Assuming the fit hits the shan and things get real ugly in the US, what happens with all the electronically managed money. Like say I make a break for Canada and get there. Can I still access my funds? Can the government freeze everyone’s assets to prevent those who make it out from getting at their money?
I have retirement stuff in vanguard and fidelity mostly. I would assume they are international companies, and thus might not have to abide by a US freeze order. But then again, it might be in their interest to keep the money frozen so they technically still have it.
And what are other people doing to be prepared for the possibility that things get civil war like in the US. Are their places you can put your money that are safe from US hands? And what are the tax implementations of moving money to them?
Edit: I realize from the comments that it might look like this is my reaction to the falling market. It isn’t about that. I don’t react to market conditions in general… This is more about my family being in the administrations top 5 groups they hate. And if we feel the need to flee, is there anything I can do to ensure access to some money while having a minimal impact on my financials if it never comes to that.
This is 100% fear based and not at all what you should do in an emergency situation.
First of all, why would you want to pull money out of your investments at all right now? Now is probably the worst time to pull out any money. Let it ride, this will pass eventually. If you touch investments at all right now you’re just going to lose money. Remember that losses are only actualized once you sell.
Second, yes you can move your funds, but there are tax implications for it. However, as other commenters said, the US is the world currency. Way more is screwed if the US was frozen. The looneys and tooneys up in the great white north would not be worth anything either.
Stop reading the news, just turn off the TV, and try to relax a bit. Yes, the market is unstable, it may even go down, but the best thing for you to do in those downturns is to just let your money sit. Make sure you have a good savings buffer somewhere if you need it at some point, but you don’t need to start buying gold or anything. We’re definitely not heading towards a civil war, jesus. Us Americans are much too lazy for that.
Assets can fall further. Much further. Telling people to “hold on” is only correct if this is the bottom, which is basically impossible to accurately predict. Being able to do so would make you incredibly wealthy.
If it’s not the bottom, selling and holding cash and buying in when the market is lower is a better play. Basically, it’s better to lock in 10% losses and buy back in at the 30% loss point then to take the 30% losses.
Actually I was thinking about this unrelated to the current market drop. It is fear based, but not based on the dropping market. Moving money now would certainly be terrible. I am thinking farther foreward and just wanting to know my options.
While my family aren’t immigrants, we are not far below them on the list of targets for this administration. So the time may come when the gov goes after us and we feel we need to flee before the gov targets us specifically. I just don’t know if there is anything I can do to ensure I will have access to money if we feel we need to flee.
In the case of investments it would be more like a transfer, then a pull out in my head. Maybe there are institutions I could move some of my investments to that would be out of reach of the US gov for example. I do have an after tax brokerage account for example. Not a ton in it, but unlike retirement money, it is probably free to move without penalty.
In that case, you have options (but your post really does not convey that).
Personally, I’d be hesitant to moving any retirement account. Touching that at all has massive tax implications, but you could casually ask them how disbursements work if you move out of country, I’m sure there is a policy for that.
As for individual accounts, you can set up an account in another country. (I believe Canada has an account expressly for this). However as I said, tax implications. I believe up to 10k is fine, you just have to say you have an account on your taxes. Over 10k you have to report the amount on the taxes, I believe it has to do with FINRA regulations. I wouldn’t put all of my money into an overseas account unless I was moving out, that just opens you up for audits. Personally, I’d think in your case it’s safe to have a safety net overseas, but I’d be hesitant to start moving everything until you’re ready to move.
Thanks. And yeah, I have edited my post to clarify. I generally pay very little attention to the day to day market conditions. So I just failed to take into account how many people are panicking because of the recent drop. I’ve been thinking about this for a couple weeks.
I will have to look up that 10k thing. That sounds like a smart idea with very little downside.