Money On Tap

A new study says the average retired couple needs $1.16 million to retire comfortably. Scary headline — until you do the math. Because retirement was never about reaching a number. It's about the paycheck that number can produce. In this week's Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon take the "magic number" apart piece by piece. They trace where $1.16 million actually comes from — $84,000 in a...

Only 20–30% of the AI data centers planned through 2030 are built today. The other 70–80% — the cement, the cooling, the chips, the memory, the power — are still coming. And the companies collecting the profits from that build-out are mostly names the mainstream isn't talking about. In this week's Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon go beyond the Mag Seven and into the hidden companies pow...

By 2048, an estimated $124 trillion will change hands — the largest transfer of wealth in human history. Roughly $105 trillion to heirs, $18 trillion to charity. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: about 70% of family wealth disappears by the second generation, and 90% is gone by the third. In this week’s Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon dig into what the great wealth transfer really me...

Ten straight up weeks, then a sharp pullback — and if you’re two to five years on either side of retirement, the fear is real. This is the Retirement Red Zone: the last mile into and out of your retirement date, and the most fragile window in your entire financial life. This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon turn last week’s market-history conversation into a practical playbook f...

Nearly every major index is at a record high — and everyone’s asking the same question: is this the beginning of something great, or the end of something that’s gone too far? This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon take that question apart with 75 years of market history, a few statistics that genuinely surprised them, and a clear look at what a record high means for you — whether...

61% of Americans now fear running out of money in retirement more than they fear death itself. Half of all U.S. households approaching retirement are at risk of falling short of their current standard of living. This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon sit with the topic that shows up in the conference room more than any other these days: retirement anxiety — and why so many Americ...

Two retirees with the same balance can take wildly different incomes home — it's not about returns, it's about taxes. This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon unpack The Science of Retirement Income — How to Create Income Alpha: the practice of beating the market not by picking better stocks, but by keeping more of what you already have through tax-aware planning. What you'll learn...

🎉 Welcome to the 400th episode of Money On Tap. Nine years. Four hundred conversations. To celebrate, the first four callers to 855-226-8551 each get their pick from four pieces of MOT swag. Phone calls only — email won't count. This week, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon close The Railroads of… trilogy with the one that may make all the rest run faster: quantum computing. What you'll learn: What a...

4.3 million industrial robots are already deployed globally. Robot costs have dropped 50% in 30 years. Payback periods are now 1 to 3 years. The reshoring of American manufacturing isn't a forecast — it's a buy order. This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon continue the series with The Railroads of Robotics — the picks-and-shovels playbook for physical AI and the next great indust...

Space just became an asset class. Q1 2026 alone saw $36 billion deployed — and the SpaceX IPO could be the first trillion-dollar offering in history. This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon walk through what they're calling the railroads of space — the picks-and-shovels companies quietly building the rails that everything else will ride on. What you'll learn: Why the SpaceX IPO is...

Tax filing reports what already happened. Tax planning is what puts you back in control. If you just finished paying your 2025 taxes and you're wondering how the bill got that big, this week's Money On Tap is for you. Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon walk through the year-round tax strategies most investors — and most financial advisors — are quietly missing. From bracket management and income engine...

If you missed just the 10 best days in the market over the last 25 years, you would have cut your returns nearly in half. Miss the best 30 days, and you might as well have left the money in a money market. Miss the best 50 days, and you are actually losing money. That is the cost of a market myth. In this week's Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon break down the most common — and most expe...

Are today’s tax rates the lowest you’ll ever see in your lifetime? In this episode of Money on Tap, we introduce the concept of “Generation Roth”—a powerful shift in retirement planning focused on building tax-free income in a world where taxes are likely to rise. For decades, traditional retirement planning has relied on tax-deferred strategies like 401(k)s and IRAs. But with growing national deb...

Are you unknowingly losing thousands of dollars in retirement taxes? In this episode of Money on Tap, we break down the science of retirement income and how to create “income alpha”—keeping more of what you’ve already earned. Many retirees focus on growing their portfolio, but the real opportunity lies in tax efficiency, withdrawal strategy, and income planning. In this episode, you’ll learn: • Ho...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...

Do I really need $1.16 million to retire? Not necessarily. That figure assumes $84,000 in annual spending funded by Social Security plus a 4% portfolio withdrawal. Guaranteed income changes the math: a couple with a pension or annuity covering their core expenses can retire securely on far less, because their withdrawal rate drops and market downturns stop threatening their paycheck. The right que...