Kurt Supe, CPA & Retirement Planner

I'm Kurt Supe, CPA and retirement planner. My goal is to help YOU maximize your retirement income and retire with confidence. I post content designed to give you clarity around complex retirement planning topics. Every week, I share insights on tax optimization, income planning, Social Security timing, investment management, risk management, estate planning, withdrawal sequencing and much more. My Mission: Help clients retire on THEIR timeline with maximum income so you can enjoy the wealth you've built. I've spent 25+ years helping people make smarter decisions around retirement, taxes, and income. Most of what I share here is educational, things I wish more people knew earlier about how retirement actually works, where taxes create hidden problems, and why timing decisions matter more than most realize. If you're near retirement and trying to make better decisions with your money, you're in the right place. I post fresh insights every morning to help you make smarter decisions with your money. So be sure to follow me. Ready to Take Control of Your Retirement? Speak to the team: → creativefinancialgrp.com/cfg-start-here/ Important Disclosures: The content I share is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Your personal financial situation is unique. Before making any financial decisions, please consult with a qualified financial advisor, CPA, or attorney who can evaluate your specific circumstances. All client stories, examples, and case studies presented are composite, hypothetical scenarios created for illustrative purposes—they do not represent actual clients or specific situations. Past performance and hypothetical scenarios do not guarantee future results.

Couple comes in for their annual review. $2.8 million. Well invested. Solid Pension. Completely on track. I ask the question I ask everyone. "How is your daughter doing?" Mom's face changed first. Their daughter is 39. Hasn't asked for anything. Never complained. But she's been in the same apartment for six years. Daycare alone is $1,800 a month. Down payment feels impossible. Dad said "we always figured she'd get it eventually." I pulled up a simple chart. Statistically they live to 88. She inherits at 56. Maybe 60. At 60 her own retirement is eight years away. The money that could change everything at 39 arrives when her finish line is already close. Neither of them had ever seen it framed that way. The annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per parent per child. They can move $38,000 a year to her. No gift tax. No estate implications. Over ten years that's $380,000 transferred while they're healthy enough to watch it matter. Dad looked at his wife. "Why are we waiting?" Most families leave everything at death because nobody showed them the math of giving it while they're alive.

Your advisor's fee is usually a percentage of your balance. Every dollar you spend in retirement reduces that fee. There is no incentive to teach you how to spend it. The financial industry spent 40 years training you to accumulate. The more you saved, the more they made. You may have been told not to spend your money. But Nobody showed you why. There are no profitable products to sell you on actually living your life. So after almost 30 years as a retirement planner and CPA, here's what I know. Many of the best savers I've ever met died with the most regrets. Not because they ran out of money. Because they never gave themselves permission to use it. One client drove the same car for 14 years after he retired. Ordered water at dinner. Never took a single vacation. Died with $2 million in a traditional IRA. The IRS collected more from that account than he ever spent from it in his lifetime. The discipline that built the wealth became the prison that prevented him from using it. In retirement it isn't a virtue anymore. It's may be a decision to let someone else enjoy what you built. What does the life you're saving for actually look like?

Clients ask me all the time when they will know they have enough. The honest answer is never. Not without a plan that defines what enough actually means for their life. I have met people with $400,000 who were ready. I have met people with $4 million who were not. The number is not the answer. The plan around the number is the answer.

@TwoCentsGal I love this! We use a similar saying at our office. GO GO SLOW GO NO GO

@KurtSupeCPA Yes those early years of retirement are called go, go, go. Mid years of retirement turn into slow, slow, slow. The final years: no, no, no. Plan properly so you can spend more in the early “go” years!

JP Morgan just released their 2026 retirement guide. One finding that should be in every financial planning conversation right now. Retirees actually spend more in early retirement than they planned. Not less. The "I'll spend less when I'm older" assumption is backwards. Early retirement is when people travel, renovate, help kids, and finally do the things they delayed for 30 years. The spending curve goes down eventually. But not at 62. Not at 65. Not usually until the mid to late 70s. If your retirement plan assumes conservative early spending, it may be built on the wrong foundation. Source: JP Morgan Asset Management 2026 Guide to Retirement. For informational purposes only.

@georgymh I always like to say there’s no prize for the person who dies with the most money.

@KurtSupeCPA So true. Most plans underestimate the years people finally start living.

@adambsimon This is an excellent point and it should be accounted for in every retirement plan. At our office we call it a spending smile. Spending often starts higher early in retirement, dips in the middle years, then rises again later due to healthcare costs.

@KurtSupeCPA Why about health costs rising? Supplemental Health insurance is rising and long term care

@AHallVirtus This is an excellent point. Take care of all the big ticket items before your retire!

@KurtSupeCPA I like seeing people do their renovations and big purchases the last couple years of their careers. Changes are they’ve already saved enough and another year of saving is t going to tip the scales. Might as well get stuff done while you have a paycheck

@Encore_Income You are 100% correct. We suggest using a solid retirement plan/software where you can plug gifts into your monthly cash flow and see the impact. That way it is not a guess, you can clearly see what it may do over time.

@KurtSupeCPA I see the "helping kids" scenario every single day. It is great to be able to do that, but far too many people don't anticipate the reality of how it can impact you month to month.

That is every bit and may even be more important! Find your purpose. I did a great video on that on my youtube channel if you want to check it out. The video is called "What Really Happens When You Retire". I just did it a few weeks ago. @kurtsupeCPA is the youtube channel if you want to check it out.

@KurtSupeCPA Yup... I'm not so worried about the money when I retire. It's what will I do with my life

"Do we have enough to retire?" "Yes." "Are you sure?" "You have $1.5M, a paid off house, and $7,800/month coming in from Social Security and pension. You have enough." "But what if the market crashes?" "We've already planned for that." "What if we need long term care?" "We've already planned for that too." "What if we live to 95?" "Still fine." This is the conversation I have with many clients in their first year of retirement. The money is typically not the problem. The fear is.

That’s a fair point. Some level of caution is what helped many people build wealth in the first place. But there’s a difference between healthy awareness and fear that keeps someone from actually using what they’ve worked decades for. Our job isn’t to remove that discipline, it’s to put a plan in place so they can spend with confidence, not guesswork, and avoid the very outcome you’re describing.

Fear keeps retirees from overspending and ending up destitute at 87 with no options. The advisor calling fear irrational is the same person getting paid whether the client runs out of money or not. Healthy financial anxiety is not a problem to fix. It is the feature that built the $1.5M in the first place.

@bay_photography 100%

@KurtSupeCPA The shift in mentality from saving to spending is the roadblock to get over

@Lilly7862 You’re exactly right. Having enough is one thing, but believing it is the real challenge. We spend a lot of our time coaching people through that, helping them build the confidence to actually move forward.

@KurtSupeCPA Having enough is one thing believing it is the real challenge

@myersbradley Thanks Bradley, it really is, but it can also be challenging. One of the hardest parts is having to tell people they’re not ready yet.

@KurtSupeCPA I bet that’s a real fulfilling job to provide so many families the reassurance they’re looking for.

@jennyrozelle I did that for all my kids. Excellent post and very necessary. It really came in handy when my daughter went to college and we needed to access medical records from a college sports injury.

It’s a great idea for “kids” (18+) to have basic documents like a Power of Attorney and Health Care documents - just in case. We’ve done these for kids who are: - Away at college 📚 - About to travel on, say, spring break 🌴 - Studying abroad ✈️

Thanks for the comment. The story comes from real client situations I've handled over the last 30 years, anonymized to protect privacy. Just a way to show a pattern many families face without realizing it. Setting a clear limit on family support keeps generosity sustainable and protects long-term retirement security for everyone. I have seen far too many retirement plans ruined over things like this.

@KurtSupeCPA the sales pitch you tell a story the only outcome is buy what i'm selling because reasons life is too short to compromise life is too long not to plan ... for the bad things does AI write like this? or are they all taking the same copywriting course?

They did everything right Saved A few Million over 34 years Retired at 63 feeling untouchable Eight months later their son called He had lost his job Not lazy. Not reckless. Company downsized and he was out He had two kids under six and a mortgage He was grinding every day trying to get back on his feet Interviews. Rejections. More interviews. Then his wife decided she was done waiting Packed up and left Just like that Now he was a single father of two Unemployed And completely broken What do you do? They said come home Groceries for three extra people A car payment A divorce lawyer that cost more than anyone expected Soccer. Ballet. Birthday parties. Because those kids were not going to suffer for what the adults did They never tracked it Because you don't hand your kid a spreadsheet when his world just collapsed Three years into retirement they found us and came in $340,000 over their budget gone No plan to replace it Nobody had ever warned them That the biggest threat to their retirement might not be a market crash It might be the people they love most We fixed it But it required some big lifestyle adjustments Your retirement plan needs a number for your kids if you want to help them A specific amount you are willing to give Because love without a limit is not generosity It is a retirement plan with a hole in it

There are a lot of what if's and it is always a risk. I think a bigger risk is that tax rates go up dramatically in the future and people have too much in traditional accounts. That is another reason to get some money in the Roth. Just like anything else. Hedge, by doing at least something.

@KurtSupeCPA What if Congress changes the rules on Roth IRA’s? I have heard multiple CPA’ s voice this concern.

A couple 58 and 59 years old Both executives at large corporations Decades of climbing the ladder Here is their situation Combined income: $280,000 401k balances: $2M Brokerage account: $540,000 Home: paid off Pension: none Healthcare: unplanned until Medicare at 65 Social Security: planning to claim at 62 They were exhausted Both wanted to walk away from their jobs today Their question to me was simple Can we retire right now Most advisors would run a Monte Carlo simulation and hand them a number We did something different First we told them to stop planning to claim Social Security at 62 Waiting until 67 would add over $1,100 a month per person for the rest of their lives Then we built a healthcare bridge using their brokerage account to cover the gap until Medicare at 65 Then we started Roth conversions immediately to shrink the IRS's share of that $2.1 million before RMDs hit They had the green light to retire But the real work was building a plan to maximize every dollar Most people spend 30 years focused on saving the money Very few have a plan to maximize it once it is time to use it

They pay taxes now on Roth conversions because their income will be low in early retirement (no salary, SS delayed to 67), so they convert at 12%–22% rates, much cheaper than the 24%+ brackets and IRMAA hits they'll face later when RMDs force big withdrawals at 73. Converting now shrinks future RMDs, moves growth to tax-free Roth forever, and gives lifetime flexibility. It’s pre-paying at today’s lower rates often saves big over time.

@j_aja4 @KurtSupeCPA A bit confused, so taking 401k money, paying your current tax rate now on it, is less tax money versus taking the rmd at 72/73? Doesn’t seem right.

@JT69704577 People on the East and West coasts don't realize that executives in the Midwest and South earn substantially less But their cost of living is also dramatically lower. This is well in line with exec pay where they live

@KurtSupeCPA How tf are they considered executives with combined $280k income???