Many people spend thirty years saving for retirement. Very few spend thirty minutes planning for what happens in the first ten years of it. There's a gap — right after you stop working — that is quietly one of the most financially consequential periods of your life.
A couple came to me recently. Both 64. Just retired. Thrilled. They had saved well — a solid nest egg built over thirty years of work.
And they had no idea they were sitting inside one of the most important financial windows of their lives.
This piece is for them — and for everyone else within ten years of retirement who hasn't yet looked at this window strategically. What I'm about to share isn't complicated. But it is consequential. And missing it has effects that last decades.
Required Minimum Distributions — RMDs — are the IRS's way of eventually taxing money that grew tax-deferred in your traditional IRA or 401(k). Under current law, they begin at age 73. Once they start, you don't choose when or how much. The government tells you.
If you retire at 62, 63, or 65 — which is common — there's a stretch of 8 to 11 years before RMDs begin. During that window, your income drops significantly. Your tax bracket may be the lowest it will ever be for the rest of your life.
In my experience working with clients at Matt25 Capital, a great many people in this phase are so relieved to finally be retired that they don't stop to ask: what should I be doing intentionally with this window before it closes? That question — and the planning it unlocks — is what this piece is about.
The pre-RMD window is often the lowest tax bracket you'll occupy for the remainder of your life. Once RMDs begin, income rises, Medicare surcharges can appear, and many planning opportunities close permanently.
With income temporarily lower, you may be in a lower tax bracket than you'll ever be again. Converting traditional IRA or 401(k) money to Roth now — paying tax at a reduced rate — can mean tax-free growth and smaller RMDs at 73. The right amount to convert each year depends on your full income picture and tax situation.
Drawing from pre-tax accounts intentionally — in amounts that fill your current bracket without pushing into a higher one — can meaningfully reduce the tax burden waiting at 73.
Delaying to age 70 can increase your monthly benefit by up to 32% compared to claiming at full retirement age. The pre-RMD window is often the right time to bridge income from savings while you wait — but the right answer depends on health, spousal situation, and other income sources.
Your Medicare premiums are based on income from two years prior. Proactive income management during this window can prevent costly surcharges that many retirees never see coming — until they receive the bill.
Placing the right assets in the right accounts — taxable, tax-deferred, or tax-free — is one of the more technical but impactful strategies available during this window. Done well, it can reduce your lifetime tax bill in ways that compound over decades.
There's an ongoing conversation in our industry about how to quantify the value of financial advice. The honest answer is that it's difficult to measure precisely — and any single number would oversimplify something that is deeply personal and situation-specific.
What we do know, from both research and experience, is that the value of professional guidance tends to concentrate at specific moments: during market downturns, at major life transitions, and in the years immediately surrounding retirement. Those are precisely the years we're talking about here.
At Matt25 Capital, the ways we aim to add value aren't mysterious. They include helping clients avoid emotionally-driven decisions during volatile markets, building spending and withdrawal strategies designed to last, thoughtful asset location across account types, and ongoing guidance that keeps a plan on track as life changes. None of these show up as a line item on a brokerage statement — but in our experience working with clients, they show up in outcomes.
| Area of Focus | What It Involves | When It Matters Most |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral Coaching | Helping clients stay disciplined during market volatility and avoid decisions driven by fear or short-term headlines | Market downturns · Major transitions |
| Spending & Withdrawal Strategy | Sequencing withdrawals across account types in a way that manages taxes and supports long-term income | Throughout the pre-RMD window |
| Asset Location | Placing assets in the right account type — taxable, tax-deferred, tax-free — to reduce lifetime tax drag | Early retirement · Account consolidation |
| Social Security Optimization | Analyzing the right time to claim based on health, spousal benefit, and other income sources | Ages 62–70 |
| Medicare & IRMAA Planning | Managing income in the years before and after Medicare eligibility to avoid premium surcharges | Ages 63–65 and beyond |
"The families I've seen navigate this window well share one thing: they had a plan in place before they needed it. Not because they were especially wealthy. Because they were intentional."— William Snodgrass, CFP®, Matt25 Capital
A Roth conversion you could have done at a lower tax rate — during the quieter years of early retirement — now has to be done alongside mandatory IRA distributions, potentially pushing you into a much higher bracket.
Medicare surcharges you could have avoided are now locked in. The decisions inside the window that could have been made thoughtfully must now be made under constraint.
The families I've seen navigate this window well share one thing: they had a plan in place before they needed it. Not because they were especially wealthy. Because they were intentional.
At Matt25 Capital, retirement planning isn't a product we sell. It's a process we walk through together — built around your specific timeline, your tax picture, your income needs, and the legacy you want to leave.
The pre-RMD window is not a topic for "eventually." The decisions made — or not made — in those years tend to be permanent. Once you've missed the opportunity for a Roth conversion at a lower tax rate, you can't go back. Once RMDs begin at a higher level than they needed to be, the tax consequences compound for the rest of your life.
If you're within ten years of retirement — or already there — I'd welcome the conversation. No obligation, no pressure. Just a genuine discussion about whether the planning decisions in front of you are as well-positioned as they could be.
If you're within ten years of retirement, this conversation is worth having. No obligation — just an honest look at where you stand and what's still possible.
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