Once you cross into the pre-retirement window, your tax exposure can quietly become a variable in determining in your retirement income strategy.
And the frustrating part?
You can be doing everything right: saving diligently, investing consistently, contributing to your 401(k), building a solid balance sheet…and still be positioned for a potentially avoidable tax problem the moment you stop working.
If you’re honest, you’ve probably wondered:
“How much of my retirement income will I actually keep after taxes?”
“Am I too concentrated in tax-deferred accounts?”
“What happens if tax rates rise while I’m drawing income?”
“Is my current plan quietly locking me into higher taxes later?”
Most pre-retirees discover (too late) that their retirement picture is dominated by one thing: tax-deferred accounts.
Your 401(k), 403(b), traditional IRA, old employer plans that never got restructured.
They grow beautifully on paper…but create a future filled with Required Minimum Distributions, unknown tax brackets, and far less control than you may have expected.
The good news? You can help fix this.
That’s why I use the Tax Control Triangle: a simple, visual framework that helps restructure your savings across the three essential tax categories: Taxable, Tax-Deferred, and Tax-Free. It can help reduce unnecessary exposure and build flexibility to lower taxes in retirement.
If you want a clearer picture of your own Triangle, just reach out and request a quick review.