Iowa Retirement Benefits & Solutions

05/27/2026

We’re excited to share that we were voted Top Financial Advisor office in Cedar Rapids again this year!

When we started Iowa Retirement Benefits & Solutions, the goal was simple… build a retirement planning office that felt different. More personal. More educational. More relationship-driven.

To our clients, friends, families, and community - thank you for the trust you place in us. It truly means a lot to our team. 🎉🎉

05/14/2026

🎂 Just turned 59½? That's not just a birthday — it's a financial milestone.

At 59½, you may qualify for an in-service rollover -which means you could move money out of your current 401k into an IRA while you're still working.

Why does that matter?
-More investment options than most employer plans offer
-Better positioning for tax-efficient strategies like Roth conversions
-Consolidate and simplify your retirement picture now
-No early withdrawal penalties

Most people don't even know this option exists. Your employer isn't going to bring it up.

If you're 59½ or getting close, this is worth a conversation.

05/12/2026

05/08/2026

Hiring a financial advisor is expensive. You know what else is expensive?

- surprise tax bills
- IRMAA (Medicare) surcharges
- panicking and selling at the bottom
- letting cash pile up in your accounts
- forgetting to rebalance your portfolio
- waiting for RMD's and the surge in taxes
- spending too little and dying with regrets
- spending too much and depleting your portfolio
- delaying retirement because of a stock market crash
- running out of money because your portfolio was too aggressive
- running out of money because your portfolio was too conservative
- overpaying Uncle Sam because you didn't do proactive tax planning
- derailing your retirement because you held too much in a single stock

You're going to incur costs either way.. the difference is whether you're paying for expertise or paying for mistakes. You get to decide which one.

05/06/2026

We’ve got some exciting news… we’re growing!

As our office continues to expand, we’re excited to introduce a new face on our team.

Welcome Suede Gruenwald, our new Client Success Supervisor!

If you’ve called into the office recently, there’s a good chance Suede was the friendly voice on the other end, helping you get where you needed to go. She’s already been a huge help behind the scenes, making sure everything runs smoothly and our clients are well taken care of.

As we continue to grow, adding the right people is everything, and we’re excited to have Suede as part of the team.

If you haven’t met her yet, you will soon!

05/04/2026

Most retirement savings sit in things like 401ks or IRAs.

Which means, that money hasn’t been taxed yet. & at some point, the IRS gets a say in how much you actually keep.

This is were tax planning comes into play.

Because two people who retire with the exact same savings can end up paying two very different amounts in taxes. Why?

Because of how & when they take that income.

This is why a retirement PLAN is so important.

05/01/2026

Are you letting your estate plan age without you? - https://mailchi.mp/iowaretirementsolutions.com/june-12755787

04/29/2026

Is DIY investing the way to go in retirement?

A lot of DIY investors do great while they’re working.

It’s a forgiving game. You’re saving, investing, and letting time do the heavy lifting.

But retirement= different rules.

Now it’s about turning your money into income. & getting the decisions right:
-how much to withdraw
-where to pull $ from
-how to manage taxes
-how to handle market swings

It’s no longer just investing. It’s coordination.

DIY isn’t a problem. But in retirement the margin for error gets smaller.

Are you ready for that shift?

04/27/2026

Saving for retirement is pretty forgiving. Retirement requires more precision.

When you’re working, time can cover up a lot of mistakes. In retirement, everything is more connected & the margin for error feels smaller.

What you spend impacts your income.
Your income impacts your taxes.
And your taxes influence everything else.

But most advice still treats these like separate decisions when they’re really not.

At Iowa Retirement Benefits & Solutions we focus on is bringing it all together. Helping you see how each decision fits, so you understand the trade offs and can move forward with confidence.

Not more noise. Not more moving parts. Just clarity around the decisions that actually matter.

If retirement feels more complicated than it should, it’s usually not because you did something wrong, it’s because no one has helped you connect the dots yet.

04/24/2026

Did you know Iowa has quietly become one of the best places to retire?

Most people don’t think of Iowa as a “retirement hotspot.”

No beaches. No mountains. No flashy headlines.

But here’s what gets overlooked…
-flat income tax
-state tax exemption on retirement incomes
-no inheritance tax
-Homestead tax exemption
-the federal senior deduction