Growing the Nest Egg

Ryan and Emily

Ages: 66 and 65

Goal Summary: Ryan and Emily are active professionals who want to optimize their retirement income and mitigate taxes while they plan for their future.

Main Goals

• Grow Ryan and Emily’s nest egg to last
• Optimize their retirement income
• Mitigate taxes
• Transform unvested company stock options
• Make good decisions around social security claiming

Obstacles

Ryan has already retired from an executive role at a previous company, and as a result, he has received stock options. However, he has started a new business venture that consistently provides him with a very high income. The business has a strong probability of being sold in the future for a large windfall.

Emily has been a high school counselor for over thirty years. Along with her current job, she is already receiving a pension from another school system, but she is still working and will have an additional pension once she retires.

The majority of their assets are within an IRA that came from a large 401k, which was established at Ryan’s former employer.

Their actual retirement date is presently unknown; however, we still need to prepare them for required minimum distributions, pension income, and proper income supplementation. We also need to decide how they will take social security benefits, as there may be reductions that need to be evaluated.

The couple owns multiple homes in multiple states, so it is also important to manage their retirement properties.

Both Ryan and Emily are very active. They make a habit to exercise daily, develop healthy eating habits, and spend lots of time outdoors by skiing frequently. As a result of their active lifestyles, they could live quite a long time in retirement, so it is vital to prepare their financial situation for that longevity.

Things To Watch For

• Distribution of large amounts from tax deferred accounts
  
• Tax liability in high income years relating to company stock options and stock units
  
• Maximizing the proper pension amount from Emily’s second pension
  
• Making money last for the future so that they can live the way they want
  
• Being as tax efficient as possible and managing proper income strategies
  

First Places To Start

We need to understand specifically how much Ryan and Emily need to live the life of their dreams in retirement. This is a cash flow evaluation.

Then, we need to manage assets in a way that keeps their costs low and their tax liabilities as low as possible. This could include asset allocation.

We also need to start to whey all income sources now and maintain it in the future when they begin to take social security. Additionally, we need to assist in timing the proper social security strategy.

This retirement plan can be implemented over one year, but it will take years of evaluations, adaptations, and corrective behaviors when addressing current market conditions.

Current Outcome

On track!