As an investor, most of the thinking you’ve done about your portfolio
probably has been about how to find more money to invest and where to
invest it. Yet at some point, it will be time for you to start taking
money out. For most investors, this comes during retirement, when
withdrawals from investments replace job income.
When
you begin taking money from your accounts, it’s still just as important
to be concerned about tax planning and meeting your financial goals as
you were when you were making contributions. The right plan for
withdrawing funds should help you make the most of your investments and
avoid potential pitfalls along the way.
One strategy to consider is to set up
systematic withdrawals:
a regular schedule of payments to you from one or more of your
accounts. You can set up the payments as either a fixed dollar amount
or as a percentage of the account value. It’s a flexible way to budget
and control the rate at which you liquidate your assets.
Among the things to consider when making withdrawals from your investment accounts are:
What sources of retirement income you have availableWhether you need to meet
minimum required distributions (MRDs)
for
tax-deferred
accountsHow much money you need to meet your expensesHow long the money you have will lastHow predictable your payments need to be
