Matthew R. Harris
I help individuals and families confidently transition from saving for retirement to living in retirement by coordinating investments, Social Security, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, and guaranteed income into a personalized retirement income plan.
Could avoiding IRMAA cost you $250,000?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ A client recently came to me with a specific goal: She wanted to optimize her retirement withdrawals to avoid extra Medicare charges and keep her taxes down. A reasonable goal. Avoiding Medicare penalties is often a wise choice in eliminating unnecessary taxes... But when we compared strategies, the analysis revealed something much more meaningful: Doing larger Roth conversions (and accepting some Medicare surcharges along the way) showed an approximate tax savings of...
Who's managing your retirement INCOME?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ As you probably know, I spend most of my days talking with people who are either retired or getting close to it. And one of the things I love about these conversations is how much I learn about the questions and concerns people have as they approach retirement. There's one thing in particular I've noticed that I wanted to share. Most people have a pretty good idea of how much money they've saved. They know roughly what they'll receive from Social Security, and many...
Spend more in retirement AND leave more behind?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ This week, I put together a case study about a 62-year-old couple with competing priorities: spending more AND leaving more money to loved ones. Brenda wanted to spend an extra $2,000/month for traveling and vacationing, especially in the early part of retirement. Her husband, Brandon, was more concerned with leaving a larger legacy to their children. Both are perfectly reasonable goals. But spending more today generally means having less to leave behind later. So can...
What kind of retirement spender are you?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ You probably know what kind of investor you are. But do you know what kind of retirement spender you are? This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about that question. The financial industry spends plenty of time discussing investment profiles and risk tolerance. Those matter, but they don’t fully answer two questions people have heading into retirement: How much can I spend? And what type of income experience do I want to have? Some people want a predictable monthly...
I realized something this week...
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ I realized something this week... I don't know if I've ever properly introduced myself. I've written hundreds of blogs, made hundreds of videos, and sent quite a few of these emails over the years. But somehow I kind of skipped the whole “Hi, I'm Matt” part. 😂 So... Hi, I'm Matt. About 18 years ago, at 21, I stumbled into an unpaid financial planning internship. Yes, you read that correctly. I voluntarily chose to work an entire summer for approximately $0 (give or...
Why the 70-Page Financial Plan Is Dying
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ I think the future of financial planning is incredibly bright. Not because technology is going to replace financial planners. Because it’s going to eliminate a lot of the work that gets in the way of actually helping people make better financial decisions. Think about how much of traditional financial planning has involved gathering statements, collecting account balances, inputting data, updating spreadsheets, building projections, and manually trying to piece together...
Which Account Should You Spend From First in Retirement?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. One of the most common questions I get is “Where do I spend money from first in retirement?” It’s a great question because the order in which you spend your money can have a massive impact on your lifetime tax bill. And minimizing that tax bill means more money to spend, or leave behind to loved...
The Retirement Risk that Compounds Every Other Risk
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. Most retirees are worried about losing money in the market. And understandably so. Once the paycheck stops and you begin withdrawing from your investments, a major market decline can have a much bigger impact than it did while you were still working and saving. But there’s another retirement risk...
11% More Retirement Spending + 40% Higher Projected Wealth
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. This week’s case study is one of the best examples of my overall retirement planning philosophy in action. The goal isn’t simply to maximize returns. And it isn’t simply to create as much guaranteed income as possible. It’s to build a retirement plan with enough predictability and dependable income...
My Good Friend's Wedding Got Me Thinking...
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ One of my best friends in the world got married on Monday and it really got me thinking. My friend Josie knew what kind of wedding she wanted. She wanted an outdoor wedding, in the mountains, alongside a beautiful river (not sure if she knew there would be 30-pound turkeys running around, but they were there). She wanted messy BBQ, not an expensive five-course meal. And she specifically wanted her dad to walk Hank (her dog) down the aisle (with him standing proudly in...
I help individuals and families confidently transition from saving for retirement to living in retirement by coordinating investments, Social Security, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, and guaranteed income into a personalized retirement income plan.