Well, the (MY) day of ”reckoning” is here. No, not the final judgement; I’m talking about sending the IRS their due (i.e., tax withholding) for 2025 for taxes due in April, 2026. As regular readers know, I’ve done more writing than usual about taxes, charitable giving, and the new tax laws. That’s because: If you’ve … Read more
Generally speaking, there are two “camps” (or schools of thought) for investing for and creating an income stream in retirement. The first could be called the “probability-based approach,” and the second the “safety-first approach.” These “camps” share some things in common but are often at odds with each other. The key difference is that the … Read more
Updated December 2025 to reflect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) I’ve written previously about withdrawing from my Traditional IRA to help fund our retirement. I’ve also described how I began making Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) in early 2023 after turning 70½ In a recent article, I explained how I might optimize my income … Read more
There are many retirement financial milestones to pay attention to: your penalty-free early distribution age from an IRA (59/12), eligibility for Social Security (early filer at 62 and full retirement age at 66–67), Medicare eligibility (age 65, for most), and your RMD age (currently 73; 75 beginning in 2033). I’ve already hit all those milestones … Read more
Many financial planners, advisors, and especially retirees are wary of annuities. They cite cost, complexity, loss of liquidity, under-performance, and other factors as their primary concerns. In many cases, their concerns are warranted. Yet many retirement planning professionals, academics, actuaries, and economists—i.e., a bunch of really smart people—regularly encourage consumers to consider a particular type … Read more
A sustainable withdrawal rate is integral to a wise retiree’s financial stewardship plan. Your withdrawal rate determines how much money you’ll take from your retirement savings to add to other sources of income to meet your spending needs. I became aware of a video of one of Dave’s recent shows in which he discussed retiree … Read more
In a previous article, I touched on the risk that rising interest rates present to retirees. There are risks—the negative impacts of rising rates—but there are also benefits, especially for savers and retirees. But to the extent that higher rates are usually associated with inflation, the scale tips toward the negatives and less toward the … Read more
The Secure Act 2.0 was finally passed as just one part of a massive funding package by the outgoing congress just before Christmas on December 23, 2022, and signed into law by the president as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, an omnibus spending bill authorizing roughly $1.7 trillion in new Federal spending (yikes!). You’re … Read more
I recently read an interesting study on retirement from A.G. Edwards and AgeWave. It was published earlier this year. The study covered a lot of ground and was only partially focused on the financial aspects. You may want to read the study in its entirety, but in this article, I’ll touch on its most significant … Read more
