Retirement Approaching · Be prepared.

Your retirement needs more than a market forecast.

Hypothetical households. Different concerns. Explore decisions about taxes, spending and what happens when markets change.

Start with the purpose of the money: enjoying retirement, protecting future choices or providing for others. Find the situation that feels familiar. See the choices, the tradeoffs and the questions to revisit as circumstances change.

01 · Enjoy today · Retiring on your own

She saved for retirement. Now she needs permission to spend.

Maya has retirement savings—but an ordinary bill can still make her hesitate. Her plan needs to explain the next paycheck, not just the distant future.

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02 · Enjoy today · Turning savings into a paycheck

The roof needs replacing. Which account should pay?

Alex and Jordan have substantial retirement savings, but a $35,000 roof puts their cash reserve and next Roth conversion in competition.

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03 · Protect tomorrow · Employer stock & NUA

The company helped build their retirement. Should it still dominate it?

Sam and Morgan want to simplify a workplace plan—but employer shares deserve a separate look before a rollover.

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04 · Protect tomorrow · Conversion tradeoffs

They want a bigger Roth. They also need the cash for life.

Daniel and Nora consider a $100,000 conversion—but their cash reserve already has commitments attached.

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A planning story

Two brackets, one pile of cash: how a couple chose their conversion size.

A couple retiring at 58 compares filling the 22% and 24% brackets, and learns that where the tax money comes from decides how long their cash lasts.

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Thinking about the next generation?

Money intended for family raises a different question: whose retirement is it really funding?

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Take the questions with you.

The hypothetical planning casebook adds decision prompts and worksheets to help you connect these decisions to your own plan.

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Hypothetical educational illustration inspired by retirement-planning situations. Names, balances, expenses and circumstances below are invented assumptions, not a particular client’s facts or results. These stories are not testimonials, investment-performance presentations or promises of tax savings.

New: the Roth planning library

Pay taxes on your terms.

Still working, approaching retirement, or planning for a survivor? Explore six connected explanations of Roth flexibility, conversion timing, tax funding and your retirement paycheck.

Explore the Roth planning library →