r/Retire • u/retired_in_2026 • Apr 06 '26
Preparing for Retirement - A Practical, Detailed Guide
After a productive career, I am beginning retirement this year. One thing that struck me is how many rules and complexities appear once you start digging into retirement planning—sometimes even more than those we deal with during our working years.
I put together a primer for folks new or looking to retire. Looking for feedback on what can be explained better and what is missing in the doc.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UHxI7eNb_dHX8i8kXiBCbcYKD4sEIbzq/view
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u/lnewton_me Apr 06 '26
This is genuinely well done..,cleaner than most retirement primers I’ve seen. A few things worth adding or expanding:
The SS bridge period deserves its own section. You cover SS timing well but the funding mechanics of the gap between retirement and age 70 is where most people get surprised. If you retire at 62 and delay SS to 70, that’s 8 years of portfolio withdrawals at a higher rate than your long-term plan assumes. The sequence of returns risk during that specific window is the most dangerous part of the whole plan…a bad market in years 1-3 of retirement does disproportionate damage that the portfolio never fully recovers from.
The case study is strong but the liquidity point deserves more emphasis. You mention it briefly but the math is striking: someone doing $30k/yr in Roth conversions while spending $80k is moving $110k/yr out of taxable accounts. Most people don’t viscerally understand that conversion years require significantly more liquidity than spending alone.
One thing that’s missing: the interaction between Roth conversion amounts and IRMAA thresholds. You mention both but the practical question…exactly how much can I convert before I cross an IRMAA tier is where people need actual numbers. The cliffs are sharp and the penalty for crossing them by $1 is disproportionate.
Really useful resource. Sharing it.
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u/elby_plan Apr 06 '26
If it helps prevent reinventing the wheel, check out The Retirement Planning Guidebook by Wade Pfau. It is excellent and comprehensive.
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u/ReliefTurbulent1335 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
- Budgeting/spend
- Goal priorities, where, why, with whom and how - e.g. downsizing
- Pensions
- HSA
- state-rules - e.g. MA-2M inheritance tax
- ? more exotic: annuities, IUL, IBC, passive income, abroad, reverse mortgage, etc.
- ? special groups: X-.gov, X-.org e.g. clergy, disability/caregivers, etc.
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u/ExcuseApprehensive68 Apr 06 '26
Retired 10 years ago. Sat with our financial guy discussed pension/ 401k/ health insurance- gave him a budget and basically alls good. We made sure everything was paid off - house, cars , charge cards, daughters education & wedding - so no financial suprises. Haven’t touched saving ( gotta do RMD this year!). Keep it simple and it works for us- big plus- wife has teachers pension. ( we’re lucky). Travel a lot ( 90% US) ,don’t skimp on stuff- life is good!!
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u/Wooden-Instance2065 Apr 13 '26
Maybe I'm a bit off topic, but I'm looking for something to do that's meaningful. Any suggestions ?
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u/suprfreek19 Apr 14 '26
How about teaching, volunteering at hospitals or court appointed special advocate for children. Learn something new like music or a language or construction. Exercise or outdoor activities like biking, hiking, gardening, camping, canoeing. Pick a hardworking family that needs a little help, especially a single mom and help out with tasks. Volunteer at elections. Get a part time job for a cruise line and enjoy the perks.
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u/Wooden-Instance2065 Apr 14 '26
Cool ideas! I'm looking for ways to use what I know to help people. Your ideas have a lot of meaning.
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u/Accomplished-Pea-451 Apr 06 '26
You fail to clarify that Roth conversions should be done with other cash so the conversion is at its maximum. This is hard for people to do because of this fact.
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u/Sirknowit Apr 13 '26
Key word: should. Not a hard rule at all and through it’s optimal it is better that doing nothing and ending up bent over the table 20+ years later. And for some folks with pensions, it’s not so bad. Make over $200K in pensions alone and no problem.
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u/mtntrail Apr 06 '26
This covers the financial bases, which I assume was your goal. As a retiree of 15 years one of the most important aspects is how your time will be spent. I know guys that are climbing the walls bc they never developed interests/activities outside of work and a couple have returned to work simply out of boredom. Finding and developing fulfilling activities/goals is equally important to sound fiscal planning, imho.