Retirement Income Archives

How to self insure for long term care

The numbers don't add up...

These three statistics don’t add up to me!

1. 70% of Americans over 65 will need long-term care during their lives.

2. Fewer than half of you over the age of 65 own insurance to pay for long-term care. Essentially, you are planning to self-insure for long term care.

3. This is the crazy part. 70% of the care being provided is done by unpaid caregivers! Aka. family members…🤔

I wrote about long-term care planning before, but my convictions on this have only increased over the years.

In my previous article, I talked about considerations on whether or not you should purchase insurance.

We also just finished recording a three-part series on The Planning for Retirement Podcast (PFR) about how to fund long-term care costs. Episodes 22 and 23 were about using long-term care insurance and episode 24 was about how to self fund long-term care.

So why do these statistics bother me?

If the majority of retirees will need care, and they are intentionally not buying insurance, that means they plan to self fund for long term care (by default). However, why are family members providing the majority of long term care and not hired help!?

The answer: because there was no real plan to begin with. In reality, it was a decision that was never addressed, or perhaps in their mind they decided to “self fund.” However, that decision was never communicated to their loved ones.

Let me ask you. If you are in the majority that plans to self fund, what conversations have you had with your spouse? Your power(s) of attorney? Your trustee(s)? Do they know how much you’ve set aside if long term care was ever needed? Do they know which accounts they should “tap into” to pay for long-term care?

The chances are “no,” because I’ve never met a client who did this proactively on their own. Ever. And I’ve been doing this for 15 years.

So, this article is for you if you are planning to bypass the insurance route and use your own assets to “self fund long-term care.” I believe this is one of the most important decisions you can make when planning for retirement because it can save how you are remembered.

How much should I set aside to self insure long term care?

It is impossible to pinpoint the exact number YOU will need for care. But let’s pretend your long-term care need will fall within the range of averages.

On average, men need care 2.2 years and women 3.7 years.

The 2021 cost of care study by Genworth found that private room nursing homes cost $108,405/year. Assisted living facilities cost $54,000/year. These are national averages, and the cost of care varies drastically based on where you live.

So let’s use this ballpark figure of $118,800 – $238,491 for men, and $199,800 – $401,098 for women (2.2x the averages for men and 3.7x the averages for women).

The major flaw in using this math is that most people have some sort of guaranteed income flowing into their bank accounts.

Social Security Income
Pensions
Required Minimum Distributions

Of course, not all of that income could be repurposed, especially if you are married. However, perhaps 25%, 50% or 75% of that income could be repurposed for caregivers.

Let’s say you are bringing in $100k/year between Social Security, Pension, and Required Minimum Distributions. Let’s say you are married, and all of a sudden need long term care. For simplicity’s sake, your spouse needs $50k for the household expenses. The other $50k could be repositioned to pay for long-term care. After all, if you need care, you probably are not traveling any longer, or golfing 5 days/week. This unused cash flow can now be dedicated to hiring professional help and protecting your spouse from mental and physical exhaustion.

If we assume the high-end range for men of $238,491, but we assume that $110,000 could come from cash flow (2.2 years x $50k of income), then only $128,491 of your assets need to be earmarked to self fund long term care.

Hopefully, that’s a helpful framework and reassurance that trying to come up with the perfect number is virtually impossible. After all, you may never need care. Or, perhaps you will need care for 5+ years because of Alzheimer’s.

My key point in this article is to address this challenge early (before you turn 60), and communicate your plan to your loved ones.

What accounts are the best to self insure long term care?

My personal favorite is the Health Savings Account, or HSA. I wrote in detail about HSA’s in another blog post that you can read here.

Here’s a brief summary:

You can qualify to contribute to an HSA if you have a high-deductible health plan.
The contributions are “pre-tax.”
Earnings and growth are tax-free (you can invest the unused HSA funds like a 401k or other retirement plan).
Distributions can also be tax-free if they are used for “qualified healthcare costs.”

What is a qualified healthcare cost?

Look up IRS publication 502 here, which is updated annually.

One of the categories for qualified healthcare costs is in fact long-term care! This means you can essentially have a triple tax-advantaged account that can be used to self insure long-term care in retirement.

However, you need to build this account up before you retire and go on Medicare. Medicare is not a high-deductible health plan!

But, if you have 5+ years to open and fund an HSA, it can be a great bucket to use in your retirement years, particularly long-term care costs.

The 2023 contribution limits are $7,750 if you are on a family plan and $3,850 if you are on a single plan. There is also a $1k/year catch-up for those over 55.

So, if you’re 55, you could add up to $43,750 in contributions for the next 5 years. If you add growth/compounding interest on top of this, you are looking at 6 figures + by the time you need the funds for care in your 80s. Not bad, right?

Taxable brokerage accounts or "cash"

This bucket is another great option. Mostly because of the flexibility and the tax advantages of taking distributions. Unlike a 401k or IRA, these accounts have capital gains tax treatment. For most taxpayers that would be 15%, which could be lower than your ordinary income tax rate (it could also be as low as 0% and as high as 20%+).

If you are earmarking some of these dollars for care, I would highly recommend two things:

Separate the dollars you intend to spend for care and give this new account a name (“long-term care account”)
Invest the account assuming a time horizon for your 80s instead of your 60s. In essence, you can make this account more aggressive in order to keep pace with the inflation rate for long term care expenses.

What’s nice about this bucket is that it’s not a “use it or lose it.” Just because you segregated some assets to pay for care, doesn’t mean those dollars have to be used for care. When these dollars pass on to the next generation, they should receive a step up in cost basis for your beneficiaries. If the dollars are in fact needed for care, you will only pay taxes on the realized gains in the portfolio.

🤔 Remember when we talked about tax loss harvesting in episode 19? Well, this strategy could also apply to help reduce the tax impact if this account is used to self-insure long-term care.

Of course, cash is cash. No taxes are due when you withdraw money from a savings account or a CD. Now, I wouldn’t suggest using a CD or cash to self-insure care, simply because it’s very likely that account won’t keep pace with inflation. However, if there is some excess cash in the bank when you need care, this could be a good first line of defense before the more tax-advantaged accounts are tapped into.

Traditional 401ks and IRAs

This bucket is often the largest account on the balance sheet when you are 55+. However, many advisors and financial talking heads recommend against tapping these accounts to self insure long term care because of the tax burden.

Well of course, it may not be ideal as a first line of defense to pay for care, but if it’s your only option, “it is what it is.”

But here’s the thing. If you are needing long term care, you’re most likely over the age of 80. This means you are already taking Required Minimum Distributions or RMDs. If you have a $1mm IRA, your RMD would be $62,500 at age 85. Let’s say you also have Social Security paying you $24,000/year. That’s a total income of $86,500 that is coming into the household to pay the bills. This was my point earlier in that you likely have income coming in that can be repurposed from discretionary expenses to hiring some professional help for care.

This means that you may not need to increase portfolio withdrawals by a huge number if RMDs are already coming out automatically.

But yes, you’ll have taxes due on these accounts based on your ordinary income rates. And yes, if you increase withdrawals from this bucket, this could put you in a position where your tax brackets go up, or your Social Security income is taxed at a higher rate, or perhaps will have Medicare surcharges.

On the flip side, this could also trigger the ability to itemize your deductions due to increased healthcare costs. In fact, any healthcare costs (including long term care) that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income could be counted as a tax deduction (as of 2023).

The net effect essentially could be quite negligible as those additional portfolio withdrawals could be offset with tax deductions, where applicable.

Life Insurance and Annuities

Maybe you bought a life insurance policy back in the day that you held onto. Or you purchased an annuity to provide a guaranteed return or guaranteed income. However, you may find that your goals and circumstances change throughout retirement. Perhaps your kids are making a heck of a lot more money than you ever did, so they don’t have a big need for an inheritance. Or, that annuity you purchased wasn’t really what you thought it was. You could look at these accounts as potential vehicles to self-insure for long term care.

Life Insurance could have two components – a living benefit (cash value) and a death benefit. In this case, you could use either or as the funding mechanism for long term care.

Let’s say you have $150k in cash value and a $500k death benefit. Instead of tapping into your retirement accounts or brokerage accounts, you could look at borrowing or surrendering your life insurance cash value to pay for care. Or, you could look at the death benefit as a way to “replenish” assets that were used to pay for care.

Annuities could be tapped into by turning the account into a life income, an income for a set period of time, or as a lump sum. All of those options could be considered when it comes to raising cash for this type of emergency.

Roth Accounts

This is the second most tax-efficient retirement vehicle behind the HSA. It’s not only a great retirement income tool, but it’s also a great tool to use for financial legacy given the tax-free nature from an estate planning perspective. However, this account could be used to self insure long term care without triggering tax consequences.

Let’s say you need another $30k for the year to pay for care. But an additional $30k withdrawal from your traditional 401k would bump you into the next tax bracket. Instead, you could look to tap into the Roth accounts in order to keep your tax bracket level.

Home equity

The largest asset for most people in the US is their home equity. However, people rarely think of this as a way to self insure long term care. In fact, this is why many caregivers are family members! They want their loved ones to stay at home instead of moving into a nursing home. But perhaps there isn’t a huge nest egg to pay for care. If you have home equity, you could tap into that asset via a reverse mortgage, a cash-out refinance, or a HELOC. There are pros and cons of each of these, but the reverse mortgage (or HECM) is a great tool if you are over the age of 62 and need access to your equity.

The payments come out tax-free, the loan doesn’t need to be repaid (unless the occupant moves, sells, or dies), and there are protections if the value of the home is underwater.

Inform your key decision makers

Now that you have a decent understanding of how much to set aside and which accounts might be viable for you, it’s time to have a family meeting.

If you’re married, have a conversation with your spouse.

If you have children, bring them into the discussion, especially those that will have a key decision-making role (powers of attorney, trustee etc).

You know your family dynamic best. The point you need to get across is that you do have a plan to self insure long term care despite not owning long term care insurance. Your loved ones need to know how much they could tap into (especially the spouse) in the event you need care. This is very important, give your spouse permission to spend! Being a caregiver, especially a senior woman, will very likely result in burnout, stress, physical deterioration, mental exhaustion, and resentment. If you simply leave it to your spouse to “figure out,” they will always resort to doing it themselves in fear of overspending on care.

❌ Don’t do this to them!

I hope you found this helpful! Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter below so you don’t miss any of our retirement planning content! Until next time, thanks for reading!

#fiduciary #staugustine fiduciary financialplanning flat fee financial advisor long term care retirement retirementplanning

Kevin Lao

September 8, 2023

How to Reduce Taxes on Your Social Security Retirement Benefits

If you have already begun drawing Social Security, you might be surprised to learn taxes are owed on some of your benefits! After all, you’ve been paying into the system via payroll taxes, so why is your benefit also taxable? If you have yet to begin drawing Social Security yet, you can never say you weren’t told! As a result, I’m often asked if there is a way to reduce taxes on your Social Security benefits. This blog post will unpack how Social Security taxes work and how to reduce taxes on your benefits. Make sure to join our newsletter so you don’t miss out on any of our retirement planning content (click here to subscribe!). I hope you find this article helpful!

A brief history of Social Security

The Social Security Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt in 1935! It was designed to pay retired workers over the age of 65. However, life expectancy at birth was 58 for men and 62 for women! Needless to say, there weren’t a huge number of retirees collecting benefits for very long. As people began to live longer, several key provisions were added later. One was increasing the benefits paid by inflation, also known as Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA). Another was changing the benefits from a lump sum to monthly payments. Ida Fuller was the first to receive a monthly benefit, and her first check was $22.54! If you adjust this for inflation, that payment would be worth $420.15 today! If you compare this to the average Social Security benefit paid to retirees of $1,782/month, those early payments were chump change!

The Aging Population has Led to Challenges

According to data from 2021, life expectancy at birth is 73.5 years for men and 79.3 years for women! In 2008, there were 39 million Americans over age 65. By 2031, that number is projected to reach 75 million people! We’ve all heard of the notion that older (more expensive) workers are being replaced by younger (less expensive) workers. While taxable wages are going down and retirees collecting benefits are increasing, the result is a strain on the system.

Social Security benefits are actually funded by taxpayer dollars (of course). If you look at a paystub, you will see FICA taxes withheld automatically. FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act and is the tax revenue to pay for Social Security and Medicare Part A. The Social Security portion is 6.2% for the employee and 6.2% for the employer, up to a maximum wage base of $160,200. So, once you earn above $160,200 you likely will notice a “pay raise” by way of not paying into Social Security any longer. Medicare is 1.45% up to $200,000, and then an additional 0.9% for wages above $200k (single filer) or $250k (married filing jointly).

