The paychecks have stopped. The decisions have not.
Retirement income is a sequence of choices made every year: what to draw, what to convert, when to claim, how much to give. We help families typically bringing $2 million or more in investable assets make them in order.
- How do we turn what we saved into a paycheck without overthinking it every month?
- When do required distributions start, and how large will they be?
- Why did our Medicare premium go up, and can we avoid it next year?
- Is giving from the IRA better than writing a check?
When do required minimum distributions start, and how much are they?
The first one lands at 73, or 75 for people born in 1960 or later, and the amount is last year's balance divided by a life-expectancy factor. It grows every year, which is why the years before it are used for Roth conversions.
What raised the Medicare premium?
Medicare premiums are set by the income reported two years earlier, in tiers with hard edges. One dollar over a line costs the whole tier. Roth conversions, a home sale, and large capital gains all count.
Is giving from an IRA better than writing a check?
After 70½, a gift straight from an IRA to a public charity is excluded from income entirely, which lowers the number that sets Medicare premiums and the taxation of Social Security. For most people who give and take the standard deduction, it beats the check.
How much of Social Security is taxable?
Up to 85 percent, depending on a formula whose thresholds have not moved since the 1990s. The answer changes with every other dollar of income, which makes the withdrawal order a Social Security question too.
Start with a conversation.
Forty-five minutes, by video, phone, or in Northbrook. Nothing to prepare, and no charge.