Not long ago, a CPA sat down in my office, and as we talked through retirement planning strategies, she referred to something I hadn’t heard phrased quite that way before.
“Oh, you’re talking about the retirement honeymoon phase,” she said.
And it clicked immediately. That’s exactly what it is.
It’s a real window of opportunity that many people miss simply because they don’t know how to look for it.
What Is the Retirement Honeymoon Phase?
The retirement honeymoon phase is a unique season—usually between ages 60 and 70—where your work income has stopped, but you haven’t yet been forced to take Social Security or required distributions from your retirement accounts.
For many, this is the lowest tax bracket they’ll be in for the rest of their life.
That creates an opportunity: a chance to take money out of retirement accounts at a lower tax rate than you might pay later.
But it only works if you’re intentional. If you accidentally trigger income that pushes you into a higher bracket, you can end up paying more tax than necessary—sometimes even more than you did while working.
Why This Window Closes at Age 70
If you retire at or after age 70, you’ve already lost most of this window.
That’s because at age 70, you have to turn on Social Security. And depending on your birth year, required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts kick in soon after age 73 for those born before 1960, and age 75 for those born in 1960 or later.
So, if you’re retiring in your early to mid-60s, this honeymoon phase is a key period to think about tax strategy.
The Common Misstep: Turning On Social Security Too Early
Here’s what we often see:
Someone retires and thinks, “Well, I don’t want to spend my own savings—I’ll just turn on Social Security now and use that.”
It sounds logical. After all, why tap into your own retirement account if the government is offering you a monthly income?
But this mindset can lead to missing the most tax-efficient years you have. Social Security adds income to your tax return, and that income can push your retirement withdrawals into a higher tax bracket.
It’s especially common among people who’ve been strong savers. They’ve spent decades contributing to their 401(k) every paycheck and have a hard time shifting from saving mode to spending mode.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
You might wonder: “Does this really make that big of a difference?”
In a word—yes.
Starting in 2026, a married couple filing jointly with no other income can take up to $139,000 out of their retirement accounts and stay within the 12% federal tax bracket. But add Social Security into the mix, and you might hit the 22% bracket much sooner. This is where real tax planning comes in.
What We Help Clients Do
At Safe Harbor, this is the kind of modeling we do every day. We look at questions like:
- What happens if I turn on Social Security and take withdrawals at the same time?
- What if I hold off on Social Security and just draw from my retirement accounts now?
- How do those choices affect my overall tax rate—not just this year, but long-term?
There's more to it than just the classic “break-even” math people like to use. It’s not only about whether delaying Social Security gets you more dollars down the road. It’s also about how turning it on now affects the taxation of your other income.
Because if you turn it on too early, your IRA withdrawals might be taxed at the same rate as when you were working, which kind of defeats the point of deferring taxes in the first place.
Wrapping It Up
The whole idea behind saving in retirement accounts is to pay less tax in retirement than you did while working.
And for many people, that’s still possible—but only if you use the honeymoon phase wisely.
If you’re in that 60–70 window (or close to it) and want to see what smart decisions look like in your situation, let’s talk. Even just seeing the numbers side-by-side can make the path forward a whole lot clearer.
This material is intended for informational/educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment/tax advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or investment product. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation.