Keen on Retirement

Clients and friends of Keen Wealth have questions surrounding the Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act that was passed at the end of 2019. And with good reason! In many ways, the SECURE Act represents a significant rethink of retirement and estate planning. The government has recognized that as folks begin working longer at a wider variety of jobs, individuals need to start taking more personal responsibility for their retirement planning. This shift will affect your own retirement and how your heirs will approach their financial planning.

On today's show, we follow up our earlier overview of the SECURE Act with a deeper dive into three specific topics that our clients have been asking us about. As always, we try to keep the conversation light on industry jargon and technicalities. But the better you understand some of the SECURE Act's most significant changes to retirement planning, the more confident you're going to feel about your own plan.

I am honored that Anthony Fasano, Founder of the Engineering Management Institute, recently invited me to be a guest on his podcast, "The Engineering Career Coach."

Anthony is a professional engineer who learned early in his career that the success of an engineering firm relied heavily on its employees' ability to communicate and mange effectively. Anthony founded the Engineering Management Institute to bring his passion for engineering management training to engineering organizations worldwide through customized on-site and online training. Anthony's podcast was recently cited by Forbes as one of the 15 most inspiring podcasts for professionals.

The information in this podcast is going to be of particular interest to the many engineers and employees of engineering firms we work with at Keen Wealth. But all the topics that Anthony and I cover will be useful to anyone who is serious about planning for your future and your retirement, no matter where you work.

As a bonus, you can also watch our conversation below. Anthony's production team did a great job adding slides and graphics that you may find helpful.

At our annual Holiday Breakfast in December 2019, we presented "Forecast 2020: Silence the Noise."

At our annual Holiday Breakfast in December 2019, we presented "Forecast 2020: Silence the Noise."

Presents? Check.

Tree? Check.

Decorations? Check.

Food and drink? Check.

A thorough review of your tax-loss harvesting options?

See, I knew you were forgetting something!

Believe me, I understand that your checklist for the month of December is probably spilling onto another page already. And it's not much fun to sit around the fire and think about filing taxes in April. But there's less than two weeks left to consider some moves that could have a major impact on how you wrap up 2019 and progress into 2020.

On our last episode of the year, we go through the important year-end planning decisions that you, your spouse, and your fiduciary advisor need to discuss before December 31st.

If I were to list some of the incredible things my good friend Joe Ratterman has accomplished in his life, the fact that he's a Guinness World Record holder might not even crack the top ten.

After a successful career in which he worked to improve competitive balance in the financial markets, Joe had earned the potential for an easy, carefree retirement. But his values, his faith, and his commitment to helping others wouldn't let him go dormant. Today, I consider Joe to be one of the leading humanitarians and philanthropists here in Kansas City. Joe is an inspiration to me, and to anyone looking for a way to make the second half of their life potentially more meaningful and fulfilling than the first.

On this very special episode, I'm honored to sit down with Joe Ratterman to discuss his views on the evolution of the financial markets, how his values informed some major business decisions, and what he's doing right now to help Kansas City's most vulnerable citizens.

Happy Medicare Season!

You might not be getting any Hallmark cards marking this Fall tradition, but I know your mailbox is stuffed with notices from insurance companies, health care brokers, and the US government. That's because the open enrollment period during which seniors can change their Medicare policies runs from now until December 7th. And even if you're planning on sticking with your current coverage for another 12 months, there are some important things about your coverage as well as your spouse's coverage that you should be considering before open enrollment closes.

On today's show, we tackle four of the most common Medicare questions we're fielding from clients at Keen Wealth right now. Hopefully this conversation will help you sort out the important notices about your health care coverage from the junk mail that belongs in your shred pile.

In this Market Update Webinar, Matt Wilson, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Keen Wealth Advisors, takes a look back at what happened in the third quarter of 2019 in the markets and in the economy. And even more importantly, Matt takes a look ahead at what may be in store for the remainder of the year.

Between 1992 and 2016, 56% of all workers age 50 and older were forced into an unexpected early retirement, according to a recent study by the Urban Institute and ProPublica. Some of these folks lost their jobs due to layoffs, corporate downsizing, and buyouts. Others decided to retire because of a pay cut or deteriorating conditions at their workplace. And still others retired due to health concerns or other personal issues.

Any time I see a statistic saying that something happens to 50% of retirees, that gets my attention. A number that big means unexpected retirement should be on everyone's radar as they move into the second half of their careers. Fortunately, my Keen Wealth team is familiar in dealing with this all too common issue. So, on today's show, we talk about the steps that we go through to help folks cope with unexpected early retirement and engineer a new path forward.

As regular readers and listeners know, I recently turned 50 and I do worry about the world that my generation is leaving behind for our children and grandchildren. If you get too caught up in chatter on cable news and social media, it can leave you feeling pretty scared and frustrated. And if you believe the stereotypes about the upcoming millennial generation, we're leaving some pretty serious problems in the hands of kids who are entitled, self-absorbed, and incapable of handling basic adult responsibilities - or so they say.

That's why I invited US Air Force Academy graduate, Second Lieutenant Matt Robbins on today's show. I've known Matt since he was a 15-year-old volunteer at my flight school. Today, at 22, he's working towards his Masters in aeronautical engineering as he begins his career serving our country. I think listening to Matt discuss his worldview, his commitment to service, and his pursuit of excellence is going to make you feel a heck of a lot more positive about how the next generation is going to reshape our world.