Ruth Rose (CPA) and Mark Walsh (estate planning attorney) join Dave Epstein on today's show to talk tax reform and estate planning.

Your retirement is getting closer. Maybe it’s a couple years away, or perhaps it’s coming in a matter of months or even weeks. But after all these years of working and saving and working and saving, what now? Do you need to do anything different? How should you prepare your finances as you get ready to dive into retirement? In today’s show we’ll explore some key steps you can take to prepare your portfolio and strengthen your income strategy, setting up you and your assets for a successful retirement.

Getting all stockbrokers, financial planners and insurance agents to act in the best interests of their clients is a struggle that financial firms and their regulators still haven’t resolved. That should be their job — but for now, it’s yours.

Markets are still riding all time highs. They've been making new all time highs again, again and again. Dave and Brad tell us how to keep our money safe with some Safe Money Strategies!

Will the income be there to support the lifestyle I want to lead in retirement, and will it be there for as long as I need it? That’s the question on the minds of many pre-retirees and current retirees. This show helps them find answers by taking stock of the various income sources that may be available for retirement, including Social Security, retirement plans (pensions, 401ks, IRAs, etc.) and taxable investment accounts, along with interest, business income, rental property and more. It also provides them with strategies for maximizing those income streams, so they can head toward retirement confident they’re in a good position financially to enjoy the next phase of life.

Retirement isn’t supposed to be stressful. So what are some suggestions to relieve the angst so many people feel about their money and their financial positioning with retirement looming? This show explores why it’s important for people to stress-test key facets of their retirement strategy — their assets, their income, even their current relationship with a financial professional — before entering retirement, and explains how to go about stress-testing in those important areas. By doing so, they’ll gain a clearer picture of where they stand as they step into the next phase of life.

Setting aside money for retirement is one thing, but doing so in a manner that provides maximum impact is quite another. At a time where, for many people, Social Security and a 401(k) may no longer provide enough to last through retirement, amassing a retirement portfolio that not only covers the daily necessities but is also flexible enough to withstand the risks of taxes, inflation, market volatility, longevity and life’s other surprises can seem like a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be. With some inter-related, strategic moves, developing a well-diversified portfolio that supports a solid and resilient income strategy is not out of your reach. The key is thoughtful planning, and that’s exactly what this show addresses.

Not too long ago, retirement planning for many people consisted of having a pension and Social Security. That was pretty much it. Nowadays, however, with pensions on the endangered list and Social Security benefits perhaps not what they used to be, the responsibility for building a nest egg has largely shifted to the individual. But what should that nest egg look like? For most of us, it needs to be diversified. Diversified not just in terms of assets — stocks, bonds, cash — but also within each asset class. Capitalization, industry, geography and so on. And that raises another question: How much of each? Then there are the types of accounts — Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities, HSAs, nonretirement accounts. But again, which ones are best for your particular situation? Today’s show will delve into the benefits of a diversified retirement portfolio and how you can start building yours today.

Will your retirement nest egg last as long as you need it to? That question keeps pre-retirees and retirees awake at night. This show is designed to help them put the question to rest by offering a range of suggestions for how to extend the life of one’s retirement assets so they’re positioned to last a lifetime and even beyond. Those suggestions include positioning nest egg assets for growth, balancing that upside growth potential with protection through diversification, insurance and the like, and managing things like retirement plan assets, Social Security and pension plan benefits. The tools to extend the life of a retirement nest egg are out there. It’s just a matter of knowing how and when to use them.

When you look at your finances do you wonder if you are truly prepared for retirement? Unfortunately just having a 401(k) and collecting Social Security may not cut it for many of us anymore. But is there a key retirement piece you might be overlooking? We’ll address that big question on today’s show by posing — then answering — four other key questions:

1) How many sources of retirement income will you have?

2) When do you plan to start drawing Social Security benefits?

3) What is your plan to pay for excess health and/or long-term care expenses?

4) What is your inflation hedge plan?