Retirement planning blog
Plain-English articles covering Social Security, rollovers, annuities, income planning, taxes, inherited accounts, and the risks that become more important after retirement begins.
Growth remains important, but retirement adds new responsibilities. Your assets must also support withdrawals, maintain liquidity, manage taxes, and withstand periods of poor market returns.
Read the articleA rollover may offer more choices, but employer plans can have valuable pricing, protection, access, and withdrawal features.
Read more →Delayed credits can increase a benefit, but health, work, cash flow, taxes, spousal needs, and longevity all matter.
Read more →Accumulation value, surrender value, income value, death benefit, and available withdrawal amount can all be different.
Read more →The timing of distributions can affect taxes, Medicare premiums, college aid, and the beneficiary’s other financial goals.
Read more →Two retirees can earn the same average return and experience very different outcomes when withdrawals occur during losses.
Read more →The right income floor depends on essential expenses, risk tolerance, pensions, Social Security, liquidity, and other assets.
Read more →During the accumulation years, investors are often primarily concerned with growing account values. Retirement does not make growth unimportant, but it adds several new jobs. Assets may need to generate monthly income, remain available for emergencies, help offset inflation, support a surviving spouse, and avoid unnecessary taxes.
This is why a retirement-income plan should not be measured by account growth alone. The plan should also explain which assets will fund near-term spending, which assets can remain invested for longer-term growth, and how withdrawals will be adjusted during difficult markets.
There are usually several choices after leaving an employer: keep the assets in the plan, roll them to a new employer plan, roll them to an IRA, or take a taxable distribution. Each choice can affect costs, investment choices, withdrawal access, creditor protection, beneficiary options, and professional guidance.
The best decision begins with a comparison of the current plan—not an assumption that a rollover is automatically better.
Waiting beyond full retirement age generally increases a worker’s retirement benefit until age 70, but the decision should be evaluated in context. A client may need income sooner, have a shorter life expectancy, be coordinating spousal or survivor benefits, or prefer to reduce withdrawals from other assets.
A useful comparison should show cumulative benefits, monthly income, taxes, work income, and the effect on the rest of the retirement plan.
An annuity statement may show several different values. The accumulation value reflects the contract’s current value, while the surrender value reflects what may be available after surrender charges and adjustments. An income value may be used only to calculate rider income and may not be available as a lump sum.
Before replacing or surrendering a contract, determine which values are guaranteed, which are available in cash, and which benefits would be lost.
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