Up until 2021, FICA taxes have fully covered Social Security and Medicare benefits. However, because of the challenges mentioned earlier, FICA taxes no longer cover the benefits paid out. The good news is there is a Trust Fund for both Social Security and Medicare for this exact reason. If there is a shortfall, the trust fund covers the gap. The big challenge is if nothing changes, Social Security’s trust fund will be exhausted in 2034 and Medicare’s in 2031.

How are the taxes on Social Security calculated?

The first concept to understand is that the % of your Social Security that will be taxable is based on your “combined income,” also known as provisional income. If your combined income is below a certain threshold, your entire Social Security check will be tax-free! If your combined income is between a certain threshold, up to 50% of your Social Security benefit will be taxable. And finally, if your income is above the final threshold, up to 85% of your Social Security benefit will be taxable. Here are the thresholds below.

How is “Combined Income” calculated?

The basic formula is to take your Adjusted Gross Income (NOT including Social Security), add any tax-exempt interest income, and then add in 50% of your Social Security benefits.

If you are retired, you likely will have little to no earned income, unless you are working part-time. Your adjusted gross income will be any interest income, capital gains (or losses), retirement account distributions, pensions, etc. This is important to note because not all retirement account distributions are treated the same! Additionally, capital gains can be offset by capital losses. So even though your cash flow might exceed these numbers significantly, you still might be able to reduce or even eliminate how much tax you pay on your Social Security Income.

Let’s look at two examples (both are Married Filing Jointly)

Client A has the following cash flows:

$40,000 of Social Security benefits
$50,000 Traditional IRA distribution (all taxable)
$10,000 of tax-free municipal interest income

The combined income in this scenario is $80,000.

Half of Social Security ($20,000) + $50,000 IRA distribution + $10,000 municipal bond income = $80k.

Notice how the municipal bond income is added back into the calculation! Many clients try to reduce taxes on their bond interest payments by investing in municipal bonds. However, it’s important to note how this interest income might impact other areas of tax planning.

In this scenario, 85% of their Social Security benefit will be taxable.

The first $32,000 of income doesn’t trigger any Social Security taxes.

The next $12,000 will include 50% ($6,000)

And finally, the amount over $44,000 ($36,000) includes 85% (85% * $36,000 = $30,600).

$6,000 + $30,600 = $36,600

If you divide $36,600 by the $40,000 Social Security benefit, it gives you 91.5%. However, a maximum of up to 85% of the Social Security benefit is taxable, so in this case, they are capped at 85% and $34,000 will be their “taxable Social Security” amount.

Client B has the following cash flows:

$40,000 Social Security Income
$50,000 Roth IRA distribution
$4,000 Interest Income

Client B’s provisional income is only $24,000!

Half of Social Security ($20k) + $0 retirement account distributions + $4,000 interest income = $24,000

As you can see, the Social Security benefits are identical to client A. However, the $50,000 retirement account distribution is from a Roth account, and in this case, it was a tax-free distribution. And finally, the interest income was way down because the client elected to reduce their bond allocations in their taxable account and instead owned them inside of their IRAs (which is not taxable).

So despite having essentially identical cash flows, Client B enjoys 100% of their Social Security check being tax-free! In other words, they have reduced their taxable income by $34,000 compared to client A!

A huge challenge arises for clients who are under the max 85% threshold. Each dollar that is added to their retirement income will increase how much Social Security is taxed! If someone is in the 50% range and they take an additional $1,000 from a Traditional IRA, they will technically increase their adjusted gross income by $1,500! $1,000 for the IRA distribution and $500 for taxable Social Security income!

What can you do about reducing taxes on Social Security?

So while you shouldn’t let the tail wag the dog, you should absolutely begin mapping out how you can make your retirement income plan as tax efficient as possible! Here are a few ways to reduce your “combined income” and thus reduce your taxes on Social Security payments.

Roth Conversions

Simply put, a Roth conversion allows you to “convert” all or a portion of your traditional IRA/401k/403b to a Roth account. Of course, you will have to pay taxes on the amount converted, but all of the growth and earnings can now be tax-free!

This is perhaps one of the most impactful strategies you can incorporate! However, you must start this strategy at the right time! If you are still employed and perhaps at the peak of your earnings, you may not benefit from Roth conversions…yet. However, if you recently retired and have yet to begin the Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), you might find it to be a valuable strategy if you execute it properly.

One of our most recent podcast episodes is about this topic; you can listen to it here.

Avoid the RMD Trap!

The RMD trap is simply the tax trap that most people with Traditional IRAs or 401ks run into. In the early years of retirement, your RMD starts out quite low because it’s based on your life expectancy according to the IRS. However, each year the amount you are required to withdraw increases. By the time you are in your 80s and even 90s, the amount you are taking out could exceed what you need for cash flows! But despite needing it for income or not, you have to withdraw it to avoid the dreaded penalties, and this could push you into higher tax brackets later in retirement. And of course, this could also increase the taxation of your Social Security check!

Roth conversions help with this, but it could also help to try to even out the distributions! Instead of just waiting for the RMDs to balloon, perhaps you devise a better withdrawal strategy to target a certain tax bracket threshold throughout your retirement.

Asset Location strategies

You may have heard of the term “Asset Allocation,” which involves careful selection of asset classes that align with a portfolio’s objectives. In essence, what % of stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash does the portfolio hold? Asset Location involves selecting which accounts will own those asset classes in order to maximize tax efficiency and time horizon.

When we looked at the Social Security examples earlier, you probably noticed Client B had less taxable interest income. This is because they elected to reduce the amount of fixed income in their “taxable” account, and moved those assets into their IRAs.

Alternatively, you might have a longer time horizon with some of your accounts, like a Roth IRA. Given Roth’s tax-free nature and the NO RMDs, this account is a great “long-term” bucket for retirement income planning. As a result, you might elect to have this account ultra-aggressive and not worry much about capital gains exposure, etc.

You should take advantage of the tax characteristics of different “buckets” for retirement income planning. Not all of your investment accounts should look identical in that sense.

Tax Loss Harvesting

Perhaps one of the most UNDERRATED strategies is tax loss harvesting. Oftentimes when the market is down, people bury their heads in the sand hoping that things will improve one day. And this is certainly better than selling out and moving to cash! However, there is one step many people miss: realizing losses when the markets are down. These losses can then be used to offset capital gains, and even reduce your ordinary income!

I oftentimes hear pushback that people don’t want to offload investments at a loss because they were trained to “buy low and sell high.” This is a great point, but with tax loss harvesting, after the loss is realized, you then turn around and replace the investment you sold with something similar, but not “substantially identical.” That way, you avoid the Wash-Sale rule so you can recognize the tax loss, but you stay invested by reallocating funds into the market.

Episode 19 of The Planning for Retirement Podcast is all about this topic and you can listen to it here!

Qualified Charitable Distributions

Okay, so you missed the boat on Roth conversions, and you are already taking RMDs from your accounts. Qualified Charitable Distributions, or QCDs, allow for up to $100,000/year to be donated to charity (qualified 501c3) without recognizing any taxable income to the owner! Of course, the charity also receives the donation tax-free, so it’s a win-win! I oftentimes hear of clients donating to charity, but they are itemizing their deductions. Almost 90% of taxpayers are itemizing because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. QCDs can be utilized regardless if you are taking the standard deduction or not! And the most powerful aspect of the QCD is that it will reduce your RMD dollar for dollar up to $100k.

Let’s say your RMD for 2023 is $50k. You typically donate $10k/year to your church but you write a check or donate cash. At the end of most tax years, you end up taking the standard deduction anyways, so donating to charity doesn’t hurt or help you.

Now that you’ve learned what a QCD is, you go to the custodian of your IRA and tell them you want to set up a QCD for your church. You fill out a QCD form, and $10k will come out of your IRA directly to your Church (or whatever charities you donate to). Now, your RMD is only $40k for 2023 instead of $50k! In essence, it’s better than a tax deduction because it was never recognized as income in the first place!

Two important footnotes are the QCD has to come from an IRA and the owner must be at least 70.5 years old! It cannot come out of a 401k or any other qualified plan!

We wrote an entire article on QCDs (and DAFs) that you can read here.

Final Thoughts

Retirement Planning is so much more than simply what is your investment asset allocation. Each account you own has different tax characteristics, and the movement of money within or between those accounts also has tax consequences. Instead of winging it, you could save tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes in retirement if you are proactive. However, the tax code is constantly changing! In fact, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is expiring after 2025, so unless something changes, tax rates are going up for most taxpayers. Additionally, the markets are beginning to recover, so strategies like tax loss harvesting or Roth conversions become less impactful. But, there is still plenty of time and opportunity!

Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something valuable. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive updates on me personally, professionally, and of course, content to help you achieve financial independence! CLICK on the “keep me up to speed” button below.

-Kevin

Kevin Lao

June 16, 2023

What can Retirees learn from Silicon Valley Bank’s failure?

Easy money policy beginning in 2009 led to a historical run in tech companies. Companies that rely on leverage to aggressively grow were borrowing money for next to nothing! Investors weren’t even concerned with cash flows, or healthy balance sheets. If the idea seemed like it could stick, they would take their bets. Some paid off, and some flopped. But the overall sentiment was “risk-on.”
These policies led to the success of Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB. Out of all of the start-ups in the US, SVB provides banking services to nearly half of them. Whether it was providing them loans or deposits, they were the go-to Bank for start-ups.

But what happens to these tech companies (with no positive cash flows) when rates go up?

Instead of borrowing “free money,” they begin to use their own cash (really their investor’s cash) for operations. Why would they borrow for 8% or 9% when their cash is only earning 1% or 2%? At some point, the interest on debt isn’t sustainable.

So, they go to their bank and pull funds for their operations. After all, they still have payroll and other overhead to keep the business going.

Remember the run-on banks in “It’s a Wonderful Life?” No, they don’t keep your money in the bank! It’s invested somewhere!

In SVB’s case, over half of their assets were invested in bonds! What’s more is that the majority of these bonds had long-term maturities, over 10 years, instead of shorter-term maturities.

We talked about interest rate risk in several of our market commentaries over the last couple of years, and SVB completely missed the mark on hedging interest rate risk. Maybe they should’ve been reading our blog!

So how did they raise cash to give to their depositors?
They had to sell their bonds…

What happens to bond prices when interest rates rise?

They go down, simple as that. Think about it. If you bought a 10-year treasury 3 years ago, it was yielding less than 1%. Today, new issues of 10-year Treasuries are yielding 3.7%! So, for anybody to want to buy your bond, you would need to discount it significantly. Otherwise, they will just buy a new issue for almost 4x the interest!

So, instead of SVB holding their bonds to maturity, as they intended to, they needed to sell (at a significant loss) to meet their obligations. The loss realized was $15b, which was equivalent to nearly all of its tangible capital. This led to their ultimate collapse and is the second-largest bank failure in US history (second to Washington Mutual in 2008).

Why didn’t SVB hedge interest rate risk?

I’m not putting the blame on one individual, but it’s no coincidence that the CFO of Lehman Brothers (who left Lehman right before their bankruptcy in 08) is now an executive at SVB. Additionally, the Chief Risk Officer of SVB worked for Deutsche Bank during the subprime-mortgage crisis in 2008.

Some banks are more conservative. They lend to small businesses or individuals. SVB, on the other hand, catered to start-ups in Silicon Valley. These tech start-ups have significantly more risk than the bakery shop next door. Additionally, their deposits were padded over the last two years because of the easy money policy over the last decade coupled with record amounts of stimulus.

The bottom line is that SVB got greedy. Instead of looking at the interest rate environment as a risk, they ignored it. They sought higher yields in longer-term bonds without hedging the need for short-term cash flows. They never expected a “run on the bank.”

So what does this mean for SVB’s deposit holders?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, or FDIC, officially announced on Friday that SVB was closed. This led to a selloff in stocks and of course, those holding SVB stock will lose their investment.

