Five Pine Wealth Management

09/23/2026

You’ve built $1.5 million for retirement.

But eventually, the IRS may have a say in when you start taking some of it out.

If that $1.5 million is sitting in a traditional IRA, required minimum distributions (RMDs) will eventually force you to begin withdrawing money.

A Roth IRA works differently.

As the original owner, you don’t have to take RMDs during your lifetime. If you don’t need the money at 73, 75, or 80, you can leave it invested and continue giving it the opportunity to grow tax-free.

This gives you more control over your taxable income later.

Let’s say your traditional IRA balance was $1.5 million at the end of the year before you turn 73. Your first RMD would be about $56,600.

That amount is generally added to your taxable income and could also affect what you pay for Medicare through IRMAA.

This is one reason we talk about Roth conversions before RMDs begin.

Moving money from a traditional retirement account to a Roth means paying taxes on the conversion today. But in the right situation, it can reduce future RMDs and give you more flexibility later.

Of course, converting to Roth means paying taxes sooner. The question is whether doing that strategically before RMDs begin could put you in a better tax position later.

If you have significant assets in traditional IRAs or 401(k)s, it may be worth looking at what future RMDs could mean for your retirement income and taxes.

At Five Pine Wealth, we can help you determine whether a Roth conversion belongs in your retirement strategy.

09/17/2026

You spent your career building significant wealth with the goal of traveling, helping your family, and giving generously in your golden years.

But even with a substantial portfolio, spending freely doesn’t feel easy.

That anxiety usually comes from not having a clear retirement withdrawal strategy to tell you exactly how much you can direct towards those discretionary priorities.

A strategy like that accounts for your:

↪ Account types (taxable, tax-deferred, Roth)
↪ Tax bracket and income thresholds
↪ Guaranteed income
↪ Overall flexibility in case of a rough market

With that strategy in place, traveling and giving as you’ve always wanted stop relying on leftover cash flow. Instead, they’re factored into your plan intentionally so you never have to wonder.

We wrote about building a retirement withdrawal strategy that lets you spend with confidence.

Check it out on our blog:

https://www.fivepinewealth.com/how-much-can-you-spend-on-travel-and-giving-in-retirement

Not sure about how much you can spend in retirement? Give us a call, and we’ll help you find out.

They call it your “golden years” for a reason. It’s the long stretch you’ve dreamt of for years: leisurely trips with your spouse, helping your kids with a down payment, and finally writing that big check for a cause you’re passionate about.

09/11/2026

You’ve saved $3 million for retirement, yet spending $15,000 on a family trip still makes you feel uneasy.

After 30 or 40 years of saving, that hesitation makes sense. You’ve spent most of your adult life watching the account grow, so taking money out can feel like you’re undoing some of that hard work.

It also doesn’t help that, for years, retirement advice was pretty straightforward:

Save as much as you can, retire, live on the interest, and don’t touch the principal. That advice can be hard to let go of.

The rule that helped you save doesn’t explain how much you can safely spend in retirement. To figure that out, you need to consider the income you have coming in, what you want to spend, and how much you hope to leave behind.

If leaving $2 million to your children is important to you, that affects how much you spend. Having a pension and Social Security that cover most of your regular expenses also makes a difference.

What you want your retirement to look like matters too. Traveling a lot in your 60s, helping your kids or grandkids, or leaving money to the next generation all place different demands on your retirement savings.

Put those pieces together, and you can start answering the much more useful question: “How much can I comfortably spend?”

That $15,000 family trip might fit easily within your plan. When you see the numbers, it can be easier to enjoy the trip without worrying you’ll regret spending the money later.

After decades of tracking your progress by how much you’ve saved, it can take time to feel comfortable taking money out. A retirement plan can give you a clear number to work from instead of relying on the old rule about never touching the principal.

If you have questions about how much you can comfortably spend in retirement, feel free to give us a call.

09/03/2026

You can have $1 million, $2 million, or more saved for retirement and still have no idea what that means for your day-to-day life.

Can you comfortably spend $5,000 a month? $7,000? More?

Your account balance alone can’t answer that.

What you can actually afford in retirement depends on your expenses, Social Security, pensions, taxes, investments, and how long your money needs to last.

That’s why we created the Retirement Reality Check.

In about 15 minutes, you’ll use your own numbers to:

💲Estimate your monthly spending in retirement
💲See whether you’re ahead, behind, or on track
💲Identify any gap between what you’ve saved and what you’ll need

Maybe the numbers will show you where a few adjustments could make a difference.

Or maybe they’ll give you the confidence to enjoy a little more of your wealth.

Either way, you’ll have a much better idea of where you stand and what to do next.

If retirement is 5–15 years away, take 15 minutes to run your numbers and see what they say.

Start your Retirement Reality Check here.

08/27/2026

What's the point of saving for retirement if you never actually spend it?

A client of ours had spent decades doing everything "right." She saved diligently, watched her spending, and built a healthy nest egg.

When her granddaughter got the chance to study abroad, she wanted to give her $8,000 to help cover the trip.

But she almost didn't call us.

She felt guilty even considering it, like spending on something joyful instead of "necessary" was somehow irresponsible.

