The Retire Ready Roadmap™
The plan-first framework for married couples within 10 years of retirement with $2 million or more in 401(k)s and IRAs.
For Married Couples, Retirement Decisions Are Connected. Most Retirement Advice Is Not.
The Retire Ready Roadmap™ is a tax-first retirement planning system built for married couples who want to see how income, investments, healthcare, taxes, and the surviving spouse fit into a single coordinated plan before making choices that are difficult to undo.
You Are in the Right Place
If Any of These Sound Familiar…
Most of your retirement savings sit in 401(k)s and IRAs. You stayed invested and disciplined through up and down markets. But as retirement gets closer, you have more questions than answers.
When can we comfortably retire together?
How much can we spend without running out?
When should we each claim Social Security?
How do we avoid higher taxes on our combined retirement income?
What should our investment strategy look like as a couple?
What happens to our taxes when one of us passes?
Should we convert our IRAs to Roth IRAs before RMDs start?
How do we handle health insurance and IRMAA for both of us?
How do we leave more for our family and less for Uncle Sam?
Inside the Book
One system. Every retirement decision connected.
Decades of disciplined saving deserve more than a diversified pie chart, a risk tolerance questionnaire, and a default Social Security claiming date. Eight chapters, start to finish.
Clarity Before Building Your System
Before the numbers, the vision. Why most retirement plans fall short before they begin and how defining the life you want to live makes every financial decision that follows more intentional and more effective.
Is This For You?
More Questions Than Answers. That Is Exactly Why This Book Exists.
You and your spouse are within 10 years of retirement
Most of your combined savings sit in 401(k)s and IRAs totaling $2 million or more
You have saved diligently as a couple but feel uncertain about what actually comes next
You are concerned about taxes on your joint income to and through retirement
You are not confident you are making the most of your Roth conversion window as a couple
Your advisor mainly talks about investments and the market, not your combined tax bill or the surviving spouse scenario
You want to understand how Social Security, taxes, IRMAA, and investments work together for both of you before you stop working
You are tired of generic rules of thumb that were not built for married couples with real money saved
The Nine Things Uncle Sam Is Counting On You Not Knowing
Tax-Proof Your Retirement
The 9 tax surprises most married couples with $2 million or more in 401(k)s and IRAs never see coming — and how to avoid them together.
For Married Couples, Taxes Do Not Retire With You. They Just Change How They Show Up.
The traditional financial advice model was not designed for today's 401(k) and IRA millionaires. A diversified pie chart looks good on paper. But the plan was reactive, not proactive, and Uncle Sam wrote the playbook everyone was following. For married couples with $2 million or more saved, the nine surprises in this book are not hypothetical. They are the default outcome of following the traditional path without a tax-first plan.
You Are in the Right Place
If Any of These Sound Familiar…
Most of your retirement savings sit in 401(k)s and IRAs. You stayed invested and disciplined through up and down markets. But nobody built a tax-first retirement plan around your specific situation. The nine surprises in this book address exactly that gap.
Should we convert our IRAs to Roth, and if so, how much each year?
How do we avoid higher taxes on our combined Social Security?
Will our joint RMDs push us into a higher bracket?
How do we keep Medicare premiums from increasing for both of us?
What happens to the surviving spouse's tax bill when one of us passes?
Are we leaving our children a tax burden they do not expect?
What should our withdrawal strategy look like as a couple?
How do we take advantage of current tax law before it changes?
Is there a way to spend more now and still pay less in taxes together?
Inside the Book
The 9 tax surprises most 401(k) and IRA millionaires never see coming.
Most are predictable. All are avoidable with the right plan.
Tax Return and Lifetime Tax Control
The tax return in retirement is not just a form. It is the lever that controls Medicare premiums, Social Security taxation, and how much is left to spend or pass on.
Part Three · Plan First
Knowing the nine surprises is only half the equation. Part Three covers what to do about them: the Rothification Method™, proactive Roth conversion strategies, tax diversification, withdrawal sequencing, and a real household with real numbers showing what a coordinated tax-first retirement plan looks like in practice. It is the same system used with clients every day at MOKAN Wealth.
Is This For You?
Built for Married Couples With $2M+ in 401(k)s and IRAs Who Want to Keep More Together.
You and your spouse are within 10 years of retirement
Most of your combined savings sit in 401(k)s and IRAs totaling $2M or more
You have saved diligently as a couple but have no real tax strategy for retirement
You are concerned about how taxes will affect your combined income in retirement
You are not confident you are making the most of your Roth conversion window as a couple
Your advisor focuses on investments and market performance, not your joint tax bill or the surviving spouse scenario
You want to understand how RMDs, IRMAA, and Social Security taxation connect for both of you
You are tired of generic plans built for the average retiree that were not built for married couples with real money saved
About the Author
Kyle Hammerschmidt
Founder, MOKAN Wealth · Creator of the Retire Ready Roadmap™
Kyle Hammerschmidt is the Founder of MOKAN Wealth Management and creator of the Retire Ready Roadmap™, a tax-first retirement planning system built for self-made 401(k) and IRA millionaires within 10 years of retirement. He is an Amazon Number One Bestselling Author of two retirement-planning books and a monthly contributor to Kiplinger, covering the retirement-tax topics most advisors never bring up. His firm works exclusively with households who have done everything right and want to make sure they keep it.
