Retire Today

Understanding the options available to civil servants entering retirement under FERS. If you’re one of the 2 million people in the federal workforce, this post is designed to help you make the most of your retirement plan by understanding the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). As we head toward the end of the fiscal year, it’s a great time to revisit how FERS works and how you can ma...

Chet Bennetts shares insights on the study that highlights the challenges facing the average American seeking financial literacy. When it comes to retirement, knowledge truly is power. The more you understand your financial situation, the better you can navigate the complexities of retirement planning and make informed decisions. In this week’s episode of the Retirement Revealed podcast, Chet Benn...

Exploring the concept of “Infinite Banking” and comparing life insurance retirement plans to traditional retirement strategies. If you’ve been browsing TikTok, Facebook, or LinkedIn, you’ve likely seen posts promoting life insurance as the “ultimate retirement solution”. But is it really the best way to go about planning for your retirement? Let’s explore. Recently, I was asked to provide some ins...

Examining the 5 reasons an earlier retirement might make sense for you. When you originally planned for retirement, chances are you spent a lot of time focusing on the cold hard dollars and cents, calculating the optimal timing for your finances and adjusting your calendar accordingly.  My guest on this week’s episode of the Retirement Revealed podcast, Ashley Micciche, suggests that there mi...

5 keys to preparing your retirement plan to withstand a stock market crash. As you step into retirement, one of the biggest concerns you might face is the potential for a market crash right at the start. It’s a valid worry—after all, you’ve spent decades saving and investing to secure your future. The last thing you want is for a sudden downturn to wipe out a significant portion of you...

Discovering how the “Retirement Spending Hatchet” provides a problem for the 4 percent rule and why Derek Tharp suggests risk-based guardrails offer a more dynamic way to respond to risks in retirement. The 4 percent rule gained steam through the mid 1990s as a way to ensure your retirement lasts throughout your retirement years. I sat down with Derek Tharp, Ph. D., CFP ® , CLU ®  assistant p...

Breaking down the 4 steps of the “live to 100” strategy as life expectancy increases and conventional retirement wisdom struggles to keep up . Average life expectancy in the United States rises with each generation, and with that trend comes a lengthening of years lived after average retirement. As age 100 becomes more realistic for many people, how can you make sure your finances are...

Jeremy Keil and Steve Sanduski explore retirement trends by generation and examine what happens to financial planning when people start to live healthy routinely to age 100. People are living healthier and longer, and it’s showing in the rising longevity averages in the United States. My guest in this week’s episode of “Retirement Revealed”, Steve Sanduski ( Steve Sanduski Advisor Network ) and I...

Exploring the rules & options for how to handle the Social Security survivor benefit in the event of remarriage. Today, we’re diving into a critical question: Will you lose your survivor Social Security benefits if you get remarried? There are more layers to this question than many people realize. Let’s peel these layers back and explore the options available for Social Security in remarriage....

Identifying and understanding 5 simple marriage money talk steps you can take to improve your understanding of finances within a marriage and work towards a common goal. Money is one of the most contentious parts of any marriage. Today, I’m diving into a crucial topic: How can money talk transform your marriage and your retirement? In this episode I lay out five steps you can take to have better m...

Learn how to calculate the impact on your pension from changing your start date and evaluate the value of your pension based on your financial situation. I recently received a question from a listener that sparked an interesting discussion about how to plan for your pension. In this episode of “Retirement Revealed” I dive into an example of how to calculate the total and annual value of your pensi...

Understanding the different ways financial advisors get paid and the circumstances that fit best for each fee structure. A recent article in the AARP magazine sparked this discussion, and I’ll include a link to that in the show notes. The article delves into the different types of financial advisors and the various fee models they use. It’s essential to understand that not all advisors...

Discovering the link between Social Security spousal benefits within a couple and breaking down the consequences of deciding when each person starts taking it. Managing your Social Security as a couple provides opportunities to maximize your available retirement income in a way that an individual cannot. In this episode of “Retirement Revealed” I’m going through an example based on a listener ques...

