Build a Resilient Retirement Income System

Personalized financial advice for DIY investors who want to turn their portfolios and other resources into sustainable retirement income while managing taxes, market risk, Social Security, and healthcare costs.

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You remain in control of your investments. I provide the analysis and guidance to help you make better decisions.

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The Decisions That Make a Retirement Income System Work

Retirement income doesn't depend on one decision.  Social Security, portfolio withdrawals, taxes, investments, healthcare costs, and spending all interact.  My coaching helps you evaluate these decisions together rather than treating each one in isolation.

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Pillar 1 — Build a Sustainable Retirement Income Stream

Your retirement income may come from Social Security, pensions, investment accounts, and other resources. The challenge is coordinating those sources to create sustainable income while preserving enough of your portfolio for a potentially long retirement.

• Retirement Income Planning:  Determine how much you can sustainably spend and how your various income sources fit together

• Social Security Planning:  Evaluate when and how to claim benefits and how Social Security fits into your broader retirement-income strategy

• Withdrawal Strategies:  Determine which accounts to draw from, when, and in what order

• Early-Retirement Income Bridging:  Develop a strategy for funding the years between retirement and Social Security or other future income sources

• Learn more:

  • How to Create a Sustainable Retirement Paycheck

  • When Is the Best Time to Claim Social Security?

  • Retirement Withdrawal Strategies to Make Your Money Last

  • How Should You Withdraw Money From Your Retirement Accounts?

  • How to Create an Income Bridge to Delay Social Security

 

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Pillar 2 — Manage Taxes & Healthcare Costs

Taxes and healthcare costs can significantly reduce the income you actually keep, and decisions made years in advance can affect both.

• Retirement Tax Planning:  Roth conversions, tax-efficient withdrawals, asset location, Qualified Charitable Distributions, Donor Advised Funds, etc.

• Medicare & IRMAA Planning:  Managing income to reduce IRMAA surcharges

• ACA Planning:  Manage income during pre-Medicare years to maximize ACA subsidies

• Learn more: 

  • Hidden Retirement Tax Risks:  RMDs, IRMAA, and Social Security

  • 12 Tax Strategies for Retirement

  • What is IRMAA and How Can It Affect You? 

  • When Should You Do Roth Conversions:  5 Guiding Principles

 

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Pillar 3 — Build a Portfolio Designed for Retirement

A retirement portfolio has a different job from an accumulation portfolio: it must support withdrawals while managing inflation, market volatility, sequence risk and longevity.

• Portfolio Strategy & Investment Decisions:  portfolio allocation and fund selection based on your risk tolerance, risk capacity, and goals

• Diversification:  incorporate various types of assets to reduce volatility and improve portfolio resilience

• Inflation/sequence-of-returns considerations:  design a portfolio to minimize the risk of inflation or poor sequence of returns derailing your retirement objectives

• Income and growth:  Build a portfolio that not only generates necessary income but also produces growth to more than cover inflation

• Learn more:

  • Inflation in Retirement:  How to Protect Your Purchasing Power​

  • Building a Retirement Plan That Withstands Market Crashes

  • Portfolio Diversification:  Building a Truly Diversified Portfolio

  • Rethinking Retirement Income:  Beyond the 60/40 Portfolio

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Pillar 4 — Specialized Planning

Some retirement plans involve circumstances that require specialized planning, such as retiring overseas, where taxes, healthcare, currency, and other cross-border considerations can add complexity.

• Retiring Overseas & U.S. Expatriate Planning:  Consider the financial implications of living abroad, including income, taxes, investments, healthcare, and cost of living.

• Learn more:  Retiring Overseas: How to Live Comfortably Abroad

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