The retirement-planning playbook changed sharply in 2026. The feared federal estate-tax “sunset” never arrived, the Roth catch-up mandate is now in force for higher earners, Medicare premiums and IRMAA thresholds moved again, and long-term-care costs continued climbing.
For retirees with several million dollars, the central risk is no longer simply running out of money. It is allowing taxes, health costs, liability exposure, and advisory fees to quietly drain a portfolio that looks secure on paper. These five issues deserve a fresh review before another major withdrawal, conversion, gift, or property sale.
1. Estate Taxes and Legacy Planning
The federal estate and lifetime gift-tax exemption is $15 million per person in 2026, or potentially $30 million for a married couple using proper portability and planning. Transfers above the available exemption can face a top federal rate of 40%, while the annual gift-tax exclusion remains $19,000 per recipient.
That higher threshold reduces urgency for many affluent families, but it does not eliminate planning. State estate taxes can begin far below the federal level; Oregon, for example, requires an estate-tax return once the gross estate reaches $1 million. Residency, property location, trusts, and beneficiary designations still matter.
What Changed Under the OBBBA
The biggest change is strategic. Many estate plans were drafted for a federal exemption that was expected to fall sharply after 2025. With the 2026 exemption set at $15 million, families below that level may gain more from preserving an income-tax basis adjustment than from forcing assets into older credit-shelter formulas. Inherited property generally receives a basis tied to fair market value at death, while lifetime gifts usually carry the donor’s basis. That means an outdated trust clause can sometimes reduce future capital-gains savings without producing an estate-tax benefit. Formula clauses, portability elections, GST allocations, and old irrevocable trusts now deserve a fresh professional review.
2. Tax-Efficient Withdrawal Strategies
Withdrawal order can determine how much of a multimillion-dollar portfolio survives. Beginning in 2026, workers age 50 or older whose 2025 wages from the sponsoring employer exceeded $150,000 must make plan catch-up contributions on a Roth basis when the plan permits catch-ups. In retirement, traditional IRA and 401(k) balances generally create required minimum distributions beginning at age 73, while Roth IRAs do not require lifetime withdrawals for the original owner. Larger taxable distributions can also raise the taxable share of Social Security and trigger Medicare IRMAA surcharges, making planned Roth conversions and multiyear tax projections increasingly valuable.
QCDs and Charitable Giving
Charitable retirees have another powerful income-management tool. In 2026, an eligible IRA owner age 70½ or older can direct up to $111,000 to qualified charities through a Qualified Charitable Distribution. Married couples can potentially direct $222,000 only when each spouse qualifies, owns a separate IRA, and makes a separate transfer. A QCD can satisfy all or part of an RMD without adding the distribution to adjusted gross income, which may help control Medicare premiums and taxation elsewhere on the return. The law also created a 2026 cash-charity deduction of up to $1,000 for non-itemizers, or $2,000 jointly, but that deduction does not replace the AGI advantages of a properly executed QCD.
3. Asset Protection and Liability
Wealth changes the liability calculation because a serious auto accident, rental-property claim, or lawsuit can expose far more than a primary policy limit. Umbrella insurance adds liability and defense coverage above homeowners and auto policies, but the right limit should reflect actual exposures, not a rule that coverage must equal net worth. Owners of rental or business property may also use properly maintained LLCs to separate business liabilities from personal assets. Those entities are not magic shields, and personal guarantees or negligence can weaken protection. The practical approach is layered: adequate insurance, clean entity structure, strong contracts, and periodic legal review.
4. Health Care Costs and IRMAA
Medicare is not a fixed-cost benefit for affluent retirees. The standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month in 2026, but IRMAA begins above $109,000 of modified adjusted gross income for single filers and $218,000 for joint filers. Total Part B premiums can rise as high as $689.90 per person monthly, based generally on income from two years earlier. A large Roth conversion, business sale, or capital gain can therefore create a delayed premium increase. Long-term care is the larger wildcard: CareScout’s 2025 national median reached $129,575 a year for a private nursing-home room and more than $114,000 for a semi-private room, making updated cash-flow modeling essential.
5. Advisory Fees and Value
Advisory fees become six-figure expenses surprisingly quickly. A 1% annual fee equals $100,000 on a $10 million portfolio and $150,000 on $15 million before fund expenses, trading costs, or taxes. Because fees reduce the amount left to compound, wealthy investors should compare percentage-of-assets pricing with flat-fee, retainer, or family-office alternatives. Tax-loss harvesting, direct indexing, estate coordination, and withdrawal planning can add real value, but none guarantees that a high fee is justified. The test is the net result: after taxes, fees, risk, and service quality, is the relationship producing a better outcome than a simpler lower-cost option? If not, renegotiation is overdue.
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