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OK Got Some Money - Now What?
Old 01-17-2020, 10:38 AM   #1
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OK Got Some Money - Now What?

I retired at the end of last year and am heading into a brave new world in 2020 (no more paycheck!!). I just sold a mutual fund in my IRA and withdrew the proceeds. Had them withhold 20%. After all the years of putting in this is the first time I have ever taken out. I got a nice big check and deposited into my checking account. So the question is: Now What? Looking to see what people that have lots of experience taking out do. I don't need all the money for immediate expenses. Do I spend some (splurge a little) and just re-invest the rest in an existing after-tax account? Is there any benefit to opening a new account with this money? Do I reinvest in the same security or could this be an opportunity to do some re-balancing? I know there is no single correct answer for this. Just looking for some opinions since I'm brand new at the taking money out part (although it seems like a lot more fun than the putting money in part)
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Old 01-17-2020, 10:57 AM   #2
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Treat it like you would a paycheck. You probably withdrew a lot more than 2 weeks worth of money, but still, it's short term money so leave it in cash.

I keep a month or so of expenses in my checking account. The rest of my cash is in Vanguard money market funds, and a CD ladder which will trickle more money into my account every year for the next 4 years.

You need to think about a long term cash flow plan. Don't just move a big chunk of money out of your IRA and use that as a reason to splurge. Think about how much you need per year, how much you'll get from sources like social security, pensions, dividends on taxable accounts. Any shortfall would likely come from your IRA. Have a plan to withdraw from that.

There's a whole lot more to it like trying to manage taxes, possibly do IRA conversions to a Roth, and so on, but you need to start with the basics.
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Old 01-17-2020, 11:26 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by almost_there View Post
... I just sold a mutual fund in my IRA and withdrew the proceeds. Had them withhold 20%. After all the years of putting in this is the first time I have ever taken out. I got a nice big check and deposited into my checking account. So the question is: Now What? Looking to see what people that have lots of experience taking out do. I don't need all the money for immediate expenses...
Aw, don't tell me you have not run across the "Blow Dough" thread.

Lots of ideas there.
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Old 01-17-2020, 11:28 AM   #4
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It is just me or does this sound like a ready, fire, aim moment?
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Old 01-17-2020, 11:31 AM   #5
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I used this post when I first entered retirement:
https://www.theretirementmanifesto.c...ment-paycheck/

He just updated it to explain his rebalancing process:
https://www.theretirementmanifesto.c...cket-strategy/

Congrats & good luck!
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Old 01-17-2020, 11:46 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by COcheesehead View Post
It is just me or does this sound like a ready, fire, aim moment?
Yep. Take out a chunk of money (we weren't told how big), then figure out what to do with it?
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Old 01-17-2020, 12:41 PM   #7
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A bit more information would be useful. Is your IRA money your only source of income, or do you also have income from other sources, such as Social Security or a pension? When you say you sold a mutual fund in your IRA, how much was it? A dollar amount isn't necessary, but was it a month's worth of living expenses, 6 months, a year?

I tend to keep a year to 18 months of living expenses in a savings account, and transfer my "allowance" into checking on a monthly basis - just like getting a paycheck. Some folk keep more in cash or cash equivalents, others less. Generally speaking, any money you will definitely need in the next 2 or 3 years is best kept out of stocks, unless you have a good risk tolerance and/or know what you're doing.
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Old 01-17-2020, 02:53 PM   #8
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Here's an opinion:
My IRA is the bulk of our retirement portfolio. RMDs will hit us hard starting in 5 years. So, I have my bond funds' monthly dividends sent to my money market settlement account in order to whittle down my IRA. Then, I have an automatic monthly withdrawal from the MM to Ally checking for spending needs. (I set the w/d to be a little less than the added dividends so I can build cash reserves, too).
Happy retirement, almost_there!
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Old 01-17-2020, 03:11 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RunningBum View Post
You need to think about a long term cash flow plan. Don't just move a big chunk of money out of your IRA and use that as a reason to splurge. Think about how much you need per year, how much you'll get from sources like social security, pensions, dividends on taxable accounts. Any shortfall would likely come from your IRA. Have a plan to withdraw from that.

There's a whole lot more to it like trying to manage taxes, possibly do IRA conversions to a Roth, and so on, but you need to start with the basics.