But what about the deposit holders and borrowers? The FDIC typically protects balances up to $250k per entity/bank. In SVB’s case, most of their customers had significantly more than the FDIC limit. After all, these are big wigs out in Silicon Valley. Not surprisingly, here comes the Government to “bail them out.” But they aren’t calling it a bailout, as we saw in 2008/2009, because they say that stock and bondholders in SVB are not protected. However, they are using “emergency-lending authorities” to make funds available to meet bank withdrawals, even those that exceed FDIC limits! In fact, 85% of the bank’s deposits were uninsured! And you can’t argue their customers don’t understand FDIC. These are some of the supposed best and brightest innovators in our country. This is absolutely a bailout; they just aren’t calling it one.

What are the lessons we can learn from SVB’s failure?

After all, SVB is an investor, just like you and me. The principles they failed to adhere to can also lead to an investor running out of money during retirement. The only difference is the Government has no interest in bailing YOU out. So, it’s important to have a plan and process while you are navigating a potential 30+ year retirement!

Lesson #1: Diversification

This is a basic principle of “Investments 101” – Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket! Diversify! In SVB’s case, they put all of their eggs in the tech start-up basket, and they had quite a run-up until 2022.

Coincidently, when I review prospective client portfolios, technology is by far the most concentrated sector. I’m not going to argue the merits of tech companies, but most banks tend to diversify their clientele. This provides less risk of one industry going through hard times.

Oftentimes people bury their heads in the sand in hopes that “things work out.” Well, if you haven’t done anything with your portfolio in a while, there is a good chance you’re overexposed to assets that are overpriced.

SVB chose not to diversify. They decided to stick with their niche, and ultimately the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes put pressure on their customers leading to the run on their bank.

Lesson #2: Match retirement cash flows with YOUR time horizon!

When you are planning for retirement, there are two types of expenses:

Known expenses
Unknown expenses

For your “Known expenses,” wouldn’t it make sense to match those up with “known cash flows” and not “unknown cash flows”? Well, SVB decided to keep their bond portfolio LONG term. The longer the term of the bond, the more interest rate risk it has. It’s important to not chase rates. Just because a bond is paying a higher coupon, doesn’t mean it aligns with YOUR portfolio goals.

This is why I am a big fan of individual bonds for the “core” bond portfolio. With individual bonds, you can hold them to maturity for the “known expenses.” Sure, there is a time and place for bond mutual funds or bond etfs, but those funds have redemption risk, similar to what SVB experienced. In their minds, they wanted to hold their bonds to maturity to match up with later cash flow needs, but their customers wanted cash now.

With bond funds, what if OTHER investors who own that fund want their cash before you do? Well, these are known as redemptions and ultimately the fund may have to sell at an inopportune time, just like SVB! In essence, you lose one of the most important characteristics of a bond, the maturity date!

So, if you have a bond portfolio and are planning for retirement, you must absolutely match your bond portfolio up with YOUR time horizon and YOUR cash flow needs! This eliminates interest rate risk as much as possible. And for retirees, risk management is the name of the game.

Lesson #3: Have a contingency plan

Ok, that’s a great plan for the “known expenses,” but what about the “unknown expenses?” In retirement, things ALWAYS come up. We just don’t know what they will be, and how much they will set us back.

This is why I advocate for an emergency fund OUTSIDE of the retirement portfolio. With high-yield savings accounts offering north of 3% interest, cash can at least earn something while sitting idle. Of course, stick within FDIC limits, but anywhere from 1-2 years worth of FIXED expenses is appropriate for a retiree’s emergency fund. Unlike an investor who is still working and has time to get a new job or allow the portfolio to recover, retirees don’t have those luxuries. Sure, you could beg for your old job back, but that might not be what you WANT to do. Instead, if you have 1-2 years of fixed expenses, this will help preserve your investment portfolio from a larger-than-anticipated withdrawal.

For some, you may not want so much cash sitting around for that “what-if” scenarios, so here are a couple of compliments to a cash reserve fund:

Home Equity Line of Credit
Life Insurance Cash Values

Home Equity Lines of Credit, or HELOCs, are a great way to limit how much you keep in cash. Most people use these for home improvements, but having a HELOC can also help with your emergency fund. Let’s say 1 year of fixed expenses is $100,000. Instead of having $100k-$200k in high-yield savings, you might keep $50,000 in cash, and have a $150k HELOC for the JUST-in-case scenario. That way, your savings account can be your first line of defense. And only if needed, the HELOC can come in as a backup.

Cash Value Life Insurance is probably my favorite emergency fund vehicle in retirement. Unlike term insurance, it can act as a pool of funds available when you really need it.

And unlike a bond which can decline in value based on interest rates, cash values have a minimum guaranteed rate, so the cash can never go down. Think about the power of this tool in the market we are in now where bond prices are down over 15%!

And I’m not talking about Indexed Universal Life policies or Variable Life Policies, I’m talking about a traditional fixed product. If you build up enough cash value over time, you may only need 3-6 months of fixed expenses in cash given the rest of your cash buffer is inside of your life insurance policy. I’m going to write another article on Cash Value Life Insurance later, but it’s a great tool for the right person. But for the wrong person, it’s one of the worst products you can buy!

For what it’s worth, our firm does not sell any insurance products and we have no skin in the game. These products should also be gone over with a fine-tooth comb as they can be extremely complex.

Bonus Lesson #4: Don’t chase the shiny new toy

As I began writing this piece, Signature Bank became the next casualty of the run on banks Sunday, March 12^th. Their Bank was also focused on a niche, commercial real estate. However, in 2018, they decided to chase the shiny new toy, cryptocurrency, or digital assets. As concerns arose from the failure of FTX as well as SVB, customers started to pull their funds from Signature, leading to what is now the 3^rd largest Bank to fail in US History.

I repeat, don’t chase the shiny new toy!

What does this mean for the markets?

It was interesting because the stock market rallied on Monday after both SVB and Signature closed their operations. WHY??

Well, it seems that investors feel the Fed might slow their rate increases in light of the casualties it caused. Slower rate hikes mean potentially less pressure on profits and ultimately earnings. However, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of this narrative. Starting with FTX’s collapse last fall, and now these two large banks failing, other companies that are overweight in speculative investments will continue to unravel. The magnitude of these rate hikes cannot be overstated and this type of carnage has been what we’ve been concerned about since the beginning of 2022.

The story we are very interested in is the impact on small “moms-and-pops” businesses. After all, many of the customers SVB serves provides service to everyday businesses. Whether it’s payroll, cloud services, or other technology, small businesses across the US rely on tech. And if these tech companies are beginning to falter, what does that do to the economic system as a whole? Also, is this going to lead customers of other regional banks to panic? Will they take their money and put it at a larger bank or under the mattress or in cryptocurrency? This could put significant pressure on banks all over the US, which would have a trickle effect on the economy.

In the end, the Fed may not get the soft landing it wanted, but a recession may not be fully priced into the market at this point.

The one silver lining is that inflation does continue to ease, and that’s good news when it comes to what the Fed does next.

For those of you who are close to, or already retired, I have 5 major takeaways for you.

1. Are you overweight in speculative investments?

Tech, consumer discretionary, digital assets, or even speculative real estate. These assets have certainly appreciated significantly over the last decade, but things tend to fall in and out of favor. Therefore, it’s important to review and re-balance your portfolio on an ongoing basis to reduce risk. Even if your portfolio consists of several mutual funds or ETFs, it’s also very possible they are concentrated in certain sectors with higher risk.

2. What does your bond portfolio consist of?

Are the time horizons of your bond portfolio consistent with your personal retirement goals and objectives? If you need help reviewing this, consult a professional (we can help you!).

3. What major unexpected expenses might you run into during retirement?

Sure, we may not have a “run-on-your-retirement” as we had with SVB. However, I can guarantee there will be significant unknown expenses during a multiple-decade retirement. One, in particular, I can think of is the need for long-term care. This is perhaps the largest unknown expense for retirees, and the cost can drain a retirement portfolio much sooner than desired. It’s important to have a contingency plan to protect and preserve the retirement portfolio if the need for care arises.

4. Where do you bank?

The notion of FDIC has come back into play with the collapse of SVB. Are you over the $250k FDIC limit with your bank? While the Fed announced it’s going to make customers of SVB and Signature whole, that may not be the case with smaller regional banks, so it’s important to keep your safe money safe.

5. Don’t be reactive, be proactive.

News like this is never good for the markets. We have been talking about the Fed’s rate hikes for over a year and how certain sectors are going to take a hit. Now, the impact is beginning to rear its ugly head, and we might have a few more quarters of continued bad news. However, you are investing for retirement. Retirement is not just a few quarters, it’s a few decades! As long as your portfolio is aligned with your retirement goals, there is no need to make a knee-jerk reaction to the bad news. After all, if you’ve learned from the lessons SVB’s failure taught us, you can implement a successful retirement plan for “all seasons.”

If you have questions about how these lessons can be implemented into your retirement plan, we would love to meet you and learn more about you.

And finally, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with all of our latest retirement planning content.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Sources

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-silicon-valley-bank-bailout-chorus-yellen-treasury-fed-fdic-deposit-limit-dodd-frank-run-cc80761e?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-reserve-rolls-out-emergency-measures-to-prevent-banking-crisis-ba4d7f98?mod=economy_lead_pos1

https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-with-deposits-trapped-in-silicon-valley-bank-9034f33b?mod=article_inline

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/silicon-valley-bank-exec-lehman-000556735.html

https://www.barrons.com/articles/svb-silicon-valley-bank-rates-securities-693c931c

Kevin Lao

March 14, 2023

What are the rules for Required Minimum Distributions?

Congratulations! Lots of blood, sweat, and tears went into a successful career, and you have saved enough to start thinking about when to retire. If you’ve been saving into a 401k, 403b, or another retirement plan through work, you’ve probably heard of Required Minimum Distributions or “RMDs.” You might be wondering;
“What are the rules for required minimum distributions?”
“How do RMDs impact my taxes?
Or, “What can I do now to prepare for RMDs?”

This article is for you! We’ll unpack all of this and provide REAL-LIFE action items to help you plan for RMDs and save in taxes!

What are RMDs and when do they start?

Simply put, RMDs are the IRS’s way of saying, “the party is over.” Or in this case, the tax party is over!

When you contributed to your 401k, IRA, or 403b, you likely took advantage of a generous tax deduction up front and have never paid taxes year over year on earnings. Pretty powerful, right?

The IRS has been patiently waiting for you to start withdrawals, and RMDs are their way of starting to collect their tax revenue.

Starting in 2023, the RMD age, or “beginning date,” is the year in which you turn 73 (for individuals born before 1960). For those born in 1960 or later, the beginning date is the year you turn 75.

Just a few short years ago, the beginning date was the year you turned 70 ½. The SECURE Act of 2019 pushed the RMD age back to 72, and the SECURE Act 2.0 (just passed in December 2022) pushed it back even further. With many retirees living well into their 90s, that’s potentially 20+ years of RMDs!

These qualified plans have such powerful tax advantages because the growth year over year is not taxable! This allows for compounding interest to avoid tax drags altogether, which is unique in the investment world. However, there is a reason why our clients’ largest expense during retirement is TAXES! Our job is to minimize taxes, legally, as much as possible. Part of that job is to minimize the tax impact of RMDs in retirement.+

How are RMDs calculated?

The IRS has life expectancy tables that are updated (not so frequently), and each age has an assigned “life expectancy factor.” Once you reach your beginning date, the account balance at the previous year’s close (December 31^st) is divided by the life expectancy factor in the IRS tables.

Example:

You have a $1,000,000 IRA balance as of December 31^st of 2022.

Assuming you turn 75 in 2023 and you use the Uniform Lifetime Table (more on this in a moment), your life expectancy factor would be 24.6.

To calculate the RMD for 2023, you would divide $1,000,000 by 24.6, which would equate to $40,650.40.

There are three types of life expectancy tables. The Uniform Life Expectancy table (used above) is for single or married account owners. However, if you are married, your spouse is the sole beneficiary of your account, AND is more than 10 years younger than you, you can use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Life Expectancy Table.

The “Single Life” expectancy is for beneficiaries of IRAs that were not the spouse and inherited the account before January 1^st of 2020. For account owners who have inherited IRAs or other retirement accounts beginning in 2020, the new 10-year rule applies, which we will discuss shortly.

The older you get the higher the rate of withdrawal gets. By the time you reach 80, the distribution percentage is close to 5%/year! At 85, it’s 6.25%!

An RMD for a $1,000,000 IRA at age 85 is $62,500!

