Tax Planning
Explore our Tax Planning Hub for expert articles and videos covering all retirement tax topics, strategies, and tips—your guide to smart retirement planning.
Top Tax Surprises in Retirement
Planning ahead may help you avoid these pitfalls.
Featured Content
The Widow's Tax Penalty: What It Is and How to Avoid It
The widow’s penalty surprises many people after the death of a spouse, often triggering higher taxes and reduced income that create a larger financial burden.
Article
The 2-Year IRMAA Lag
If you’ve never heard of IRMAA or are unaware of Medicare surcharges, read this post to avoid any unpleasant surprises down the road.
Article
Are Social Security Benefits Taxable?
While Social Security benefits are taxable, how much you’ll pay ultimately depends on your income from other taxable sources as well as where you live.
Article
RMDs: Rules, Penalties, Avoiding/Minimizing Taxes, and More
If you’re saving money in a 401(k) or traditional IRA for retirement, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with RMDs and associated rules.
Article
Essential Pre- Retirement Advice Video
If retirement is in your near future, be sure to check out this video! Receive practical tips on topics ranging from retirement savings and tax diversification to navigating psychological and emotional aspects of your golden years.
Meet IRMAA:
the Medicare surcharge that catches retirees by surprise
IRMAA, or "income-related monthly adjustment amount," is an additional charge that may be added to your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums if your income exceeds a specific threshold.
IRMAA: How to Avoid Medicare Surcharges
If you’ve never heard of IRMAA or are unaware of Medicare surcharges, read this post to avoid any unpleasant surprises down the road.
You can work and collect Social Security benefits simultaneously
While you can continue working and receive Social Security benefits simultaneously, doing so can temporarily reduce the dollar amount of your monthly check.
Benefits can be temporarily reduced
If you’ve never heard of IRMAA or are unaware of Medicare surcharges, read this post to avoid any unpleasant surprises down the road.
Social Security & Medicare Terms to Know & More!
Impress your financial advisor—or at least win the next round of Medicare and Social Security trivia at a party!
Social Security
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The Social Security Administration (SSA) is required by law to prevent inflation from eroding the purchasing power of benefits paid to recipients and does this via COLA, (cost-of-living adjustments), automatic benefit amount increases initiated by the SSA.
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You can begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 62 but aren’t entitled to 100% of them until you reach your full retirement age (FRA).
This number is based on your birthdate; if you were born after 1960, your full retirement age is (currently) 67. Knowing this number helps determine the overall impact any post-retirement employment will have on your Social Security benefits.
Medicare
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A health savings account (HSA) is an account you can use to pay for qualified out-of-pocket healthcare expenses including deductibles and copays, designed specifically to help people with high-deductible health insurance plans (HDHP) cover such expenses.
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IRMAA—which stands for “income-related monthly adjustment amount”—is the additional amount (surcharge beyond Medicare premiums) charged to higher-income beneficiaries.
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Long-term care (LTC) is defined as help you may need with “activities of daily living” (ADLs) for longer than three months due to injury, health, or cognitive impairment such as dementia, memory loss, or Alzheimer’s.
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Our country’s Medicare program consists of four parts (A, B, C, & D) that each cover specific services.
With Medicare Parts A and B (also known as “Original Medicare”), the government pays providers directly for patient services: covering patient care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility, in-home hospice, and limited home healthcare services (Part A) as well as medical services and supplies necessary to treat health conditions (Part B).
Tax Planning Articles
Did you know that among Social Security beneficiaries age 65+, 39% of men and 44% of women rely on Social Security for at least half of their income? Explore our library of Social Security articles for expert guidance and practical tips to help make the most of your benefits.
Popular Questions
Find answers to common questions people ask us about retirement planning.
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Unfortunately, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work when trying to calculate how much you’ll need to save for retirement as the answer ultimately depends on income, goals, and preferred lifestyle. Several retirement rules of thumb can help guide you, however.
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Yes, many retirement benefits are indeed taxable, but it all depends on the type of benefit and your individual circumstances.
Social Security benefits are sometimes partially taxable based on total income, for example, while traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals are generally taxed as ordinary income. Qualified withdrawals from Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s are typically tax-free, whereas pension income is typically taxable at the federal level (with some states imposing additional taxes).
Be sure to review the specific rules for each type of retirement benefit and consider your overall income when planning for taxes in retirement.
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You can have multiple retirement accounts if you’d like, with no legal limit to the number you can own. You might contribute to a 401(k) or similar plan via your employer, for example, while also personally maintaining one or more IRAs (traditional or Roth). Annual contribution limits do apply across all accounts of the same type, meaning having more isn’t advantageous in this regard.
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Collaboration with a dedicated CFP® professional
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Our investment review will identify your risk score and compare your current investment allocation to your ideal allocation—arming you with the knowledge you need to make any necessary changes.
Tax-planning observations
We’ll analyze your most recent income tax return to identify potential tax-planning opportunities as they relate to your current situation. Some examples include tax-efficient investment recommendations, wealth-building strategies, and strategies to maximize your charitable giving.
Social Security review
We’ll assess the degree to which Social Security (vs. other sources of income) will meet your spending needs, determining the best time to claim so you can maximize SS benefits.
Retirement map
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Pricing and Other Considerations
Recommended for investors aged 50+, our “Am I On Track?” service includes a one-time fee of $590 due upon engagement.
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