Reflection No. 41

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Hey, everyone!

This week on Reasoned Reflections, we’re exploring two crucial retirement topics: Roth conversions and why your retirement number matters more than your retirement age. 

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Three Quick Hits:

• Article: Roth Conversions

  Roth conversions can be a great strategy if you’d rather pay taxes now and enjoy tax-free withdrawals during your golden years. One of the biggest perks? You avoid Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) that come with tax-deferred accounts, giving you more flexibility and control over your income in retirement. That said, deciding whether a Roth conversion is right for you isn’t one-size-fits-all. 

• Tip: Set specific and realistic savings goals to guide your financial decisions. 

• Quote: “Through reluctance to sell, more than one investor has avoided the capital gains tax but lost the capital gain itself.” - John Templeton

Two Questions:

• What’s one thing you could do this year to accelerate your path to financial independence?

• How would your saving and spending change if you knew you had to retire 10 years earlier than planned?

REFLECTION No. 41: Retirement Number

I - Issue: Should retirement planning be based on age or a dollar amount?

R - Rule: Traditional planning typically pegs retirement to the age range of 65–67, aligning with Social Security eligibility. But that mindset is outdated. As Robert Kiyosaki put it, “Retirement isn’t an age. It’s a financial number.”

A - Analysis: Age-based retirement planning assumes everyone follows the same script: work for 40+ years, then stop. But life rarely follows that path. Real retirement readiness depends on several personal factors. Those factors might include income variability and savings rates, your lifestyle choices (what does retirement look like for you?), and your health and longevity. 

The danger of planning around age is that it lulls people into thinking they have more time than they do. In truth, it’s not the day you turn a certain age but rather your savings rate, investment strategy, and spending discipline that drive your retirement readiness.

C - Conclusion: Retirement isn’t something that happens to you when you hit a certain age. It’s something you can achieve when your money works harder than you do. The earlier you start focusing on the financial number—not the retirement age—the sooner you can reclaim your time and make work optional.