If you add in Social Security income, perhaps a pension, and other investment income, you can see how this could create a tax burden during the RMD phase. The IRS does not care if you need the income, they just want their tax revenue. And not only will your taxable income in retirement go up, but could impact how much Social Security is taxed and how much you are paying for Medicare premiums!

If you miss an RMD, there are penalties. The SECURE Act 2.0 changed the penalty to 25% from 50%, and that applies to the amount you failed to withdraw. Using our example above with a $40,650.40 RMD, a 25% penalty would equate to $10,162.60 assuming you withdrew nothing!

Needless to say, make sure you satisfy this important rule for required minimum distributions or pay the price.

The first RMD can be delayed until April 1st of the following year!

RMDs need to be satisfied by December 31^st each year. Some of our clients elect to take the RMD monthly in 12 equal payments; others elect quarterly. And some take it as a lump sum. The decision is cash flow driven and how much you need the RMD for income (or not). There is one exception that applies to your FIRST RMD. The first required minimum distribution can be delayed until April 1^st of the following year.

Let’s say you turn 73 in the year 2024, which would make 2024 your beginning date. However, you also plan to retire in 2024 and might still have high wages to report for that tax year. In 2025, you will be fully retired and will have ZERO wages, so you decide you want to take advantage of delaying the first RMD until 2025. In this scenario, you would take the 2024 distribution by April 1^st (of 2025) and of course the 2025 distribution by December 31^st! In this scenario, you have two RMDs on your 2025 tax return, but your overall income perhaps is still lower because of no W2!

Are there RMDs on my current employer plan?

If you are still actively employed and have a qualified plan you are participating in, you can avoid RMDs from those plans only. Let’s say you plan to work until 75, and you have a large 401k with your current employer and an IRA from previous retirement plans. You will still be required to make an RMD from your IRA, but you can avoid the RMD on your 401k altogether. Once you are officially separated from service, that will trigger the “beginning date” for that 401k plan.

It’s also important to note that separation from service triggers the “beginning date” for that 401k. So, assuming you deferred RMDs in your current 401k plan, and retire at 75, you can still take advantage of deferring the first RMD until April 1st following the year you separated from service.

Finally, this rule does NOT apply to Solo 401ks or SEP IRAs. These plans are for self-employed individuals, and RMDs can’t be delayed simply because they are still working.

Can I aggregate my RMDs into one plan?

You might be wondering if you have multiple retirement plans, can you just pull the RMDs from one account?

My favorite answer is, “it depends.”

If the multiple retirement plans have identical plan types (perhaps they are all 401ks or all 403bs), then “yes, you can aggregate the RMDs.” If there are different plan types, like one IRA and one 401k, those plans each have their own RMD and must be satisfied separately. Let’s look at two examples:

Scenario 1: Joe has two IRAs, each with RMDs:

IRA RMD #1: $10,000

IRA RMD #2: $25,000

Total IRA RMD = $35,000

He can satisfy the entire $35,000 from either or both accounts.

Scenario 2: Joe has one IRA and one 401k each with RMDs:

IRA RMD #1: $10,000

401k RMD #2: $20,000

Each RMD would need to be satisfied separately because they are not identical account types.

SECURE Act’s elimination of the Stretch IRA for (MOST) beneficiaries

In January 2020, the SECURE Act of 2019 went into law. Part of the plan to pay for the bill was to accelerate distributions for beneficiaries of IRAs and 401k plans.

Under the previous law, a beneficiary other than the spouse could “stretch” the IRA based on THEIR life expectancy. Assuming the non-spouse beneficiary was much younger (like an adult child), the RMD would be reduced significantly after the original owner’s death. This is when the Single Life Expectancy table is used, as we alluded to earlier.

Let’s look at an example:

An original account holder has a $1mm IRA and is 80 years old. Their RMD would be $1,000,000 / 20.2 = $44,504.96. Before 2020, if that account owner passed away and their 55-year-old daughter inherited the account, her RMD would be $31,645.57. That’s a reduction of almost $13,000 of taxable income! In essence, it allowed the new owner to “stretch out” the distributions over a much longer period of time and thus preserving the tax-deferred status for longer.

The SECURE Act of 2019 eliminated the stretch IRA for MOST beneficiaries. I wrote about this in a previous post, “The Tax Trap of Traditional 401ks and IRAs,” but most beneficiaries other than the spouse will follow the “10-year rule.”

What is the 10-year rule?

The 10-year rule states that a retirement account must be fully liquidated by the end of the 10^th year following the owner’s death. The exception to the 10-year rule is for those who are “eligible designated beneficiaries.” These individuals are essentially a spouse, a beneficiary who is disabled or chronically ill, or a beneficiary who is fewer than 10 years younger than the IRA owner.

Everyone else will follow the 10-year rule.

If the IRA owner passed away on or after the beginning date, RMDs must continue during years 1-9, and then the full balance must be liquidated in year 10. If the IRA owner passed away before their beginning date, there are no RMDs until year 10, when the account needs to be fully liquidated.

It might be tempting to stretch the 10-year rule until the 10^th year, but this would result in significant taxes owed that year. Instead, you might consider taking somewhat equal distributions in years 1-9 and distributing the remaining account balance in year 10 to avoid a huge tax bill.

As you can see by the (overly simplified) chart below, this has significantly increased the size of distributions required after the account owner’s death and ultimately results in higher taxes.

What can you do to minimize the tax impact of RMDs?

If you are like many of our clients, the bulk of your retirement savings might be in tax-deferred 401ks or IRAs. However, newer plans like Roth IRAs and other Roth retirement plans have NO RMDs! Therefore, one way to minimize the RMD impact is to increase the proportion of Roth accounts on your balance sheet. There are two ways to do this:

If you are still working, change the contribution allocation to Roth vs. Traditional (401ks, 403bs, TSPs, etc). If your employer does not have a Roth option, you might consider a Roth IRA.
If you are retired or perhaps not contributing to a retirement plan, you could consider Roth conversions. This allows for money to be moved from tax-deferred accounts to tax-free accounts by paying taxes on the amount converted.

Why would I want to pay more taxes now?

Perhaps you believe your tax bracket will go up due to RMDs. Maybe you saved diligently into 401ks and IRAs and your RMD will be high enough to push you into the next tax bracket.

Also, healthcare is a big expense in retirement! Many people don’t realize that your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (“MAGI”) will impact how much you pay in Medicare Part B and D premiums (known as “IRMAA”)! The base premium for Medicare Part B is $164.90, but this can increase as high as $560.50 depending on your MAGI! Multiply this by 2 for Married Couples and we are talking over $12k/year in premiums alone!

Therefore, you might consider taking small bites at the apple now (pay some additional taxes now), so you don’t have a huge tax drag when RMDs kick in.

Consider taking advantage of "Qualified Charitable Distributions" or QCDs

This is perhaps my favorite tax strategy for retirees. QCDs allow for up to $100,000 to be donated to a qualified charity from your IRA. You have to be at least 70.5 years old, and it has to come from YOUR IRA (not an inherited IRA). This also means you cannot use 401ks or 403bs for QCDs!

While you can start this strategy at 70.5, this has the most impact on those already taking RMDs.

Because of the increase in the standard deduction, the majority of taxpayers are NOT itemizing deductions. If you’re not itemizing deductions, the gift you made to your favorite charity is NOT deductible! Instead of donating cash, a QCD will allow you to use some (or all) of your RMD to contribute to your favorite charity (or charities). The best part; is there is NO impact on itemizing or using the standard deduction! The amount donated via QCD reduces your RMD dollar for dollar (up to $100,000), which is in essence BETTER than a tax deduction! Let’s look at how this works.

Bill’s RMD for 2023 is $50,000.

Bill loves donating to his local animal shelter which is a qualified 501(c)(3). He typically sends a check for $5,000, but he does not have enough deductions to itemize on his tax return. Instead of sending a check, Bill fills out a QCD form with Charles Schwab (where his IRA is) and tells them to send $5k from his IRA directly to the shelter. The QCD is processed, and now Bill’s remaining RMD is only $45,000 for 2023! See, better than a tax deduction!

It’s important to note that the charity has to be a US 501(c)(3) to be eligible for a QCD, and this excludes Donor Advised Funds and certain charities.

Action Items

RMDs will likely always be a part of our tax code. As you can see, however, the rules are changing frequently! Instead of being reactive, begin planning for how to deal with your RMDs well before you start them!

Here are some action items and questions to consider:

1. Run a projection for what your RMD will be at your beginning date

2. Does your RMD provide a surplus of income? Or, do you need your RMD to maintain your retirement lifestyle?

3. If your RMD provides a surplus of income, consider increasing Roth contributions and reducing Pre-tax contributions. Or, consider converting some of your pre-tax balance to Roth when the timing is right. Typically a great time to look at this is when you retire and have a window of time (let’s say 4-5 years) before starting RMDs!

4. If you are already taking RMDs, determine if QCDs are a viable option for you to consider

5. If leaving a financial legacy is important, consider the tax implications of leaving retirement accounts to the next generation. Are your children in higher tax brackets? If so, you might want to consider the impact the 10-year rule will have on their tax bill.

6. Do you believe your tax rate (or perhaps tax rates in general) will be higher or lower in the future?

It’s important to have a plan and consult with a financial professional who understands taxes in retirement! If you have questions about how to address your RMD strategy, reach out to us and schedule an initial “Zoom” meeting! We would love to get to know you and learn how we can help with your retirement journey.

And as always, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with all of our latest retirement planning content!

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Kevin Lao

February 27, 2023

Using the Guardrail Withdrawal Strategy to Increase Retirement Income

What is a safe withdrawal rate for retirement?

There will be ongoing debates on what a safe withdrawal rate is for retirees. It’s the Holy Grail of retirement planning. After all, wouldn’t it be nice to know EXACTLY how much you could withdraw from your portfolio, and most importantly, for how long? Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. The most popular research in this arena is Bill Bengen’s “Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data,” which coined the “4% Rule.” However, what if you need more than 4%/year to enjoy retirement? Or, what if you want to spend more early in retirement while you still can? Or, perhaps you can make other adjustments over time to improve outcomes. This is where the Guardrail Withdrawal Strategy, or a dynamic spending plan, really helps retirees’ incomes.

In Michael Stein’s book, “The Prosperous Retirement,” he categorizes retirement into the following three phases:

“Go-go years”
“Slow-go years”
“No-go years”

The idea is that spending tends to go up in the first phase of retirement, and then continues to go down as we age. Sure, healthcare costs could go up later in retirement, but not at the same rate that discretionary spending goes down.

Another example where adjustments to spending occur is during a recession or bear market, like in 2020. Spending was down significantly due to global lockdowns, and for retirees, this meant a significant drop in travel expenses.

On the other hand, some years might require higher spending because of unexpected medical expenses or home repairs.

The point is, life isn’t a linear path, so why should your retirement income plan be?

Justin Fitzpatrick, the co-founder of Income Lab, and I talked about retirees’ spending powers in “Episode 14 of The Planning for Retirement Podcast.” Those of us who specialize in retirement income are familiar with the Guardrail Withdrawal Strategy. This involves setting a specified rate of withdrawal but understanding when to pivot during good and bad times.

In this article, we will discuss the background of the 4% rule and its impact on retirement planning. We will also review some of the drawbacks of the 4% rule when implementing it in practice. And finally, we will discuss the Guardrail Withdrawal Strategy, and how it can improve retirement income by simply allowing for fluidity in withdrawals.

Let’s dive in!

The 4% rule

Bill Bengen was a rocket scientist who received his BS from MIT in aeronautics and astronautics. After 17 years of working for his family-owned business, he moved to California and began as a fee-only financial planner. He couldn’t find any meaningful studies to showcase what a safe withdrawal rate in retirement would be. So, he began his own research and discovered the 4% rule, or “SAFEMAX” rule.

He looked at historical rates of return and calculated how long a portfolio would last given a specified withdrawal rate and portfolio asset allocation. In layman’s terms, he figured out how much could reasonably be withdrawn from a portfolio, and for how long. This helped solve the #1 burning question for pre-retirees; “Will I outlive the money? Or, will the money outlive me?”

The Findings

There is a ton of amazing detail in Bill’s research, the most famous being the 4% rule. The main takeaway is if a portfolio withdrawal rate was 4% in the first year and adjusted for inflation each year thereafter, the worst-case scenario was a portfolio that lasted 33 years. This worst-case scenario was a retiree who began withdrawals in the year 1968, right before two recessions and hyperinflation. This confirms that the timing of retirement is important but completely uncontrollable!

