Planning Ahead for Management of Retirement Accounts

The Washington Post ran an interesting piece recently, using one couple’s history of retirement savings to demonstrate the benefits from coordination and, perhaps, redistribution of assets or payments in advance of actual retirement.  The couple then invited commentary from two different financial advisers.  From one adviser, they learned:

Having different types of savings accounts can give the couple more control over their tax bill when they retire, [Financial Adviser] Sewell says. Money withdrawn from the tax-deferred accounts, such as the TSPs and the traditional IRAs, will be taxed as ordinary income when retirement withdrawals are made – a tax rate that could be as high as 39.6 percent for workers in the top tax bracket. The Roth IRA, on the other hand, can provide tax-free income in retirement. And money withdrawn from their taxable investing account could be taxed at lower rates, such as the long-term capital gains rate of 20 percent, she says. Adding to that account over time can also provide a separate pool of savings and allow them to hold off on tapping their tax-deferred accounts until they are required to do so at age 70.5, Sewell says. That would give those retirement savings more time to grow tax-free.

They also learned:

But consolidating accounts would make it easier for the couple to track where their money is invested and what fees they are paying, Porter says. They can look into rolling over some or all of their IRA savings into their TSP accounts, which typically have more affordable index-based investment options, Porter says. For example, the average expense ratio for a TSP fund, including target-date funds, stock funds and bond funds, was 0.029 percent in 2015, or 29 cents for every $1,000 invested. In contrast, the average 401(k) investor pays an expense ratio of 0.89 percent, or $8.90 for every $1,000 invested, according to a report by BrightScope and the Investment Company Institute. “I have not seen a lower cost plan, so I think you can’t beat that,” Sewell says.

For more read: This Couple Has Six Retirement Plans: Is It Time to Simplify?

Our thanks to George Washington Law Professor Naomi Cahn for sending this link.