After decades of squirreling away money for retirement, there comes a time when retirees must start withdrawing money from their accounts.
Drawing down 401(k), IRA and other assets earmarked for retirement shouldn’t be willy-nilly. The reason: What investment accounts retirees pull from — and when and why — can make a big difference in maximizing a nest egg over 10, 20, even 30 years.
When it comes to taking retirement withdrawals, it’s all about making savings last as long as possible and minimizing taxes. There are smart and not-so-smart ways to take distributions.
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There are a lot of things retirees must consider: Longevity; IRS rules; income levels; IRS tax brackets; required minimum contributions (RMDs); tax treatment of retirement accounts; and, of course, meeting short- and long-term money goals.
There are general rules that Wall Street recommends when drawing down retirement assets, such as withdrawing money first from accounts that result in the smallest tax bill and enabling money invested in tax-deferred accounts to grow as long as possible.
Financial advisers say there are other tactical moves and withdrawal strategies (even counterintuitive) that retirees can employ throughout retirement as financial circumstances change to keep more of their savings in their wallet and give less to Uncle Sam.
Here are four smart ways to pull from a retirement nest egg without cracking it.
1. Make tax-efficient withdrawals
The adage "It’s not what you earn but what you keep," also applies to retirement balances.
Before taking withdrawals, be aware that different types of investment accounts have different tax treatments. That means some withdrawals can net more post-tax dollars than others.
Withdrawals from savings accounts and money market funds, for example, have zero tax impact. Investments in taxable brokerage accounts, such as individual stocks, bonds, or funds, held more than one year, receive favorable capital gains tax treatment.
The IRS says the tax rate on most net capital gains is no higher than 15% for most individuals. The long-term capital gains rate is 0% for married filers with taxable income less than $94,500. The 15% rate kicks in for couples filing jointly with income of $94,050 up to $583,750.
Traditional 401(k)s and IRAs are taxed at ordinary income rates, which range from 10% to 37%. Withdrawals from Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s are tax-free.
"The less retirees are spending on taxes, the more they have for the future," says Nancy Anderson, regional director of financial planning at Key Private Bank.
"Tax-efficient withdrawals allow them to take out more money for income and also makes their money last longer."
Pay attention to the order you withdraw from accounts
To minimize taxes on asset sales, the recommended order of account withdrawals starts with cash equivalents.
Next, retirees should withdraw from brokerage accounts, then traditional retirement accounts and, lastly, Roth accounts, which, due to their tax-free withdrawals, benefit most from long-term tax-deferred compounding.
Here’s a basic example, summarized in the table below.
Say a retiree needs $10,000. If it’s pulled from a savings account, only $10,000 needs to be withdrawn. If it’s taken from a brokerage account and comes with a 15% capital gains rate charge, the withdrawal amount grows to $11,765. If the money comes from a traditional 401(k) and the retiree is in a 22% tax bracket, the after-tax cost rises to $12,821.
A tax-free Roth withdrawal would be just $10,000, but barring an unforeseen emergency, financial advisers prefer to let that Roth money ride to benefit from tax-deferred growth and tax-free withdrawals later in life on a much larger balance.
Source of Funds | Amount Needed |
|---|---|
Savings account | $10,000 |
Brokerage account | $11,765 |
Traditional 401(k) | $12,821 (22% tax bracket) |
Roth 401(k) | $10,000 |
2. Manage tax brackets
What retirees should avoid, if possible, is taking withdrawals from accounts that increase taxable income and push them into a higher, more costly tax bracket.
"Tax bracket management is key," says Anderson.
A better strategy for retirees is to fill lower tax brackets up to the top, but not create so much additional income from account withdrawals that it results in entering a higher bracket.
This is a good example of the retirement rule of $1 more, in which poor planning can mean that just one more dollar earned, spent or withdrawn in some circumstances can result in hundreds or even thousands of lost savings.
For example, let’s say a retiree is near the high end of the 12% tax bracket, which for married couples tops out at taxable income of $96,950.
Given that the 22% bracket kicks in above that income level, yanking, say, $50,000 out of a traditional 401(k) to help an adult child with a home down payment will be costly. Why? A large chunk of that financial assistance will be taxed at the higher 22% bracket.
Coming up with that $50,000 will result in a tax hit of $11,000 at the 22% tax rate, effectively turning a $50,000 withdrawal into an after-tax withdrawal of $61,000.
The downside is twofold: The retiree is paying more in taxes and shrinking his nest egg at the same time.
3. Adopt a flexible withdrawal strategy
Sure, general rules are useful guideposts. But taking a flexible approach to retirement account withdrawals as life circumstances change can go a long way toward extending the life of your nest egg, says Bob Peterson, senior wealth adviser at Crescent Grove Advisors.
Things change in life. People lose jobs. Incomes fluctuate year to year. Workers retire earlier than they thought they would. Tax laws change. Eventually, retirees need to take RMDs at age 73.
All these life changes impact financial decisions, and it can result in different tax-related withdrawal strategies than the original plan.
A good example is retirees who think it’s always a good idea to pay as little tax as possible in any given year.
"You have to get the client to understand that sometimes you want to pay taxes," says Peterson.
He acknowledges that it’s a counterintuitive way to view taxes, but retirees must look at their tax situation over the course of many years — their lifetimes. Their withdrawal strategies must also be adjusted accordingly to take advantage of what the tax code offers at specific points in time throughout retirement.
Case in point: the day the paycheck stops.
"When someone's still working, there are only so many levers you can pull," says Peterson. "The second you retire, the W-2 disappears; that's kind of like the bonanza of planning strategies, because your tax bracket typically drops off a cliff."
That creates tax-saving withdrawal opportunities now that can also benefit the retiree later.
For example, let’s say a retiree with a hefty 401(k) balance quits working, falls into a very low tax bracket and plans to wait until age 70 to take Social Security. From a tax-planning perspective, there’s now a multiple-year window before RMDs kick in that the retiree can pull from his accounts in a low-bracket, tax-friendly way.
"You really have to say to the client, 'Look, this is a spectrum over time, and you just went from a really high tax bracket to a really low bracket,' " Peterson explained. "'But, because of all these retirement assets you have, when you reach your 70s (and must take RMDs), you might be back in a 32%-plus bracket.
"Don't focus on paying the absolute minimum. In the years between retirement and Social Security and RMDs (when you’re in a lower tax bracket); we may want to take distributions or do Roth conversions. Pay 22% now because I know it's going to be 32% later.' The default mentality is to pay the least amount possible, but that's going to blow up in your face."
If you can whittle down, say, a $2 million nest egg to $1 million at favorable tax rates by the time you must start taking RMDs, it’s a win.
In most cases, paying taxes at a lower rate today can save money tomorrow.
"I've never had a client upset when I lay it out over the long term and show them a tax projection and say, 'Hey, you know you're used to paying 32% in taxes; we're going to take this money out at 12%, or we're going to convert it to a Roth IRA at 12%, and you'll never pay tax again,' " says Peterson. "If you can see that train wreck coming, you can start to plan for it."
4. Manage withdrawals to create a paycheck
Creating a withdrawal strategy that creates a paycheck-like income stream not impacted by financial market volatility can give retirees peace of mind and a good night’s sleep, says Anderson.
She advises setting up a tax-efficient distribution plan from retirement funds that can build up enough cash, or liquidity, to cover one to three years’ worth of income.
“Having that liquidity bucket and then transferring money on a monthly basis to a checkbook is very helpful and can help people stay invested in the long term,” she says.
In general, retirees should think of how to generate about 240 "paychecks" in retirement.
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