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Withdrawal sequencing
Taxable, then deferred, then Roth is a starting point, not an answer. Blending across account types often controls the bracket better than draining one at a time.
For Kansas City families approaching or already in retirement
Retirement Income Planning
Turning three decades of saving into income that has to last the rest of your life. Sequencing, Social Security timing, and Roth conversions are usually decided separately. They shouldn't be.
Request a retirement income reviewWhat retirement income planning covers
Which accounts fund this year's spending, when to claim Social Security, whether to convert to Roth, and how taxable income is managed across a thirty-year retirement. The accumulation question is how much to save. The income question is harder, because these decisions move each other.
Where the planning actually sits
The window before required distributions. Taxable income is at its lowest and most controllable in these years. Once required distributions begin, most of that flexibility is gone.
The survivor scenario. Plans get modeled on a couple filing jointly for thirty years. That is not how most of them end, and running the survivor case often changes the answer.
Six areas we work through
Solved together, not one at a time. Change the claiming age and the conversion window changes with it.
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Social Security timing
Claiming early is a permanent reduction; delaying past Full Retirement Age earns credits to 70. The higher earner's decision also sets what the survivor keeps.
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Roth conversions
Converting in low-income years can cut lifetime tax and shrink future required distributions. Sizing has to respect bracket edges, Medicare thresholds, and the survivor's single brackets. Conversions generally cannot be undone.
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RMDs and bracket management
Once required distributions begin, much of your taxable income is no longer discretionary, and it grows with the account. The preceding years are where the planning happens.
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Health care and Medicare
Retiring before 65 means covering the gap, where cost often depends on reported income. After 65, Part B and Part D premiums are income-related on a two-year lookback.
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Portfolio structure
A portfolio being drawn from behaves differently than one being funded. Structuring near-term withdrawals reduces the pressure to sell into a decline. It does not remove market risk.
How we approach income planning
Retirement is a thirty-year sequence of decisions, not a date on which a plan is handed over.
What we focus on
- Multi-year tax projections, not a single-year snapshot
- Claiming, conversion, and withdrawal decisions modeled together
- The survivor scenario run alongside the joint one
- Medicare thresholds checked before a conversion is sized
- Written coordination with your CPA and estate attorney
What we don't do
- Prepare tax returns or provide tax or legal advice
- Quote a withdrawal rate as if it were guaranteed
- Treat a rule of thumb as a substitute for your numbers
- Convert to Roth on principle without running the case against it
How an engagement works
Four phases, each producing written output you and your other advisors can work from.
01
Inventory
Accounts by tax treatment, pension and Social Security estimates for both spouses, expected spending, recent tax returns.
02
Projection
Income, taxes, and required distributions modeled year by year, joint and survivor, so the pressure points are visible early.
03
Strategy
A claiming recommendation, a withdrawal order, and a conversion plan sized to specific brackets and thresholds.
04
Annual review
Revisited each year against actual returns, actual spending, and current law.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I withdraw from my accounts?
Taxable, then tax-deferred, then Roth is the common guidance. Blending often does better, because drawing some from tax-deferred accounts early fills lower brackets that would otherwise go unused and shrinks the balance subject to required distributions later.
When should I claim Social Security?
As early as 62 at a permanent reduction, or delayed past Full Retirement Age to earn credits until 70. For couples, the higher earner's decision also sets what the surviving spouse keeps, so delaying it works partly as longevity insurance. There is no universally correct age.
When does a Roth conversion make sense?
Generally when your rate now is lower than the rate you expect later, which often describes the years between retiring and the start of required distributions. Sizing has to respect bracket thresholds, the taxation of Social Security benefits, Medicare surcharges assessed two years forward, and the survivor's move to single brackets. Conversions generally cannot be reversed.
How much can we withdraw each year without running out?
No withdrawal rate can be guaranteed. Common rules of thumb come from historical back-testing under specific assumptions, and results are especially sensitive to returns in the first few years of retirement. We model a range rather than quote a number, and revisit it annually against actual results.
When do required minimum distributions start?
Under current law, age 73 for many of today's retirees, rising to 75 for later birth years under SECURE 2.0. They are not optional and missed distributions carry a penalty. Roth IRAs are exempt during the original owner's lifetime.
What happens to our taxes when one spouse dies?
The survivor moves to single brackets while often keeping most of the household's income, since the larger Social Security benefit continues and the accounts are still there. A higher rate on less income. This is why conversion analysis should be run against the survivor case, not the joint projection alone.
Will a Roth conversion raise my Medicare premiums?
It can. Part B and Part D premiums are income-related, assessed on your income from two years earlier, and the thresholds are cliffs rather than a phase-in, so crossing one by a small amount triggers the full step. A surcharge from a one-time event generally falls away the next year, and an appeal process exists for certain life-changing events, including retirement.
Should part of our income be guaranteed?
Some households prefer to cover essential expenses with income that does not depend on markets: Social Security, a pension, in some cases an annuity. Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company, contracts vary widely in cost and liquidity, and committed money is generally not available for other purposes. The question is the gap between your essential spending and the guaranteed income you already have.
See what your first ten years of retirement could look like.
Sequencing, claiming, and conversions are worth talking through while the options are still open.
Request a retirement income review