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 Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) 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 … 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
One of the hard realities of life in our fallen world is aging. Although we live in a culture that celebrates—and sometimes idolized—youthfulness, ironically, everyone is getting old. Some are just older than others. The young may feel as though they will stay young forever, but they won’t. And older people who have been blessed … Read more
This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE). It was initially published on July 31, 2019, and updated in January 2026. In this, the third and final article in this series on annuities, I examine variable annuities. The 2025 landscape: Although sales of fixed index annuities have significantly outpaced variable annuities in … Read more
