Planning for retirement is more than setting aside money. Done well, it's a financial roadmap that maps how decades of savings become dependable income — which accounts to draw from, in what order, and how each decision affects your taxes over your full retirement. At Puzzle Wealth, we build comprehensive retirement plans for pre-retirees and retirees across Southlake, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Texas — with particular depth in the decisions that are hardest to reverse: 401(k) rollovers, company stock, and Roth conversions.

What does a complete retirement plan cover? 

Defining the vision comes first — travel, downsizing, a vacation home, part-time work, or fully stepping away. From there, the plan addresses: how much to save and where; an investment strategy that balances growth against the stability your withdrawals require; Social Security timing; healthcare costs before and after Medicare eligibility; required minimum distributions; and the tax character of every account — taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free — so withdrawals are sequenced deliberately.

Our first priority is helping you take care of yourself and your family. We want to learn more about your personal situation, identify your dreams and goals, and understand your tolerance for risk. Long-term relationships that encourage open and honest communication have been the cornerstone of my foundation of success.

Should I roll over my 401(k) when I retire?

It depends — and several of these decisions are irreversible, so the analysis comes before the paperwork. You can typically leave assets in your former employer's plan, roll them to an IRA, roll them into a new employer's plan, or take a distribution. The right choice depends on each account's investment options and costs, your age (the age-55 separation rule can matter), creditor protection differences, and — critically — whether your plan holds appreciated company stock. If it does, a Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) analysis needs to happen first: NUA rules may allow company stock to move to a taxable account with the appreciation taxed at long-term capital-gains rates, but a full IRA rollover generally eliminates that opportunity permanently. Long-tenured employees of large DFW-area employers are exactly who this catches.

What is a Roth conversion — and is it right for you?

A Roth conversion moves funds from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA. You pay ordinary income tax on the converted amount in the year of conversion; in exchange, qualified withdrawals from the Roth are federal-tax-free, and Roth IRAs have no required minimum distributions during the owner's lifetime — which also makes them a useful tool for passing assets to beneficiaries.

Conversions tend to work best when your tax rate is temporarily low: the early-retirement years before RMDs and Social Security begin, lower-income years, or market downturns. Converting too much in one year can push you into a higher bracket, so we typically model multi-year conversion schedules — how much, in which years, and how to pay the tax without disrupting cash flow.

Our first priority is helping you take care of yourself and your family. We want to learn more about your personal situation, identify your dreams and goals, and understand your tolerance for risk. Long-term relationships that encourage open and honest communication have been the cornerstone of my foundation of success.

What about a backdoor Roth IRA?

For high earners above the Roth contribution income limits, a backdoor Roth involves making a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA and then converting it. The mechanics matter — existing pre-tax IRA balances can trigger unexpected tax through the pro-rata rule — so this is worth a conversation before executing, not after.

How much do I need to retire? 

It depends on your expected expenses, lifestyle, retirement age, and income sources — there is no universal number. Our approach replaces rules of thumb with modeling: we project your actual spending against your actual assets, test the plan against market variability, and identify the adjustments that improve your probability of success. That analysis, not a formula, answers the question for your situation.

Traditional IRA account owners have considerations to make before performing a Roth IRA conversion. These primarily include income tax consequences on the converted amount in the year of conversion, withdrawal limitations from a Roth IRA, and income limitations for future contributions to a Roth IRA. In addition, if you are required to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) in the year you convert, you must do so before converting to a Roth IRA. This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice.