八站地图The eight stops

1 · 长寿与社安金1 · Longevity and Social Security

这一模块只有一个作用：把客户的提问从「我有多少钱」 换成「我要花多少年」。

This module does one job: move the client's question from "how much do I have" to "how many years do I have to fund."

这一模块用的框架是第一人生 / 第二人生：退休前靠赚来的钱， 每两周进账、看得见；退休后没有工资，靠资产替你赚钱， 但增值不卖出、不提取，你感觉不到那是钱。 安全感的缺失，正是规划的切入口。

The framing is a first life and a second life. Before retirement you live on earned income, which lands every two weeks and you can see it. After, there's no salary; assets earn for you, but growth you never sell and never draw doesn't feel like money. That missing sense of security is the opening.

配的案例很好用，而且不需要任何数字精度：一位七十多岁的女士，净资产以千万计， 三处房产、一个大额 IRA、一笔高增值股票，每月现金流却只有一千块上下， 她说「我很穷」。问题不是没钱，是资产不产生现金流。

The case that goes with it works without any precision: a woman in her seventies with eight figures of net worth (three properties, a large IRA, a block of highly appreciated stock) and about a thousand dollars a month of cash flow. She said "I'm poor." The problem isn't the money; it's that none of it produces cash flow.

社安金：2026 数字Social Security: the 2026 figures

要讲得公道：社安金不会消失，它的问题不是有没有，是远远不够。 它是地板，不是天花板。破产焦虑的来源是供养比。制度设计时是很多人供养一个领取者， 随人口老化趋向 2 供 1。

Be fair about it: Social Security isn't going away; the problem isn't whether it exists but that it's nowhere near enough. It's the floor, not the ceiling. The insolvency anxiety comes from the support ratio: the system was designed with many workers per beneficiary and is trending toward two.

1b · 社安金到底怎么算出来的1b · How the Social Security number is actually computed

上面说社安金「是地板不是天花板」，但客户下一句一定是「那我能领多少？」 这一段把算法讲全。 它对新移民客户特别重要，因为算法里有一个专门针对他们的坑。

Saying Social Security is "a floor, not a ceiling" invites one question: "so how much will I get?" This section works the calculation through, and it matters most for clients who immigrated, because the formula contains a trap aimed squarely at them.

先要有 40 个积分First, 40 credits

只有主动收入才能累积工作积分，一年最多 4 个点， 40 个点 = 4 点／年 × 10 年。投资收益、租金、退休金都不累积积分， 这一条和税务规划里 earned income 的定义是同一套逻辑。

Only earned income builds credits, at a maximum of four a year, so 40 credits is four a year for ten years. Investment income, rent, and pensions build none. It's the same logic as the earned-income definition in Tax Planning.

算法：最高的 35 年，除以 420The formula: the best 35 years, divided by 420

取一生中最高收入的 35 年（按通胀调整后）算月平均， 然后过三道弯点。下面是 2025 年的档位：

Take the highest 35 years of indexed earnings, average them per month, and run the result through three bend points. These are the 2025 bands:

四个算例，从少到多Four worked examples

注意第四行：收入 $20 万的人，计入的不是 $20 万，而是当年的社安税工资上限（这里用的是 2025 年的 $176,100）。2026 年的上限是 $184,500，两个数是两个年份，用之前确认年份。

Note the fourth row: a $200,000 earner is credited not with $200,000 but with that year's taxable wage base (here $176,100, the 2025 figure). The 2026 base is $184,500; they are two different years, so confirm which applies.

这四行放在一起，比任何一句话都能说明问题： 收入翻一倍，社安金远远没有翻倍。 从 $10 万到 $20 万，年收入多了 $10 万，每月社安金只多了 $951。 这正是那三道弯点（90% / 32% / 15%）在做的事，也是为什么高收入客户更需要自己补。

Put the four rows together and they make the point better than any sentence: doubling the income does not come close to doubling the benefit. Going from $100k to $200k of earnings, another $100,000 a year, adds $951 a month. That's exactly what the three bend points (90%, 32%, 15%) are doing, and it's why higher earners have the larger gap to fill themselves.

