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Retirement: A simple guide to drawing down funds

 
Published March 22, 2015

Last year I reached a milestone age: 59 1/2, old enough to withdraw money from my individual retirement accounts with no penalty. While this felt bittersweet, it did remind me of the importance of timing when it comes to taking money out of retirement accounts. Withdrawing at the wrong time can create serious tax consequences.

The basic concept of retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s is this: While you work, you put money in; when you retire, you take money out. For maximum benefit from your retirement income, though, you need a withdrawal strategy.

The standard approach to withdrawing retirement funds usually follows this progression:

• If you are older than 70 1/2, take any required minimum distributions from your traditional IRA or 401(k)s. Roth IRAs do not require withdrawals until after the death of the owner.

• Spend down funds from any investment portfolio that isn't part of a qualified retirement plan or a tax-deferred annuity. Tapping these accounts first results in a lower total tax liability than if you withdrew funds from a retirement account or annuity. Note: Do this entire step first if you're younger than 70 1/2.

• Start withdrawing from tax-deferred accounts, such as your variable or fixed annuities, or retirement plans such as a traditional IRA or 401(k), for which your gains incur tax as ordinary income.

• Finally, withdraw from tax-free accounts such as Roth IRAs and 401(k)s.

This strategy is a good start. Some additional factors to consider: your projected spending at various stages of retirement; your total projected income and tax liability; whether withdrawals from your various retirement accounts are taxable; and how much you expect your income to fluctuate over time.

It's important to pay attention to your tax bracket year by year. For example, suppose Liz and Frank expect their total 2015 taxable income from Social Security and investments to be slightly less than $60,000. This puts them in the 15 percent bracket, which for 2015 has a top limit of $74,900.

It might make sense for our couple to fill that bracket. To do so, they can sell appreciated assets with a $15,000 gain (making the capital gains tax 0 percent), or withdraw another $15,000 from a traditional IRA and pay ordinary income taxes at the 15 percent rate. This makes an especially good idea if Frank and Liz expect their taxable income — and their tax bracket — to go up in 2016.

Conversely, if they're in a higher tax bracket now and expect their taxable income to go down significantly in 2016, they might wait until next year to take money out of the traditional IRA.

Another strategy for a year when you're in a lower tax bracket: Convert some funds in your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. You pay taxes on the withdrawal at the lower rate, and the future gains in the Roth are not taxed.

These are simplified and generic examples. Your withdrawal strategy must meet your specific needs, preferably with the help of a tax advisor. But the key is to plan ahead. Do a balance and tax estimate toward the end of each year so you have time to make advantageous withdrawals or conversions.