The Cash Flow Clock: For Retirees - Book - Page 68
The Cash Flow Clock
Tax Planning Strategies
Tools are neither good nor bad. They all have
features and limitations, pros and cons, benefits and
drawbacks. The key is to find which tools make
sense for us and then figure out how to utilize them
efficiently.
Using QCDs is a great tax planning tool and perhaps
the easiest and best decision we can make if we are
old enough. But only if we are going to donate to
charity anyway. There is no reason to include QCDs
in our financial plan if we are trying to hang on to as
many of our assets as possible.
Roth conversions can be very powerful tools. But
not everyone should do them. A tax forecast can help
us determine the best way to utilize conversions.
When we pay taxes determines how much tax we
pay. Most taxpayers end up with most of their
portfolio in tax deferred accounts because they
believed that their income would be less in
retirement. That could be true. But the whole point
of saving for retirement is to have assets to spend in
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