Session Two: 1 - 3 PM (Eastern)

If You Retired Tomorrow,
How Much Could You Afford to Spend?

James Lange, CPA/Attorney, and special guest, Bill Bengen, will help near-retirees and retirees determine how much they can safely spend each year without outliving their nest egg. There is no topic more critical for your retirement security. This is an unprecedented opportunity to hear directly from Bill. Learn the reasoning behind his revision of the 4% rule to the 4.7% rule which results in a 17.5% increase in post-retirement spending. (Please see boxed information.)

During the interview session, Jim and Bill will address:

• What exactly is the “safe withdrawal rate?”
• How the 4% rule―now the 7% rule―works.
• The asset allocation that underpins the 4.7% rule.
• Why did Bill change his thinking and write his new book?
• How taxes affect your safe withdrawal rate, particularly for academics with large balances in tax-deferred retirement plans.
• Whether annuitizing part or all your Traditional TIAA could increase your safe withdrawal rate, along with other custom strategies for those with TIAA and 403(b)s.
• The 4.7% rule assumes a 30-year retirement horizon. Bill will explain how the rule changes if you and your surviving spouse think one of you will live longer than 30 years or if you both expect to live less than 30 years.
• How inflation affects safe withdrawal rate calculations.
• And the elephant in the room: Should I worry about the economy going to hell under Trump and reduce my safe withdrawal rate?

Jim Lange will address:

• One of Life’s Greatest Mysteries: What’s the best way to get your money out of Traditional TIAA? The answer can affect your safe withdrawal rate. The best option for most professors will likely come as a shock because most advisors recommend the exact opposite. We will show compelling proof of our recommendations.
• Should you annuitize part or all your Traditional TIAA?
• How the built-in annuitization “bonus” provisions, available in certain Traditional TIAA contracts, could meaningfully boost your income in retirement.
• Can you spend more if you have a paid-off house, and if so, how much?
• Which money to spend first: Learn the ideal withdrawal sequence from taxable accounts, Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, and employer retirement plans.

Bill’s new book, A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More (Wiley, 2025), has just been published. Each workshop attendee will receive a hardcover copy of Bill’s new book and a hardcover copy of Jim’s 472-page book, Retire Secure for Professors and TIAA Participants (2023).

 

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Session One:  10 AM – Noon (Eastern)

Roth Conversions After the OBBB: New Opportunities and New Pitfalls. How to Make the Most of 2025s Tax Landscape

Led by James Lange, CPA/Attorney with Guests Jen Hall, CMA, CPA, CFP, CRPC and Dominic Bonaccorsi, CPA, CRPC

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, permanently extends the federal income tax reductions set by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which were previously scheduled to sunset at the end of this year. Get the most up-to-date guidance on adjusting your conversion strategy for maximum tax efficiency under the new rules.

In this session, Jim Lange will cover classic principles of Roth IRA conversions (with additional support from two “number-crunching” CPAs who work with Jim), plus seldom used and little-known advanced Roth conversion techniques.

In this session you'll discover:

• Key tax provisions of the OBBB that affect Roth conversions, retirement withdrawals, charitable giving, and estate planning.
• Classic peer-reviewed concepts.
• Proactive multi-year tax planning: How to develop the ideal long-term Roth IRA conversion plan for today’s tax policy environment.
• Optimal timing for Roth conversions: The peer-reviewed math behind the best timing strategies.

Advanced Strategies:

• Tax-free conversions: How to convert after-tax dollars in IRAs, TIAA and other retirement plans to Roths at no cost.
• Shift a portion of your taxable investments—such as 403(b)s, IRAs, and other retirement plans—into the tax-free accounts of Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, and 529 plans for your children and other family members. Note: This strategy could, in some cases, be more beneficial to your heirs than making Roth IRA conversions in your own accounts.

 

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Session Three:  3:15 – 5 PM (Eastern)

The Best Estate Plan for Married University Faculty and Administrators

In this session, you’ll learn:

• The details of the best (and most flexible) estate plan for most married professors.
• Lifetime gifting strategies: How increasing lifetime gifts to your heirs now can reduce future tax burdens and provide financial assistance when it's most impactful for your loved ones.
• Who Gets What? A rarely discussed strategy that evaluates the tax consequences of leaving differing types of assets to different beneficiaries in different income tax brackets. We will cover a similar strategy for charitable giving.
• Risk and reward of delaying Social Security benefits: Are the risks of benefit cuts and dying young sufficient for the primary wage earner to take Social Security before age 70? Or should you delay taking your Social Security benefits to significantly increase your lifetime payouts as well as those of your surviving spouse?