Ten straight up weeks, then a sharp pullback — and if you’re two to five years on either side of retirement, the fear is real. This is the Retirement Red Zone: the last mile into and out of your retirement date, and the most fragile window in your entire financial life.This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon turn last week’s market-history conversation into a practical playbook for anyone near retirement: how to avoid the paralysis that wrecked so many retirements in 2008–2009, and what to actually do right now.What you’ll learn:

• Why a 35-year-old and a 65-year-old should do the opposite thing in a pullback
• The accumulation-to-distribution switch most people don’t know exists
• What history says: after 40 sharp selloffs since 1980, markets were higher 75% of the time a year later
• Sequence-of-returns risk — why the first five years decide everything
• Building a 1–3 year retirement runway with ~4% cash and T-bills
• Rebalancing a 60/40 that drifted to 75/25
• Diversifying away from a top-10 that’s now 40% of the S&P (8 of them tech)
• Buffered ETFs — a 20% buffer with a 12–15% cap, explained
• Foundational income, annuities, and the tax-aware withdrawal piece most firms skip

Plus Money In The News:

• Consumer prices rose 4.2% annually in May — the highest in three years (CNBC, Jeff Cox)
• Elon Musk poised to become the first trillionaire — and just how much a trillion dollars really is
• A top JP Morgan strategist’s four ways to prep your portfolio for “considerable danger” (David Kelly)

Mentioned on air: Our short sequence-of-returns risk video — watch it at brayshawfinancial.com.Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blog
Schedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Full Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact Us
Phone: 855-226-8551
Email: [email protected]
Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

Nearly every major index is at a record high — and everyone’s asking the same question: is this the beginning of something great, or the end of something that’s gone too far?This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon take that question apart with 75 years of market history, a few statistics that genuinely surprised them, and a clear look at what a record high means for you — whether you’re decades from retirement or already drawing income.What you’ll learn:

• The Fidelity data showing investing at an all-time high beats investing on a random day
• Why a record high is usually a signal of a healthy economy, not a top
• A walk through 1982, 1987, 1995–1999, 2000, 2009, and 2020
• Why today’s AI market looks more like 1995 than the 2000 dot-com bubble
• Why timing the market is a loser’s game — and why taking profits isn’t fear
• Sequence-of-returns risk — why the first years of retirement decide everything
• Buffered ETFs — staying in the market with downside guardrails
• Annuities with lifetime income and long-term-care riders

Plus Money In The News:

• American financial literacy hits a 10-year low — U.S. adults answered just 47% of the TIAA Institute’s 2026 questions correctly (Yahoo Finance, Kerry Hannon)
• America’s data-center build-out falls behind schedule — Google’s $80B equity raise and what it signals about AI’s real cost (WSJ, Katherine Blunt)
• Exxon chief warns oil could spike to $160–$170 a barrel as strategic reserves run thin (Fox Business, Robert McGreevy)

Mentioned on air: Our short sequence-of-returns risk video — watch it at brayshawfinancial.com.Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blog
Schedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Full Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact Us
Phone: 855-226-8551
Email: [email protected]
Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

61% of Americans now fear running out of money in retirement more than they fear death itself. Half of all U.S. households approaching retirement are at risk of falling short of their current standard of living.This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon sit with the topic that shows up in the conference room more than any other these days: retirement anxiety — and why so many Americans feel unprepared.What you'll learn:

• The five fears inside retirement anxiety — and which one most plans don't address
• Why retirement is structurally more anxious today than a generation ago
• The Honeymoon, the Shock, and the Reframe — the three phases of every retirement
• Why men, executives, military, and first responders are hit hardest by the identity loss
• The new 100% income rule (the old 60–70% rule of thumb is dead)
• The six-part income plan that actually reduces anxiety
• Sequence-of-returns risk — and why the first five years of retirement determine everything
• Social Security in 2026: 77% benefit, $1.5T bipartisan proposal, what it means for you
• Why phased / consulting retirement is the underrated soft landing
• The emotional plan nobody writes down — hobbies, friendships, purpose, marriage

Plus Money In The News:

• Can the stock market save Social Security? A $1.5T bipartisan proposal from Cassidy and Kaine
• Ford stock surges on a $2B (becoming $10B) pivot to stationary energy storage with CATL
• Student loan changes hit July 1 — payments rising $300–$350/month under IBR and RAP plans

Free resource: Email us with "Retirement Anxiety white paper" in the subject and we'll send the companion document.Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blog
Schedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Full Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact Us
Phone: 855-226-8551
Email: [email protected]
Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

Two retirees with the same balance can take wildly different incomes home — it's not about returns, it's about taxes.This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon unpack The Science of Retirement Income — How to Create Income Alpha: the practice of beating the market not by picking better stocks, but by keeping more of what you already have through tax-aware planning.What you'll learn:

• What "Income Alpha" actually means — and why it's worth 15–30% more retirement income, year after year
• How Social Security gets taxed at 0%, 50%, or 85% — and how to control which one applies to you
• The Roth IRA conversion ladder: filling the 22% bracket today to avoid the 30%+ bracket later
• The lesser-known after-tax account strategy — converting future ordinary-income tax into capital-gains tax
• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) — the single highest-leverage move for charitable retirees
• Donor-Advised Funds and Charitable Trusts — stacking giving with Roth conversion years
• The hidden IRMAA Medicare tax — and the income thresholds that can cost you $1,000–$3,000 a year
• The Widow Tax Trap — the most damaging tax in retirement and how to plan around it
• Why the year of a spouse's passing is the last big planning window — and what to do with it
• What 1–2 years of tax returns will tell a good planner that your investment statement never will

Plus Money In The News:

• Weight-loss drug developers line up to tap a $150B market (Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, the pill-vs-shot race)
• Nike stock tumbles 13% to an 11-year low on China weakness
• Average tax refund up 11% from a year ago — IRS data and what it means for inflation

Free resource: Email us with "Charitable Giving Booklet" in the subject and we'll send our charitable giving guide.Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blog
Schedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Full Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact Us
Phone: 855-226-8551
Email: [email protected]
Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

🎉 Welcome to the 400th episode of Money On Tap. Nine years. Four hundred conversations. To celebrate, the first four callers to 855-226-8551 each get their pick from four pieces of MOT swag. Phone calls only — email won't count.This week, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon close The Railroads of… trilogy with the one that may make all the rest run faster: quantum computing.What you'll learn:

• What a qubit actually is — and why "both 0 and 1 at once" changes everything
• The three investable layers: cloud platforms · hardware (semis & cryogenics) · software
• The four pure-play names: Rigetti (RGTI), IonQ (IONQ), D-Wave (QBTS), Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) — and what their +250% to +5,700% trailing moves really mean
• The four big-tech quantum plays: IBM, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon
• The four ETFs to research: QTUM, ARKQ, BOTZ, ROBO
• The barbell approach for taking speculative exposure without betting the farm
• Why the honest timeline says mid-2030s — and the energy problem nobody's talking about
• How space, robotics, and quantum intersect — and why the railroads series mattered

Plus Money In The News:

• Spotify and Peloton team up on a global fitness content hub
• The AI splurge is costing big tech its workforce — Oracle plans to cut 40% of its workforce
• Have software stocks reached the extreme washout yet? (And what the "SaaS-pocalypse" means for the next 12 months)

Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blog
Schedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Full Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact Us
Phone: 855-226-8551
Email: [email protected]
Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

4.3 million industrial robots are already deployed globally. Robot costs have dropped 50% in 30 years. Payback periods are now 1 to 3 years. The reshoring of American manufacturing isn't a forecast — it's a buy order.This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon continue the series with The Railroads of Robotics — the picks-and-shovels playbook for physical AI and the next great industrial build-out.What you'll learn:

• Why three forces — reshoring, labor shortage, and 1–3 year robot payback — make automation inevitable
• The four investable layers: robots · AI systems · software · hardware
• A walk-through of the public names: Rockwell Automation, Teradyne, Emerson Electric, NVIDIA, Tesla (Optimus), AeroVironment, Applied Materials, Autodesk
• How cobots are reshaping skilled-trades work — and what the NVIDIA CEO's "three-day work week" prediction really means
• Five robotics-themed ETFs walked through: ROBO, BOTZ, IBOT, ARKQ, ROBT
• What to tell the kids and grandkids about which jobs will actually exist in 10 years
• The geopolitical risk that could shelve this entire build-out overnight

Plus Money In The News:

• United Airlines hikes fares up to 20% — CEO admits passing 100% of jet-fuel cost to consumers
• Musk vs. Altman: a $134B suit heading to court while SpaceX ($1.25T) and OpenAI ($850B) IPOs loom
• Adobe announces a $25B buyback (25% of market cap) while Big Tech keeps laying off — and the buyback nuance most investors miss

Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blog
Schedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Full Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact Us
Phone: 855-226-8551
Email: [email protected]
Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

Space just became an asset class. Q1 2026 alone saw $36 billion deployed — and the SpaceX IPO could be the first trillion-dollar offering in history.This week on Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon walk through what they're calling the railroads of space — the picks-and-shovels companies quietly building the rails that everything else will ride on.What you'll learn:

• Why the SpaceX IPO is the single biggest catalyst hanging over the entire sector
• The three investable layers: access · infrastructure · application & data
• A walk-through of the public names already in motion — RKLB, ASTS, IRDM, PL, RDW
• Where robotics fits — and why Honeybee Robotics and Redwire matter more than people think
• The four real risks: capital intensity, government dependence, boom-bust speculation, and SpaceX disruption
• Why an actively managed space-themed ETF may be the most prudent way for retail investors to participate

Plus Money In The News:

• Active ETFs cross $1 trillion — and why the cost trade-off is worth it for many investors
• Round Hill's DRAM ETF pulls $1B in 10 days, giving U.S. investors backdoor access to Samsung and SK Hynix
• $4 gas drives consumer confidence to a record-low 47.6% — lower than 2008 — and inflation expectations climb toward 4.8%

Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blog
Schedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Full Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact Us
Phone: 855-226-8551
Email: [email protected]
Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

Tax filing reports what already happened. Tax planning is what puts you back in control.If you just finished paying your 2025 taxes and you're wondering how the bill got that big, this week's Money On Tap is for you.Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon walk through the year-round tax strategies most investors — and most financial advisors — are quietly missing. From bracket management and income engineering to real estate depreciation, solo 401(k) contributions, charitable trusts, and the often-overlooked Augusta Rule, this is a working playbook for keeping more of what you earn.What you'll learn:

• Why tax planning beats tax filing every year — and what most advisors skip
• How to engineer your income to stay in a lower bracket without changing your lifestyle
• The difference between one-off Roth conversions and a real 10-year Roth strategy
• Real estate deductions, cost segregation, and the Augusta Rule explained
• Solo 401(k) vs SEP IRA — and why business owners routinely leave $30K+ on the table
• Charitable remainder trusts: the tax strategy almost nobody talks about
• Why today's 37% top federal bracket is historically low — and what that means for your retirement plan

Plus Money In The News:

• Google's $10M commitment to train American manufacturing workers on AI
• The cost to raise a child in the US now tops $300,000
• South Hadley, MA rejects a 50% property tax hike by a 2-to-1 vote

Read the companion blog: brayshawfinancial.com/blog
Schedule a free consultation: app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Full Money On Tap episode library: brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tapContact Us
Phone: 855-226-8551
Email: [email protected]
Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

If you missed just the 10 best days in the market over the last 25 years, you would have cut your returns nearly in half. Miss the best 30 days, and you might as well have left the money in a money market. Miss the best 50 days, and you are actually losing money. That is the cost of a market myth. In this week's Money On Tap, Ben Brayshaw and Dan Michelon break down the most common — and most expensive — market myths that quietly erode investor wealth: "Sell in May and go away," "now is the wrong time to invest," "cash is safer than stocks," "investing is just legalized gambling," "more holdings means better diversification," "gold is a safe haven," "bonds are risk free," and more. With hard numbers, clear analogies, and three decades of planning experience between them, Ben and Dan sort fact from folklore — and lay out a disciplined, statistics-backed approach to growing and protecting your money. You will learn:

• Why missing the market's best 10 days can cut your long-term returns in half
• Why lump-sum investing beats dollar-cost averaging 67-75% of the time
• How a $100,000 in cash since 1992 compares to the same $100,000 in the S&P 500
• Why 2,900 holdings may actually be less diversified than 500
• The truth about gold, bonds, and "safe" investments
• How a $50-per-month investor can still build real wealth

Plus "Money In The News":

• NAHB home builder sentiment drops to a 7-month low amid material, labor, and oil pressures
• Trump Accounts sign up 5 million kids — with community sponsorship changing the game
• March CPI surges 0.9% as the Iran conflict reshapes the inflation outlook

Resources & Links

• Website: https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/
• Money On Tap podcast hub: https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tap
• Full Money On Tap episode library: https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tap-podcast-content
• Read the companion blog: https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/blog
• Our planning process: https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/our-process
• Schedule a free consultation: https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/contact

Related Episodes:

• Retirement distribution strategy: how to keep more of your income → https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tap
• The difference between accumulation and distribution → https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tap
• Tax-smart investing and why most investors overpay → https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tap
• How to vet a financial advisor (the questions that matter) → https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tap

Contact Us

• Phone: 855-226-8551
• Email: [email protected]
• Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
• Web: brayshawfinancial.com

• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.

Are today’s tax rates the lowest you’ll ever see in your lifetime?
In this episode of Money on Tap, we introduce the concept of “Generation Roth”—a powerful shift in retirement planning focused on building tax-free income in a world where taxes are likely to rise.
For decades, traditional retirement planning has relied on tax-deferred strategies like 401(k)s and IRAs. But with growing national debt, changing tax policy, and increasing retirement complexity, that approach may no longer be enough.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why today’s tax environment may be historically low  
• How rising national debt could impact future tax rates  
• The truth about being in a “lower tax bracket” in retirement  
• What a Roth IRA is and why it matters now more than ever  
• How Roth strategies create tax-free income  
• Options for high-income earners who can’t contribute directly to a Roth  
• The role of Roth conversions and advanced planning strategies  
• The concept of “tax diversification” in retirement planning  
• How to think about retirement as an income system—not just a savings goal  
This episode is designed for anyone who wants to take greater control over their financial future and build a more tax-efficient retirement strategy.
Because retirement isn’t just about how much you have—it’s about how much you keep.
🎧 Listen now and learn how to position yourself for a more secure and flexible retirement.
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📧 Email: [email protected]  
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• What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.