I reach "retirement age" soon. Like in fifteen minutes. So, now what?

[DFW]

66. That is a lot to digest, thanks!

I am familiar with Johns Hopkins. When my dad had pancreatic cancer, they did their best to save him, and he lasted longer than they thought he would.

My wife is a German citizen, which puts me in a different situation from yours, and my residence in Germany means I pay higher taxes here than in Texas. For part of my income (and ALL of my Roth IRA, which I have not yet touched for reasons immediately following), it is source-taxed in the USA. But the Germans want to tax it again, meaning an effective 90% (40% USA, 50% Germany) tax rate for me. My German accountants are trying to fight it, but things like the Roth IRA became law AFTER the DTT (Double Taxation Treaty) between Germany and the USA was written. Each is trying to interpret the various clauses to its own advantage, but I am NOT willing to give up 90% of my income just because two sets of bureaucrats want me to help plug their deficits. As it is, I pay an effective rate of about 51%.

We disagree on "wealth" taxes. Of course, I pay 51% on ALL of my income under the best case scenario, and I think that if the state(s) has/have taken THAT much out at the start, they have no right to come back and say I have too much left over, gimme some more. Several years back, Germany tried to institute a wealth tax, but their version of the Supreme Court nixed it as double taxation, and therefore unconstitutional. Double taxation is specifically forbidden in Germany's constitution. A certain segment of German society got picked on with just such taxes in the 1930s, and the postwar Germans put in safeguards to prevent a repeat performance once the Nazis were gone. There is one exception that no one has challenged yet: Germany taxes gasoline with a "Mineral oil tax." They then added on VAT to both the gasoline AND the oil tax, so we pay VAT on the tax as well. A tax court judge here told me it was blatantly illegal, but no one had yet mounted a challenge to it. A well-liked rogue German politician called a wealth tax a "jealousy tax," and I tend to agree with him. I think that if we closed enough loopholes in the States so that people like Trump couldn't boast they are "smart" for paying no taxes, we wouldn't even need such a discussion. Since a wealth tax can only attack money that the state knows about in the first place, all that state has to do is efficiently tax it the first time.

There IS a US consulate in Düsseldorf somewhere. I think they are only open about 45 minutes out of the week, but you're right. I need to consult someone there regardless. Now all I have to do is find a free 45 minutes!