IRMAA & RMDs
Did We Wait Too Long?
Richard slid a printout of my Roth window piece across the table before Joan had even sat down. "We read this," he said. "We're 75 and 73. The window closed years ago, didn't it?" It's a fair question, and I&
IRMAA & RMDs
The embedded tax liability most retirees don't see coming.
IRMAA & RMDs
What Nobody Tells You About IRMAA Until the Letter Arrives
I haven’t published in a few weeks, and if you’ve been reading for a while, you probably noticed. The reason is simple: this month was packed with extended tax returns, and when you run a CPA practice, those take priority over the newsletter. That’s the truth—September
The Behavioral Side
I've Seen Your Tax Return. Here's What Worries Me.
Every spring, I sit down with a stack of tax returns. My clients are mostly retirees or people within a few years of retirement. By now, I’ve reviewed enough 1099s and IRA statements to spot the patterns before I even get to the numbers. Most of my clients did
IRMAA & RMDs
How to Design Retirement for 30 Years, Not 5
The three-layer system that removes the need to depend on markets cooperating at exactly the right time
investment portfolio
Most Retirement Plans Are Built for the First 5 Years
Why the real risks show up in years 10 to 25 and how to keep income steady for 30 years
IRMAA & RMDs
I Wish I'd Known this at 65
The Gap Years Mistake
IRMAA & RMDs
Someone Has to Pay for This. It's Probably You.
If you’re 55-75 with retirement accounts, the OBBBA just raised your future tax bill. Not because of what it did to tax rates today. But because it increased tomorrow’s deficits. Deficits today mean tax hikes on visible wealth tomorrow. This is a matter of math, not politics.