| Good morning from Traverse City, |
| Two themes keep showing up in the planning conversations we're having this fall: things that are changing whether you act or not, and decisions that feel safer left open but aren't. This week's issue covers both. Social Security just announced something concrete for 2027, RMD season is here with a fresh list of traps to sidestep, and there's a real case for why postponing a big retirement decision can cost more than making the wrong one. |
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By the numbers
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3.6%
Social Security COLA increase for 2027
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27th
S&P 500 record high reached in Q3 2026
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IN THIS ISSUE
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1
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Your benefit goes up 3.6% in January |
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2
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Ten ways people get their RMDs wrong, and one timing decision most people overlook |
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3
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Keeping your options open can be the riskier move |
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4
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Rates rose, oil spiked, and stocks still hit new highs in Q3 |
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5
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Around Traverse City: Dan Tyminski Band at the City Opera House, Wednesday the 21st, and 2 more coming up |
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The lead · SOCIAL SECURITY
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Your benefit goes up 3.6% in January
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| Social Security announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027, which means higher monthly checks starting in January. |
| For someone currently collecting $2,000 a month, that's roughly $72 more each month, or about $864 over the year. The announcement also comes with a note of caution: potential policy changes are still being discussed in Congress, so the longer-term picture for benefits remains unsettled. And in a separate move, Congress passed a bill giving Social Security's claiming ages new official names, though the underlying ages themselves did not change. |
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Why it matters: If you're already collecting, your January payment will be larger automatically, and if you're still deciding when to claim, this COLA is a reminder that the benefit you're waiting to grow is still growing.
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Read at Kitces / Weekend Reading →
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YEAR-END DEADLINE
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Ten ways people get their RMDs wrong, and one timing decision most people overlook
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| With December 31 about ten weeks out, a fresh review of the most common required minimum distribution mistakes is worth your time right now. |
| The Kitces weekend reading roundup this week highlighted a top-ten list of RMD errors and a separate look at three different timing strategies for taking your distribution, each with its own trade-offs. There's also a specific heads-up for anyone who inherited an IRA: the rules on when an RMD must be taken before a transfer are narrow and easy to miss, and getting it wrong triggers a penalty. The piece on timing covers whether to take your RMD early in the year, late, or spread it out, and points out that the right answer depends on your tax situation, not a default habit. |
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Why it matters: A missed or incorrectly calculated RMD can trigger a 25% excise tax on the shortfall, so if your situation changed in 2026, a quick check before Thanksgiving is worth more than a fix in January.
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Read the full story →
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PLANNING MINDSET
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Keeping your options open can be the riskier move
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| A Kitces discussion makes the case that for certain big retirement decisions, delaying the choice isn't neutral: it carries its own costs and risks. |
| The argument applies to decisions like when to retire, whether to start a business, or how to structure income in early retirement. Staying uncommitted feels like preserving flexibility, but it can mean forgoing benefits that only accrue once a choice is made, like Social Security growth, Roth conversion windows, or simply the mental relief of a settled plan. The piece doesn't argue for rushing; it argues for recognizing that waiting is itself a decision with consequences. |
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Why it matters: If there's a retirement date or income decision you've been circling for a while, bring it to your next review and we can put numbers to what staying on the fence is actually costing you.
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Read at Kitces & Carl →
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MARKET SNAPSHOT
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Rates rose, oil spiked, and stocks still hit new highs in Q3
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| The third quarter of 2026 brought rising interest rates, a new Federal Reserve rate-hike cycle, and oil prices back above $100 a barrel, and yet the S&P 500 reached its 27th record high. |
| The Kitces chart roundup for Q4 2026 walks through what happened and why the usual logic, that rising rates and energy costs hurt stocks, didn't play out that way this quarter. It's a useful reminder that the headline economic news and your portfolio's performance often tell different stories. The piece also covers whether this is a moment to rebalance, given that stocks are up and bonds are down, and makes a separate point that cash still makes sense for short-term spending goals even in a higher-rate environment. |
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Why it matters: If you've been nervous about the rate environment or wondering whether to shift your mix, the context in this quarter's data may be worth reviewing before you make any changes.
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Read at Kitces →
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Quick hits
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Around Traverse City
Dan Tyminski Band at the City Opera House, Wednesday the 21st
If you recognize the voice on 'I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow' from O Brother, Where Art Thou, that's Dan Tyminski, and he's playing the City Opera House this Wednesday. It's a good excuse to spend an evening in one of Traverse City's best rooms for live music.
Also coming up
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Tip of the week
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Before December: check whether your income changed enough to shift your RMD bracket
If you sold property, took a large IRA withdrawal, or had any other unusual income in 2026, your taxable income for the year may land in a different bracket than you expected. That can affect whether a Roth conversion still makes sense before year-end, whether you should bunch or spread your RMD, and whether your Medicare premium for 2028 could be affected by this year's income. A quick look at your year-to-date income picture in October, while there's still time to act, beats discovering the situation in February.
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How was this issue?
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Until next week,
Tom, your planner
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| P.S. Grand Traverse County added more than 12,700 private-sector jobs over the last five years, a 25% increase that tells you something about why housing costs here keep climbing. Worth keeping in mind if your retirement budget was built on older local cost assumptions. |