Do you wish you could find a comprehensive guidebook to help you plan your retirement? If so, you won’t want to miss this interview with Dr. Wade Pfau. Wade is the founder of the Retirement Researcher website and a retirement income professor at the American College. He is also the author of several books and his newest, the Retirement Planning Guidebook, was recently published. This book is the most detailed retirement guide that you will find, so don’t miss out on this interview to hear what to expect from Wade’s guidebook.

There is no one way to plan for retirement

Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer to how to plan your retirement. The way that works for you may not be ideal for your next-door neighbor. This is why it's important to come up with a strategy first. That way you can build your retirement plan according to your strategy. If you can come up with a flexible solution then you can make iterations based on changes in the world around you. Retirement planning is all about preparing for uncertainty. With the right strategy, you can make educated decisions to carry you through those uncertain times. 

Retirement choices cause a ripple effect throughout other areas

The choices you make in retirement have a ripple effect in many areas and one decision can create unexpected consequences in another part of your retirement plan. This makes it challenging to make any choices and can lead to analysis paralysis. 

Let’s see how one decision could lead to a domino effect. Say that you are trying to diversify your portfolio. If you sell a major position that you hold then you could end up with capital gains which could push you into another tax bracket which could eliminate the possibility of using ACA credits and so on. 

Rather than be paralyzed by the fear of making the wrong decision, you need to think in an organized way about what problem you would like to solve. If you are trying to lessen your market risk you will need to sell to diversify your portfolio. However, if you are trying to focus on getting ACA credits the decision to diversify all at once may not be the best strategy. 

How much should we consider tax policy in retirement planning

Taxes are one of the great unknowns in retirement planning. No one can say for certain how tax policy may change in the future. So how much should you try to predict tax policy changes when planning for retirement?

It is always good to start with a basis and then test different outcomes. The current tax rates are a good starting point for building your retirement plan of record. Once you build this foundation, you can tease out different outcomes as you learn more information. 

Retirement tax planning isn’t made on a yearly basis, rather you should plan to try and reduce your overall lifetime tax bill.

Learn how to utilize Social Security, plan for the unknown, and lower your lifetime tax bill on this episode of Retirement Answer Man with Wade Pfau. 

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

WADE PFAU INTERVIEW

• [3:30] One decision you make in retirement affects others
• [10:21] There is no one way to plan for retirement
• [13:31] How much should we consider tax policy in retirement planning?
• [16:45] Social Security considerations
• [25:53] Consider the premium cliffs that are out there
• [31:31] How to factor in a cognitive decline
• [34:58] How to navigate the lump sum vs. lifetime income decision

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

BOOK - Retirement Planning Guidebook by Dr. Wade Pfau

Retirement Researcher website

The American College

BOOK - How to Decide by Annie Duke

BOOK - Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo by Rosetta Stone

Rock Retirement Club

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney

Work with Roger

Roger’s Retirement Learning Center