The hypothetical portfolio within the 4% rule consisted of a 50% allocation in US Large Cap Stocks and 50% in US Treasuries.

Bill later acknowledged that adding more asset classes and increasing stock exposure would increase the SAFEMAX rates. For example, adding small-cap and micro-cap stocks increases the SAFEMAX to 4.7%!

The downsides of using the 4% rule in practice

First and foremost, I must first acknowledge that Bill Bengen’s research has made a huge impact on the retirement planning industry, and certainly in my practice personally. Every planner who focuses on retirement knows who Bill Bengen is and knows about the 4% rule.

One common mistake is most people assume the 4% rule means multiplying the portfolio each year by 4%, thus providing the withdrawal rate. Instead, 4% is the FIRST year’s rate of withdrawal. Each subsequent year, the dollars taken out of the portfolio will adjust for that year’s inflation rate. Let’s look at an example.

Let’s say you have $1mm saved. If we used the 4% rule, your first withdrawal would be $40k (4% x $1mm). In year 2, assuming inflation was 3%, the withdrawal would be $41,200 ($40k + 3% or $40k x 1.03). Well, what if year 2 involved a steep drop in your portfolio value? If you retired in 2008, and your portfolio dropped by 35%, the rate of withdrawal in year 2 would equal 6.33% ($41,200/$650k).

What about the mix of stocks and bonds?

Some clients are more risk-averse than others. However, most people assume the entire study was based on a 50/50 stock and bond allocation. This is TRUE for the 4% rule, or SAFEMAX, but he also ran scenarios based on all types of allocations. He discovered that 50% is the minimum optimal exposure to stocks. However, he found that the closer you get to 75%, the more it will increase your SAFEMAX. So, in addition to adding more asset classes, as mentioned above, increasing your percentage of stock ownership could also increase the safe withdrawal rate.

Word of caution: increasing your stock exposure could certainly increase your rate of withdrawal, but it will also increase the volatility and the risk of loss in your portfolio.

This is where “risk capacity” comes into play. The more risk capacity you have, the more inclined you might be to take on more risk. The inverse is also true.

The 4% rule is also based on the worst-case scenario of historical rates of return and inflation.

The majority of the time, stocks have positive returns (80% of the time). But, what if you pick the worst year to retire, like 1968? This was a perfect storm of bear market stock performance combined with high inflation (sound familiar?). So, does that mean you should plan for the worst-case scenario? If you do, in most of the trials within Bengen’s research, the portfolios lasted well beyond 50 years resulting in a significant surplus in assets at death.

In fact, he cited that many investors did very well with a 7% withdrawal rate! My goal is to encourage my clients to ENJOY retirement, not worry about the worst that could happen!

How much of your retirement income are you willing to sacrifice just to prepare for the worst-case scenario? After all, $70,000/year is a heck of a lot more than $40,000/year from the same $1mm portfolio.

What about the impact of tax planning?

Bill Bengen’s study assumed the entire portfolio was invested in a tax-deferred IRA or 401k plan. This means that all income coming out of the portfolio was taxed at ordinary income rates! But what about those who have brokerage accounts with favorable capital gains treatment? Or better yet, what about Health Savings Accounts or Roth IRAs? These accounts have TAX-FREE withdrawals assuming they are qualified!

If smart tax planning is implemented, this could also enhance retirement income!

If you are like many of the clients we work with, the majority of your retirement savings likely consists of pre-tax 401ks and IRAs (aka “tax deferred” accounts). You might be wondering if you should take advantage of the Roth conversion strategy to improve tax efficiency during retirement. You can read more about that topic in a previous post (link here).

Sometimes, if you have a period of time with very low taxes (typically in the first 5-10 years of retirement), you can be aggressive with this strategy and significantly save on taxes in retirement and Medicare surcharges (aka “IRMAA”).

Do retirees' expenses increase with inflation?

Another challenge of the 4% rule is the assumption that spending continues to increase at the pace of inflation each year. But what about later in retirement when travel slows down? Or, perhaps you sell the RV after years of exploring the national parks. Wouldn’t discretionary spending go down, thus resulting in a lower rate of withdrawal?

According to Michael Stein and his research, he cites that retirees go through three life stages

Go-go years
Slow-go years
No-go years

In the Go-go years, spending may actually go up slightly due to the simple fact that you have more free time! You’re able to take several big trips a year, visit the grandkids often, and so on.

In the Slow-go years, expenses go down a bit and also tend to increase at a slower pace than the consumer price index. During this phase, spending can drop up to 25% and increase at a slower pace than the Consumer Price Index.

In the No-go years, spending continues to drop with the exception of the healthcare category. Healthcare expenses tend to increase in the No-go years, but proper planning can help mitigate these costs.

If we assume a static spending level and therefore a reduced SAFEMAX, this could mean clients would potentially miss out on more spending in the “Go-go years” in order to have a surplus of available spending later in retirement!

Of course, we need to have a plan to address longevity and inflation risk, as well as a plan for unexpected healthcare expenses, such as Long-term care. However, if we have those contingencies in place, I’m all for spending more early in retirement while good health is on your side.

Social Security and other income sources aren't counted

Finally, the 4% rule never accounted for a reduction of portfolio withdrawals due to claiming Social Security or other retirement income.

Let’s say you plan to retire at age 60 and delay Social Security until 70 in order to collect the largest possible benefit. Your portfolio withdrawals in the first 10 years might be 30% or even 40% higher until you begin collecting Social Security!

The 4% rule does not account for those adjustments, and therefore will result in far less spending early on.

Word of caution. Accommodating for a higher than optimal withdrawal rate for an extended period of time, like 10 years, requires significant due diligence and risk management! A downturn during this period puts your portfolio at much greater risk, so ensure proper contingencies are in place if we go through a “Black Swan” event.

What is the Guardrail Withdrawal Strategy?

At a high level, the Guardrail Withdrawal Strategy allows for adjustments based on economic and market conditions. For simplicity purposes, this means reducing or increasing spending ONLY if a withdrawal rate guardrail is passed.

If you picture a railroad track, the initial target is the dead center of the track. We will then set “guardrails” on each side (positive and negative) to ensure we stay on track and make an adjustment to spending ONLY if we cross over the guardrail.

The guardrails we like to use involve an increase or decrease in the rate of withdrawal by 20% before a change needs to be made. If the rate of withdrawal crosses over the 20% threshold, either spending goes down 10% (Capital Preservation Rule) or up 10% (Prosperity Rule).

Let’s say we started with a rate of withdrawal of 5%; the lower guardrail would be 4% and the upper guardrail would be 6%. Due to market conditions outlined earlier in 2008, let’s say that caused us to pass the upper guardrail of 6%.

This would result would trigger the Capital Preservation Rule and the client would reduce their spending by 10% during that year.

Conversely, let’s say in 2021 the lower guardrail was hit given the extreme overperformance by stocks. This would result in the Prosperity Rule and spending increasing by 10% the following year.

This research was back-tested for a retiree who began withdrawals in 1973, which hit the perfect storm of high inflation and bear market returns. Despite these challenges, the maximum initial rate of withdrawal for a retiree that year was 5.8%! (assuming the portfolio was allocated to 65% in equities and 35% in fixed income). Increasing the stock exposure to 80% increased the initial rate of withdrawal to 6.2%!

Key factors to consider when implementing the guardrail withdrawal strategy

Risk tolerance

A client’s tolerance for risk will impact the “tightness” of the guardrails as well as exposure to stocks in the portfolio.

If a client is extremely risk-averse, perhaps you set “tighter” guardrails. This will increase the number of adjustments needed over time, but it could provide some peace of mind to the client. Additionally, reducing the stock exposure close to 50% (or in some cases lower) reduces volatility in the portfolio, but will also reduce the initial rate of withdrawal.

Conversely, if a client wants to achieve a higher rate of withdrawal (or income) and is comfortable with volatility in the market, up to 80% exposure to stocks could very well be appropriate. Additionally, you could widen the guardrails in order to limit the number of adjustments in spending.

What is the desire to leave a financial legacy?

The desire to leave a financial legacy is one of the major factors when considering the initial rate of withdrawal. If this is a high-priority goal, reducing the initial withdrawal rate could certainly improve the ultimate legacy amount.

On the other hand, if leaving a financial legacy isn’t a big priority, allowing for a much higher initial withdrawal rate is a viable option.

This is also where certain insurance products could be considered. For many, using a well-diversified investment portfolio with systematic withdrawals is more than appropriate. Fixed income would be used to protect withdrawals in a bear market, and stocks would be used as income during bull markets.

However, maybe having a guaranteed income stream is important to a client. In that case, consider purchasing a fixed annuity. One positive to rates increasing is that these annuity payout rates have also increased. I’ve seen quotes recently between 6%-8%/year. Many of the rate quotes, however, will not adjust for inflation. But if structured properly, this could be a nice solution to create an “income floor” over and above Social Security income.

For those of you who have a strong desire to leave a financial legacy, perhaps purchasing a life insurance policy could solve this challenge. In essence, this creates a legacy floor that can free you up to enjoy your retirement assets!

Finally, for those who have major concerns about Long-term care expenses down the road, purchasing Long-term Care Insurance could create some peace of mind. That way, the retirement income for the surviving spouse and/or legacy goals aren’t completely destroyed by a Long-term Care event.

Key takeaways and final word

There is no one size fits all retirement income plan. The 4% rule, the Guardrail Strategy, and the spending stages, all tie in differently based on your personal goals, risk tolerance, and financial situation.

Here are some key takeaways:

The 4% rule is a sound benchmark, but following it may result in a significant surplus of unspent retirement capital over a normal life expectancy
Retirement spending isn’t static, and using the Guardrail Withdrawal Strategy can ultimately improve your retirement income by allowing for flexibility in spending
Successful withdrawal rates have ranged anywhere from 4%/year to 7%/year
Risk tolerance and risk capacity drive the guardrail ranges as well as the exposure to equities in the portfolio
Personal goals and risk factors further determine what the initial safe withdrawal rate should be
Insurance products can help increase peace of mind and protect retirement income streams

We hope you enjoyed this article!

If you are curious about how you might incorporate guardrails into your retirement withdrawal strategy, we’d love to hear from you! You can use the button below to schedule a “Mutual Fit” meeting directly with me.

Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss out on any of our retirement planning content.

Last but not least, share this with someone you know who is approaching retirement!

Thanks for reading!

Kevin Lao

February 7, 2023

4 Bear Market Retirement Income Strategies

The 2022 bear market hits retirees the hardest

As we prepare to close out 2022, retirees and pre-retirees are facing the worst possible scenario, a triple bear market. US stocks, along with international stocks will likely be down double digits. US bonds will close in the red 10%+ year to date. And cash, although yields have risen, are experiencing negative returns net of inflation. All in all, the traditional 60/40 investment portfolio model for retirees has many questioning whether this strategy is still viable.

Many of you will need to take a distribution to satisfy your RMD (“Required Minimum Distribution”) for 2022 and 2023, or simply need income to live on during retirement.

But, you have probably heard the old saying, “Buy Low and Sell High.”

Well, how do you implement a retirement income strategy during a bear market, particularly one in which both stocks and bonds are experiencing record losses?

Here are 4 retirement income strategies to consider during times like these. Let’s not forget that bear markets, on average, happen every 5 years. So, in a potential 30 year retirement time horizon, you will experience roughly 6 bear markets!

Let’s dive in.

#1: Asset Dedication

One way to hedge bear market risk involves what is called the “Asset Dedication Strategy.” This strategy incorporates aligning a CD or individual bond ladder with specific cash flows, in this case retirement income. Let’s say your RMD is estimated to be $50,000 in 2023. A basic example would be to purchase a high quality bond or CD for $50,000 (or a combination), that will mature at the time the cash flow is needed. This is my personal favorite when working with clients because it eliminates the uncertainty of where interest rates might go in the future. In general, when interest rates rise (like in today’s market), the value of bonds go down. If you own an individual bond and hold it to maturity, the par value is redeemed in addition to the interest payments you received. Therefore, who cares what the price fluctuation was along the way?

The challenge for bond mutual funds or ETFs is they have to deal with redemptions (other investors selling), which will inevitably impact the price of that particular fund, and ultimately its performance.

Depending on your time horizon and risk tolerance, we would create a bond and/or CD ladder to satisfy 2-10 years of those expected distributions.