什么时候领When to claim

配偶、遗属、前配偶Spousal, survivor, and ex-spouse benefits

离异那两行最容易被忽略，而且最常被客户当成「不可能」。 婚姻超过十年、目前单身的客户，完全不需要征得前任同意，也不影响前任的金额。 很多人不知道这一条，讲清楚了能当场建立信任。

The two divorced rows are the most overlooked, and the ones clients assume can't be true. A client who was married more than ten years and is currently unmarried needs no consent from the ex-spouse, and claiming does not reduce the ex-spouse's own benefit. Most people don't know this, and it's the kind of thing that builds trust on the spot.

社安金怎么交税How the benefit is taxed

先算一个合并收入：其他收入 ＋ 社安金的 50%， 再对照门槛。加州不征州税，只看联邦：

First compute combined income: other income plus half the Social Security benefit, then check it against the thresholds. California doesn't tax the benefit; only the federal treatment matters:

两个算例：夫妻合并申报、社安金 $20,000。 其他收入 $10,000 时，合并收入 = $10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000，低于 $32,000 → 社安金全额免税， 家庭应税收入 $10,000。 其他收入 $60,000 时，合并收入 = $60,000 + $10,000 = $70,000，高于 $44,000 → $20,000 × 85% = $17,000 应税，家庭应税收入 $77,000。

Two examples, married filing jointly with a $20,000 benefit. With $10,000 of other income, combined income is $20,000, below $32,000, so the benefit is entirely tax-free and taxable income is $10,000. With $60,000 of other income, combined income is $70,000, above $44,000, so $17,000 of the benefit is taxable and taxable income is $77,000.

2 · 年金基础2 · Annuities

理想投资的四要素The four attributes

增值潜力 · 流动性 · 税务优惠 · 终身收入保证， 没有任何单一工具能同时占满四项。想要高增值，通常牺牲税优或流动性； 想要保证收入，通常牺牲增值。所以答案永远是组合： 让组合里不同部分各占两项，拼出四要素的全貌。 年金负责补上最难的那两项：税优 + 终身收入。

Growth, liquidity, tax treatment, guaranteed lifetime income: no single instrument holds all four. High growth usually costs you the tax treatment or the liquidity; guaranteed income usually costs you the growth. So the answer is always a combination, each part covering two of the four. The annuity's job is the two hardest: tax treatment and lifetime income.

配套的直觉工具是红钱 / 绿钱：红钱进取、波动大， 年轻、现金流稳时多放；绿钱安全、保本，越接近退休越多放。

The companion shorthand is red money and green money: red is aggressive and volatile, weighted toward the years when income is steady; green is safe and principal-protected, weighted up as retirement approaches.

四个账户Four accounts

顺序是这一页的重点：先有现金流，才敢在股市进取、在房产用杠杆。 可以这样说：要有一项生意，天塌下来也能赚钱，那靠的是现金流。

The order is the point: secure the cash flow first, and only then be aggressive in equities or leveraged in property. One way to put it: you want one business that earns even if the sky falls, and what makes that possible is cash flow.

年金是什么What an annuity is

年金就是你把钱交给保险公司去投资。三个角色是拥有人 Owner（控制一切： 掌管资金、指定受益人，最重要的一个）、被年金人 Annuitant、受益人 Beneficiary。 两个阶段是累积期与领取期，可以永远停在累积期。

You hand money to an insurance company to invest. There are three roles: the owner (who controls everything: the money and the beneficiary designation, and matters most), the annuitant, and the beneficiary. There are two phases, accumulation and income, and it can stay in accumulation indefinitely.

为什么只有保险公司能发年金？因为它要承担长寿 / 死亡率风险， 承诺「活多久领多久」需要精算和保险机制兜底。银行、基金、券商给不了这个承诺。

Why only insurers? Because the product absorbs longevity and mortality risk, and promising income for as long as you live requires actuarial and insurance machinery. Banks, funds, and brokerages can't make that promise.

延税是核心，一个问题就能讲清：为什么要为一笔你还没用到的钱先交税？ CD 和债券利息每年都要交，不管你用不用；年金累积期不提取就不交。 但提取时增值部分按普通收入计税，不是资本利得，这一点要主动说。

Tax deferral is the core, and one question explains it: why pay tax on money you haven't used? CD and bond interest is taxed annually whether you spend it or not; an annuity in accumulation isn't taxed until you draw. But the gain is then taxed as ordinary income, not capital gain. Volunteer that.

