Strategies for Retirement Investment Planning in Troy, MI

Troy is the corporate center of Oakland County, and it shows up in the retirement planning we do for Troy households. The typical client profile: 55–65 years old, 25+ years at a single Michigan corporation, large 401(k) balance, a mix of RSUs and deferred comp on the back end of their career, and a pension they sometimes forget to count.

Seven strategies I'd put on the table first if you fit that description.

1. Map every income source for the next 25 years

Before anything else: list Social Security (both spouses, at multiple filing ages), pensions (with survivor options priced out), annuities, rental income, part-time work, and portfolio withdrawals year by year through age 90. Most Troy households do this exercise for the first time when they sit down with us, and are surprised by how different it looks from the generic calculator output.

2. Handle company stock before you roll out

If you hold employer stock inside a Michigan corporate 401(k), the IRS Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) rule can dramatically reduce the lifetime tax on that position — but only if the distribution is handled as a single-year lump-sum, in-kind, before any rollover. Miss the window and you pay ordinary income rates on what could have been long-term capital gains. We model the NUA decision for almost every Troy client we meet.

3. Sequence your deferred comp

Non-qualified deferred compensation (NQDC) typically pays out on a schedule you elected years ago. Those payments are W-2 income and stack on top of Social Security, pension, and IRA withdrawals. Without careful coordination, they push you into higher brackets and trigger IRMAA surcharges on your Medicare premium. Delaying Social Security until after NQDC payouts end is often the cleanest fix.

4. Front-load Roth conversions in years 62–70

The years between your last paycheck and Social Security filing are the cheapest tax years of your retired life. Every dollar you convert to Roth in that window pays a known, low rate — and never gets taxed again. Troy engineers in particular often have a 6–8 year conversion runway they don't realize they have.

5. Protect the first five years of retirement income

Sequence-of-returns risk — the possibility of a bad market in your first years of retirement — is the single biggest killer of otherwise-solid plans. Carve out the first 5–7 years of essential spending in an instrument that cannot lose principal. Everything else stays invested.

6. Re-name beneficiaries, then re-name them again

Beneficiary designations override your will. They are also the most-often-forgotten part of anyone's plan. If you changed jobs three times, got married, had kids, or lost a parent since you last looked at your beneficiary forms, look again. It is a 20-minute exercise that routinely saves six figures in probate or tax inefficiency.

7. Review the plan every year

Tax law changes. Annuity rates change. Social Security rules change. Your life changes. A retirement plan that was perfect in 2022 may be suboptimal in 2026 — not because anyone made a mistake, but because the world moved. An annual review catches that.