From Savvy Saver to Smart Spender: How to Pick a Tax-Wise Retirement Withdrawal Strategy

Updated for new retirement withdrawal rules from the SECURE 2.0 Act. Winner of a 2022 Readers' Favorite Book Award. Recommended by Kirkus Reviews.

You may have spent years saving for retirement. But have you thought of the best way to use the money you saved? How you withdraw from your IRA, 401(k), and other accounts can have a major impact on how much you will pay in federal income taxes during retirement. This book shows how to develop your own tax-wise withdrawal strategy. Topics include:

-- Why Conventional wisdom-waiting to use "tax deferred" 401k and IRA accounts until Required Minimum Distributions begin at age 72- can lead to paying more taxes than you need to.

-- One simple change can save thousands of dollars in federal income taxes.

-- You can implement the change without new investments, purchases or fees-just use your existing accounts.

-- Evaluate whether you can save in taxes by using an online Retirement Tax Saver tool.

-- Use the Retirement Tax Saver tool to pick your winning withdrawal strategy and estimate how much you could save over the course of your retirement years.

-- Why you can and should implement a withdrawal strategy now to take full advantage of the strategy before 2026 when the current tax cuts expire.

-- Design your own personal strategy that takes into account your tax deferred and other assets, your Social Security benefits, and other sources of income. (Yes, Social Security can be subject to federal and even state income taxes!)

-- Find out which states tax Social Security-and how a withdrawal strategy could save you even more if you live in a state with income taxes.

When I prepared for semi-retirement, I could not find information to guide me on how to withdraw from retirement accounts tax-efficiently. I decided to create the Retirement Tax Saver tool. I thought the information I learned from the tool was important to share with others so I wrote the book, From Savvy Saver to Smart Spender: How to Pick a Tax-Wise Retirement Withdrawal Strategy.

About 80 percent of retirees wait to use tax-deferred accounts such as 401(k) and IRA accounts until they "have" to withdraw from them at age 72 (when Required Minimum Distributions kick in for most people). That "Conventional" approach, however, can wind up costing a lot more in taxes in the years after 72. This book shows you a better way that takes advantage of lower tax rates before you reach age 72.

Married and single filers can use this book and the Retirement Tax Saver tool to Implement a simple withdrawal strategy for retirement that could save you thousands, or even tens of thousands, of dollars in taxes.