Michael Kitces

Michael Kitces is one of the most influential figures in the financial planning profession, having contributed extensive research on retirement income strategies, safe withdrawal rates, sequence of returns risk, and tax optimization. His blog "Nerd's Eye View at Kitces.com" is widely read by financial advisers globally. He co-founded XY Planning Network, a platform for fee-only financial planners serving the Generation X and millennial market. Kitces's research on the "4% rule" and its application under different market conditions has shaped retirement planning practice for a generation of advisers. His detailed research on tax-efficient decumulation strategies — including Roth conversion ladders, the timing of Social Security claiming, and the coordination of taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts in retirement — has given financial advisors a rigorous analytical foundation for constructing retirement income plans that maximize after-tax wealth over multi-decade time horizons.