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Commitment to Our Readers<\/p>\n
GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services – our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines<\/a> and our products and services review methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n 20 Years<\/strong> Trusted by<\/strong> Many retirees assume the only way to increase retirement income is to save more before leaving the workforce. <\/p>\n But financial advisors<\/a> say that how you structure withdrawals, taxes and Social Security timing can have just as big an impact. Here they share planning strategies that can potentially add thousands of dollars<\/a> to a retiree\u2019s annual income \u2014 often without taking on additional investment risk.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Delaying Social Security<\/p>\n One of the easiest ways to increase retirement income is delaying Social Security<\/a> benefits, which can increase the guaranteed income retirees receive each year.<\/p>\n This is an especially smart move for people who have less than $500,000 in retirement savings<\/a>, according to Jeremy Keil, certified financial planner (CFP), chartered financial analyst (CFA) at Keil Financial Partners<\/a> and author of the bestseller \u201cRetire Today: Create Your Retirement Master Plan in 5 Simple Steps.\u201d \u201cIf you file at 70, instead of 62, for Social Security your benefit will be 77% higher,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Indeed, delaying Social Security increases benefits roughly 8% per year between full retirement age<\/a> and age 70, added Christopher Stroup, CFP and owner of Silicon Beach Financial<\/a>. \u201cFor retirees with longevity in their family or sufficient savings to bridge the gap, that higher guaranteed benefit can add thousands annually while also providing stronger protection against inflation and longevity risk.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Coordinating Withdrawals Across Accounts<\/p>\n Retirees often hold assets across multiple account types \u2014 taxable brokerage accounts, traditional retirement accounts<\/a> and Roth accounts. Strategically coordinating withdrawals across these \u201ctax buckets\u201d can significantly increase net income, according to Julian Morris, CFP and principal at Concierge Wealth Management<\/a>. Morris said the right withdrawal approach can help retirees \u201cmanage their tax bracket<\/a> and keep more control of the taxes they pay and by that factor more of the income that they withdraw.\u201d<\/p>\n Even modest tax savings and avoiding unnecessary bracket creep or Medicare surcharges can easily translate into several thousand dollars of additional spendable income per year, he added.<\/p>\n Strategic Roth Conversions Can Reduce Lifetime Taxes<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.gobankingrates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/icon-20.svg?webp=1&quality=75\"){kind=icon}
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