If done properly, you will never have to sell your stocks when markets are down. As your bonds mature and are paid to you as retirement income, you would then re-balance your portfolio (sell some of the winners) to add the next “rung to your ladder.”

The frequency of the re-balance will depend on market conditions and how well your other investments are performing. So, if markets rise rapidly, you might find yourself adding several rungs to the fixed income ladder by taking gains off the table. That way, when markets are down, you have plenty of wiggle room to wait until things recover.

If the strategy involves a taxable account (non-retirement), you might consider municipal bonds, depending on your tax rate. These interest payments are exempt from federal income taxes, and could also be exempt from state income taxes depending on the bond you purchase. If the strategy involves a tax free or tax deferred account, investing in corporate bonds and/or government issuers will work just fine, as taxes are not a concern.

BONUS Strategy

I have to add a bonus strategy as not all bond mutual funds and ETF’s have done poorly in 2022. In late 2021, with the help of our friends at Wisdom Tree Asset Management, we added the ticker AGZD as a core bond holding for all client accounts. The more conservative the account, the more exposure to AGZD. This strategy involves using traditional fixed income securities coupled with derivatives within the treasury market to hedge against interest rate increases.

Sound complicated? Well, it is somewhat. But in essence, when interest rates do rise (like in 2022), this strategy helps preserve principal unlike your traditional bond mutual fund or ETF.

Year to date this strategy has returned a positive return of 0.63%! Compare that to the average bond mutual fund at -12.79%, wow! This strategy, coupled with individual bonds, has allowed our clients to protect their retirement income during this particular bear market.

#2: “Income Flooring”

“Income Flooring” with annuities is another strategy that works extremely well during volatile markets. This involves purchasing an annuity to generate an income floor that can be relied upon regardless of market fluctuations. Social Security might represent a portion of your fixed income needs in retirement, but what makes up the gap? If you are relying solely on securities that have price fluctuations, what do you do in a market like 2022?

An income floor will invariably reduce the amount of cash needed from a distribution, and therefore will allow your riskier assets to recover during a downturn.

The beauty of this strategy in today’s market is that interest rates have risen sharply. Therefore, insurance companies have been able to increase their payout rates, thus making income flooring much more attractive than it was 3-4 years ago.

I like to compare this to purchasing an investment property designed to pay a fixed income stream. The difference is there are no repairs, unexpected maintenance costs, or tenant vacancy gaps.

On the flip side, it’s not an asset you can “sell back” to anyone to recoup your principal. Additionally, there is no price appreciation like you would expect from buying real estate.

For the most part, these annuities are not liquid and should not be relied upon for an unexpected expense or emergency fund. Therefore, I typically would not recommend exchanging a large majority of your investible assets for these contracts given the lack of flexibility.

However, if structured properly, it can serve as a compliment to Social Security and other guaranteed income streams.

A good rule of thumb is to calculate your non discretionary expenses, and compare that to your projected fixed income payments (Social Security and Pensions). If there is a shortfall, you might consider backing into how much money would need to be exchanged into an annuity to fill that gap.

If you have yet to claim Social Security, this strategy can be even more powerful so you avoid tapping into longer term investments for current fixed income needs.

Caution

These contracts are complex and not all annuities are created equal. It’s important to consult with a fiduciary financial advisor who can work with you and multiple insurance carriers to select the most appropriate product. Caring.com has a great article on annuities that you can read here.

#3: Cash Value Life Insurance

Cash Value Life Insurance is one of the highly debated products in the financial services industry. Insurance companies tend to “sell the sizzle” and often fall short on fully educating the consumer.

On the other hand, most investment advisors tend to default to the advice of “buy term and invest the difference.”

I started my career at a large insurance company, and now run my own fee only financial advisor firm, so I have sat at both sides of the table.

I wrote an article titled “5 reasons to own life insurance in retirement” that I would recommend reading to get my insights on the topic. For this article, I want to focus on using the cash value as an income strategy to hedge a bear market.

Here are the basics:

Cash values within a fixed life insurance policy have a guaranteed interest rate + a non guaranteed interest rate. They are paid to the policy owner in the form of annual dividends that can be used to purchase more life insurance, increase the cash value (or both), and pay premiums.
Cash values can be surrendered, at which point taxes will be due on any gains (if applicable)
Cash values can also be borrowed tax free while also keeping the policy in force

Example: Let’s say you have a policy with $100k in cash value. You are also retired (or planning to retire) and need $50,000/year from your investment portfolio to supplement other income sources. In a market like 2022, you might find it difficult to take a distribution from your investment portfolio, unless you implemented strategy #1 or #2 as previously mentioned. Therefore, instead of selling a stock or bond at a loss, you might consider borrowing $50k from your $100k cash value on a tax free basis. The loan will be charged interest, but there is still interest credited to you on the loan. My personal policy with Northwestern Mutual has a net charge of 3%, which isn’t bad in today’s market.

Let’s say you borrowed from the policy and avoided selling your longer term investments. Now what?

You have two options.

One, you can let the loan ride, and simply ensure that the policy doesn’t run into issues down the road. This involves reviewing your policy on an annual basis using an “In Force Illustration.”

When you pass away, the loan proceeds will be subtracted from the death benefit paid to your beneficiaries.

Or two, pay the loan back once the market recovers.

I prefer option two if you plan to utilize this strategy again in the future. At some point, this market will recover, and we will set new market highs. Who knows if that will be in 2023, 2024, or even 2025. But at some point, you might experience substantial gains within your stock portfolio that you are comfortable with taking $50k off the table and paying back that policy loan.

In essence, you are using the cash value as a re-balancing tool in lieu of other fixed income assets.

Here’s the challenge.

You need to have the cash value in the policy to take advantage of the strategy in the first place. This involves buying life insurance and funding the policy adequately to build up adequate cash value.

Therefore, this strategy is best suited for those of you approaching retirement that have adequate recourses to fund a policy for at least 5 years, and you’re healthy enough to buy it. If it’s designed properly, this will give the policy time to work properly and set you up for this defensive hedge that you may need 4-5 times throughout an average retirement time horizon.

Caution

Much like annuity contracts, life insurance policies are also not created equal. The design of the policy is key and will impact the viability of policy loans as well as the tax implications of using the cash value.

Furthermore, this strategy works best if you have a legacy goal of transferring assets to the next generation, and the cash value is more of an ancillary benefit.

Consult with a fiduciary advisor and licensed agent to create an optimal strategy best suited for you!

#4: Tap into Home Equity

Leveraging a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) or Reverse Mortgage to access home equity is my fourth and final strategy.

With home values shooting up the last few years, you might find yourself with a large chunk of cash available to tap into via a home equity line of credit or reverse mortgage. This should be done carefully as it involves leveraging one of your most important assets, your home. However, if done properly, it could create an infusion of cash while letting your longer term investments recover.

A reverse mortgage could be tapped into as a form of life income payments, a line of credit, or both. At death, the loan amount would be offset by the sale of the home. For a HELOC, the loan would generally need to be repaid within a specified term. With rates increasing, you might be hard-pressed to find a HELOC for less than 6.5%. However, some of you might already have a HELOC established at a lower rate and can tap into the funds cost effectively.

Also, the challenge with reverse mortgages is that a higher interest rate will result in a more expensive loan and thus a lower payment. However, if you are in a bind, it’s worth consulting with your financial advisor and mortgage specialist to see if it’s a viable option.

In Summary

2022 has brought unique challenges to retirees. However, a well thought out retirement income plan is critical to weather this storm, and future storms during a 20-30 year retirement time horizon.

If you have questions about your retirement income plan, or are wondering how this bear market has impacted your long term goals, feel free to book a 30 minute initial conversation with me by clicking on the Schedule Now button below.

Also, make sure to subscribe to our email newsletter below so you don’t miss out on any of our future insights!

Retirement planning = reduce stress and worry less!

Kevin Lao

December 2, 2022

The 7 Most Tax Efficient Retirement Income Strategies

Tax efficiency maximizes retirement income!

When I started my first job as a soccer referee at 12 years old, my Mom used to tell me; “it’s not what you earn, it’s what you keep!”

I’m not sure if working at 12 years of age is legal any longer, but I’ve had a job ever since. My Mom instilled in me the value of forced savings and paying yourself first. (thanks, Mom!)

I’ve been practicing financial planning now for over 14 years, and I find this quote is highly relevant for taxes.

Tax inefficiency of retirement income is one of the biggest drags on returns. In fact, taxes are likely the largest expense for retirees, even more so than healthcare costs!

While we can’t control the stock market, we can control our taxable income (to a certain extent).

This article will outline the 7 most tax efficient retirement income withdrawal strategies so you can maximize spending on your lifestyle, not the IRS.

1. Roth IRAs + other Roth Accounts

As you know, this is one of my favorite tax efficient income strategies for retirement. Sure, you will forgo the tax deduction for contributions, but in exchange for a lifetime of tax free (“qualified”) withdrawals. I’ll take that tradeoff any day!

Here is the nuts and bolts of how these accounts work:

You make a contribution (whether it’s payroll deductions with work or IRA contributions).
You invest the money according to your goals and risk tolerance.
Enjoy tax free withdrawals, assuming they are “qualified”:
- The account is at least 5 years old (for an IRA)
- You are 59 ½ or older

Your contributions in these accounts are always tax and penalty free, but you might have taxes and penalties on earnings if your withdrawal is “nonqualified.”

There are some exceptions like for first time home purchases, educations expenses, etc. But if you are reading this, these will likely not be of interest to you anyhow! Why would you cash in your most tax efficient retirement vehicle for anything other than retirement?

There are some limitations on these accounts.

Contributions:

For Roth IRAs – the max contribution for 2022 is $6,000/year (if you are over 50, you can contribute $7,000/year)
For a Roth 401k/403b – the max contribution for 2022 is $20,500 (if you are over 50, you can contribute $27,000/year)

These contribution limits are per person. If you are married, your spouse has their own limits to take advantage of.

Income phaseouts:

If you are over a certain income threshold, you might be phased out completely from a Roth IRA contribution (don’t worry, there may be a loophole).

Roth 401ks/403bs etc. are NOT subject to income phaseouts. You can make $1million/year and still max out a Roth 401k. Check out your 401k plan rules to see if there is a Roth option in lieu of the traditional.

Enter the backdoor and mega backdoor Roth contributions

In 2012, the IRS lifted the income limits for “Roth conversions.” A Roth conversion simply means you convert all or a portion of your Traditional IRA to your Roth IRA. You will then be responsible for any taxes due at that time. However, you may find this compelling based on your expectations on where taxes might go in the future.

Here’s the loophole…there is no income cap for non deductible IRA contributions. Therefore, savvy tax planners can make non deductible IRA contributions, and immediately convert those dollars into their Roth IRA! This is known as a backdoor Roth contribution!

Pro tip – be careful of the IRA aggregation rule or your conversion may not be tax free!

Now, companies are starting to allow for “Mega Roth 401k/403b conversions!” Depending on your plan rules, you can not only contribute the maximum to a Roth 401k, but you can make an additional non deductible contribution up to the 402g limit. That non deductible contribution can then be converted to your Roth 401k to enjoy tax free growth!

Sound too good to be true? Well, lawmakers are looking to shut this down ASAP, so take advantage while you can and read your plan rules to see if it’s allowed.

2. Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Healthcare will likely be one of your largest expenses in retirement, so why not pay with tax free income?

In order to participate in an HSA, you must have a high deductible healthcare plan. Talk to your HR team about which plans allow for these accounts.

In general, if you are going to the doctor frequently or have higher than average medical bills, a high deductible health care plan may not be right for you. However, if you are pretty healthy and don’t go to the doctor often, you might consider it so you can take advantage of the tax free HSA.

HSA’s have a triple tax benefit:

Tax deductible contributions
Tax free growth
Tax free distributions (if used for qualified medical expenses)

This triple tax benefit is the reason it’s one of the most tax efficient retirement income strategies!

You can also use an HSA to help pay for long-term care costs or even pay long-term care insurance premiums tax free.

Try not to tap into this account early

You might be tempted to reimburse yourself the year you have a major surgery or other medical bill. If you can pay out of pocket, do that instead! As your account grows, you can even invest it according to your risk tolerance and time horizon. This helps amplify the benefit of tax free compounding!

Save your medical bill receipts

There is no time limit on when you reimburse yourself. You could have surgery in 2022, and reimburse yourself anytime in retirement tax free!

