Retirement Income Planning — turning savings into a steady paycheck.
Turning a pension, savings accounts, and Social Security into reliable monthly income you can actually live on — and a plan that adjusts as inflation, markets, and your life change over time.
A real monthly number, not a portfolio balance
Most people approaching retirement want to know one thing: what can I actually spend each month? Retirement income planning answers that question by turning a lifetime of pension credits, Social Security, and savings into a dependable paycheck. We build the plan around your real monthly life — not around abstract rates of return or a portfolio balance projected three decades out.
The work starts by gathering every income source on one page: your FRS Pension Plan benefit or Investment Plan balance, Social Security, deferred compensation, IRAs, Roth accounts, and anything else. From there we map a clear picture of monthly income — including gaps, risks, and the milestones that arrive at specific ages, such as Medicare at 65, required minimum distributions (RMDs) generally at 73, and the Social Security claiming window between 62 and 70.
Building an income floor
A useful way to organize retirement income is to separate it into two layers: a floor and a flexible layer. The floor is the income you can count on no matter what markets do — for most FRS members that means a pension paid for life, plus Social Security. Together these often cover the essentials: housing, food, insurance, and utilities. Because they are predictable and largely inflation-aware, they let you sleep at night even in a down market.
The flexible layer comes from your savings — the Investment Plan, IRAs, Roth accounts, and deferred comp. This is the money that funds travel, gifts, a remodel, or simply a cushion, and it is the layer you can dial up or down as conditions change. Knowing how much floor you have shapes how much investment risk you actually need to take. When the floor covers the essentials, the flexible layer can be invested with a longer horizon rather than being forced to produce a paycheck every month.
Withdrawal sequencing and tax-bracket management
Which account you draw from first affects your tax bill for the rest of retirement. Drawing heavily from tax-deferred accounts — like a 457(b) or traditional IRA — while your pension is already filling your lower tax brackets can quietly push more of your retirement income into higher brackets than necessary. The order of withdrawals also influences how much of your Social Security becomes taxable and how large your future RMDs grow.
Thoughtful sequencing aims to smooth taxes across many years rather than minimizing them in any single one. That can mean coordinating taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth dollars so your taxable income stays in a steady, predictable band — and so a one-time need (a new roof, a car, a medical bill) doesn't accidentally spike you into a higher bracket. We help you think through when to tap which account and how Social Security timing interacts with taxable income. We do not provide tax advice; we work in close coordination with your CPA or tax professional on these decisions.
Roth conversions in low-income early-retirement years
The years between leaving work and the start of Social Security or RMDs are often the lowest-income years of a long retirement. That window can be a useful time to convert some traditional savings to Roth at a comparatively low tax rate. Converting now generally raises taxable income in the conversion year, but it can shrink future RMDs, reduce the taxes your heirs may face, and create a pool of tax-free money for later — when a paid-off pension, RMDs, and Social Security may otherwise stack up.
Conversions are not right for everyone. Because they add income today, they can affect Medicare premium surcharges (IRMAA), the taxation of Social Security, and other income thresholds. The goal is to fill — but not overflow — a target tax bracket each year. These are case-by-case decisions we model alongside your tax professional rather than rules of thumb to apply blindly.
RMDs, IRMAA, inflation, and longevity
Several forces reshape a retirement income plan over time, and they interact. Required minimum distributions force taxable withdrawals from traditional accounts starting generally at age 73, whether you need the money or not — which is exactly why early planning around Roth conversions can matter. Medicare and IRMAA add another layer: IRMAA is an income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums, based on your tax return from roughly two years earlier, so a big withdrawal today can raise premiums later.
Two slower forces deserve equal attention. Inflation compounds quietly: even at a modest pace, prices can roughly double over a long retirement, so a plan that ignores rising costs can leave you short late in life. Longevity is the mirror image — planning to a realistic life expectancy, often into the 90s for at least one spouse, protects against the very real risk of outliving your money. A good plan accounts for both rather than assuming today's budget holds forever.
One coordinated plan for all your FRS pieces
The pension, DROP, the Investment Plan, the Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS), Social Security, and your personal savings are often treated as separate decisions made in separate meetings. The value of a plan is connecting them. A claiming choice on Social Security changes the ideal withdrawal sequence; a DROP payout changes the conversion math; an HIS supplement, though modest, is one more piece of the monthly floor. Coordinating these as a system — and reviewing it as life and the rules change — is the heart of FRS retirement planning.
A plan built at 60 is not the plan you will need at 72. Healthcare costs shift, markets move, and Social Security and Medicare rules evolve. We revisit the plan with you regularly — not just to rebalance a portfolio, but to make sure the income picture still makes sense given what has changed in your life and in the rules. A common, avoidable mistake is treating retirement income as a one-time setup rather than a plan that adjusts. This page is educational and general; it is not individualized advice, and Benowitz Wealth is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Florida Retirement System or the State of Florida.
Let's build a retirement income plan that's built around your real monthly life — not a spreadsheet assumption.
Schedule a Conversation →Retirement income planning questions
Retirement income planning is the work of turning what you have saved and earned into a dependable monthly paycheck once you stop working. For Florida public employees that usually means coordinating an FRS pension or Investment Plan balance, Social Security, deferred compensation, and personal savings into one schedule of who pays you, when, and how it is taxed. The goal is a real spending number you can plan your life around, not a portfolio balance projected decades out.
An FRS Pension Plan benefit is a lifetime monthly payment, so it often forms the foundation of an income floor alongside Social Security. Because the pension already fills your lower tax brackets, it shapes how much room you have for tax-efficient withdrawals and Roth conversions. If you are in the Investment Plan instead, the account works more like a 401(k), so building a stable income stream from it takes additional planning. Benowitz Wealth is not affiliated with or endorsed by FRS; confirm your specific options at MyFRS.gov.
Withdrawal sequencing is the order in which you draw from taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts. The order can change your lifetime tax bill, how much of your Social Security is taxed, and your future required minimum distributions. Drawing heavily from a 457(b) or traditional IRA while a pension is already filling your brackets can quietly push income higher than necessary. A thoughtful sequence aims to smooth taxes across many years rather than minimizing them in any single year.
The low-income years between leaving work and the start of Social Security or required minimum distributions can be a useful window to convert some traditional savings to Roth at a lower tax rate. Converting can reduce future RMDs and leave more tax-free money for later years or heirs. It is not right for everyone, since a conversion raises taxable income now and can affect IRMAA and other thresholds. This is education, not tax advice, so we coordinate any conversion strategy with your CPA.
IRMAA, the income-related monthly adjustment amount, is a Medicare surcharge added to Part B and Part D premiums when your income rises above certain thresholds. It is based on your tax return from roughly two years earlier, so a large one-time withdrawal or Roth conversion can raise your premiums later. Building IRMAA awareness into withdrawal and conversion timing helps avoid unexpected jumps in Medicare costs. Confirm current Medicare brackets, which change annually, before acting.
No. Benowitz Wealth Management, the public brand of Joy Financial Group LLC, is an independent, fee-only fiduciary Registered Investment Adviser and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Florida Retirement System or the State of Florida. The information on this page is educational and general, not individualized advice. For official FRS rules and figures, members should rely on FRS and MyFRS.gov.
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