Retirement Tax Management: Why Its Important

Published: Oct. 5, 2021, 7 a.m.

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Tax planning in retirement isn\\u2019t the same as in your working years. This is why we are dedicating an entire series to helping you understand how to manage your taxes in retirement. To help me navigate this complicated topic, I\\u2019ve invited retirement tax expert Andy Panko\\xa0to join me for the\\xa0whole\\xa0month-long\\xa0program. Over the course of this series,
you\\u2019ll learn why tax planning is important in retirement, which tax land mines to look out for, what tools to include in your tax toolbox, and how to integrate tax planning into your retirement plan. Are you ready to dive deep into retirement tax planning? Press play now to learn why tax planning in retirement is so important.

How does tax planning change in retirement?

In your working years, tax planning isn\\u2019t that complicated.\\xa0Since your\\xa0income is based on your wages, you don\\u2019t have much control over your tax bracket. However, in retirement, you can control your tax bracket from year to year.

Chances are, you have been contributing to tax-deferred accounts like 401K, 403B, or IRAs\\xa0for much of your life. These have been wonderful vehicles for retirement savings that has\\xa0allowed\\xa0you to defer a bit of your taxable income. Now that you are coming to retirement age, it is time to pay the tax man. These retirement distributions will be taxed, but when you decide to take them is up to you--up to a certain point.

Use long-term tax planning to save money in retirement

In retirement, there are multiple tax planning opportunities that you can take if you\\xa0plan for\\xa0the long term. Since you have more control over your sources of income, you have a tax advantage that you didn\\u2019t have in your working years. This can make planning complicated and challenging; however, with a bit of research and practice you could end up saving thousands of dollars over the course of your retirement.

Taxes aren\\u2019t the only thing to consider in retirement

Don\\u2019t let the tax tail wag the dog. Even though it is important to consider your taxes in retirement it is also important to remember that taxes are not the end all be all of retirement planning. What Andy and I are trying to do is to help you build a framework so that you can consider your tax planning in an organized way. When you come up with a strategy to guide your decisions it will help make the complicated world of tax planning a bit easier to digest.\\xa0

Check out this episode on YouTube

Did you know that we are now recording the Retirement Answer Man as a biweekly show? Make sure to check back in on Friday mornings to hear the Q&A part of the show. You can also watch this episode in a video format on\\xa0YouTube\\xa0so that you can see the charts and tables that we share. When you are done listening head on over to\\xa0RogerWhitney.com\\xa0and scroll down to the bottom of the homepage to sign up for the 6-Shot Saturday newsletter so that you can receive the worksheets mentioned in this episode

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

  • [2:33] What are the changes in taxes in retirement?
  • [7:00] Think long-term when tax planning in retirement
  • [11:36] Taxes are important but not the end all be all
  • [17:17] Trying to understand the tax system

TODAY\\u2019S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

  • [28:26] Pull out your tax return to find your AGI

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Tenon Financial\\xa0

Andy\\u2019s Taxes in Retirement Facebook Group

Rock Retirement Club

Roger\\u2019s YouTube Channel -\\xa0Roger That

BOOK -\\xa0Rock Retirement\\xa0\\xa0by Roger Whitney

Work with Roger

Roger\\u2019s\\xa0Retirement Learning Center

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