FAQs

Will you serve as a Fiduciary for my retirement strategy?

Yes!  As a CFP^® professional, the gold standard of excellence for financial planners, Josh Ross and Energized Retirement Planners have committed to act as a fiduciary, and therefore, act in the best interests of the client.

Why is tax advice so important for retirees?

The simple fact is, many retirees haven't created a retirement tax plan that ensures they pay taxes when it is most beneficial for them (lowest tax rate). Instead they try to keep their tax burden as low as possible every year. This short-term thinking results in a huge tax surprise when retirees hit required minimum distribution (RMD) age (which is currently 73 for those born before 1960 and 75 for those born in 1960 or later).

RMDs are an amount that the IRS requires you to withdraw (and pay taxes on) from pre-tax accounts such as IRAs and 401ks. You initially received a tax deduction when contributing to these accounts and at RMD age the tax code says it is time to pay up, sending you into higher tax brackets and paying Medicare surcharges!

Creating a retirement tax plan that considers your (and your spouse and heirs) future tax liabilities can result in a very significant reduction in what the government will take from those hard earned retirement account balances.

How is Energized Retirement Planners different from other financial advisors?

Energized Retirement Planners is a full-service financial advisor in Bismarck, ND providing tax advice to retiree clients nationwide as part of a comprehensive "done-for-you retirement planning" approach.  Most advisors are focused only on investments, which can be just fine during your working years. During retirement however, in-depth tax advice, estate planning and income strategies are key, especially for multi-million dollar portfolios. 

Why are your qualifications important?

Josh Ross is a Certified Financial Planner professional or CFP® which is a professional certification for financial advisors that signifies a high standard of competency and ethical conduct. This includes fulfilling certain standards of education, examination, experience and ethics. A crucial part of the certification is a commitment to adhering to the CFP Board's strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. As a CFP®, Josh has also committed to acting as a fiduciary, which requires him to always act in clients' best interest.  Josh's CFP® profile can be viewed here. 

Josh is also an Enrolled Agent (EA) which is a tax professional who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is the highest credential awarded by the IRS and, as such, EAs are federally licensed and have unlimited practice rights. To earn the EA credential, an individual must fulfill several requirements including passing a comprehensive three-part examination called the Special Enrollment Examination and undergo a background check, which includes a review of personal and business tax compliance. After passing, EAs must complete 72 hours of continuing education every three years to maintain their license. 

How do I know if an advisor provides tax advice?

Terms such as "tax planning" and "tax strategies" are commonly used in advertising as they have no regulatory meaning or restrictions.  Instead, ask a search engine (Google) or your favorite AI (ChatGPT) if an advisor's firm provides "tax advice." For example, "does ABC company provide tax advice?" Usually you will find that the firm and advisors are specifically excluded from tax advice. Energized Retirement Planners provides tax advice.

Another good indication is if an advisor is an Enrolled Agent with the IRS. Enrolled Agents are approved to represent taxpayers before the IRS. 

Energized Retirement Planners will provide actionable, forward-looking tax advice and prepare your tax returns, ensuring your planning strategies are accurately implemented. Our firm is explicitly not excluded from providing tax advice due to the expertise and credentials on our team.

Can't I simply ask my CPA or tax professional for tax advice?

A CPA or tax professional is great for lowering your current tax bill. However, they look in the rearview mirror. A retirement tax plan has to be created by a financial advisor, as they are the ones projecting spending, investment returns and taxable income. If you hear "check with your tax professional" when asking your financial advisor a tax related question, it is likely you will be generously tipping Uncle Sam in the future.

Am I a good fit to partner with Energized Retirement Planners?

Our typical client is retired or within 5 years of retirement with $2,000,000 to $15,000,000 in retirement and non-qualified accounts. They have a complex tax profile with multiple moving pieces and want to lower their lifetime tax bill and avoid Medicare/IRMAA surcharges. Our services are optimized for those whose wealth complexity requires highly specialized tax and estate integration. See our self-assessment page to evaluate your current situation. Self-Assessment

Why do you charge a financial planning fee?

We charge because financial planning is worth it. We enjoy managing investments as much as the next advisor. However, other factors, such as the tax treatment of those investments are just as important as what level of return you receive. We can't maximize your retirement without creating a roadmap first. That means creating a plan that takes into account your retirement and legacy goals, bucket list spending, tax projections, Social Security claiming strategies and much more.

