Report: What Donald Trump Will Mean For America's Personal Finances

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Personal Capital, the leading online financial advisory firm, today released its 2016 election report, a guide that investors can use to evaluate the short-term and long-term market and personal finance implications of a Trump presidency.

"Our advice to the 1.2 million Americans who use our free tools to manage over $270 billion in assets, and our advice to any investor is to avoid letting short-term political gyrations affect long-term investment strategies," said Bill Harris, CEO of Personal Capital. "The next president doesn't have a true impact on market performance long-term. There are strategies that anyone can use to optimize their financial plans around the President-elect's new policies on taxes, social security, education or health care."

In order to determine how each of Trump's new policies affects investors, Personal Capital examined Trump's current proposals to help Americans create financial action plans and make informed investing decisions.

A Brief Look: Trump's Plans for Your Money

• Taxes: Trump plans to revise both the individual and corporate tax codes and has proposed collapsing the seven tax brackets into three. Married-joint filers with an income of $75,000 or less will fall into the 12 percent bracket; those earning more than $75,000 but less than $225,000 will fall into the 25 percent bracket; and those earning more than $225,000 will fall into the 33 percent bracket. For an optimal tax strategy, regardless of income, Personal Capital recommends that investors utilize tax-loss harvesting, tax allocation and tax efficient securities.
• Social Security: Trump plans not to touch social security and wants to maintain current Medicare programs once he is sworn into office. With a currently underfunded Social Security system, Personal Capital recommends that investors take a conservative approach and plan for a reduction in Social Security benefits or an increase in the Social Security tax rate while working. 
• Cost of Education: Trump wants to add an additional investment of $20 billion from federal dollars toward education. With the likely difficulty of funding such a program, Personal Capital recommends families nevertheless plan ahead and budget $25,000-$40,000 per year for education.
• Cost of Healthcare: Trump plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with Health Savings Accounts. Personal Capital recommends investors optimize their financial plans to anticipate approximately $250,000 in medical expenses during retirement.

"During many critical points in the election -- from Bernie Sanders losing the primaries to the days following the presidential debates and conventions -- we saw correlated spikes in log-in rates, showing our users' heightened concerns about their portfolios. Americans are conscious of how the newly elected president will impact their day-to-day finances, but during times of uncertainty it is more important than ever to build and stick to a long-term financial plan," said Craig Birk, CFP and EVP of Portfolio Management at Personal Capital.  

For a deeper look into how Donald Trump's policies on taxes, social security, education and health care may affect America's personal finances, view the report here: https://www.personalcapital.com/assets/email/Election_2016_Trump.pdf

About Personal Capital

Personal Capital is the smart way to track and manage your financial life. Personal Capital combines award-winning online financial tools that provide unprecedented transparency into your finances with personal attention from licensed financial advisors. The result is a complete transformation in the way you understand, manage and grow your net worth.

Contact: Marianne Ahlmann | Personal Capital | [email protected]

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SOURCE Personal Capital

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