Hello Venus,

It makes a lot of sense to want to reduce the annuity you withdraw from your IRA every year. 9% off a $166,000 IRA balance seems like a lot to me, for you will quickly run out of funds at this rate, especially if the markets underperform and you are to live very old – which I hope you will!

But I’m not certain I fully grasp your current situation. Let me try and break down the numbers from what you’ve written.

Currently your 9% annuity provides you with almost $15,000 a year. Yet you claim to be grossing $78,000 a year – a pretty comfortable yearly income. Where does the remaining $63,000 come from? Are you still working, part-time or full-time? Do you receive royalties? An allowance from a family trust fund? Or do you have other real estate investments that are grossing that much yearly? This is the part that’s unclear and that I’m wondering about.

Now I don’t know what your lifestyle is, but it seems to me that with a yearly income of $63,000, you would not even need to take annuities from your IRA, nor do you need to purchase income property in Taos, NM. You probably could rely on $63,000 a year alone. Is your goal to stop working completely (assuming a full-time job is how you get most of your income from)? If so, then it could make sense to try and put your $92,000 to better use, rather than letting it sit in cash. Income property, as you suggest, is one way to supplement your income by collecting rent… Even though I would be concerned about seasonal vacancies in a place like Taos, NM, which is a ski resort from what I know.

I think I’m missing something here to understand the big picture. Please explain further what your situation exactly is, and what you want to do.

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