Retirement on the Horizon

Every pre-tax IRA and 401(k) has a silent partner: the IRS, and its share grows every time your account does. This week, Retirement on the Horizon calls it the tax tumor and shows why cutting it out with a Roth conversion costs you potentially nothing, because that tax was never yours to begin with. Then a case study: a hypothetical couple with $1.1 million in IRAs pays about $2.1 million in lifetime taxes staying pre-tax and about only $318,000 converting, and ends up with potentially $2.87 million more in lifetime wealth.

This summer's Social Security and Medicare trustees report sounds the alarm on two trust funds, then calls Medicare Parts B and D “adequately financed into the indefinite future.” This week Retirement on the Horizon explains why that fund can never run out: its funding is reset every year, and the bill lands on retirees as rising premiums and IRMAA surcharges taken straight out of Social Security checks. Then a walk through one couple's case where Roth conversions cut lifetime taxes from about $5.1 million to $894,000.

The United States crossed $40 trillion in debt on August 19th — climbing about five and a half million dollars a minute. This week Retirement on the Horizon skips the outrage and talks about what it means for money you spent decades saving, and how a side-by-side look at both paths lets the math, not opinions, decide.

A deep dive on conversions and the Widow’s Penalty. This week Retirement on the Horizon uses the Tax Scorecard to show the other side of the pre-tax equation: one couple’s total retirement taxes and surcharges came to about $2.6 million through age 95, even after every deduction.

You spent forty years moving the ball downfield. None of it scores. The red zone — roughly five years either side of your retirement date — is where the plan actually gets decided, and the rules change once you're inside the twenty yard line.

This week we run the real numbers showing the difference a true “retirement red zone” strategy can make vs simply doing the same plays that got you into the red zone. Then we get into the research on predictable income — including why it shows up in bloodwork, stress level, and longer longevity, not just balance sheets — and close with the best description of lifetime income ever written, by a novelist, in 1811.

One dollar. That's all it can take to cross a line that costs a retired couple over $2,000 a year in Medicare surcharges — for the rest of retirement. That's a 200%+ tax bracket on that single dollar. It's not a typo, and it's not rare. This week: the tax torpedo, the IRMAA cliff, and the shadow tax you never saw coming.

While paying voluntary tax is likely an insulting thought, so many retirees are setup to do exactly that. The US Treasury has a big heart and will accept voluntary taxes from retirees--but we think you shouldn't pay them. This week, we aim to inform you on how to start paying way less in taxes in retirement on your accounts and keep more of what's yours. 

What makes a portfolio able to endure tough times, provide reliable income despite economic woes, and keep the IRS at bay? When things are great in the economy, we can become complacent and ignore area of concern that get revealed when its too late to do something about them--especially without great cost. Today, we discuss theprinciples of portfolio resiliency. 

Almost all retirement goals combine to one common end: peace and confidence in retirement. What retirement strategies tend to support that aim, and which--unknowingly--tend to diminish the likelihood of its achievement? Today, we how to bring your retirement assets and strategies into alignment with your goals. 

Protecting the luster of the golden years can be more challenging than most realize. The path is fraught with pitfalls and false allures, but knowing where they are gives you a distinct advantage in overcoming them. Today we cover 9 myths that can turn your retirement blue--and what to do about them.