五类年金Five kinds

案例：自造一份终身退休金Case: building your own pension

55 岁投入 $500,000 的收入型年金，路径是： 第 1 年 30% 首年奖金 → 收入值 $650,000；第 1–12 年每年 9.5% 保证滚存； 第 13 年收入值约 $1.93M；开始领取约 $91,000 / 年，终身。 滚存的算法：$650,000 × 1.095¹² ≈ $1,931,000。

The path for a $500,000 income annuity at 55: a 30% first-year bonus takes the income value to $650,000; a guaranteed 9.5% roll-up runs for twelve years; by year thirteen the income value is about $1.93M, supporting roughly $91,000 a year for life. The roll-up: $650,000 × 1.095¹² ≈ $1,931,000.

用什么钱买，税完全不同The tax depends on what you buy it with

年金本身没有固定税性，取决于用哪种钱买。有个好用的比喻： 年金是个杯子，杯子本身没味道，倒进去什么水就是什么味。

An annuity has no inherent tax character; it takes on the character of the money used to buy it. A useful image: the cup has no flavour, the water does.

提醒：早于 59½ 提取，增值部分有 10% 罚款，所以年金的主市场在 50 岁以上。

Note: withdrawals before 59½ carry a 10% penalty on the gain, which is why the annuity market sits above age 50.

3 · 账户地图：寿险唯一能进的那一边3 · The map: the one side insurance can enter

这是全课最关键的一条分界线，整个模块八都建在它上面。

This is the dividing line the entire eighth module rests on.

2026 关键限额2026 limits

来源：IRS Notice 2025-67。每年变，用之前先确认当年公告。

Source: IRS Notice 2025-67. These change annually; confirm the current notice before quoting them.

4 · ERISA 的四大好处与参与资格4 · ERISA: four benefits and who must be covered

ERISA 1974 的逻辑是：政府用税务优惠「请」企业主替员工办退休计划。 关键词是「为员工」，不是个人自己办，这一点跟 IRA 根本不同。

The logic of ERISA 1974: the government uses tax benefits to ask employers to run retirement plans for their employees. The key phrase is "for employees", which is what makes it structurally different from an IRA.

谁必须被纳入Who has to be covered

合格计划的默认三条件：① 领取薪酬（老板本人也算，但要有 W-2 或 earned income）、② 年满 21 岁、③ 一个计划年度内工作满 1,000 小时。 原则是可放宽、不可收紧：可以降到 18 岁、取消小时门槛把更多人纳进来， 不能要求「必须 25 岁、两千小时」把人挡在外面。

The default three conditions: ① receiving compensation (the owner counts, but needs W-2 or earned income), ② age 21, and ③ 1,000 hours in a plan year. The rule is you may loosen, never tighten: you can drop to 18 or waive the hours to bring more people in; you cannot require 25 and two thousand hours to keep people out.

公司形态不限：C corp、S corp、LLC、LP、合伙、独资、1099 自雇都能设，只要有营收。

Entity type doesn't matter: C corp, S corp, LLC, LP, partnership, sole proprietorship, or 1099 self-employment. Revenue is the only requirement.

5 · 计划类型：DC、DB、以及有没有 TPA5 · Plan types: DC, DB, and whether there's a TPA

两者的区别：DC 定「投入」，DB 定「领取」。

The difference: DC fixes what goes in; DB fixes what comes out.

全课最好用的类比：有没有 TPAThe most useful analogy in the class: with or without a TPA

401(k) 的卡点：歧视测试与 Safe HarborThe 401(k) bottleneck: testing and safe harbor

现实是年长高薪的员工爱延税，年轻低薪的不愿延。 ADP 测试（平均延税百分比）因此限制高薪组：低薪组平均低，高薪组也被压低。 结果是老板想存满 $24,500 却被卡住。

In practice older, higher-paid employees defer and younger, lower-paid ones don't. The ADP test therefore caps the highly compensated group against the rest: if the non-highly-compensated average is low, the owner's own deferral is pulled down with it, so the owner who wants the full $24,500 can't get there.

