When the paycheck stops, does it matter which account you pull from first?

As a financial advisor in Lexington, Kentucky, I've seen it matter more than most people expect. The sequence in which you draw money from your accounts in retirement directly impacts how much of your own money you get to keep, and whether your portfolio lasts as long as you need it to.

Vanguard found that a strategic withdrawal order strategy adds up to 1.1% in value per year, making it one of the most impactful disciplines in their entire Advisor's Alpha research. This episode is the series finale of our five-week series on all five Advisor's Alpha disciplines.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

•      What withdrawal order is: the sequence in which you pull money from different account types in retirement

•      The three buckets most people carry into retirement: taxable accounts, tax-deferred accounts, and tax-free accounts

•      The general rule of thumb: draw from taxable first, tax-deferred second, and tax-free last

•      Why that order lets your tax-advantaged money continue compounding longer and preserves your Roth as long as possible

•      How poorly ordered withdrawals can push you into higher tax brackets unnecessarily

•      How poorly ordered withdrawals can trigger larger tax bills on Social Security, IRMAA, Medicare premiums, and required minimum distributions

•      What an intentional strategy accounts for year by year: your tax bracket, Social Security timing, and when RMDs kick in

•      Why withdrawal order is managed annually, not treated as a one-time decision

•      The series wrap-up: why all five disciplines need to work in coordination, not in isolation

•      Vanguard's finding: when all five disciplines work together, the total value is approximately 3% per year, from discipline, coordination, and trust

If you've been following along this month and you'd like to put all of this to work for your situation, I'd be honored to do that for you.

If you're a family in Lexington, Central Kentucky, or anywhere across the Bluegrass, and you'd like a trusted financial advisor to coordinate withdrawal order, tax strategy, rebalancing, asset location, behavioral coaching, and everything else on your behalf, click the link below to schedule a 30-minute call.