Last month, I sat across from a couple in their mid-50s who had done everything right. They maxed their 401(k) every year, lived below their means, and had accumulated just over $1.4 million in tax-deferred accounts. On paper, they looked like retirement success story. In reality, they were staring down a tax problem that was … Read more
I still remember the client who came into my office in 2007 convinced she needed a traditional IRA because her coworker told her so. She was 34, earning $68,000 a year, and planning to retire early. She had never run a single projection. Neither had her coworker. After building out her full tax picture — … Read more
A few years ago, a surgeon came to me frustrated. She was earning just over $230,000 a year, had maxed out her 401(k), and kept hearing that she “made too much” to contribute to a Roth IRA. She assumed that door was permanently closed. It wasn’t. Within one meeting, we had a backdoor Roth IRA … Read more