Big Picture Retirement®

Should I buy long-term care insurance? Should I keep the long-term care insurance I already have? These are important questions, and there are no easy answers. Long-term care is expensive, but long-term care insurance is also expensive. When you start looking at some of the statistics, it can get scary. But thankfully, the statistics don't show the whole picture. Once you consider all the issues and factors, the big question is managing the risk of needing financial assistance with long-term care vs. how much it is going to cost to manage the risk. There are three ways to pay for long-term care: 1) Self-funding through personal assets 2) Through access to government benefits, either VA benefits or Medicaid 3) Long-term care insurance For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/060

How do you figure out how much money you're spending on your investments?

In this week's episode, Devin and John talk about the types of fees you might be paying, and how you can figure out what they are.

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/059

One in three people will eventually have some type of dementia. By the time you reach age 80, your chances of having Alzheimer's is about about 50%, meaning that it's very likely for at least one spouse in an older couple to have cognitive decline.

Which brings us to a serious question: Can your spouse give full consent to sexual activity if they have diminished memory and understanding? Devin and John discuss a case where the husband was charged with criminal rape of his wife who had Alzheimer's disease.

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/058

Looking at changes from the investment perspective: The change in the environment of shopping may impact your investments. Investment in these new technologies may provide solid returns.

On the other hand, investments in physical retailers and certain types of real estate may do poorly.

It's definitely worthwhile to consider what the future might look like when you're selecting your investments, because changes in the economy may significantly impact your retirement portfolio.

For more information about the Amazon Effect on investments, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/057

"Do I get a step-up in the basis of a property that I inherited?" This is the first of two questions in today's "Listener Questions" episode.

Then John answers a question about leaving an inheritance to someone who may face a divorce. Should you do something special in this situation?

To read more, or find more information, visit http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/056

Will Social Security be there when you retire?

Devin and John agree that Social Security will still be there, but may be quite different than it is now.

There are many possible solutions to this issue, but there are two proposals that are most likely:

An increase of the age at which you start receiving benefits or increased Social Security taxes.

Listen to find out more. For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/055

It's that time of year, when you make great plans for the upcoming new year.

Devin and John have a great plan to help you make 2018 the year when you get all your financial plans in order.

No matter what else happens, at the end of 2018, you'll be either one year further into retirement, or one year closer to retirement.

Let's make it a productive year, so you can relax and enjoy the things that really matter.

For more information, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/054

Now that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has been signed into law by President Trump, we can plan to make changes in how we spend, save, and give - or can we?

John and Devin get into some of the specifics of the tax reform and how it may or may not affect your income tax liability in the U.S.

For more, visit the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/053

If you listen to the news, you've probably heard some investment and financial planning industry folks make some wild predictions, and often those predictions don't come true.

In this week's episode, Devin and John invited some friends to help them investigate some recent predictions and how they actually turned out. David Waldrop is a financial advisor with Bridgeview Capital Advisors and Andrew Comstock is a Chartered Financial Analyst with Castlebar Asset Management.

For more, visit http://bigpictureretirement.net/052

Recorded live at FinCon from a 1974 Volkswagon Superbeetle, Devin and John are joined with Roger Whitney, the Retirement Answer Man, and Elle Martinez of CoupleMoney.com.

The main topic?

Divorce is the biggest threat to anyone's financial stability. How do you work together with your spouse? Elle says, don't start talking about money - talk about goals.

For more information, go to the show notes at http://www.bigpictureretirement.net/051