Safe Harbor 免测试，老板可以存满。两种方式： 3% 非选择性（不管员工延不延，给全体薪酬 3%）或 配比 Match（常见 100% 配前 4%、再 50% 配次 2%）。 怎么选看员工：员工爱延税 → 给 3% 更划算；员工不延税 → 配比更省，因为不延就不用配。

A safe harbor removes the test and lets the owner fund fully. Two routes: a 3% non-elective contribution to everyone regardless of whether they defer, or a match, commonly 100% of the first 4% plus 50% of the next 2%. Pick by the workforce: where employees defer, the 3% is cheaper; where they don't, the match is, because no deferral means no match.

6 · DB 进阶6 · DB, further in

7 · 三个案例7 · Three cases

① 年龄的力量① What age does

一家 S corp，夫妻 60 / 53 岁，一名员工薪资 $50,000，做 DB + 401(k) Combo。 同样的薪资，员工27 岁时公司为他承担约 $5,000，占总缴费不到 1%； 员工45 岁时是 $21,750，四倍多。

An S corp with owners aged 60 and 53, one employee on $50,000, running a DB plus 401(k) combo. Same salary: at 27 the employee costs about $5,000, under 1% of total contributions; at 45 it's $21,750, more than four times as much.

原因是 DB 看「到退休还有几年」：27 岁还有约 35 年滚存，现在只需投一点点； 45 岁只剩约 17 年，现在就得投更多。 黄金客户画像由此而来：年长的老板 + 年轻的员工。

Because a DB looks at years to retirement: thirty-five years of compounding ahead at 27, only seventeen at 45. Hence the ideal client profile: an older owner with a young workforce.

② DB 缴费有弹性② DB contributions flex

常见误解是「DB 一旦承诺，每年不能改」。实际上收入降了可以冻结或降低当年缴费， 收入回升可以在后续年度回调。关键词是早沟通。 生意有起伏的老板（地产、贷款、开发）特别适合用 DB 调节高低年份的税。 但要连续约 3 年、设最高最低区间，不要滥用做成避税游戏。

The usual misreading is that a DB locks the number forever. In practice a bad year can be frozen or reduced, and a good year raised later. The operative word is early: talk before the year closes. Owners with lumpy income (real estate, lending, development) are the natural fit for smoothing tax across years. But it wants roughly three consecutive years inside a max-min range, and it should not be run as a tax game.

③ 薪酬口径决定资格③ Compensation definitions decide eligibility

S corp / C corp 用 W-2 工资作缴费基础，没拿 W-2 就不能参加。 独资 / 合伙用净自雇收入 earned income；合伙人须看 K-1 Box 14a 有自雇收入才能参加。

S and C corps use W-2 wages as the contribution base: no W-2, no participation. Sole proprietors and partnerships use net earned income, and a partner needs self-employment income in K-1 box 14a to take part.

常见错误：为省自雇税把收入全挂在 Box 1 / Box 2，结果 Box 14a 没有自雇收入， 反而做不成退休计划。这是一个要权衡的取舍，不是一个纯粹的失误。 省下的自雇税和能做的大额抵税，哪个大，要算过才知道。

The common error: pushing everything into boxes 1 and 2 to avoid self-employment tax, leaving box 14a empty and the retirement plan impossible. It's a trade-off rather than a simple mistake. Whether the saved SE tax beats the forgone deduction has to be computed, not assumed.

④ Mega Backdoor Roth④ Mega backdoor Roth

四步：① 计划文件允许税后缴费；② 计划允许在职分配； ③ 税后钱一进去立刻转进 Roth IRA（放久了产生的增值要交税）；④ 之后全免税滚存。

Four steps: ① the plan document permits after-tax contributions; ② the plan permits in-service distributions; ③ the after-tax money moves to a Roth IRA immediately, before it generates taxable growth; ④ everything afterwards compounds tax-free.

数量级：DC 全部缴费（公司 + 员工延税 + 税后）合计不得超过年度添加上限 $72,000。 一人或夫妻计划里常可把数万税后钱当年搬进 Roth；多员工计划管理繁琐，慎用。

Scale: all DC contributions (employer, elective deferral, and after-tax) must fit inside the $72,000 annual additions limit. In a one-person or spousal plan tens of thousands can move to Roth in a year; in a plan with employees the administration gets heavy, so use it carefully.

