RBS 223: How Bracket Filling Can Lower Your Tax Bill in Retirement

A viewer recently asked about bracket filling:"I haven't heard you or other financial advisors say much about "bracket filling" in retirement. Is it reasonable to think that in retirement I should be filling a tax bracket up with pre-tax accounts, then using after-tax accounts for withdrawals that reach into the higher bracket? Is there a way to model this in Bolden?"It's a great question that we cover in this video.Resources Mentioned in VideoBoldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-EN...Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has brought us a number of changes to the tax laws. Some changes are "permanent," meaning it would take an act of Congress and the President to change them. Some are "temporary," meaning they expire at some point in the future. Almost all of them can affect how we plan for retirement, particularly when it comes to Roth conversion strategies, tax-gain harvesting, and even traditional retirement account distributions.In this video, I walk through the key tax provisions of the OBBBA, and then cover how they may affect retirement planning.NOTE: ProjectionLab has updated its software to account for the OBBBA tax changeshttps://robberger.com/tools/projectio...ResourcesAndy Panko's article: https://static.twentyoverten.com/5d25...U.S. Bank Tax Bracket article: https://www.usbank.com/wealth-managem...Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Here are the five questions we cover this week in Five Question Friday:1. Should we park cash in a money market fund or a t-bill ETF?2. Are Robo-Advisor Tax-Loss harvesting features worth it?3. What is the Retirement Spending Smile?4. What rate of return assumption should you use in retirement planning software?5. Which IRA account types can be combined?Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In today's Five Question Friday we look at the following questions:1. How should the $6,000 senior deduction affect Roth conversions?2. Are short-term bonds a reasonable alternative to intermediate-term bonds?3. Are tax-managed balanced funds ok in a taxable account?4. How should I invest money I'll use to pay the rent in retirement?5. Boldin vs ProjectionLab for Roth conversion analysis?Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

One of the challenges of the 4% Rule is what your initial safe withdrawal rate should be. While the name of the rule suggests one should start with 4%, there are countless reasons why that start point may not be right for you. For example, you may retiree early, you may not use the same asset allocation the rule was based on, you may have concerns about future stock market returns, inflation or both.Enter withdrawal strategies that don't require you to use 4% or any other initial safe withdrawal rate. In this video we'll look at three such strategies:1. Variable Withdrawal Percentage2. Spend Safely in Retirement Strategy3. Chance of Success StrategyResources mentioned in the videoFICalc: https://ficalc.app/Empower: https://go.robberger.com/empower/yt-3...Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-3-...VWP Article & Spreadsheet: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Varia...Spend Safely in Retirement Article: https://robberger.com/spend-safely-in...Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In today's Five Question Friday (FQF), we look at the following questions:1. TIPS Funds vs Individual TIPS--which provides the better inflation protection?2. Is a 4% withdrawal each year with no inflation adjustment a reasonable withdrawal strategy?3. Can tax loss harvesting reduce IRMAA payments?4. How can you estimate the annual income of an investment portfolio?5. How do I track my net worth?Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

We look at the following questions in today's Five Question Friday:1. Are growth stocks best for Roth IRAs?2. How should you pay taxes on retirement account withdrawals?3. How should you invest in retirement if you are scared of the stock market?4. What's the ideal set-it-and-forget-it retirement portfolio?5. Should you withdrawal cash from investment accounts to create an emergency fund?Schwab RMD article: https://www.schwab.com/go-digital/rmdJoin the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In today's Five Question Friday video we cover these questions:1. Why has Bill Bengen gone from 4% to 5%?2. Is it ok to put Social Security bridge money in a money market fund?3. How do Fidelity's Zero Funds compare to Vanguard Index Funds?4. Should cash count towards your asset allocation?5. Should you convert Vanguard Mutual Funds to ETFs?Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

I viewer named Eileen asked about how her children, who are in their twenties, should invest. Here's her question: Can you do a video on constructing a retirement account (Roth) for my 20 year old kids? They are contributing 15%. I am thinking 10% VGSLX, 10% VSIAX, 30% VTIAX and 50% either VTSAX or VVIAX. Your thoughts please.In this video I'll walk through the 3 goals of long-term investing, evaluate Eileen's proposed portfolio, and look at one alternative.Empower: https://go.robberger.com/empower/yt-20Morningstar: https://www.morningstar.com/Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In today's Five Question Friday we look at these 5 questions:1. Does a Market Crash Change How to Use the 4% Rule?2. How do bond ETFs generate returns?3. Are Timothy Funds a good option?4. Is Fidelity HSA a solid account?5. What's better in retirement, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios or a TDR Fund?Join the Newsletter. It's Free:https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...