Many smart, sophisticated investors get caught by this trap -- the retirement income snowball tax trap. Like most retirement income problems, the income snowball happens slowly, building over many years. At first things seem fine in retirement. Income is sufficient, taxes are low, but if you have deferred a lot of income in previous decisions -- social security, benefit plans, portoflio RMD's -- then a snowball of income can grow and later, when flexibility is low, can come to dominate the entire retirement plan.

Delaying social security to age 70 (the maximum age to start claiming SS) makes sense for many reasons. It provides some longevity insurance, similar to an annuity, the benefits are inflation adjusted, survivor benefits increase, and raises your guaranteed income floor for the remainder of your life. However, failing to think about the timing of this deferred income alongside your distributions in large, pre-tax retirement accounts could put you in a snowball situation with high tax bills.

Matt describes a common scenario he sees in his practice: a married couple filing jointly defers social security benefits to age 70, required minimum distributions (RMD) begin in their mid-70's, and their IRA values are higher than they expected, meaning their RMD's are higher than expected... which ultimately means a large tax bill. Where the snowball really hits hard is when one spouse passes away, and the surviving spouse inherits the deceased IRA's and possibly survivorship benefits as well. This can push the surviving spouse into a higher marginal tax bracket, when they now a single filer. Consequently, an annual income of $100k, for example, which might be fine for a married couple filing jointly, can become burdensome for the single surviving spouse. Unfortunately, by the time this happens, most of the proactive moves that could have been done to prevent the snowball are off the table.

Matt presents some tools to prevent this scenario, such as Roth 401k conversions and careful planning around IRMAA and Medicare.

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How to Avoid the Retirement Income Snowball