David Lau of DPL Financial Partners discusses the in’s and out’s of annuities, what to look for in a good annuity and how to utilize them properly in your retirement plan. Annuities are a hot button topic among investors, but my guest in this week’s “Retirement Revealed” podcast, David Lau of DPL Financial Partners, sees the inherent problems with how annuities have been treated in the past. He sh...

Identifying retirement sentiment from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and examining the strategies you can use to avoid unnecessary financial strain in retirement. Today, I’m diving into the latest Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), which uncovers some surprising trends and offers valuable lessons for your retirement planning. The Early Retire...

Identifying the common health savings account mistakes, identifying key strategies to maximize your HSA and exploring some of the practical ways to utilize your HSA over your lifetime. If you’re like many people, you might not be getting the most out of your HSA. Let’s explore why that might be and how you can change it. Understanding HSA Contributions and Limits Firstly, let’s clarify...

Home ownership is the goal of many retirees, but with the current landscape of interest rates, home prices and longevity predictions, the choice between renting or buying a home in retirement requires a closer look at the data. Today, I’m delving into a topic that many retirees grapple with: whether to rent or buy a house in retirement. Additionally, we’ll discuss how to demonstrate enough i...

Navigating the risks to retirement, maintaining security and transforming your spending strategy from a “save-only” mindset in order to enjoy your retirement. Today, we’re tackling a question that might surprise many: Are you spending too little in retirement? Understanding Retirement Spending Recently, I came across an intriguing article in Barron’s titled “These Retirees Have a...

Financial freedom can be within reach if you utilize accurate forecasting, sound investing principles and the correct lens on your retirement years. Many view retirement as a finish line, marking the end of a journey. My “Retirement Revealed” guest for this week’s episode, Eric Brotman, challenges that perspective and reframes it into another common tradition: graduation. Eric founded BFG Financia...

Addressing many of the biggest retirement risks as defined by the Society of Actuaries and exploring the steps you can take to build a secure future. In one of my most recent episodes, my guest mentioned a report by the Society of Actuaries titled “Managing Post-retirement Risk: Strategies for Secure Retirement.” After I read the 36 page report, I decided to break down the risks they i...

Examining key takeaways and trends uncovered in the Allspring Global Investments Retirement Survey results with Nate Miles, Allspring head of Global Client Strategy. I’m always looking for more data on retirement and Social Security, so when I came across the Allspring Global Investments Retirement Survey and had a chance to speak with Nate Miles from Allspring, I jumped at the opportunity. ...

Identifying the right start dates for Social Security depending on your unique situation, when your Social Security benefit will send you your first check based on your birthday, and IRMAA cost strategies. Every month I take an episode of “Retirement Revealed” to answer listener questions about retirement, Social Security and real life financial scenarios that I think other listeners could benefit...

Author and journalist Marni Jameson shares her expertise in rightsizing as you enter retirement in order to maximize your life satisfaction and remove the clutter that can get in the way of it. I ran across the book “Downsizing the Family Home” and I thought it was an excellent read, so when I had the chance to connect with its author, Marni Jameson, I jumped at the opportunity. Marni is a syndica...

Navigating the choices and options available when you’re deciding when you should start taking Social Security. In this episode of Retirement Revealed, I’m excited to tackle one of the most crucial questions in retirement planning: when to file for Social Security. As we kick off Social Security month, it’s worth looking back at last year’s Retirement Revealed episodes with guests like Mark...

A “True Retirement Story” with Carl Landau, host of the “I Used to Be Somebody” podcast and co-author of “Pickleball for Dummies” that highlights the power of retirement planning Every month I take one episode of “Retirement Revealed” to have a conversation with a retiree to hear their real-life experiences with retirement. It wasn’t long into my conversation with Carl Landau that I started to rea...