8 · 计划内寿险8 · Life insurance inside the plan

为什么值得做Why it's worth doing

因为这是极少数能用税前的钱买寿险的合法通道。 对照一下常规途径：个人寿险保费不能抵；团体寿险仅前 $50,000 面额可抵，超出算员工收入； 买卖协议 Buy-Sell 保费不能抵；关键人 Key Person 保费不能抵。 常规买寿险，几乎都是税后的钱。

Because it is one of the very few legal routes to buying life insurance with pre-tax dollars. Compare the ordinary ones: personal premiums aren't deductible; group term is deductible only on the first $50,000 of face, with the excess imputed to the employee; buy-sell premiums aren't deductible; key-person premiums aren't deductible. Bought the usual way, insurance is paid for with after-tax money.

举个例子：一个 C corp 老板要自掏 $10,000 买寿险，往往要先赚约 $20,000， 公司税加个人税层层剥掉四到五成。用退休计划的钱买，是税前资金， 员工在取出前不计为收入。

An example: a C corp owner who wants $10,000 of premium out of pocket typically has to earn about $20,000, once corporate and personal tax have each taken a layer. Inside the plan the money is pre-tax, and it isn't income to the participant until distribution.

能放多少：三个数字How much can go in: three numbers

关键技术：经济利益The key technique: economic benefit

先把问题问准：用税前的钱买的寿险，身故赔偿默认是要交所得税的。 「寿险赔偿一律免税」那条规则只适用于税后的钱买的保险。

Ask the question precisely: a death benefit funded with pre-tax plan money is not automatically income-tax-free. The "life insurance proceeds are tax-free" rule applies to policies bought with after-tax money.

做法：拆一笔 $10,000 的计划内保费 = 保险成本 COI（比如 $500）+ 其余费用 + 现金值。 只让那 $500 的保险成本不抵税（其余 $9,500 照常抵税）。 可由 TPA 出 1099 把 $500 计入收入，或直接只抵 $9,500。

The method: a $10,000 plan premium breaks into cost of insurance (say $500), other charges, and cash value. Only that $500 of insurance cost is left non-deductible; either the TPA issues a 1099 for $500 of income, or the deduction is simply taken at $9,500.

身故时的结果：面额 $1.5M = 现金值 $200k + 纯保险 $1.3M。 纯保险 $1.3M 因保险成本是税后付的而免所得税；现金值 $200k 是税前钱滚出来的，应税。 这套做法的术语就叫经济利益 economic benefit。

At death: $1.5M of face is $200k of cash value plus $1.3M of pure insurance. The $1.3M is income-tax-free because the insurance cost was paid with after-tax money; the $200k of cash value, built with pre-tax money, is taxable. The technique's name is economic benefit.

保险成本去哪查：保险公司公布的年更新定期费率 ART，没有则用 IRS Table 2001。ART 通常比 IRS 表更低 → 应税额更低 → 优先用 ART。 在这一点上 National Life 通常最友好，其次 John Hancock；以当期费率为准。

Where the insurance cost comes from: the carrier's published annually renewable term rates, or IRS Table 2001 if there are none. ART is usually lower than the IRS table, so the imputed amount is lower. Prefer ART. National Life is usually the most accommodating here, then John Hancock; check the current rates.

退出策略：退休或关计划时怎么办The exit: what happens at retirement

这是最容易被忽略、但必须事先设计的一环： 退休后缴费停了，保险成本却随年龄越来越贵，谁来付？

The part most often skipped and the one that has to be designed in advance: contributions stop at retirement, but the cost of insurance keeps climbing with age. Who pays it?

压轴：生前福利The finish: living benefits

生前福利（ABR）就是死亡赔偿的提前给付。 但保单由计划持有时，它的税务处理不能直接套用上面死亡赔偿免税的结论。

An accelerated benefit is an advance on the death benefit. But when the policy is plan-owned, its tax treatment does not simply follow the death-benefit result above.

十题自测Ten questions

一页速记The pocket card