On the surface, Social Security survivor benefits seem pretty simple: at the death of the first spouse, the surviving spouse is eligible to receive his or her own benefit, or the benefit of the deceased, whichever is greatest.

In today's show, Devin and John go over:

• Who Is Eligible for Survivor's Benefits
• How Much Is The Spousal Survivor Benefit
• The RIB LIM, or "Widow's Limit"
• and Restricted Filings

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/095

Important benefits offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are changing.

Devin and John talk about:

• Improved Pension with Aid and Attendance
• Clearly Defined Assets Test
• Adding A Look-back Period

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/094

Part 3 in the Big Picture Retirement series on Drawdown Strategies: Brandon Renfro talks about "setting a floor."

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/093

Part 2 in our series. In this episode we answer the question "How are you going to take your money out so that it lasts?" Then, once you have a plan for which accounts you should access in which order, how are you going to figure out the amount of income to take out from your portfolio?

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.bigpictureretirement.net/092

When you stop working, you've put aside some money into different types of accounts, and maybe you have a pension, or some rental property, or other investments. How do you start converting those assets into an income stream that will last for the rest of your life?

Brandon Renfro, Ph.D., joins Devin on a discussion about:

• The tax torpedo
• The Net Unrealized Appreciation Rule
• Provisional income and how much of your Social Security is taxable

For more details, visit the show notes at https://www.bigpictureretirement.net/091

There are a few areas within Social Security that you could mess up without even meaning to do things wrong.

One of my most trusted mentors has often told me, "Big doors swing on little hinges."

I've found that to be applicable to many things in life and it's certainly true in retirement planning. The small decisions you make, when stretched over long periods, can have big consequences.

Here are the 5 Social Security mistakes that can cost you dearly when you retire.

There's more to learn at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/090

Did you know you could buy a horse as an investment in your IRA? What about real estate and other assets?

Kirk Chisholm, of Innovative Advisory Group, joins us to explain how self-directed IRAs work. They a tricky thing, so you need to understand the rules before taking any action.

You will learn what a Disqualified Person is, the rules behind handling real estate in an IRA, and what other things you can find in a self-directed IRA.

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/089

What's the big deal about cryptocurrencies? And is it too late to get in now?

Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins joins us to talk about what cryptocurrencies are and what we should be looking out for in the future of Bitcoin.

One of the benefits Joe shares is, "It is a way to get governments out of transactions, and also a way to make transactions happen faster." It's sort of like moving money into the currency of a different country, except that it isn't (so far) regulated by the government, and transfers can happen super-fast.

Is this a currency, or is this an investment? Listen to learn more.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.bigpictureretirement.net/088

Continuing on from last episode's discussion about buying rental property for retirement income, Devin and John talk about the mechanisms for evaluating a rental property.

...and John will entertain you with taxes.

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/087

Have you thought about using rental properties for retirement income?

Is rental real estate a good choice for retirement income for you?

John and Devin go through some of the benefits of rental property.

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/086