The Roth series · Start here · By Rich LoPresti, CFP®
Know where you stand before you begin.
Before anyone talks about Roth conversions, withdrawals or buckets, there are two pictures worth seeing: what you own and where you hold it. Most people have never seen either one for their whole household. List your accounts below, about two minutes, and you'll get both, plus what I'd notice if you sat down across the table from me.
What this is. A way to put every account on one page. You need a balance and a rough idea of how each account is invested; if you hold a target-date fund, just pick its year. Nothing is sent to us or saved: your entries stay in this browser tab, and you can save the result as a PDF. It is not a recommendation and it calculates no tax.
1. Your accounts
One line per account. Use the balance on your latest statement. Couples: list both of you.
2. Two optional questions
These let the snapshot tell you how many years of spending your safer money covers.
Nothing is sent or stored.
Your retirement snapshot ·
Where you stand.
of it has never been taxed (pre-tax 401(k)s, 403(b)s and IRAs)
Picture one: what you own
Asset allocation. How your money is split between stocks, bonds and cash.
Picture two: where you hold it
Asset location. How your money is split between accounts that are taxed differently.
Putting the two together
Same money, both pictures at once: where your stocks sit, and where your bonds and cash sit. This is the part almost nobody has looked at.
What I'd notice.
If you brought this page to my office, these are the things I'd point to first.
Bring it back to your plan
Three questions to bring to the next conversation
The accounts you entered
| Account | Type | How it's invested | Balance |
|---|
Target-date fund mixes are estimated from typical funds of that year; your fund's fact sheet has the actual split. Presets are approximate.
Save this page as a PDF and bring it, or email it ahead. It answers two of the first questions I ask every household, what you own and where you hold it, so we can spend the hour on what to do about it.
This snapshot shows only what you entered, as you entered it. It is educational, not a recommendation to buy, sell, move, convert or withdraw anything, and it calculates no tax. Prepared at retirementapproaching.com by Rich LoPresti, CFP®.
What this snapshot does not do.
Worth being explicit, because a tool like this can imply more than it should.
- It does not see inside your funds. Presets and target-date estimates are approximate. Your statement's pie chart, or the fund's fact sheet, is the real number.
- It does not say what your mix should be. The right allocation depends on when you need the money, your other income, and the risk you can live with.
- It calculates no tax and no savings. It shows where your money sits, not what moving it would cost or save.
- It stores nothing. Your entries stay in this browser tab and disappear when you leave.
Why location matters
Why one blended fund makes it hard to put the right assets in the right account.
One fund got you here →Map your window
The years between your last paycheck and your first required withdrawal.
Open the tool →Educational tool written by Rich LoPresti, CFP®. It is not individualized investment, tax or legal advice and not a recommendation. Asset allocation and asset location do not ensure a profit or protect against loss. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Retirement Approaching provides retirement-planning education. Advisory services are offered through Milestone Asset Management Group, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. No investment result or tax savings is guaranteed.