Insights & Resources
Turning savings into a paycheck is a different problem from building the savings in the first place. These articles cover Social Security claiming, required minimum distributions, Medicare and IRMAA, withdrawal order, and sequence risk, with the tradeoffs laid out so the decisions make sense on their own terms.
Whole Life vs. Universal Life: Keep, Exchange, or Surrender a Policy
How whole life and universal life insurance work, how a policy is taxed, and how to decide whether to keep, exchange, or surrender one you own.
Texas Property Tax at 65: $200,000 Exemption, Tax Freeze, and Deferral
How Texas property tax changes at 65 in 2026: the $200,000 school exemption, the over-65 tax freeze, local freezes, and deferral at 5%.
Annuities Explained by a Fee-Only Planner: Types, Costs, and Taxes
How annuities work in 2026: immediate, deferred, fixed, indexed, and variable contracts, what they cost, how they are taxed, and when one earns a place.
Naming a Trust as IRA Beneficiary
When a trust should inherit your IRA, how see-through, conduit, and accumulation trusts work under the 10-year rule, and what trust tax rates cost.
72(t) SEPP vs. the Rule of 55
Two legal ways to tap retirement accounts before 59½ without the 10% penalty: how 72(t) SEPP payments and the rule of 55 actually work, and their traps.
QLACs: The $210,000 RMD Carve-Out
How a QLAC works in 2026: the $210,000 lifetime limit, the RMD carve-out to age 85, what the deferral is really worth, and the trade-offs the brochures skip.
Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage
Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage is not an annual choice. One path is easy to leave and hard to re-enter. The 2026 costs, the switching rules, and how to decide.
Medicare Enrollment Timing
The Medicare enrollment windows explained: the 7-month IEP, the 8-month special period, lifetime late penalties, and the retroactive Part A trap.
Long-Term Care Funding
The three ways to fund long-term care, the tax mechanics that change which dollars should pay, and why doing nothing is also a plan.
Pension Lump Sum or Annuity
The hurdle rate your lump sum must earn, what inflation does to a fixed pension, and why the plan's funded status belongs in the decision.
ACA Subsidies in Early Retirement
How marketplace premium subsidies work in 2026, what counts toward MAGI, the restored 400% FPL cliff, and how early retirees plan income around it.
Inheriting an IRA: The 10-Year Rule
Who gets the 10-year rule, who can still stretch, the annual RMD twist, spousal choices, and how to time inherited IRA withdrawals.
Sequence-of-Returns Risk
Two retirees earn the same average return and retire into opposite outcomes. How sequence-of-returns risk works, why it cuts both ways, and how we manage it.
Required Minimum Distributions in 2026
How RMDs work under SECURE 2.0 in 2026 — the age-73/75 rules, the calculation, the taxes a large distribution triggers (IRMAA, Social Security, the widow's penalty), and the planning levers: Roth conversions, QCDs, QLACs, and inherited-IRA rules.
The Retirement Gap Years
The low-income window between retiring and RMDs is the richest tax-planning opportunity most people miss. How to use the gap years in 2026 — Roth conversions, QCDs, and the guardrails.
Retirement Withdrawal Sequencing
The "spend taxable first" rule is only half the answer. How to sequence retirement withdrawals across account types in 2026 to minimize lifetime taxes, not just this year's.
The Social Security Tax Torpedo
Why each extra dollar of retirement income can be taxed at 40%+ — how the Social Security "tax torpedo" works in 2026, who it hits, and how to plan around it.
The Widow’s Tax Penalty
When one spouse dies, the survivor often keeps most of the household income but loses half the brackets, half the standard deduction, and faces steeper Medicare surcharges. Here’s the mechanics of the widow’s tax penalty — and the planning window that exists before it hits.
IRMAA in 2026
How Medicare's IRMAA surcharges work in 2026, the income brackets that trigger them, and the multi-year planning moves that keep high-income households from paying more than they must.
When to Claim Social Security
The break-even chart answers one narrow question. Here are five it doesn’t ask — and why those questions matter more for your retirement.
Social Security for Couples
Social Security claiming for married couples isn't one decision — it's two decisions plus a third about survivor protection. Here are five questions that determine the right strategy for your household.