Withdrawal Sequencing
The order in which you draw from your accounts can change your retirement outcome by years. Retirewise models tax-efficient sequencing across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts—country-aware for Canada and the United States—coordinated with government benefits and conversion strategies.
Three-bucket sequencing
Plan withdrawals across the three classic tax buckets: taxable (brokerage / non-registered), tax-deferred (RRSP / Traditional IRA / 401(k)), and tax-free (TFSA / Roth IRA / Roth 401(k)).
Country-aware tax modeling
Apply Canadian provincial tax brackets, OAS clawback thresholds, and income-splitting rules—or U.S. federal and state tax brackets, Social Security taxation, and capital-gains treatment—based on your jurisdiction.
Compare withdrawal strategies
Test conventional sequencing (taxable → tax-deferred → tax-free) against tax-optimized hybrid strategies. See which approach delivers more after-tax income and a longer plan horizon.
Coordinated with conversions
Combine sequencing with Roth conversions (U.S.) or RRSP-to-RRIF conversion timing (Canada) to smooth your taxable income across retirement years and minimize bracket creep.
Lifetime after-tax projections
Visualize after-tax cash flow, account balances by bucket, and total taxes paid year by year. Understand the long-term impact of every sequencing decision.
Government benefit coordination
Sequence withdrawals around CPP/OAS or Social Security claiming so government benefits, account drawdowns, and tax brackets all reinforce each other.
Key Benefits
Why does withdrawal sequencing matter?
Tax-efficient sequencing across taxable, tax-deferred, tax-free buckets
Country-aware tax modeling (Canada and U.S.)
Coordinated with Roth or RRSP-to-RRIF conversions
Coordinated with CPP/OAS and Social Security timing
Side-by-side strategy comparisons
After-tax cash flow and lifetime tax projections
Optimize your drawdown
Find the withdrawal sequence that maximizes after-tax retirement income—country-aware, household-aware, and coordinated with government benefits.