Taxes ease up once you retire. Your will decides who gets your accounts. Medicare will cover care if you ever need it. Your CPA, your advisor, and your attorney already have it handled. Most people who sit down with us for the first time believe some version of all four, and each one is only partly true. Matt Landon, CFP®, and Larry VanLandingham, CFP®, work through five of the assumptions they hear most, from RMDs that push taxes up instead of down to the beneficiary form that quietly outranks the will. They finish with a quick round on inherited IRAs, trusts, and RMD rules, plus a plain list of what has to happen by December 31. Key Takeaways: Required distributions stacked on Social Security and other income can raise both your tax bracket and your Medicare premiums. The required minimum distribution is a floor, and the decisions that shape its size happen years before it starts. A beneficiary form on file with the custodian overrides whatever your will says about that account. Medicare pays for a short stretch of skilled care, not ongoing custodial care, which makes long-term care as much a legacy question as a health one. A CPA, an attorney, and an advisor can each do excellent work alone while no one checks how the three fit together. Roth conversions, qualified charitable distributions, and this year's RMD all have a hard December 31 deadline. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:37 Myth one, taxes ease up after retirement 1:51 IRMAA and the surviving spouse tax jump 2:34 Myth two, an RMD is just a withdrawal 4:03 You do not have to spend your RMD 4:37 Myth three, my will decides who gets my accounts 5:47 What happens when no beneficiary is named 6:43 Myth four, Medicare will cover long-term care 7:15 Why long-term care is a legacy question 8:28 The small bills Medicare leaves behind 9:34 Myth five, my team already has this covered 10:39 Why breaking even on taxes beats a big refund 11:23 Roth conversions depend on who inherits 12:24 The real cost of a pre-tax emergency fund 12:56 Bonus round, inherited IRAs and the ten-year rule 15:08 Why the minimum is not the best distribution 15:40 Bonus round, does a trust protect retirement accounts 16:41 Probate, privacy, and keeping control 19:40 Bonus round, do all accounts follow the same RMD rules 21:24 Rolling an old employer plan into an IRA 22:34 What has a December 31 deadline 23:12 The first-year RMD exception 24:01 Prior-year retirement contributions 25:21 Recap and the ways to plan for long-term care 27:14 Where to start 📞 Call us today: 336-856-0080 🌐 Visit our website: https://semmax.com Disclosure These materials are for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, any tax, legal, or investment advice. Please consult a qualified professional before making decisions about your financial situation. Advisory services offered through Semmax Financial Advisors, Inc. a Registered Investment Advisory firm. Insurance products and services offered through Semmax, Inc. Tax services offered through Semmax Tax, Inc. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investments include some risk, including loss of principal.
