Retirement Planning In Easton, MA

A retirement planner helps you turn accumulated assets into reliable income while managing the taxes on the way out. That means projecting your spending, mapping every income source you will have, deciding which accounts to draw from and in what order, timing Social Security and Medicare enrollment, and coordinating with your CPA and estate attorney. In Massachusetts it also means planning around the state estate tax and the surtax on higher income, both of which apply on top of federal rules.

The most valuable planning window generally opens about ten years before you stop working and stays open through the first several years of retirement. That is when the decisions with the longest tails get made: how much to save in which type of account, whether to convert to Roth while you are in a lower bracket, when to claim Social Security, and how to structure a business sale. Planning after those decisions are locked in leaves far fewer options on the table.

Massachusetts applies its own estate tax to estates above a $2 million exclusion for deaths occurring in 2023 or later, at graduated rates reaching 16 percent, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. That threshold sits far below the federal exemption, so many families owe nothing federally and still face a state bill. Because a long-held home plus retirement accounts can cross the line on its own, we look at account titling, beneficiary designations, trust structures, and lifetime gifting as part of the retirement plan rather than as a separate exercise. Coordinate any estate strategy with a qualified attorney.

IRMAA is the income-related monthly adjustment amount, a surcharge added to Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for higher-income enrollees. For 2026 it begins at $109,000 of modified adjusted gross income for individual filers and $218,000 for joint filers. Medicare uses a two-year lookback, so 2026 premiums are based on income reported for 2024. This is why a large Roth conversion, a property sale, or a lump-sum distribution needs to be modeled two years forward rather than judged on its current-year tax cost alone.

It depends on the gap between your bracket today and the bracket you expect later, and on what the conversion does to other thresholds. A conversion is taxable in the year you make it, and the added income can push you over a Medicare surcharge tier two years out or over the Massachusetts surtax threshold in the same year. For many households the years between retiring and beginning required minimum distributions are the lowest-tax stretch available, which makes partial conversions worth modeling. There is no general answer, only the answer your own numbers produce.

For 2026 the IRS set the elective deferral limit for 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), and Thrift Savings Plan accounts at $24,500. Savers age 50 and over may add a catch-up of $8,000, and those turning 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the year may use a higher catch-up of $11,250. Under SECURE 2.0, participants whose prior-year FICA wages from the plan sponsor exceeded $150,000 must make any catch-up contributions on a Roth basis. These figures come from IRS Notice 2025-67 and are adjusted annually.

Yes. Our South Easton office serves clients throughout Greater Boston and southeastern Massachusetts, including Brockton, Stoughton, Sharon, Canton, Norton, Mansfield, Foxborough, Bridgewater, Raynham, and Taunton. We also maintain offices in Southborough, Massachusetts, Warwick, Rhode Island, and Southport, Connecticut, and we work with many clients entirely by video and phone.

Start with a strategy session. It is a conversation, by phone, video, or in person at our Turnpike Street office, in which we learn what you are working toward and you learn how we work. If it looks like a fit on both sides, the next step is a deeper review of your accounts, income sources, and documents. You can request a session using the form on this page or by calling 508-219-0301. There is no obligation to move forward.