What happens when the same married couple follows four different retirement strategies?

In Part 2 of this retirement case study, we compare lifetime taxes, retirement income sources, Medicare IRMAA costs, home equity decisions, widow tax considerations, and legacy outcomes for a hypothetical couple with $2.75 million. The results reveal why retirement planning is often less about finding a perfect answer and more about understanding the tradeoffs.

Many retired couples ask whether they should do a Roth IRA conversion. The better question may be: what outcome are you trying to create? In this retirement case study, we modeled four different plans for a hypothetical $2.75 million couple and compared spending, taxes, legacy, and surviving spouse outcomes.