Planning a major trip in retirement? Take a look at some medical bills you paid 20 years ago and reimburse yourself from the HSA…now you have more money to enjoy that trip instead of paying Uncle Sam!

Don’t leave this as a legacy

Your beneficiaries (other than a spouse) will have to liquidate the HSA the year you pass away, which could create an unnecessary tax bill for your heirs. Spend it while you can, name your spouse as beneficiary, and enjoy this triple tax advantaged account!

3. Life Insurance

Life Insurance is an often misunderstood, misrepresented, and misused financial tool for retirement. However, it can be used as a tax efficient retirement income strategy, or a tax efficient intergenerational wealth strategy (dual purpose!).

I started out with a life insurance company and am so thankful I did. First and foremost, I was taught to load up on life insurance while I was young and healthy (even before needing it), to lock in my insurability and health profile.

Secondly, I was taught the benefits of permanent insurance and loaded up on this as well. Again, before having any insurance needs at all!

Over time, the cash values have grown, and I’ve been able to tap into this asset class at opportune times when other asset classes were temporarily at a discount!

Ever hear of the concept “buy low, sell high?” Well, how do you buy low if all of your assets are down at the same time?

As we’ve seen with the market in 2022, bonds are not immune to significant drops in performance. Life insurance keeps on keeping on!

Long term, my plan is to keep the insurance as a tax free legacy for my three boys (and hopefully grandbabies!). There is no other financial vehicle that provides an amplified tax free death benefit like life insurance.

Which type of insurance should I own?

Raising children is expensive. Inflation has made it even more difficult! If you are strapped for cash and are worried about making rent or your mortgage on time, you should buy some inexpensive term insurance and protect your family.

Pro tips:

Buy lots of coverage – a rule of thumb is 10x – 16x your gross income, but some insurance companies allow you to buy 25x your gross income!
Make it portable. If you are healthy, buy a policy NOT tied to your workplace, as you never know how long you will stay there.
Make sure it’s convertible. Even though you may not be a good candidate for permanent insurance today, that may change over time. Perhaps when your kids are out of the house, or your mortgage is paid off, or your income has skyrocketed. Being able to convert to a permanent policy without medical underwriting is extremely helpful.

For those of you comfortably maxing your tax advantaged retirement plans and HSA’s (as discussed previously), overfunding a permanent life insurance policy can be a great supplemental savings tool.

There are multiple flavors of permanent life insurance that we won’t go into detail on in this article. But in general, you can invest in fixed products or variable products. This feature will impact the performance of your cash value, and potentially your death benefit.

You can also add a long-term care rider on some policies to kill two birds with one stone. That way, if you are someone who never needs long-term care, your family will still receive the death benefit.

What I have found is that the intention might be to use this cash value as a tax efficient retirement income strategy, more often it’s used for the death benefit. All of you diligent savers will accumulate assets in your 401ks/IRAs, taxable brokerage, HSA’s etc., and you might realize that this amplified death benefit is best used to enhance your intergenerational wealth objectives. Plus, it gives you a license to spend down your other assets in retirement “guilt free.”

Don’t worry about making that decision today, but just know this asset can be a flexible vehicle throughout your lifetime.

4. Taxable Brokerage Accounts

This bucket is one of my favorite tax efficient retirement income strategies for three reasons:

There is no income restriction on who can contribute
There is no cap on contributions
There is no early withdrawal penalty

The title of this account sometimes leads people to believe it’s not tax efficient.

And this can be true if you invest in certain securities within the taxable brokerage account.

However, if you are strategic with your security selection, you can have minimal tax liability during the accumulation phase.

In retirement, you can then use losses to offset gains, sell certain blocks of securities with limited capital gains, and use tax free income as cash flow by investing in municipal bonds (if appropriate).

I find this tool is great to maintain flexibility for funding college, saving for retirement, or any other major expenditures along the way.

Intergenerational Wealth Planning

Certain assets are better used during your lifetime instead of passing on to your heirs, as we discussed with the HSA. However, taxable brokerage accounts are extremely tax efficient for intergenerational wealth planning.

When you pass away, your beneficiaries will get a “step up in cost basis” which will limit their tax liability if/when they sell that asset themselves.

All in all, this can be a great multi functioning tool for retirement income, legacy, or any other major opportunity that comes along!

5. Non Qualified Annuities

I find consumers have a negative connotation associated with the term annuity. And, rightfully so. These products, like life insurance, are often oversold or inappropriately utilized.

In it’s purest form, annuities are used to provide a guaranteed income stream in retirement. Think Social Security or a Pension.

Creating a “retirement income floor” is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself. Believe me, when the markets go south, you don’t want to be worried about how to fund your basic living expenses in retirement.

However, if Social Security + Pension + Annuity income covers your basic necessities, you can avoid losing sleep at night when the markets do take a dive (which they will!).

The tax efficiency components are twofold:

Tax deferred growth, much like a traditional 401k or IRA
Exclusion ratio for lifetime annuity income

For you high income earners, you will want to limit tax drags on your savings. However, once you are maxed out of your qualified retirement plans, you’re going to be wondering where to go next. One of the benefits for annuities is the tax deferred growth. You won’t receive a 1099 until you start the income payments in retirement!

In retirement, instead of the gains being withdrawn first (“LIFO”), you can take advantage of the exclusion ratio. This allows for a portion of your retirement income to be a return of basis, and a portion to be taxable income. Therefore, it’s a great way to spread the tax liability over your lifetime.

In retirement, if you decide you don’t need this income stream, you can flip on the switch to fund other tax efficient vehicles like life insurance or long-term care insurance.

Intergenerational Wealth Planning

In years past, annuities were a terrible way to leave a legacy for your children. Beneficiaries were often forced to take a lump sum distribution or take payments over a short period of time. Now, some annuity contracts allow for the children to turn their inherited annuities into a life income stream. This can also help spread out the tax liability over a much longer period.

I still recommend using these accounts during YOUR retirement phase and leave other assets to your children. Having your beneficiaries deal with the death claim department within annuity companies can be a nightmare!

6. Reverse Mortgage

One of the largest, if not the largest, asset on your balance sheet over time will be home equity. However, many retirees don’t maximize their home equity as an income tool, which could be a mistake.

In simple terms, a reverse mortgage allows the homeowner to stay in their home as long as they live. These products essentially flip your home equity into an income stream. The income stream now becomes a loan with your home as collateral.

Because it’s a loan, the income is not taxable to the borrower!

Instead, the loan will be repaid from the home sale proceeds when you move, sell your home, or pass away.

Creating this essentially tax free income stream can allow you to preserve other liquid assets on your balance sheet, like the ones mentioned above.

It can also be a part of the “retirement income floor” concept that we mentioned previously.

7. Real Estate Income

You often hear of real estate investors paying little to no taxes. The basic reason is the ability to deduct ongoing expenses from the income.

mortgage payments
taxes
insurance
maintenance
property management fees
And the “BIG D” – Depreciation!

This depreciation expense is the real wildcard as it can essentially wipe out any taxable income you would otherwise have to report. Depending on the property type, this can amount to approximately 3.6% of the cost basis year after year! There is some “true up” at the end when you go to sell the property, but it’s a huge advantage to minimize taxable income while your property still cash flows!

And once you sell the property, you can even take advantage of a 1031 tax free exchange and buy another investment property that better suits your overall financial goals.

Investing in real estate is not for everyone. And it’s certainly not a passive activity, even if you have a property manager. Studying your market, analyzing trends, upgrading your property and dealing with bad tenants are ongoing challenges.

However, if you do it right, this can be an extremely tax efficient retirement income strategy.

Final word

Minimizing taxes in retirement is one of the most impactful ways to maximize your cash flow!

However, most people don’t think about taxes in retirement…until they are about to retire!

These strategies only work if you begin building the framework 10, 20 or even 30 years before you quit your day job. Furthermore, not all of the strategies discussed will make sense given your goals and financial circumstances.

It’s important to consult with a fiduciary financial advisor that can take a comprehensive look at your financial plans.

If you are interested in scheduling a call, feel free to use the calendar link below for a 30 minute “Mutual Fit” meeting over Zoom.

Also, make sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you don’t miss out on any retirement planning insights!

Until next time, thanks for reading.

-Kevin

Kevin Lao

September 9, 2022

4 Retirement and Estate Planning Strategies for Blended Families in Florida

What is a blended family and why does it impact my retirement plan?

First, what is a blended family?

Simply put, a blended family involves a remarriage that comes with children from a previous marriage or relationship. Maybe you and your new spouse both have children from previous marriages. Or, perhaps you have children with an ex and a current spouse.

There are many varieties of blended families, and they are quite common. In fact, it is estimated that 40% of households with children in the United States are blended of some kind. Each blended family has unique circumstances, but retirement and estate planning strategies are more complex when it comes to dealing with blended families. I have been working with blended family retirement planning for over 13 years in our home base of Florida, as well as across the United States virtually, so let’s discuss some key issues to focus on.

How does having a blended family impact my retirement plan?

There are four major topics we will cover in this post. Keep in mind, there are other considerations you should address, and no two families are identical. You have to consider your own family dynamics, financial situation, and much more. However, this should get you started as you think about planning for retirement with a blended family.

When should you claim Social Security?
How will you approach your retirement income withdrawal strategies?
How will you pay for Long-term care costs?
Inter-generational Wealth Planning and Estate Planning

1. When should you claim Social Security?

Social Security is likely your largest source of guaranteed income in retirement. It represents 40% of all income for those 65 and older.

There is a possibility you and your spouse each have children you may want to leave assets to, and this could impact the surviving spouse’s retirement income plan. For example, if you have three children and a new spouse, you may decide to divide your estate into 1/4 for each beneficiary.

However, Social Security is one income stream that will always be available to the surviving spouse, no matter what. So, how can you maximize the lifetime benefits for you and your spouse?

If you and your spouse are both eligible for Social Security benefits, the surviving spouse will keep the larger benefit after the first spouse dies. If you have the opportunity to delay Social Security longer to maximize your benefit, this will also maximize your surviving spouse’s benefit if they were to outlive you. If you are able to delay until age 70, you will be eligible for your largest monthly benefit. If that benefit is larger than your spouse’s, it will help maximize their Social Security income in the event some of your assets were not left outright to your spouse.

Other blended family Social Security nuances....

Dependent benefits are also important.

22% of men and 18% of women have a 10 or more year age gap in a second or third marriage. Therefore, you may have remarried a younger spouse, with potentially dependent children. Or, you are remarried and had new children with your younger spouse. Nonetheless, if you are approaching retirement age, consider dependent benefits for Social Security! Dependents are defined as children under age 18 (or 19 if still in high school), or disabled before 22. These dependents could be eligible for a Social Security benefit when you start collecting yours! The benefit is equal to 50% of your primary insurance amount and is available for each dependent child and for your spouse, regardless of age!

There is a cap on the total amount paid based on your primary insurance amount, and it usually ranges between 150%-180% of your full retirement benefit. The caveat is you must begin claiming yourself in order to trigger the dependent benefits. This may result in you filing earlier than you had anticipated. Therefore, you have to run some calculations to see what is best for your situation.

Another consideration is determining your ability to collect Social Security on an ex-spouse. This will depend on how long the previous marriage lasted, and whether it ended in a divorce or premature death.

For example, if your first spouse passed away and you remarried after age 60, you could still qualify for survivor benefits on your former spouse. On the contrary, if you were remarried before 60, those former spouse’s survivor benefits will be forfeited.

For divorcees, ex-spousal benefits will be forfeited (in MOST cases) once you are remarried, but you would then be eligible for a spousal benefit from your new spouse. This is often a consideration on whether or not to legally remarry if your former spouse’s benefit would result in a significantly higher monthly benefit. But let’s be honest, if you want to marry your new partner, don’t let a few extra Social Security dollars prevent you from doing so!

2. What is a safe withdrawal strategy for retirement income?

There is a good chance you and your new spouse both had assets before you were remarried. Perhaps you and your spouse have Traditional IRAs, 401ks, Roth IRAs, and taxable brokerage accounts. However, those account values probably vary between the two of you. Furthermore, you may have slightly different estate planning goals involving children from your previous marriages.

The key is to come up with a safe withdrawal strategy from each bucket based on:

tax characteristics
risk tolerance
inter-generational wealth planning or estate planning goals
insurance coverage
other income sources like Social Security or a pension

If you plan to leave everything to your new spouse and simply divide it evenly between all of the remaining children, the withdrawal strategy is more straightforward. However, if your children will inherit assets upon your death, how does that impact your new spouse’s retirement income plan? Will they have enough to live on throughout their life expectancy? Remember, Social Security will be reduced after the death of the first spouse, as discussed earlier.

