Retire Smarter with Kevin Kroskey, CFP® & Tyler Emrick, CFA® CFP®

Most Americans donate to charity and many have distinct goals in their retirement plan to meet annual charitable donations. Most also give cash ...the easiest but also least tax-efficient way to give. Hear Kevin discuss three ways to tax-optimize your charitable giving. Whether through in-kind transfers of appreciated stock, using a donor-advised fund, or via Qualified Charitable Distributions, ea...

Pension lump sums will be much higher in 2021 than 2020. Listen to Kevin discuss timing considerations on how to optimize your pension benefits by understanding the key variables that determine your lump sum. Company pension plans specifically discussed include Akron Children's Hospital, Bridgestone, FirstEnergy, Goodyear, Mercy Health, and Rockwell Automation. Whether you have a pension from your...

We're excited to make a big announcement on this episode of Retire Smarter. Kevin is joined by True Wealth Design's newest partner, Ron Wyatt, who brings more than 25 years of financial planning experience to the firm. A lot of existing listeners will be hearing from Ron for the first time, so we'll spend some time today getting to know his background and professional journey. And new listeners wi...

The purchase price of your car is one factor to consider. But the Total Cost of Ownership -- adding in costs for insurance, fuel, maintenance and repairs, as well as the residual value upon sale -- is a better way to evaluate financial aspects of a car purchase. In doing so, the cheapest vehicle is often more expensive than initially perceived. Same too goes for selecting investments. Many solely...

Healthcare is a primary concern, especially for retirees. Transitioning from employer-provided coverage you've been on for decades is stressful. Now you have more complexity and choices than ever before. And, yes, costs may seem sky high after retiring and before Medicare. Listen in to hear Kevin and health insurance expert Zig Novak discuss health insurance options from the time you retire to bef...

Healthcare is a primary concern, especially for retirees. Transitioning from employer-provided coverage you've been on for decades is stressful. Now you have more complexity and choices than ever before. Listen in to hear Kevin and health insurance expert Zig Novak discuss Medicare-related topics. What will it cost? How may costs change as you age? What are the pros and cons of supplemental and ad...

Proper investment diversification works ... even when you don't want it to. With the US stock market and particularly large technology stocks having the wind at their backs recently, many are eschewing diversification to chase these high flyers. As the saying goes, if we forget history, we are doomed to repeat it. In that spirit, hear Kevin tell a tale of two decades. First is the Lost Decade of t...

Biden or Trump? Republicans or Democrats? Who will be better for the economy and your investments? These are questions many are asking with the election quickly approaching. Many let their political beliefs influence their investment strategy, but should they? Hear Kevin discuss what the evidence shows and how our political beliefs may influence our perceptions of reality. Get ready to check your...

Paying a lower tax rate today vs. what you would otherwise pay in the future on pre-tax IRA/401k dollars is a good move. They way you can do so is by converting money to a Roth IRA and paying tax in the year of the conversion. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) lowered tax rates and significantly widened tax brackets on individuals. Current law has the tax rates under the TCJA in effect through...

Some 24% of those 56 and older say the pandemic has caused them to push back their planned retirement date, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of The Nationwide Retirement Institute. Hear Kevin discuss key variables you should consider as you plan through the COVID-induced uncertainty, including items that may nudge you to retire now and others that result in waiting.   T...

65% of Institutional Investors surveyed in late June believe the market is factoring in the long-term impact of the coronavirus "too little" while only 5% said "too much," implying the market is overvalued. Yet, the market has continued to go up. Has it come too far too fast? Hear Kevin discuss the topic in detail and explain why our brain function predisposes us to make investing mistakes, includ...

Investing should be scientific and process-based. Speculating is more akin to gambling and lacking fundamental support. At extremes, it is easier to discern the two but can be shades of grey in between. Hear Kevin discuss the forward-looking nature of the stock market and times why it can make investing sense (not speculating) to look through bad economic news. And be sure to listen to the end whe...

