cjcagle
Earlier in 2019, I wrote about some retirement legislation that was pending in Congress. Well, surprise, surprise—it passed recently. (Interestingly, the bill was languishing in congress until it was added to a 2020 spending bill and seemed to slip in under the radar.) It’s the most significant legislation since the Pension Protection Act of 2006 … Read more
Some months ago, one of my favorite bloggers, Tim Challies, featured a link on his a la carte page to a Christianity Today (CT) article titled, “Saving Retirement.” I didn’t have immediate access to the article (it was behind a “paywall”), but I later acquired a copy. That magazine featured it on its cover with … Read more
In this article, we are going to consider what role, if any, whole life insurance might play in your retirement income plan. Although the death benefit is still in view, the focus here is on leveraging the cash-value (investment) component to help fund your retirement income stream. More and more retirement planning professionals are emphasizing … Read more
A reader recently asked me to take a look at a retirement planning (funding) method using permanent life insurance espoused by Nelson Nash in his book Becoming Your Own Banker. In addition to the life insurance benefit, the author discusses a “be your own bank” approach to funding major life purchases. He also recommends using permanent … Read more
Well, folks, I have great news: as of today, my new book, Reimagine Retirement: Planning and Living for the Glory of God, has been released by B&H Publishing (LifeWay)! It is a project I have been working on for about 18 months, and I am thrilled to announce that it is available to order from LifeWay.com, Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, … Read more
You may remember these lyrics from the now famous 1971 song “Imagine” that was written and performed by former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono: Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today… It’s a simple, melodic song … Read more
This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS). It was initially published in September 2019 and updated in January 2026. I was recently part of a book study with a group of men who were all younger than me. During a discussion, one of them candidly commented in passing that he … Read more
This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Retirement Framework (BIFRS) series. It was initially published in September 2019 and updated in December 2025. Current Social Security figures: Full retirement age is now 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later; 2025 earnings limits are $23,400 (under FRA) and $62,160 (year reaching FRA); recent COLAs were … Read more
In case you haven’t noticed, after a relatively “quiet” stretch through most of 2024, volatility has returned to the financial markets in a big way. The stock market was down sharply just the other day. As I understand it, uneasiness about tariff and trade policy, stretched valuations in AI-related stocks, and uncertainty around Federal Reserve … Read more
