Keen on Retirement

Thanks to the tremendous support of the Keen Wealth community, our podcast audience, and readers of our blog, I'm thrilled to announce that the 2nd Edition of Keen on Retirement: Engineering The Second Half Of Your Life has hit Amazon's best-seller list!

I think one of the reasons that folks have connected with the book is that I try to present up-to-date information on things like the SECURE Act and Medicare with an eye towards the big picture. And I think maintaining that wider perspective in your financial planning has only become more important since I published the 1st Edition of the book in 2019. The pandemic accelerated so many things in our society, from how we connect and communicate to how our government thinks about retirement. If you aren't working with an advisor and following a comprehensive financial plan, it's very easy to let the news of the day or the hot get-rich-quick pitch lead you off the path towards a safe, secure, and fulfilling retirement.

On today's show, we talk about some of the additions I made to the 2nd Edition of my book. I sincerely hope that this new material and our discussion broadens your own perspective and helps you maintain focus on sound financial planning principles.

On our last episode, we ran through the changes to Medicare and Social Security that will affect seniors' benefits next year.

Today, we're going to complete our 2023 planning picture by discussing tax brackets and contribution limits for retirement accounts. We also examine whether or not gold and real estate should factor into your financial planning given the current levels of inflation.

The numbers are finally out!

And that means, if you haven't already started, it's time to get serious about working with your advisor to update your financial plan for 2023.

On today's show, we discuss the changes coming to your Social Security and Medicare benefits next year, as well as an important clarification on the rules for inheriting IRAs that could impact how you and your family members think about legacy and tax planning.

"Ben" and "Shirley" are 62 years old and married. Shirley retired at the beginning of 2022. Ben is still working, earning $130,000 per year and taking home about $7,000 every month.

If Ben retired right now, he'd be eligible for $24,000 per year in Social Security; Shirley could collect $20,000.

Ben has a 401(k) worth $1.1 million; Shirley's 401(k) is worth $300,000. They have $45,000 in Roth IRA accounts and $50,000 spread across their checking and savings.

Their home is worth $400,000. In 2021, they refinanced the $100,000 balance on their mortgage for 30 years at 2.75%.

They have $500,000 in life insurance coverage on Ben, and they're paying $13,000 a year in annual premiums. In part, they're paying those premiums because they have a special needs son, and Ben recently had a stent put in.

At Keen Wealth, we call these financial details a person or couple's "case facts." And on today's show, we use these facts to help this couple answer the number one question on their minds, and on the minds of many of our listeners: If "Ben" retires this year, will they be able to replace the $7,000 post-tax income they have been living on and ultimately – will they be OK?

Ongoing market fluctuations have caused many of us to ask some of the same questions in 2022. Are we headed for a recession? Will inflation subside sooner than later? Should the Federal Reserve have moved earlier or has it done too much?

I hope that listening to today's episode will help folks understand why there are no simple answers to any of these questions. And, perhaps more importantly, I hope our listeners will come away with a better appreciation for how a comprehensive financial plan can help you answer the most important questions of all: How does what's happening in the markets affect my nest egg and my retirement? And ultimately, we I be ok?

We received very enthusiastic responses from folks who attended our recent webinar, Maximizing Social Security Benefits. As always, Matt Wilson, Keen Wealth's President and Chief Investment Officer, presented up-to-the-minute information explaining some strategies for integrating Social Security into a comprehensive financial plan.

On today's show, we're complementing that webinar by answering some of the follow-up questions that Matt fielded. Taken together, this podcast and webinar will give you a thorough overview of Social Security, as well as important insights into the finer details and some recent changes that we've been monitoring at Keen Wealth.

As the calendar flips over to Fall, our checklist-driven process at Keen Wealth brings my team to some important action items to help folks prep for the year ahead. In particular, we want to make sure retirees are getting ready to review their Medicare coverage during the upcoming Open Enrollment period in November. And we're also waiting for the Social Security Administration to announce its benefit changes for 2023.

On today's show, we dig into some of the annual adjustments that could affect your retirement benefits next year and how we tie these projections into a comprehensive planning process.

What's in a name?

On Tuesday, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law (and let's not confuse this IRA with the older "IRA" as in Individual Retirement Account). That's certainly less of a mouthful than, say, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 and its proposed sequel. But will the IRA actually have an impact on inflation? Will it change how IRAs work? And what's this carried interest tax loophole that everyone was so worked up about?

These are just some of the questions that we've been fielding about the IRA at Keen Wealth. On today's show, we answer these questions and discuss five major bullet points about the new law.

Usually, the last part of a financial plan that folks want to talk about is their estate planning. People expect the conversation will be morbid, depressing, and depending on the family situation, maybe even a bit contentious. And while it's true that this can be an emotionally challenging process, I believe that there are ways to reframe how we think about estate planning so that we can feel more positive about what we're going to leave behind.

On today's show, we discuss the differences between estate planning and the comprehensive legacy planning that's part of our checklist-driven process at Keen Wealth.

"It depends!"

You'll hear us say that a lot on today's episode, in which we answer some very thoughtful and wide-ranging retirement questions from our listeners.

I hope our longer answers on these important topics are a reminder that while there are some universal principles upon which you can build a financial plan, the long-term success of that plan will depend on how you and your advisor work together to find the best solutions for your specific needs and goals.