I built a TIPS ladder to cover the shortfall that is separate from the ladder described above for retirement income. I too believe it is unlikely, but better to hope for the best and plan for the worst. Should there be no reduction, we will either reinvest the ladder proceeds in stocks as the rungs expire, spend it on one-time discretionary events, or gift it to charity or children.Yep - I also personally believe that it's unlikely. Regardless, I think it's still a good exercise to see if you have a way of covering it. I did that a while back. Except for dividends thrown off by the stock fund in our taxable account stock isn't involved in our nondiscretionary spending. We found that either the stock fund in our taxable account or the one in our TIRAs (which will all be in our Roths by the time it may be needed to bolster an SS cut) can cover it with plenty of margin.Agree with your point on planning for possible future reductions in SS pauyouts. While I suspect that politics will prevent that from occurring, the probability is not zero.
Cheers.
Wrench
Statistics: Posted by Wrench — Mon Dec 22, 2025 6:08 am — Replies 13 — Views 862