X2, it sounds like OP needs to have a better plan for income; and considerations for short term vs long term investments. At least form the information that was given in orig post.



almost_there, stay around and read a lot on the board here. You'll learn a lot and that education will help you make more good decisions and less poor decisions for your financial future. Not saying that your recent withdrawal was good or bad. Not enough info to give an opinion.
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Old 01-17-2020, 04:03 PM   #10
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OK, I understand that my question was pretty open ended. My excuse is that it was my first time and I was feeling a little giddy. I actually do have a plan and this was a step in the execution. A lot of my assets are in tax deferred accounts. I have not yet started to draw social security. My earned income for tax year 2020 will be very low (maybe even zero) so besides this withdrawal I will make a few more to pay the taxes in 2020. My take from the answers so far is to think of this money as income to be used over the short to medium term. I guess I automatically gravitated to thinking of ways to (re)invest it. Old habits die hard I guess.
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Old 01-17-2020, 10:08 PM   #11
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we park some cash in an online bank (better rates) and other cash in our local bank (for immediate access).
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Old 01-17-2020, 10:46 PM   #12
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Quote:
I keep a month or so of expenses in my checking account. The rest of my cash is in Vanguard money market funds, and a CD ladder which will trickle more money into my account every year for the next 4 years.
We did exactly the same thing, but our CD ladder is 5 years. Seems to be working just fine.
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Old 01-18-2020, 12:15 PM   #13
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Interesting thread, will follow
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Old 01-20-2020, 05:12 AM   #14
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If your goal was to have steady income with minimal fuss and mess, I would have suggested purchasing an Immediate Annuity within your existing IRA account, and moving all investment dollars from the Mutual Fund to the Annuity.
  • No taxes due on the withdrawal or transfer.
  • Monthly paycheck, (this income is subject to taxes)
  • No RMD requirement - money received from an annuity within an IRA excludes that IRA from RMD requirements, regardless of the amount received.
  • No future wondering "What should I do to get money for the next few month(s)?"
I believe you have now 'tainted' the money by taking direct possession of the sale proceeds. However, you may still be able to re-invest the funds in a tax deferred investment that provides you with steady income if that is what you desire, and avoid/re-capture the taxes you already paid if the total length of possession is less than 60 days.
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Old 01-20-2020, 05:29 AM   #15
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I believe you have now 'tainted' the money by taking direct possession of the sale proceeds. However, you may still be able to re-invest the funds in a tax deferred investment that provides your with steady income if that is what you desire, and avoid the taxes you already paid if the total length of possession is less than 60 days.
-----------------------------
The main reason I sold the mutual fund (one of several in the IRA) WAS to pay the taxes in 2020 when I will have little or no earned income. I plan to do this again during 2020. The "problem" that I have is that while I feel I have sufficient assets ( approx $1.8M exclusive of paid-off house) most of it is in tax-deferred accounts (3 IRAs). My plan is to use the period of little to no earned income to pay the taxes and re-invest in after-tax investments. This seems like a good plan to me but I am willing to listen to why it might not be.
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Old 01-20-2020, 05:34 AM   #16
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[QUOTE=almost_there;2357296]If you move the money into a Roth IRA it will grow tax free and there are no RMDs.
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Old 01-20-2020, 05:46 AM   #17
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Thank you Helen - I already have a small Roth IRA that I would love to add to. The research I have done so far though says that you are only eligible to make a Roth contribution if you have earned income.
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Old 01-20-2020, 05:48 AM   #18
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Can you move the money into a back door Roth at this point? Can’t do a regular Roth with no earned income. But can he back door this Roth after the fact? Is there a time limit-60 days or something?
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Old 01-20-2020, 05:58 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by almost_there View Post
-----------------------------
The main reason I sold the mutual fund (one of several in the IRA) WAS to pay the taxes in 2020 when I will have little or no earned income. I plan to do this again during 2020. The "problem" that I have is that while I feel I have sufficient assets ( approx $1.8M exclusive of paid-off house) most of it is in tax-deferred accounts (3 IRAs). My plan is to use the period of little to no earned income to pay the taxes and re-invest in after-tax investments. This seems like a good plan to me but I am willing to listen to why it might not be.
Yup, I have the same issue. The tax-deferred accounts are great to accumulate wealth but lousy to draw from later. I will be looking for a similar plan and will follow this post. Initially I thought your question was looking for income replacement.

Since my target retirement date isn mid-year I will have earned income to facilitate the Std IRA to Roth IRA transfer - if this is a good plan for us.
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Old 01-20-2020, 06:06 AM   #20
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Thank you Helen - I already have a small Roth IRA that I would love to add to. The research I have done so far though says that you are only eligible to make a Roth contribution if you have earned income.
But you can do Roth conversions anytime.
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