Some $$ Now, More $$ Later, Ep #278

Do you ever wish you could sneak a peek into someone else’s retirement financial plan? Our retirement headline this week does just that.

The article, Some Now More Later, takes a look into Richard Connor’s decision-making process as he examines how best to allocate his retirement funds and how he and his wife decided how to claim their Social Security benefits.

After the retirement headlines segment, we’ll discuss the best way to rebalance a portfolio in retirement. And lastly, in the personal development segment, you’ll hear our first audio submission from Linda on how she made an investment in herself by committing to learning a foreign language in retirement. Don’t miss out on this informative episode!

Outline of This Episode

[1:52] Deciding how to claim Social Security with multiple sources of income
[9:32] Connor and Vicky’s retirement income plan
[17:18] A rebalancing question
[23:20] Linda has started to learn Spanish in retirement

Deciding when to take Social Security isn’t always cut and dry

Like many retirees, Richard Connor and his wife Vicky always assumed that they would delay taking their Social Security benefits until age 70. In the meantime, they planned to live off their retirement accounts, his pension, and his consulting earnings. However, they had to rethink that plan since they discovered that, even with their multiple sources of income, by delaying Social Security until 70 there was still a shortfall between their income and spending.

This shortfall caused them to reconsider their Social Security claiming strategy. The couple used an online tool called Open Social Security to help them review strategies for maximizing their lifetime Social Security benefit. In doing so, they discovered that it would actually be best for Vicky to claim her benefit at full retirement age and only hold off on his benefit until age 70.

In his article from HumbleDollar.com, Richard outlines the decision-making process that he and his wife went through to decide the best way to claim their Social Security benefits.

Ways to fill the income gap

Even with Vicky’s added Social Security income into their plan, Richard and Vicky still fall short of their projected spending, so the article goes on to explore the various benefits and drawbacks of filling the income gap.

In formulating their income plan Richard carefully considers federal and state taxes, retirement assets, interest rates, and the best way to maximize Social Security.

There are a number of ways that Richard could fill the income gap including monthly withdrawals from their cash fund, utilizing a period of a certain immediate annuity, and drawing from their HSA and Roth IRAs.

It’s fascinating to learn from someone else’s considerations and how they plan to solve each problem while minimizing their tax liability. Listen in to hear how Richard and Vicky settled on their income plan for 2023.

Retirement Income University is open for enrollment

Richard and Vicky aren’t the only ones trying to minimize their taxes as they plan for their retirement income. Our listeners are too!

Every year we send out a listener survey, and for the past three years, our listeners have requested an online course to help them plan their retirement income. Finally, that course is here. I spent the past fall polishing it up and I invited some of you to be beta testers.

I’m proud to say that Retirement Income University is open for enrollment. This 4-hour, in-depth course will walk you through planning your retirement income while minimizing your tax bill and maximizing your retirement dreams. Don’t miss out on this unique learning opportunity.