About Retirement Tax Matters

  • We launched this website and podcast because we believe that providing good financial advice for HNW retirees is impossible without a clear understanding of what’s happening on their tax return.

  • While the term "High-Net-Worth" or HNW can sound formal, we're simply talking about retirees and their families who have been successful in accumulating (or are on track to accumulate) between $2 million and $8 million.

    This is the range where retirement planning becomes truly multi-dimensional. The content on Retirement Tax Matters is specifically designed to address the unique questions that arise at this level of wealth.

  • We’ve been in situations where we’re speaking to a general audience of retirees, and it's difficult to use an example like: a married couple with a $5 million IRA, multiple rental properties, and a $500k 529 plan for their 10 grandchildren —because it simply doesn't apply to most people in the room.

    We’re focusing on more targeted content and conversations for retirees in this demographic.

    It also means we aren't concentrating on the financial planning issues of the Ultra-High-Net-Worth, who might require complex estate tax strategies that are a world away from the concerns of most successful HNW retirees.

  • Our primary goal with Retirement Tax Matters is to educate you.

    The best way to stay in touch and benefit from our ongoing conversations is by subscribing to our newsletter on our home page (link).

  • Providence Wealth Management, LLC is the independent, fee-based SEC-registered independent investment advisory firm where Garrett Crawford, CFP®, and Adam Reed work. Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, it serves as the professional practice behind the educational content you see on Retirement Tax Matters.

Picture of Garrett Crawford CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and Co-Host of Retirement Tax Matters Podcast.

About Garrett Crawford, CFP®

  • I graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. While in college, I started dating a girl who became my wife. As it turned out, her father was the owner of Providence and he offered me my first job right out of engineering school.

    It was a valuable and fairly uncommon start in this profession, especially back in 2013. My role was focused entirely on learning the craft of financial planning, not on sales. The ability to sit in on client meetings from day one created an ideal foundation for my career.

  • I believe most high-net-worth retirees would do well to have a bigger view of tax planning. While the goal isn't always to minimize taxes in a single year, the focus should be on lowering the aggregate amount of taxes you pay over your lifetime. Sometimes it makes sense to strategically pay more tax today if it results in significant savings down the road.

    In this $2M-$8M range, your financial life becomes incredibly dynamic. It’s crucial that your (1) tax return, your (2) investment plan, and your (3) long-term financial plan are better aligned. I often find that the income families in this range live on is less than what their portfolios actually generate, which creates significant opportunities for proactive planning. This is why I believe Roth Conversions are such a powerful strategic tool. It's one of the best ways to accelerate or defer income, allowing you to leverage what you know about your financial situation today to position yourself better for the future.

    A major focus of your planning should be on future Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). For HNW retirees, RMDs can grow to be much larger than your actual spending needs, forcing a significant amount of taxable income each year. This can easily push you into a higher tax bracket. The challenge is often compounded when one spouse passes away, as the surviving spouse must then file using the much higher single tax bracket rates. It's important to think critically about how to structure these funds for your beneficiaries, ensuring the plan is tax-efficient for the next generation while keeping assets liquid in case they are needed for unexpected events.

    Ultimately, all of these technical strategies serve a much greater purpose. Many successful retirees don't strive to end up with the biggest pile of money at the end of their life. The goal is to understand your money better so you can deploy it more confidently—helping your kids sooner, giving more generously, and enabling the people and organizations around you to be more impactful.

  • What drew me to financial planning is the challenges are not just technical; they are deeply personal.

    Often, a meeting is the one place a couple feels comfortable having a real, out-loud conversation about the unique responsibilities and challenges that come with the wealth they've built.

    I love that being a CFP® professional requires me to uphold the fiduciary standard, grounding my work in a commitment to ongoing education, rigorous experience, and requiring integrity in all I do. Being able to use those skills to help a family find clarity and peace of mind is a profound privilege and incredibly fulfilling.

  • As a practicing financial planner in Knoxville, Tennessee, my primary goal with this Retirement Tax Matters podcast and website is to provide highly targeted, valuable resources for high-net-worth retirees. Adam and I are passionate about education and believe that a more informed person is empowered to make better financial decisions.

    We realize that by sharing our specific approach to planning, some listeners may find that our philosophy deeply resonates with them and might want to see if we're a good fit to work together professionally.

    If that's you, and you feel that a deeper, one-on-one conversation would be helpful, please feel free to use the link below to schedule a quick, 30-minute introductory phone call with me. There is no cost or obligation for this call.

    https://calendly.com/garrettcrawford/rtm-interest

Picture of Adam Reed Investment Advisor and Co-Host of Retirement Tax Matters Podcast.

About Adam Reed

  • I have found through the years that I really have two professional passions. I love to interact with and serve people, and I love to problem solve. Our industry is full of people with a story, I enjoy hearing those stories, and playing a small part in writing the chapters to come.

    This does not happen without challenges! That is where the problem solving comes in. Whether it is helping someone decide how much IRA money to convert to Roth, or what is a reasonable amount to spend on a new car, I love to walk along side people as we overcome obstacles!

  • YOU! Yes, you read that right. You are the key ingredient to effective planning. Yes, there is math, projections, software, and more that goes into putting together a game plan, but ultimately a plan does not come together without you. Your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your challenges, the things that keep you up at night, and the things that get you out of bed in the morning. All of this is essential to formulating a plan that you are confident in that excites you for the future!

    I always think of financial planning as a coloring book. As you look through the pages you see the outlines and the pictures and you know what it is, but ultimately it is lifeless and dull until you come in and add the color. You add the savings for family vacations, you do the Roth conversions to plan proactively to bless the next generation, you build a cash position for extra peace of mind. These are just a few of the many ways YOU bring life to your financial plan.

  • There are two buckets that people fall into. Those that are accumulating wealth and those that are preparing to, or are in distribution mode. In my years in the financial planning space I have found that those in the accumulation phase can often be paralyzed by not knowing where to start, or feeling like the end goal is too far off or intangible. I always encourage clients that progress is better than perfection. Yes, there is an ideal amount and way to save for long term goals, but starting with something often builds momentum towards accomplishing the goals you have for yourself.

    For those preparing for the distribution phase, or already taking distributions I have found that a common mistake is to think that the planning is over with and the work of financial planning is behind you. Often times those in or nearing retirement have more opportunity for optimization and efficiency than their counter parts still in the accumulation phase. That is why, in large part, that we started this podcast. We want to educate and encourage those that are in retirement to do the planning to get more satisfaction and enjoyment from the fruits of their labors of saving throughout their working careers.

  • I am married to my wonderful wife, Sydney, and we have three sons! We love to be outside. Golf, gardening, hiking, and attending sporting events (Specifically the Tennessee Volunteers) are some of our favorite ways to get out of the house and have a lot of fun!

    I am so blessed to have an awesome family that is a joy to be around, restful, and rejuvenating. I am looking forward to serving my family, and those that I come across in financial planning for years to come!