Can You Retire with $10 Million?

What $10 million supports: the withdrawal rate math

At this wealth level, virtually every realistic spending scenario is covered at conservative withdrawal rates:

When you add Social Security — a couple with maximum benefits claiming at 70 receives $124,344 per year in 2026 ($5,181 × 2 × 12)¹ — the effective portfolio draw drops substantially. Spending $250,000 with $124,000 in SS income means the portfolio covers only $126,000, an effective 1.26% draw rate. At that rate, the portfolio grows rather than shrinks for most of retirement.

This changes the entire planning conversation. At $5M, the primary risk is depletion. At $10M, the primary risk is suboptimal decision-making — paying hundreds of thousands in unnecessary taxes, IRMAA surcharges, or advisor fees over decades.

The four real concerns at $10 million

Planning priorities at $10M differ fundamentally from lower wealth levels. Here's what actually demands attention:

1. IRMAA: a permanent top-tier Medicare cost

A $10 million portfolio generating a 4% yield produces $400,000 in annual investment income — before adding Social Security, any Roth conversions, or required minimum distributions. Once combined with taxable SS income and other portfolio draws, your MAGI almost certainly exceeds $750,000 for a married couple: the top IRMAA tier in 2026. That costs $689.90/month per person in Medicare Part B premiums — plus an additional $91.00/month in Part D surcharges.²

For a couple, the math:

• Part B at top tier: $689.90 × 2 × 12 = $16,558/year
• Part D surcharge: $91.00 × 2 × 12 = $2,184/year
• Total IRMAA-affected Medicare premiums: ~$18,742/year, vs $4,870/year at base

That's roughly $14,000 in annual surcharges above base — every year, for both spouses' lives. Over a 20-year retirement: ~$280,000. Unlike state income tax, you can't move states to avoid it. The primary lever is Roth conversions before RMDs begin — see below. See our full IRMAA planning guide and 2026 bracket calculator for all six tiers and management strategies.

2. Required minimum distributions: a $365K/year tax event

Under SECURE 2.0, RMDs begin at age 73 for those born 1951–1959, and age 75 for those born 1960 or later.³ A $10 million traditional IRA at the RMD start age translates to:

All of those distributions are ordinary income at 37%. The Roth conversion window — the years between retirement and when RMDs begin — is the primary tool to address this. If you retire at 65 with RMDs starting at 75, you have a 10-year window to convert traditional IRA dollars to Roth at current tax rates, reducing the future balance that generates forced distributions. Converting $300,000–$400,000 per year during that window — systematically filling the 32% or 35% brackets — can shave hundreds of thousands in lifetime taxes even if individual conversion rates feel high. See our Roth conversion strategy guide and calculator.

3. State estate taxes: the federal $15M exemption is irrelevant in key states

The OBBBA made the $15M federal estate tax exemption permanent in July 2025.⁴ A $10M estate owes zero federal estate tax — for either a single person or a married couple using portability. But state estate taxes operate independently of the federal system, with dramatically lower exemptions:

For a $10M estate in Oregon, the taxable amount above the $1M exemption is $9M — and none of these states offer the portability that lets married couples stack exemptions the way the federal system does. A $10M Oregon estate can owe more than $1 million in state estate tax alone. Trust strategies, domicile planning, and irrevocable trusts (GRATs, SLATs) that move appreciation out of the estate are particularly valuable at this wealth level. See our estate planning guide and trust strategies guide for $2M–$20M.

4. Advisor fee leverage: the $100K/year question

At $10M, the standard 1% AUM fee costs $100,000 per year. A fee-only advisor charging a flat annual retainer typically costs $15,000–$30,000/year for this wealth level — a difference of $70,000–$85,000 per year. Reinvested at 7% over 20 years, that annual fee difference compounds to more than $3.5 million in foregone wealth versus a flat-fee fiduciary delivering equivalent planning quality. This isn't a small optimization — it's among the largest single financial decisions at this wealth level. See our fee-only vs. 1% AUM guide for the full 20-year cost model.

Social Security timing at $10 million

With $10M, you can afford to live on portfolio draws for years before claiming Social Security. The financial case for delaying to 70 remains strong — not because you need the money, but for two other reasons:

• Survivor benefit optimization. For a married couple, the SS benefit of the higher earner becomes the survivor benefit after one spouse dies. Making that number as large as possible — $5,181/month at age 70 in 2026 vs. $4,152 at FRA for the highest benefit¹ — has meaningful impact on lifetime household benefits.
• IRMAA Roth conversion window. Delaying SS until 70 means lower MAGI in years 62–70 (no SS income), which allows more aggressive Roth conversions in lower tax brackets — directly reducing future RMDs and their associated IRMAA impact. See our Social Security optimization guide.

The tax picture in retirement at $10M

Two households with $10M each can face radically different lifetime tax bills depending on account structure and draw strategy. Once RMDs begin on a fully traditional IRA, the income floor may be entirely in the 37% bracket:

Example — all traditional IRA: Age 75, $10M traditional IRA, $124K SS income, $36K dividends (taxable account).

• RMD from IRA: $365,000 (all ordinary income)
• SS taxable portion: 85% × $124,000 = $105,400
• Taxable dividends: $36,000
• Gross MAGI: ~$506,000
• After 2026 standard deduction ($32,200)³: ~$474,000 ordinary taxable income
• Federal tax: roughly $148,000 — effective rate ~29%
• IRMAA tier (based on 2-yr prior MAGI): Tier 5 or top tier — $8,792–$18,742/yr for couple

Example — Roth-converted structure: Same age and spending, but $6M in Roth IRA and $4M in taxable accounts (aggressive conversions done during ages 65–75).

• No RMDs (Roth has no RMDs; taxable portfolio draws are LTCG at 20% + 3.8% NIIT = 23.8%)
• Portfolio draw: $150,000 in qualified dividends/LTCG
• SS taxable income: much lower (less ordinary income stacking SS threshold)
• Federal tax: roughly $55,000 — effective rate ~17%
• IRMAA tier: potentially Tier 2 or 3 — $7,165–$12,644/yr for couple

The 10+ year Roth conversion window before RMDs begin is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime tax savings at this wealth level. See our retirement withdrawal strategy guide for the account draw sequencing playbook.

Get matched with a fee-only planning specialist for $10M+

At $10 million, the difference between excellent and average planning is not a small margin. IRMAA management alone can save $14,000 per year. An advisor fee structure shift can preserve $3.5M+ over 20 years. A well-executed Roth conversion strategy can reduce lifetime federal tax by hundreds of thousands. These outcomes all require a fee-only fiduciary who plans comprehensively — not a wirehouse representative whose advice is filtered by product incentives. We match you with advisors who specialize in the $5M–$20M wealth tier.

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