"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." - Ben Franklin
"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." - Ben Franklin
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The Complete Retirement Planner Blog

Why Roth IRA Conversions Are Not For Everyone

The advantages of having a Roth IRA are clear:• Since contributions to a Roth IRA come from after-tax dollars, those savings grow tax free.• Contributions and earnings can be withdrawn tax free after age 59 1/2 (if the account is at least 5 years old). • Contributions can be withdrawn tax free at any age.   Earnings withdrawn before age 59 1/2 (and before the 5 year holding period) will incur taxes and a 10% penalty.• A first-time home purchase ($10,000 lifetime maximum), qualified education expenses, birth or adoption expenses,   and certain emergency expenses qualify as exceptions to the...

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The State of Financial Planning For Retirement

A report by the National Financial Educators Council found that only 24% of American adults have a high level of financial literacy.Regarding financial planning for retirement in particular, recent studies and surveys from Charles Schwab, RBC Wealth Management and Schroders Wealth Management, found that:• Only 23% of households have a written financial plan. • 76% say it is too difficult or confusing to create a financial plan. • 56% believe that a plan is not useful because life is too uncertain. • 57% rely on friends and family for financial advice.• Only 53% understand how their savings and investments would...

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Stop Guessing, Hoping, And Procrastinating!

The number one rule of financial planning for retirement - don't guess, don't hope, don't pay attention to generic advice or benchmarks. Be prepared with a reliable, detailed, written financial plan! You, and your unique financial situation and needs, are not generic and they require individualized attention. It may not be a task that's at the top of your to-do list, but it should be. Yes, it can be complex and confusing. Yes, it can be tedious to gather all of the information you need to do it correctly (in reasonable detail). Yes, you will need to try to predict the...

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Will You Be Affected By I.R.M.A.A.?

IRMAA is an acronym that stands for Medicare's Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. If you are unfamiliar with IRMAA, and how it may affect you, it could end up costing you a lot of money. This "adjustment" can cause an increase in your Medicare premiums for Part B and Part D. It is based on your most recent tax return supplied to Medicare by the I.R.S and specifically looks at your Modified Adjusted Gross Income. In most cases this may be a tax return from 2 years ago (or 3 years ago if the return from 2 years ago is...

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Is A Specific Retirement Withdrawal Rate Important?

It's one thing to plan for retirement by saving diligently year after year, but quite another to shift your focus to how much of those savings you will need to actually spend each year once you retire. Essential bills will always need to be paid no matter how much you are able to reduce expenses, and seeing your savings balance decline instead of increase can cause a bit of a shock. The immediate question then becomes, "How much can I withdraw each year and still not run out of money?". There's no shortage of articles offering advice about solving that...

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