What taxes can take from tax-deferred savings.
Tax is built into how we design retirement income — not a service we sell separately. This assessment estimates exposure on IRA and 401(k) wealth using simplified 2026 federal assumptions, then previews the conversion and distribution questions a Retirement Clarity Call is meant to answer.
Your retirement picture
Simplified 2026 federal assumptions and IRS life-expectancy tables. State figures use a single flat rate for illustration and do not model exclusions, Social Security exemptions, or inherited-IRA specifics.
Married filing separately is not modeled here.
Used with your birth year to set your current age and SECURE 2.0 RMD start age.
Some states add several points on top of federal. This tool applies one flat rate per state.
Current illustrated age: 62. RMDs begin at 75.
If your spouse is the sole IRA beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, a joint-life factor applies.
Up to 85% may become taxable once RMDs begin.
Pension, rental, or wages — treated as fully taxable.
Inheritance is split equally; only each heir's other income varies.
Sets the modeled horizon for RMDs and when the remaining IRA passes to your heirs.
What taxes can take from tax-deferred savings.
Layer one is required minimum distributions. Layer two is the overlooked tax on leftover RMDs that get reinvested. Layer three is what heirs may owe under the SECURE Act 10-year rule. Death is illustrated at age 85.
Required minimum distributions
Reinvested distribution taxes
Assumes about 70% of after-tax RMDs are not spent, grow for 10 years, and then throw off a 2% taxable yield.
Inherited IRA — your heirs
Federal $927,496 plus california $456,202. Not a bill — an educational total of the three layers above.
Today’s illustrated rates
Same income, higher rates
Additional illustrated cost: $215,438. Rates can go down, stay flat, or go up. The question is how much of this exposure you want to evaluate while current rules are known.
A lever that can change all three layers.
Under current law, converting pre-tax dollars to Roth can reduce future RMDs on the converted amount and shift tax from later years to today’s known brackets. The tradeoff is taxable income in the conversion year — and possible effects on Medicare premiums, Social Security taxability, and state tax. This is a preview. Amount, timing, and funding source belong in a coordinated review.
Often sized to fill a known bracket. 24% is a common planning waypoint — not a recommendation.
Illustrated from age 62.
Without conversions
With conversions
Enter an annual conversion amount to preview the schedule.
Preview only — sequencing belongs in a review.
QCDs and QLACs can reduce required-distribution pressure when they fit the rest of the plan. Whether to use them, in what order, and in what amount depends on income needs, Medicare, charitable intent, and the rest of your retirement income structure.
Qualified charitable distributions
Maximum $111,000 in 2026. Available at age 70½+.
Qualified longevity annuity contract
Maximum $210,000 per IRS rules, inside a traditional IRA.
Payments are modeled as taxable income from age 85 using a simplified 8% heuristic, not a carrier quote. The RMD-layer figure is only the tax change on required distributions. Raise the illustrated age at death past 85 to include those payments in the horizon.
Donor-advised funds and charitable remainder trusts can matter for some households. They are legal and tax tools, not a calculator output, and they are sequenced in a review with your CPA and attorney — not here.
Three questions this page cannot answer: which measure to use first; how much to convert, redirect, or protect each year; and how taxes, income, Medicare, legacy, and market risk should be coordinated together. That is what a Retirement Clarity Call starts.
Hypothetical illustration for educational and marketing purposes only. This is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice, and it cannot be used to avoid IRS penalties. RMD calculations use the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Publication 590-B, Table III) by default, with a simplified joint-life adjustment when a sole spouse beneficiary is more than ten years younger. Tax brackets follow 2026 federal rates in IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, including the basic standard deduction, the age-65 additional standard deduction, and the temporary senior deduction available for 2025–2028 subject to MAGI phaseout. The SECURE Act 10-year rule is illustrated for non-spouse beneficiaries using simplified even distributions. State figures are flat-rate proxies. Roth conversions, QCDs, and QLACs may not be suitable; conversion income is taxable and may affect Medicare premiums and Social Security taxability. Insurance and annuity guarantees, when discussed, are backed by the issuing insurer. Use of this calculator does not create an advisory relationship. Consult a qualified tax professional before acting.
The assessment shows the exposure. The review sets the order.
We'll walk through what to address first, what to leave alone, and what should be coordinated with your CPA — as part of one retirement income plan.
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