Retiring in the next five years
Bring the decisions in front of you. We will put them into one year-by-year plan, so you can see what changes when the date changes.
Most people come in with a date in mind and a few questions they have been carrying for a while. We start there.
You can claim from 62 to 70. For each year you wait past full retirement age, up to 70, the monthly check grows about 8%. For a married couple, the higher earner’s claiming age also sets the survivor’s check, so we look at that first.
We put your pension, Social Security and savings on one year-by-year income plan, so you can compare the dates in front of you instead of guessing.
If you stop working before 65, the usual choices are COBRA from your employer, which generally lasts up to 18 months, a marketplace plan through healthcare.gov, or a spouse’s plan at work. Marketplace premiums are based on your income, so the account you draw from in those years can change what you pay. We plan those years together with your income.
Required withdrawals start at 73 if you were born 1951 through 1959, and at 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. The years between your last paycheck and then are often your lowest-tax years, which is when converting some savings to a Roth can make sense. We show you the tax cost year by year before you decide.
A monthly check is income you cannot outlive. A lump sum gives you control and something to leave behind, but it has to last. If you are married, the survivor option you choose, such as 50% or 100% to your spouse, matters as much as the choice itself. We compare both against the rest of your plan.
The survivor keeps the larger of your two Social Security checks and the smaller one stops. A pension may drop to its survivor share, and after the year of death the survivor usually files taxes as single, with higher rates on similar income. We run the plan with each of you as the survivor.
First we make sure your own income is covered for life. Then we show how much you can comfortably give each year, whether to give now or leave it in your estate, and simple ways to help, such as paying into a grandchild’s college savings plan.
A clear first step
There is no charge for it.