Could Your 401(k) Be Setting You Up for a Massive Tax Bill at Retirement? A CFP® Explains.

She landed at JFK from Lithuania with $100 in her pocket and couldn't understand "window 30" — because she'd learned British English, not American. She didn't know what a checking account was. Had never seen a credit card. What Asta Sanders built from that starting point will change how you think about your own financial future.In This Episode:How Asta went from selling Kirby vacuums to becoming a CFP®, Enrolled Agent & Certified Private Wealth AdvisorThe moment she looked her bank manager in the eye during the 2008 crisis and asked: "If that was your mother, would you sell her that annuity?"Why taxes and investments must be planned together — and what it costs you when they aren'tCase Study 1: How a retiree was saved from paying ordinary income tax on $1M of company stockCase Study 2: How a $300,000 tax bill became $104,000 through year-end planningThe difference between a fee-only fiduciary and a commission-based brokerWhat multi-generational wealth planning actually looks like in practiceEpisode SummaryAsta Sanders didn't grow up knowing the language of American finance — literally or figuratively. In Lithuania, there were no checking accounts, no credit cards, no allowances. If you wanted money as a child, you picked berries and sold them at the market. That entrepreneurial spirit carried her through a career that began selling Kirby vacuums door to door (where she first heard the name Warren Buffett), through Merrill Lynch, through a regional bank during the 2008 financial crisis, and finally into the fee-only fiduciary world she now calls home.The 2008 moment is worth pausing on. Her manager pressured her to sell high-commission annuities regardless of client suitability. She looked at him and asked: "If that was your mother sitting in front of me, would you want me to sell her that annuity?" He didn't answer. She had hers.Today Asta holds three designations — CFP®, Enrolled Agent, and Certified Private Wealth Advisor (taught by Yale School of Management, requiring five years of high-net-worth experience to even qualify). That combination lets her do what most advisors can't: plan taxes and investments together before December 31st, not after April 15th. The results speak for themselves. One Occidental Petroleum retiree was about to roll $1M in company stock into an IRA and trigger ordinary income tax on the entire gain. Asta used a Net Unrealized Appreciation strategy instead — taxing only the $150K basis, preserving the growth at capital gains rates, and ensuring his children inherit the remainder at zero tax cost. In another case, a high-earning W2 client went from owing $300,000 to $104,000. The $196,000 difference? Year-end planning that most CPAs never do.About Asta SandersAsta Sanders, CFP®, EA, CPWA, is the founder of Empowered Retirement. A Lithuanian immigrant who built her expertise from the ground up, she specializes in tax-integrated financial planning, multi-generational wealth, and retirement planning for women. She still answers her own phone.Connect with Asta SandersWebsite: empoweredretirement.comPhone: 973-709-2244ResourcesWeCanDoItWomen.com/group — join the communityOne ask: If this episode opened your eyes to something your own advisor may be missing, share it with a woman who needs to hear it — and leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. It takes 60 seconds and helps more women find this show.