Here’s what they often miss about Retirement Income Planning.
Why are there RMD Ads Everywhere?
Quick answer: Most required minimum distribution advertising focuses on the rule, the deadline, or one possible tactic. A complete retirement income strategy asks a broader question: before and after RMDs begin, which account should fund your lifestyle, when should you use it, and how could that decision affect taxes, Social Security, Medicare premiums, and future flexibility?
Here’s What They Often Miss About Retirement Income Planning
By Scott Petrucci, ChFC® | Living Off the Pile | August 20, 2026
Quick answer: Most required minimum distribution advertising focuses on the rule, the deadline, or one possible tactic. A complete retirement income strategy asks a broader question: before and after RMDs begin, which account should fund your lifestyle, when should you use it, and how could that decision affect taxes, Social Security, Medicare premiums, and future flexibility?
Why RMD advertising gets attention
If you are approaching retirement, you have probably seen a wave of ads about required minimum distributions, or RMDs. Some warn about a future tax problem. Others promote Roth conversions, annuities, tax maps, or a complimentary review. These messages work because RMDs are real and the rules can create urgency.
Under current federal law, many retirement account owners generally begin RMDs at age 73. The applicable age is 75 for those born after 1959.. The required amount is generally calculated using the prior year-end account balance and an IRS life-expectancy factor. Missing an RMD can also create tax consequences, so the rule deserves attention.
But understanding the RMD rule is not the same as having a retirement income strategy (RIS). The advertisement may identify a pressure point without showing how that pressure point connects to the rest of your financial life.
The difference between an RMD message and a Retirement Income Strategy (RIS)
| What a typical RMD ad emphasizes | What Living Off the Pile examines You haven’t introduced this concept yet |
| The RMD starting age and deadline | Your full income timeline before and after RMDs |
| A single account or tactic | The interaction among taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts |
| A projected tax bill | Cash-flow needs, tax exposure, Social Security taxation, and Medicare IRMAA |
| A product or one-time transaction | A coordinated, year-by-year withdrawal sequence |
| Immediate urgency | Long-term flexibility, tradeoffs, and professional review |
The bigger question: Which pile should you live from first?
Living Off the Pile begins with a practical reality: retirement savings are rarely held in one place. A household may have bank savings, brokerage assets, traditional IRAs, employer plans, Roth accounts, Social Security, pensions, real estate, and insurance or annuity contracts. Each pile may have different tax characteristics, liquidity, risks, and planning uses.
The default approach is often to spend cash and taxable assets first while leaving the traditional IRA untouched for as long as possible. That can feel conservative because the IRA keeps growing tax-deferred. Yet larger future balances can also produce larger future RMDs. Those distributions may increase taxable income and can influence how much Social Security is taxable or whether Medicare income-related premium adjustments apply.
That does not mean everyone should withdraw from an IRA early or complete a Roth conversion. It means the years before RMDs begin deserve a coordinated review. The best sequence depends on spending needs, other income, tax brackets, account values, market conditions, legacy priorities, charitable goals, health coverage, and applicable tax law.
Five questions worth asking before choosing a solution
- What will our annual spending need be, and is that amount gross or after tax?
- Which accounts could fund that spending, and what are the tax consequences of each source?
- How might IRA withdrawals or Roth conversions affect taxable income, Social Security taxation, and Medicare premiums?
- What could our RMDs look like later if tax-deferred accounts continue growing?
- Which choices preserve flexibility if markets, tax law, health needs, or family priorities change?
Scott’s solution: coordinate the decisions, not just the distribution
Scott Petrucci’s Living Off the Pile framework does not begin with a product. It begins with the household’s desired lifestyle and then evaluates how different income sources may work together over time. The objective is not to predict a perfect tax outcome or guarantee savings. It is to make retirement income decisions intentionally, with the tradeoffs visible before action is taken.
A coordinated review can compare multiple scenarios: continuing the current approach, taking planned IRA withdrawals before RMDs, discussing partial Roth conversions, using taxable assets differently, coordinating Social Security timing, or combining strategies. The value comes from seeing how one decision can ripple through the rest of the plan rather than treating the RMD as an isolated event.
The most important period may be the years when you still have choices. Once RMDs begin, part of the withdrawal decision becomes mandatory. Planning earlier may provide more time to evaluate alternatives with your financial, tax, and legal professionals.
A better response to the next RMD ad
The next time an ad warns that RMDs could create a tax problem, do not dismiss it—but do not stop at the headline. Ask what the proposed solution assumes about your spending, Social Security, Medicare, other accounts, estate goals, and future tax exposure. A sound retirement income strategy should connect all of those elements and explain the tradeoffs in plain language.
NEXT STEP Schedule a Complimentary 15-Minute Retirement Income Strategy Conversation to identify the questions your current plan should answer before RMDs reduce your flexibility.
Sources
- IRS Publication 590-B: Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements
- IRS: Required minimum distribution information and worksheets
- Medicare: Medicare costs and income-related premium information
Scott J. Petrucci, ChFC® Financial Advisor || 727-525-8484 || 5999 Central Ave Ste. 408 St. Petersburg, FL 33710
REGISTERED REPRESENTATIVE OFFERING SECURITIES THROUGH CETERA WEALTH SERVICES, LLC, MEMBER FINRA/SIPC. CETERA IS UNDER SEPARATE OWNERSHIP FROM ANY OTHER NAMED ENTITY. ADVISORY SERVICES AND FINANCIAL PLANNING OFFERED THROUGH VICUS CAPITAL INC., A FEDERALLY REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR. FOR A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF YOUR PERSONAL SITUATION, ALWAYS CONSULT WITH A TAX OR LEGAL ADVISOR. NEITHER CETERA WEALTH SERVICES, LLC NOR ANY OF ITS REPRESENTATIVES MAY GIVE LEGAL OR TAX ADVICE.
This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended as individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Results will vary based on individual circumstances, market conditions, and changes in tax law. No investment or planning strategy guarantees success or specific outcomes.
Converting from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is a taxable event. A Roth IRA offers tax free withdrawals on taxable contributions. To qualify for the tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal on earnings, a Roth IRA must be in place for at least five tax years, and the distribution must take place after age 59½ or due to death, disability, or a first time home purchase (up to a $10,000 lifetime maximum). Depending on state law, Roth IRA distributions may be subject to state taxes.
