, huh?

[Your Nightmare]

Actually, for most of them it would be a tremendous boon. They wouldn't be taxed when they HAVE to withdraw their qualified money at age 70 1/2. As it is now the HAVE to take their money out so Uncle Sam can get his. Nice, huh?

Most retired people have a much lower effective tax rate than younger people. In 2002, the total effective tax rate (minus excise) for elderly childless couples was 7.6%. The average income tax rate was 2.7%. Most of the distributional analysis of a NRST has shown that it shifts the overall tax burden from the young to the old.

The FairTax would not be a boon to retired people. One of the groups that would fight it the hardest would be the AARP.

[Myrddin]

They wouldn't be taxed when they HAVE to withdraw their qualified money at age 70 1/2. As it is now the HAVE to take their money out so Uncle Sam can get his. Nice, huh?

Think about what happens in 2016 as the baby boomers hit age 70. Consider the effect on the stock market of 75 million people removing $3,000 per month from the stock market as required by ERISA. Crash time.