Like your work but hate your job? Bad boss. Terrible commute. Whatever the reason. Hear Kevin share a story of a client who retired in her late 50s. She loved her work and taking care of her customers but hated other aspects of her job. She worked long hours and had a long commute. Taking care of her household on the weekend and trying to have a bit of fun left little space and time to seriously c...

You cut the paycheck cord and enter retirement. Then a spending goal unexpectedly increases...significantly. You can't simply continue to work longer, so what do you do? Hear Kevin discuss real-life cases where clients had to provide financial support to their daughter going through a messy divorce and another situation where a client desired to buy a 2nd home. Though the situations were starkly d...

You live below your means and invest for your future ... similar to your parents. Now your parents are getting older, and it seems fairly clear they'll be leaving you an inheritance at some point. Meanwhile you're still working. Should you include the potential inheritance in your retirement plan? Banking on an expected inheritance for your retirement plan involves risk. Hear Kevin discuss real-li...

The five biggest tech stocks -- Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft -- are great businesses. They've been so successful over the last decade that they comprise about 20% of the total S&P 500 market capitalization -- a level of concentration not seen since the late 1990s. They also command higher prices (valuation) than the market as a whole. While these companies have provided outsized...

Interesting parallels can be seen in modeling retirement projections and the Coronavirus pandemic. Small changes to inputs -- such as the rate of return or infection spread rates -- can have magnified effects on outputs -- such as ending wealth or total infections (and ultimately deaths), given similar exponential growth traits. What is important to understand in both are the concepts of risk and...

Control risk? Buy low and sell high? Higher returns? Who doesn't all of these in their portfolio! And that's what portfolio rebalancing can do. While rebalancing sounds simple in theory it quickly gets complex in practice. Hear Kevin describe rebalancing from the simple to complex and the emotional hurdles to overcome as well. Be sure you or your advisor is taking advantage of the high-probability...

Suppose you have to have surgery. Does exploratory surgery sound like something you would volunteer to undergo? Or, does a pre-determined surgical plan sound better? If you're like me, having a plan and a repeatable process sounds less risky and what I would prefer. The same goes for retirement. Retirement spending. Health Insurance. Social Security. Investing. Taxes. These are all key and complex...

Retirement planning (done right) has always been a continuous process. With the turmoil caused by the Coronavirus, prudent planning is having to be done and redone in short order. Things are changing quickly and you need to take a dynamic approach to your planning and investing to avoid dangers and capitalize on opportunities. Hear Kevin dissect a ten-year client's dynamic retirement story. Learn...

Hear Kevin give an update on the current state of the markets and financial planning to-do's that need to be done through the Coronavirus turmoil. Proper execution of your financial and investment plans is required in large amounts to make sure you stay on track. It's not all bad news out there. Many opportunities are being created that you can capitalize on. And be sure to listen to why you may w...

We're in a crisis ... different from 2008. The pandemic and prudent, social-distancing response is causing fear, uncertainty, and now panic in financial markets. Listen to Kevin explain the current state of the markets and how this crisis is currently materially different from 2008. Be sure to pay attention to why -- from a financial perspective -- our country is better positioned to navigate thro...

Timing the market sounds great, especially during times of market distress like that caused by Cornovirus (COVID-19) concerns. Who wouldn't want to participate only in the ups while avoiding the downs!? Sadly, the only way market timing will work is for you to get lucky, which is no way to invest your life savings. Listen to Kevin describe the theoretical reasoning about why market timing does wor...

Shocks like the Coronavirus (COVID-19) or Russia's assault on oil prices can't be predicted. Yet, your financial life plan must be able to weather shocks and your investment strategy respond appropriately. Investors are not only concerned about their health but are questioning what to do about their money. Listen to Kevin describe the current situation and prudent, processed-based response to help...

Congress has agreed on something! Your retirement accounts are not estate planning vehicles. (Sigh.) Provisions in the SECURE Act are now law as of 2020 and impact all IRA owners. Listen to Kevin simplify the laws and unpack the 3 key changes. The good news is that if you're doing proper planning, you are likely less at risk than conventional media headlines and other financial advisors are report...