Not as simple as I'd like, mostly due to the US tax code. I'm single so that already simplifies things.
I've got taxable, deferred-taxable, and non-taxable assets. The taxable stuff all has an obvious tax-minimization path, with no reason to incur taxes early by unnecessary sales. For deferred-taxable, I recently looked at Roth conversions and determined that they won't do much good for me, due to a high enough income floor and probable limited withdrawal time (age 75+). They might add something like 1-2% to my income if I live to 100, but are foolish if I don't, or never withdraw the money from the Roth IRA. For non-taxable there is nothing to do unless the government starts means- or age-testing the withdrawals.
Once I am age 59.5 next year I can freely play with my 401k and 403b. But I don't see any reason to pay early taxes on anything, so I will likely do nothing other than the occasional withdrawal. I could consolidate my 401k and 403b accounts (age 55 rule does not allow you to withdraw early from an IRA), but that would be a big deal, first having to convert each account to a Trad IRA. After all the paperwork I don't think it would make any sense if I am not then converting to a Roth IRA, which again makes little sense for me.
So for me, mental decline is about all that makes sense to plan for. It would be nice to have one to three funds pumping out my income and still leaving something behind. Not sure I will ever get there.
I've got taxable, deferred-taxable, and non-taxable assets. The taxable stuff all has an obvious tax-minimization path, with no reason to incur taxes early by unnecessary sales. For deferred-taxable, I recently looked at Roth conversions and determined that they won't do much good for me, due to a high enough income floor and probable limited withdrawal time (age 75+). They might add something like 1-2% to my income if I live to 100, but are foolish if I don't, or never withdraw the money from the Roth IRA. For non-taxable there is nothing to do unless the government starts means- or age-testing the withdrawals.
Once I am age 59.5 next year I can freely play with my 401k and 403b. But I don't see any reason to pay early taxes on anything, so I will likely do nothing other than the occasional withdrawal. I could consolidate my 401k and 403b accounts (age 55 rule does not allow you to withdraw early from an IRA), but that would be a big deal, first having to convert each account to a Trad IRA. After all the paperwork I don't think it would make any sense if I am not then converting to a Roth IRA, which again makes little sense for me.
So for me, mental decline is about all that makes sense to plan for. It would be nice to have one to three funds pumping out my income and still leaving something behind. Not sure I will ever get there.
Statistics: Posted by tooluser — Thu Sep 19, 2024 8:03 pm — Replies 65 — Views 4009