Image via Wikipedia Folks who have retired or are preparing to retire before the Social Security Full Retirement Age (FRA) face a dilemma if they have IRA assets available. Specifically, is it better to take an income from the IRA account during the years prior to FRA (or age 70) in order to receive a larger Social Security benefit; or should you preserve IRA assets by taking the reduced Social Security benefits at age 62? At face value, given the nature of IRA assets, it seems like the best thing to do is to preserve the IRA’s tax-deferral on those assets, even though it means that your Social Security benefit will be reduced. If you look at the taxation of Social Security benefits though, you might discover that delaying receipt of your Social Security will provide a much more tax effective income later in life. In the tables below I’ll […]

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The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at
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An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.