That guilt had followed her for years, making it hard to use the money she'd spent decades working so hard to save.

Once we walked through her plan together, she realized she'd been carrying a fear that didn't match her financial reality.

She could give her granddaughter the $8,000 and still have more than enough to support the retirement she had planned.

So she said yes.

And she still calls it one of the best decisions she's made in retirement.

That's what a good retirement plan is for.

Yes, it should help answer, "Will my money last?"

But it should also help answer, "What can I do with it?"

Have you ever held back from spending on something meaningful because it felt "irresponsible," even when you could afford it?

If guilt is the thing standing between you and the life you saved for, let's talk about it.

08/19/2026

A retiree does a $90,000 Roth conversion two years before enrolling in Medicare.

Two years later, once that income lands on the return Medicare looks at, their premium can jump from the standard $202.90 a month to $649.20 or higher, depending on their total income that year.

That tax return with a one-time higher income is two years old, but it now sets the price.

That's IRMAA, the Medicare surcharge most people don't know about until they get their notice in the mail.

It's triggered by income, not your health or your coverage.

A large IRA withdrawal, Roth conversion, or selling appreciated stock can all set it off.

These are all things you can plan for. Timing a conversion, spreading a withdrawal across two tax years, or coordinating an asset sale with the rest of your income for that year can keep you clear of a threshold.

At the very least, it can tell you exactly what crossing it will cost.

Wondering how a decision you make this year could show up on your Medicare bill in 2028? Give us a call.

You open the mailbox, and there's a letter from Medicare. Your Part B premium is going up, and not just by the usual few dollars. For retirees who saved diligently and built a solid portfolio, it can feel less like a routine adjustment and more like a penalty for doing everything right.

08/12/2026

When you signed up for Medicare, you may have assumed your premiums were set.

But your income can continue to affect what you pay.

Medicare Part B and Part D premiums are based in part on your income from two years prior.

That means financial decisions you make today could increase (or decrease) your Medicare costs down the road.

Here are four income moves to keep in mind:

↪ IRA withdrawals: A bigger-than-usual withdrawal in one year can trigger a higher premium bracket two years later.

↪ Roth conversions: Converting a chunk of a traditional IRA can be smart tax planning, but it also counts as income in the year you do it. Timing and size matter.

↪ Selling appreciated assets: A stock or property sale with a large gain can add to your taxable income for that year, even if you aren't thinking of the gain as regular income.

↪ Part-time income: Consulting, a part-time job, or freelance work can all add to your income, even after you've retired from full-time work.

None of these moves are necessarily off the table. But when and how much you take on can be worth a second look when Medicare premiums are part of the equation.

Have a decision like this coming up? Give us a call, and we'll help you think it through.

08/07/2026

You finally hit $1 million saved.

So why does spending it still feel wrong?

We worked with a couple last year who'd saved well past seven figures and had the house paid off.

They'd been dreaming about a month-long European tour for two years and kept finding reasons to put it off.

The math said they could afford it, but they hesitated every time.

Why?

It usually comes down to a few things:

•No specific plan for how much to draw down each year

•Uncertainty about which accounts to pull from first

•Not knowing if the plan holds up if the market drops early

•A lifetime of saving habits that don't just switch off in retirement

Once we replaced their general sense of “safe” with specific numbers, they booked the trip.

Does any of this sound familiar? What's the thing you've been putting off, even though you know you can afford it?

Give us a call. We're happy to talk through what a real plan could look like for you.

07/29/2026

You hit $1 million saved. So why does retirement still feel uncertain?

So many successful savers reach this number and expect to feel confident. Instead, they're still checking their account balance with dread and hesitating before purchases they can clearly afford.

That uneasy feeling comes from not having a clear number for what you can spend.

A $1 million balance can support very different lifestyles depending on:

•How much you spend each year

•When you claim Social Security

•How you withdraw your savings

•Whether your plan has been tested for market downturns and longevity

Your target amount was never going to give you the peace you’ve been craving — it needs a plan to go with it.

We just published a new article on how to turn a big balance into a spending plan you can trust. Check it out on our blog!

And yet, you still find yourself glancing at your account balance over morning coffee. You still agonize over the numbers in your head before booking a trip you can clearly afford.

07/23/2026

Thinking about taking a large IRA withdrawal this year?

Before you do, check what it could mean for your Medicare premiums.

We've had more than a few conversations that start with, "I need to pull some money from my IRA."

Maybe it's for a remodel, a new vehicle, or helping a child buy a home.

What catches many retirees off guard is what happens two years later.

Medicare premiums are based on your income from two years earlier.

A large IRA withdrawal can push your income high enough to increase what you pay for Part B and Part D, even if it was a one-time event.

We've seen people focus on the taxes and never think to ask about Medicare. By the time the higher premium notice arrives, the withdrawal is long behind them.

That's why we run the numbers before money comes out of an IRA.

Sometimes spreading withdrawals over two calendar years makes more sense. Other times, using cash from a different account may be the better option.

The important part is comparing your options before making the withdrawal.

Before today, did you know an IRA withdrawal could affect your Medicare premiums two years later?

Not sure how a larger IRA withdrawal could affect your Medicare premiums? Give us a call.

We'd be happy to help you run the numbers.