Also, let’s say each of you has children from a previous marriage. If you are burning through your assets more aggressively to support the retirement lifestyle, how does that impact your goal to leave money to your children?

The SECURE Act changed the game with inherited IRA's/401k's.

If your children are in a higher tax bracket, you might not want to leave them your IRA or 401k outright. Your surviving spouse will likely have more favorable withdrawal options and be able to stretch this account over their life expectancy. Conversely, leaving the 401k or IRA to your children will likely trigger the new 10-year rule from the SECURE Act of 2019. This would force them to liquidate the retirement accounts fully within 10 years, likely triggering a much higher tax consequence than had you left those assets to your spouse. This is especially true if you are a Florida resident without a state income tax, and your children are residents of a state with high-income taxes (California, New York etc.). In these situations, you may want to consider a slightly higher withdrawal rate on your 401ks or IRAs, and a slightly lower withdrawal rate on your taxable brokerage accounts or Roth accounts. This way, you maximize the tax friendly assets to your children, and also maintain the tax efficiency of traditional 401ks and IRAs by leaving them to your spouse first.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to creating a withdrawal strategy, but starting with open conversations about each other’s legacy goals for both sets of children and getting on the same page about a plan is a great first step. Once the goals are set, a safe withdrawal rate should be established. I wrote an article about this and you can read it here. The basic formula I use is; Financial Goals – Income sources – Risk Intolerance = Safe Withdrawal Rate from investments. Noticed how I used risk intolerance instead of risk tolerance. The reason is that the less risk you are willing to tolerate (the higher your intolerance score), the lower your withdrawal rate would be to accommodate for lower expected investment returns.

Should I follow the 4% rule?

Bill Bengen created the 4% rule back in the 1990’s, which back tested rolling 30 year retirement periods from 1926 to 1976. He concluded that a 4% withdrawal rate resulted in money left over at the end of retirement in all of the tested periods. You could certainly use this as a starting point, but there is much more to consider. If you want to maximize the inheritance for your children, you might need to stay close to 4% or even below it! If you don’t have a huge desire to maximize your estate to children, you might be able to inch closer to a 5% or even 6% safe withdrawal rate.

If you are comfortable with more volatility in your investments in order to maximize returns, you could potentially have a slightly higher withdrawal rate than 4%, perhaps 5%-6%. On the other hand, if you cannot withstand any volatility, supporting a 3%-4% withdrawal rate is a more realistic goal.

Finally, guaranteed income sources play a role in determining your rate of withdrawal. If you have most of your expenses covered by Social Security and/or a Pension, your rate of withdrawal required might even be 0%! In this scenario, you could choose to simply reinvest your earnings, gift to your children or even your favorite charity. On the other hand, if guaranteed income is a very small portion of your required standard of living, your rate of withdrawal might be higher than average.

All of these factors; guaranteed income, risk intolerance, and financial goals; play a role in determining what withdrawal rate to use, so be careful with using a rule of thumb from a textbook.

Using the "Guardrail" approach to withdrawals...

The higher your withdrawal rate, the greater the uncertainty. If you are more aggressive with your investments, you could expect higher returns, and maybe for a period of time a 5% or even 6% rate of withdrawal works just fine. However, what happens when the first recession hits? Or the first bear market?

This is why we like to use Dynamic Withdrawals by way of a “Guardrail Approach.” This involves reducing the rate of withdrawal during a significant downturn in stocks. Conversely, our clients can increase spending when markets are performing well. In our modeling, we have concluded that this is the best way to maximize the safe withdrawal rate, but at the same time maintain flexibility based on current economic conditions. I also wrote more in-depth about this topic in this blog post.

Should I Buy An Annuity?

One final topic to consider is whether or not you will purchase an annuity to fund retirement. There are many flavors of annuities, but the general concept is to create an income stream that you cannot outlive, much like Social Security. These products also provide some peace of mind in that the income stream is typically guaranteed, and not tied to market volatility. If you don’t have a pension, this could be a nice supplement to Social Security. Furthermore, you can name your spouse as a joint annuitant to ensure that they will continue to receive the life income if they outlive you. These products can also be beneficial in that it could allow you to take more risk with your investment portfolio, as well as impact your safe withdrawal rate, knowing that a good portion of your expenses will be covered by guaranteed income.

Many consumers believe they will be sacrificing their intergenerational wealth planning goals for their children or grandchildren by purchasing an annuity. Based on research in the industry, this might be true if you were to die prematurely. However, if you were to live to or past your life expectancy, it could actually result in an increased amount of wealth transferred. The reason is because your investments were able to ride the ups and downs of the market without being tapped into during a recession or bear market. I always recommend seeing what’s out there and comparing the rates between several carriers as they do vary greatly.

Finally, interest rates have been on the rise so far in 2022, and that trend is expected to continue at the moment. Therefore, the payout rates have become quite attractive for new annuitants, so it’s prudent to do some due diligence as you approach retirement.

3. Long-term care planning

Long-term care planning is complicated enough to prepare for during retirement. For blended families, long-term care planning is even more complex. If you and your spouse both accumulated assets for retirement, how will one pay for Long-term care costs if they are needed? Do both of you have Long-term care insurance? Or, do you plan to self insure? Are your estate planning goals the same?

Chances are, we will all need some level of custodial care at some point in our lives. The question is, how extensive is the care? And, for how long is care needed? Genworth published their annual study that indicates there is a 70% probability of needing Long-term care costs for those 65 or older. If you have children from a previous marriage, and your spouse needs care, are you going to burn through your own assets to pay for it? If you are like me, you will do anything you can to take care of your spouse and give them the proper care they need. However, if you have goals to leave money to your children, is that a risk worth NOT planning for?

On the other hand, if your spouse has children from a previous marriage and you needed care, how would he/she pay for it? Would you expect your spouse to accelerate withdrawals on their accounts unnecessarily in order to provide you care?

Should I buy Long-term Care Insurance?

If you are still young enough and healthy enough, you could consider buying Long-term care insurance. The last time I checked, it’s very rare to find a company that will cover you if you are over age 75. The sweet spot is often between 50-60 years of age, as there is a much lower decline rate and premiums are still affordable. When you get into your 60s and 70s, the decline rate goes up substantially and your premiums are quite costly.

Long-term Care Insurance is a very clean way to dedicate specific resources for this major retirement risk. Of course, nobody has a crystal ball, and you might be in the 30% that never needs care, but it’s a gamble you may not want to take.

There are also hybrid Long-term Care and Life Insurance policies that will provide a death benefit if you never use the funds for Long-term Care. Or, a reduced death benefit if you only used a portion of the Long-term Care benefit. This can provide you with some peace of mind knowing that someone will benefit from the policy. These products are much more expensive, so be prepared to write some larger checks. Also, work with a broker that can represent multiple carriers to help you shop around.

What about an annuity with a Long-term Care rider?

If you or your spouse have health issues that might preclude you from getting traditional Long-term Care, consider an annuity with a Long-term Care rider. These products do require a certain level of funding, but they are a viable option if you have a nest egg you could allocate to protect against this risk. Even Suze Orman, who is typically anti life insurance, is an advocate for these types of hybrid policies!

What about “self-insuring?”

There is nothing wrong with self-insuring, just over half of my clients decide to go this route.

If you decide to self-insure, having that discussion with your spouse about what assets to use to pay for care is critical!

If you have accounts that are more tax favorable to leave to your heirs, you may not want that account aggressively spent down for your care!

Also, consider the state you live in relative to your beneficiaries. If you live in a state like Florida or Tennessee without a state income tax, you might consider using some of your 401k or IRA to pay for care. This is especially relevant if your children are in a higher tax bracket and/or live in a state with high income taxes.

Have a plan, communicate it with your spouse, your financial planner, and your other agents so they know what to do! I also wrote an entire article on Long-term Care planning if you want to check it out here.

4. Estate Planning Basics for Blended Families

We have touched on some of the estate planning and intergenerational wealth planning challenges throughout this article. Each spouse might bring a slightly different perspective on transferring wealth. However, the amount you leave or who you leave it to isn’t the only estate planning challenge for blended families. Here are some other key points to consider:

Who will step in to help make financial decisions as you get older?
What about healthcare decisions?
Who is going to be the executor of your estate, or successor trustee?
Do you have any special considerations for any of your beneficiaries? (special needs, spendthrift concerns, son/daughter-in-law concerns, or stepchildren that you may or may not want to include)

These individuals should know what their role is, and what it is not! We’ve all heard of horror stories when someone dies without a plan, and unfortunately impacts how that person is remembered. If you have ever watched the show “This is Us,” there is a scene in the last season where Rebecca calls a family meeting with her three adult children and her second husband. This is a textbook model on how a family meeting should be conducted!

If there are different sets of children involved, consider naming one child from each “side” to participate. If it’s a successor trustee role, perhaps you can name successor co-trustees to avoid any ill will.

I certainly would make sure that a successor trustee or successor financial power of attorney is financially savvy and responsible. This does make things a bit tricky if one “side” does not have a viable option. Instead, I’ve seen where families will name the successor trustee a corporation, also known as a corporate trustee, to serve in that capacity. This way, clients don’t have to worry about anyone’s feelings being hurt because they couldn’t be trusted.

Don’t worry about giving specific dollar amounts on what you are leaving. You certainly can, but it’s not the point. The point is proactive communication and agreement from the adult children and other beneficiaries. This can really protect their relationships long term, which is far more meaningful than the dollar amounts they each receive.

If you didn’t see the episode of This Is Us, check it out here!

Should you consider a trust for your blended family?

I spoke with my own attorney and friend in detail about this. His name is Ryan Ludwick and he’s an Estate Planning specialist with Fisher and Tousey law firm based in Florida. He told me some couples come in with the idea they want to simply leave everything to one another, and then whatever is left will be divided evenly to the children. This makes things very simple, almost like a traditional family estate plan.

However, certain blended family dynamics could be solved with a trust. For example, if you want your spouse to utilize the assets for retirement if they were to outlive you, but still guarantee the remaining assets are left to your children, you might consider a trust.

A trust would essentially be set up for the surviving spouse. When you pass away, the trust becomes irrevocable (nobody can change it), and your spouse can use the assets for their care. Once the second spouse dies, the remainder beneficiaries (presumably your children) will receive the trust assets.

A few reasons why a trust could make sense are:

The assets held in trust would not be up for grabs in the case of a remarriage.
Potential creditor protection benefits.
Oversight – meaning you could name a trustee to help manage the trust, in case your surviving spouse was incapacitated down the road, or if they don’t have the financial acumen.
And of course, the terms are your terms, and cannot be altered.

Ryan also made a great point to be careful with naming a trust as primary beneficiary of a retirement account (401k or IRA). There might be unfavorable tax results by doing so, and you should consult with your financial planner and estate attorney before making any changes.

Life Insurance

Life Insurance could also be a great tool for estate planning for blended families. You could set up a new policy, or change the beneficiary of an old policy, to satisfy certain estate planning goals.

For example, let’s you wanted to split your investment assets four ways at your death between children and your new spouse. Between your spouse losing one Social Security benefit and only receiving 25% of your estate, their ability to maintain financial independence could be at risk. Therefore, you could consider leaving your life insurance policy to your spouse to make them whole.

On the other hand, you may not want to leave those 401ks or IRAs to your children for reasons mentioned before. Therefore, you could elect to leave those assets to your spouse (outright or in a trust), and leave the life insurance policy to your children. The death benefit is always tax free, so this solves the issues related to inheriting retirement accounts with the new SECURE Act law.

Elective Share Rules

Ryan said to “be careful of the elective share rule for spouses.” In Florida, and many other states without community property laws, the spouse is entitled to a percentage of the estate, regardless of what your will says. For Florida, it’s 30%. So let’s say you only designate 10% to your spouse in your will, he or she could contest this in court, and would likely win.

There are legal ways to get around this by way of signing a prenuptial agreement, or having your spouse sign a waiver form. It’s just something to be mindful for, especially with blended family estate planning.

Final word

As you can see, blended families are unique in an of themselves, so cookie cutter retirement and estate planning advice doesn’t work.

There are other considerations for blended family retirement planning, and no two situations are created the equal, which is why we love helping people like you!

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Kevin Lao

July 6, 2022

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