Hi, I’m Adam Corwin from Totus Wealth Management.
If you’ve built your career at a tech company or any employer that compensates you with Restricted Stock Units, or RSUs, you’ve likely seen your company stock become one of your largest assets.
But here’s the million-dollar question: Can you retire on your RSUs? Let’s talk about what it takes to turn company stock into a reliable retirement income strategy.
RSUs can feel like “bonus money” during your working years. But in retirement, they become a potential income source.
The first step to creating reliable income with RSUs is understanding what you actually own. Are your RSUs fully vested? Are they in a single company stock? What’s your cost basis? When answering these questions, we often find clients with high concentrations in a single stock. This can be great during a bull market, but risky when that same stock loses value.
So, how do we turn volatile RSU stock into stable retirement cash flow?
We start by analyzing your total financial picture. From there, we build a plan that gradually transitions you from high-growth equity into more income-oriented investments.
For example, we might use a staggered liquidation strategy. That means selling off your RSUs in phases to smooth out tax exposure, lock in gains, and reinvest in more stable, income-generating assets.
Whatever strategy we decide on, the goal is to replace your paycheck with a personal pension, funded by the wealth you’ve already built.
However, you don’t want to give up all growth potential today. That’s why we also design what’s called a “bucket strategy,” allocating some assets for short-term income, others for mid-term growth, and some for long-term opportunity. This gives you predictability now, while ensuring you are funding the future.
Without a plan, many retirees experience the “retirement pay cut,” an income drop of 30% or more once the RSUs and salary stop. We help you avoid that shock by coordinating the timing of your RSU liquidations, tax minimization strategies, and other income sources, like 401(k)s and IRAs.
Retiring on RSUs is possible, but it takes more than selling stock. You need a tax-smart, income-focused strategy that turns what you’ve earned into the life you want.
At Totus, we help professionals like you retire with clarity, confidence, and a full-picture plan. Schedule a call with our team today.