Not having a comprehensive plan is like a heart surgeon starting an operation before running all the tests and imaging before hand.  Most advisors do not charge a financial planning fee because they are not providing comprehensive financial planning or tax advice. (If they did, you probably wouldn't be reading this page...) 

We have been with our financial advisor for years. They have done well for us and we aren't sure about leaving them.

Totally understandable. Placing your retirement in someone's hands - that is a BIG decision and not one taken lightly.

This is another reason why we start relationships by creating a financial plan.  You aren't moving accounts, rather your initial commitment is a simple one-time fee.  What you learn during the process, you can implement yourself or even bring to your current advisor. The vast majority of the time, planning clients find our services a great fit and mutually agree to continue our relationship moving forward. However, you are under no obligation or pressure to do so.

The worst case is you have had a second set of eyes review your situation, adding peace of mind in retirement.

What is your investment philosophy?

We believe in starting retirement with a "war chest." This is a pot of safe dollars protected from volatility that covers multiple years of spending. Possibly a combination of a checking account and CDs at your local bank, money market funds, bond ladders or U.S. Treasuries.  Having a war chest ensures your peace of mind knowing the next 3-5 years of spending is not impacted by stock market fluctuations.

Our investment philosophy, as it applies to the stock market, is to focus on adequate diversification. Energized Retirement Planners does not try to "time" the market by moving in and out of investments based on recent news, rumors or technical data.  Instead, we have found that most successful retirements come from creating an upfront plan that can account for inevitable market ups and downs with adequate diversification. An example of diversification is supplementing stock and bond investments in large US companies with small and mid-size companies, international stock, real estate, and treasuries. 

We typically use a base of passive, index funds that provide this diversification from tax-efficient, low fee providers such as Vanguard.

Where would my money be held?

Your money is held at a custodian.

To give you the most freedom and value with your retirement savings, we have chosen to partner with Charles Schwab, a leader in low-cost investing and a top-rated custodian. This means instead of being restricted to proprietary, often higher-cost funds like you might find at other firms, you get access to a full range of investment options. By cutting down unnecessary fees and providing a more modern, transparent platform, we can work together more efficiently to protect and grow your assets for the future.

Do you provide income tax return preparation services?

Yes.  Our clients were clear that they preferred to have a one-stop-shop who would handle tax advice and ensure that that advice was accurately reflected on their tax return.  No more going back and forth between your advisor and your tax professional. If you love your current tax professional, that is not a problem. We will create a detailed tax letter for you with all of your tax moves in the previous year and we also offer to review your tax return before it is filed. 

Do you have a process for coordinating Roth Conversions with my tax bracket and long-term estate goals?

Absolutely. Roth conversions are one of the rare tax code items that lets YOU determine when to pay income tax. And guess what? You want to pay income tax when it is the LOWEST for you! This requires implementing a lifetime strategy that can be adjusted year by year depending on variables such as income and tax code changes. 

Are Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) really something that could derail my retirement?

In our experience, most retirees with over $1 million in retirement savings are going to be hit with a tax surprise at RMD age. (RMD age is 73 for those born before January 1, 1960 and 75 for those born after.)

Maybe an example will help. Assume a new retiree is 63 years old. They are currently living on interest from bank CDs, along with a savings/checking account plus Social Security. The retiree has no debt and $1,500,000 in their pre-tax IRA (invested in a moderate risk tolerance), which they are not planning to dip into until RMD age.

Even if their IRA returns 6% per year, their balance will have doubled by RMD age of 75. At 75 their $3,000,000 IRA will be required to distribute $131,100 for the year!  This amount will be added on top of any other taxable income the retiree has. Now they are in a higher marginal tax bracket and also likely subject to additional Medicare surcharges. And the RMD amount could continue to rise each year!

Hopefully these are scenarios your advisor has reviewed with you!

We have highly appreciated company stock (NUA). How does that factor into the tax plan?

This is a common, complex HNW scenario. We review the possibility of Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) and other strategies to determine the optimal liquidation timeline that maximizes the after-tax transfer of that wealth to you and your heirs.

How do you address complex tax issues like Medicare IRMAA Surcharges or the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)?

These sophisticated issues require a proactive, multi-year strategy, not guesswork. We utilize our EA planning expertise to model distributions and Roth conversions to keep your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) below key thresholds, legally minimizing these high taxes and surcharges.

We live outside Bismarck - how does a remote relationship work?

We partner virtually with clients from numerous states.  If you have a smart phone or a PC, the process is seamless. We are always available to walk you through any technology processes but can also mail documents when necessary.