Planning scenarios
What the work actually looks like
Three situations that come up often in retirement, and the questions planning would work through in each. These are illustrations written for this website, not client stories.
Retirement timing
Retiring before Social Security starts
A couple stops working in their early sixties and plans to delay Social Security to increase the eventual benefit. Between now and then, all of their income has to come from savings.
Those gap years are often the lowest-income years of an entire retirement, which is exactly what makes them the most flexible from a tax point of view.
Questions this raises
- Which accounts should the income come from during the gap years?
- Do those low-income years make Roth conversions worth considering, and at what size?
- How would converting now affect required minimum distributions later?
- What does recognizing extra income this year do to Medicare premiums two years from now?
- If markets fall early in the gap, which assets would be drawn on instead?
Estate and beneficiaries
An adult child inherits a retirement account
A parent dies leaving a traditional retirement account to an adult child. The account passes by beneficiary designation, not by the will, and what the will says about it does not govern.
For many non-spouse beneficiaries the account now has to be emptied within ten years, and every dollar withdrawn is taxable income to the person who inherits it.
Questions this raises
- Who is actually named on each account today, and is that still what is intended?
- Does the beneficiary designation agree with the estate documents?
- Over which years should an inherited account be drawn down, given the heir’s own income?
- Would leaving different accounts to different heirs produce a fairer after-tax result?
- Are powers of attorney and healthcare directives in place, which matter long before any inheritance?
Second opinion
Bringing a plan that already exists
A retiree has investments managed elsewhere and a plan they have never quite had explained to them. They’re not unhappy, but they can’t say why they own what they own, or what it all costs.
A review of this kind frequently confirms that the investments are sound. Where it finds something, it’s usually in the areas nobody was assigned: withdrawal order, beneficiary forms, coverage that was bought for a situation that has since changed.
Questions this raises
- What is the total cost of the current arrangement, including fund expenses as well as advisory fees?
- How much risk is actually in the portfolio, and does it match what is needed?
- Is there a written plan for which accounts are drawn on, and in what order?
- Do the beneficiary designations still reflect the family as it is today?
- Is existing insurance still serving the purpose it was bought for?
Next step
Your situation is the one that matters
The first conversation is free, and there’s no obligation.
These scenarios are illustrations written for this website. They do not describe any actual client, engagement, or result, and no outcome is implied or guaranteed. Every situation is different and would be worked through on its own facts.