A couple recently came in to meet with me as they were approaching retirement.
They had saved well, invested well, and felt like the finish line was finally in sight.
But once we started walking through the actual transition into retirement, several important planning decisions came up that they had not fully thought through yet.
In this video, I walk through five issues that stood out in their situation:
• How their investment allocation may need to change as they shift from saving to spending
• Why the years before RMDs begin may create valuable tax planning opportunities
• How Social Security timing affects the broader retirement plan
• Why healthcare before Medicare needs to be mapped out carefully
• How to evaluate a pension election before making a permanent decision
These are not the only five things that matter before retirement. They are simply five of the issues that came up for this couple once we looked at their situation more closely.
The bigger lesson is that retirement decisions should not be made in isolation. Investments, taxes, Social Security, healthcare, and pension choices all affect each other.
If you are approaching retirement, this video will help you think through some of the decisions that are easy to overlook before you stop working.