Which of the following income streams are required to go into the core cash account? (Hint: The system defaults these income streams to the core cash account, and their destination cannot be changed).

• A. Investment Income, Social Security, and RMDs
• B. Wages, Pension, and Annuities
• C. Interest Income, Dividends, and Rental Income
• D. All income streams

Answer: (A)

The key idea is which incomes are treated as the primary, steady source for the cash you’ll spend from. In this system, core cash is the central liquidity pool used to cover ongoing, essential spending. Some income streams are designated to feed that pool automatically because they’re considered reliable foundations for daily cash flow and their destination is fixed.

Investment Income, Social Security, and RMDs are the streams that the system defaults into the core cash account, and their destination cannot be changed. Investment income provides regular cash from your portfolio, Social Security offers a stable, predictable benefit, and RMDs are mandatory withdrawals from retirement accounts. Together, they form a dependable inflow that’s kept in the core cash bucket to ensure you have readily available funds for expenses.

Other incomes, like wages, pension, and annuities, or interest income, dividends, and rental income, aren’t required to go into core cash and can be allocated to other accounts or goals depending on your plan. And not all income streams are forced into core cash, so selecting all income streams isn’t correct.