Math Act and Automatic IRA Act: EDU #2551
The Retirement and IRA Show
Jim Saulnier, CFP® & Chris Stein, CFP®
4.3 • 729 Ratings
🗓️ 17 December 2025
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Chris’s Summary
Jim and I are joined by Jake Turner as we cover the Math Act and a set of shorter EDU topics Jim has been collecting. We start with an SSA-44 update, including listener and client feedback on submitting the IRMAA redetermination form online through an SSA.gov account. Jake explains how IRS “math error” notices work today, why they’re often vague, and what the new law requires for clearer explanations and response deadlines. Jim then walks through the Automatic IRA Act’s proposals, including an annuity-style “protected lifetime income solution” requirement over certain balances, and we close with a quick way to sanity-check MYGA rates using AnnuityRateWatch’s yield curve.
Jim’s “Pithy” Summary
Chris and I are joined by Jake Turner as we bounce from Social Security admin housekeeping to Washington trying, yet again, to make the IRS act like it’s talking to actual humans—starting with the Math Act. If you’ve ever opened one of those IRS letters that basically says “you owe us money” without showing you how they got there, you already know why this matters. Jake lays out what those notices are really doing behind the scenes, why clients forward them to preparers in a panic, and what the new requirements are supposed to force the IRS to include so you can actually understand what they’re alleging and what happens if you don’t respond.
Then we pivot into the Automatic IRA Act, and I’ll be honest: I’m less interested in the political theater than I am in what it signals. There’s the small-business auto-enrollment concept—opt-out, no match requirement, and all that—and then there’s the part that made me laugh out loud when I saw who was cheering it on. Once you cross a certain 401(k) balance, the proposal would require employers to offer a “protected lifetime income solution,” which is just a polite way of saying “annuities are trying to get a bigger seat at the 401(k) table.” That opens up all the practical questions: what counts, who defines it, and how this intersects with the slow drift of defined contribution plans trying to behave a little more like pensions.
The post Math Act and Automatic IRA Act: EDU #2551 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The retirement and IRA show represents the words and views of the show hosts exclusively and should not be construed as investment legal or tax advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. All economic and performance information is historical in nature and is not indicative of any future results. Any indices mentioned on the show are unmanaged and cannot be invested indirectly. Diversification and asset allocation strategies do not assure profit or protect against loss. |
| 0:23.8 | Never make any investment or financial decisions based on information offered on this show |
| 0:26.9 | without first consulting your financial legal or tax advisor. |
| 0:29.7 | Financial planning services offered through Jim Solnior and Associates LLC, a registered investment advisor. |
| 0:47.1 | This is the retirement and IRA show coming to you from beautiful Northern Colorado. |
| 0:52.1 | Join us as certified financial planner Jim Sondier, as well as Colorado State University Finance Instructor and Certified Financial |
| 0:55.1 | Planner Chris Stein teach you about IRAs, borrow-en-case, annuities, Social Security, |
| 1:01.1 | pension plans, and estate planning in a fun and enjoyable show. |
| 1:05.3 | Whether you are listening live in Colorado or streaming from their website or iTunes podcast, |
| 1:10.7 | Jim and Chris want you to know that |
| 1:12.3 | they're available to help you plan for your retirement. Just visit their website at JimHelps.com. |
| 1:18.4 | That's Jim H-E-L-P-S dot com and click the Meet the Team button on the homepage. Now here's Jim |
| 1:25.6 | and Chris with today's show. |
| 1:34.9 | Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Retirement and IRA show, EDU edition. |
| 1:39.4 | The second to the last EDU show of 2025. |
| 1:50.6 | Next week, we have a special guest on the show that's going to talk to us about cash balance plans, sometimes called cash balance pension plans. |
| 1:53.2 | It should be an interesting show. |
| 2:01.6 | They're a unique retirement plan, employer-sponsored retirement plan that works really well for certain individuals, particularly self-employed, high wage earning individuals. So if you fall into that category, |
| 2:08.3 | you'll probably want to take a listen if possible. And then that'll wrap it for EDU shows for |
| 2:14.9 | 2025 because that will air on Christmas Eve, actually, is when that |
| 2:19.8 | will release. |
| 2:23.2 | And then actually, no, won't there be, there'll be one more EDU show that airs than New |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jim Saulnier, CFP® & Chris Stein, CFP®, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jim Saulnier, CFP® & Chris Stein, CFP® and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.