Retirement Made Simple

If you have $3 million saved for retirement, you also have a silent partner: the IRS. Most people assume their tax bill in retirement is fixed. It isn't. In this episode, Kevin walks through a real client scenario using retirement planning software to show exactly how retirement taxes work, and why they behave so differently from the taxes you paid while working. Here's what most retirees don't realize: not all retirement income is taxed the same way. Withdrawals from a traditional IRA are taxed as ordinary income. Roth distributions are generally tax-free. Gains from a taxable brokerage account often qualify for lower long-term capital gains rates. And Social Security? Up to 85% of your benefit can become taxable, depending on your other income. Those four income streams don't just sit side by side. They interact. There's also a window, sometimes called the "retirement tax window," that opens between the day you stop working and the day RMDs begin. Kevin shows how one couple with $3 million saved was projected to pay nearly $3 million in lifetime taxes, and how a proactive Roth conversion strategy reduced that figure to under $900,000.

If you have a pension, you may be sitting on far more retirement firepower than you realize. Most people think about retirement wealth in terms of account balances. But a pension doesn't show up on a brokerage statement, and that causes a lot of people to underestimate what they actually have. In this episode, Foundry Financial planner Mike Zarelli breaks down four retirement reframes for pension holders that could change when you retire, how much you spend, and how you invest: 1. You may be able to retire sooner and spend more than you think. A pension creates an income floor that can take pressure off your portfolio and free it up for larger, intentional purchases. 2. Your pension changes how your portfolio should be allocated. When you factor in the pension as a bond-like income source, you may have room to tilt toward more equities than you'd expect. 3. Your pension can influence when you claim Social Security. With the right coordination, you can potentially delay Social Security to maximize your benefit and build a stronger inflation-protected income floor. 4. Your pension survivor options should never be chosen in isolation. The right survivor benefit depends heavily on how you've structured Social Security for the higher earner. These decisions are deeply connected, and getting them right could mean the difference between a retirement that just works and one that truly gives you confidence.

Selecting a Financial Advisor Guide ✅ https://foundryfinancial.net/guide-to-selecting-a-financial-advisorMost people have no idea what to ask when evaluating a financial advisor, and that gap could be costing them more than they realize.Zach Holcomb from the Foundry team has had hundreds of conversations with people who are exploring their options, and he's distilled it all into five essential questions that reveal whether your advisor is actually equipped for retirement, not just accumulation.Here's what most people don't consider: the advisor who helped you build wealth may not be the right person to help you spend it strategically. Growing a portfolio and managing retirement income are fundamentally different jobs, and many advisors haven't made that shift.In this video, Zach walks through a complete scorecard you can use on any advisor, including the Foundry team. The five questions cover how your advisor leads meetings, how they get paid, whether tax planning is handled in-house or passed off, how you feel walking out of every meeting, and whether they're willing to tell you things you don't want to hear.That last one? Almost nobody thinks to ask it, and it might be the most revealing question of all.

🔗 Access the retirement planning software → https://foundryfinancial.typeform.com/rightcapital?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=longform&utm_campaign=should-i-do-a-roth-conversion-desc&utm_content=descriptionRoth conversions can save some retirees over a million dollars in taxes. But for others, they may not make sense at all.The problem is that most people are getting shouted at from both sides with no real framework for figuring out which camp they fall into.In this video, we walk through an actual case study using the same planning software our firm uses internally, so you can see the real numbers, not just the theory.You'll see exactly what happens to a couple's tax bill when they do nothing versus when they strategically convert during the low-income window between retirement and Social Security. The difference is striking.We also break down the 7 key factors that determine whether a Roth conversion makes sense for your situation, including things most people overlook.At the end, we show you how to access the same software used in this video so you can model your own scenario.Roth conversions are not a one-size-fits-all strategy. But with the right analysis, they can be one of the most powerful tax tools in your retirement plan.

Most retirees can afford these 7 purchases. That's not the problem.The problem is that a surprising number of them quietly work against you throughout retirement, draining your portfolio, your time, and your energy in ways you never saw coming.In this video, we walk through the assets that wealthy retirees almost never buy, and the ones that other retirees almost always end up regretting. From timeshares and boats to complex financial products pitched at steak dinners, we cover the full list and explain why each one tends to disappoint.But this isn't just a list of "don'ts."At the end, there's a conversation I had with a Harvard researcher on money and happiness that reframes the whole question. It turns out, more money CAN make you happier, but only if you spend it in a specific way. The three spending principles she shared changed how I think about retirement spending entirely.Stay for the end. It might be the most valuable part.

Elon Musk thinks robots will make retirement savings obsolete. You probably didn't cancel your 401k over that quote, and that's smart.But here's a question worth sitting with: if you're in your late 50s or early 60s, have saved diligently, and lived well below your means, are you still saving the exact same way you were 20 years ago, without ever stopping to ask if it still makes sense?In this video, Kevin walks through a practical tool called the funded ratio, a straightforward way to compare what you've already built to what you actually need. No guesswork, just math.Kevin explores:- How to calculate whether additional contributions are actually moving the needle- Why there's often a valuable transition phase between aggressive saving and full retirement spending- How front-loading certain expenses (like a kitchen remodel or a big trip) while still earning a paycheck can simplify your retirement tax strategy- What a "golden window" of low taxable income before Social Security and RMDs can mean for Roth conversion opportunities- Why retirement isn't one flat line, and how spending guardrails can help you navigate its phases with confidence🔗 Funded Ratio Calculator → https://www.foundryfinancial.org/calculator-are-you-on-track-to-retire🔗 Try RightCapital → https://foundryfinancial.typeform.com/rightcapital?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=longform&utm_campaign=stop-saving-desc&utm_content=description

If you feel behind on retirement, that feeling might be the best sign you're actually in good shape.

It sounds backwards, but after years of working with people on the verge of retirement, a pattern keeps showing up: the people who worry the most are often the ones who are closest to being ready. And the ones who should be worried? They're usually not.In this video, we dig into why that anxious feeling exists, where it comes from, and why it tends to follow you even after you stop working.The same habits that built your wealth, living below your means, delaying gratification, always wanting a bigger cushion, are the exact traits that make spending feel impossible. Researchers have found that many retirees end up spending far less than their portfolio could support, with assets holding steady or even growing throughout retirement.So why does the worry persist? A constantly moving finish line, upward comparisons to highlight reels online, and a saver's brain that never quite switches off.

Check out Deleteme: https://www.de33watrk.com/W6H9H4/KMKS9/ (Affiliate Link)Check out Optery: https://get.optery.com/a8qdsz8tzzbz (Affiliate Link)We almost lost $50,000 — and the scariest part was how much they already knew about us.Our phone, our email, our home address, our bank. All of it. And it nearly worked.After that experience, I went deep on researching how scammers are getting so sophisticated, and what I found was unsettling.So in this video, I'm breaking down exactly what happened to us, how scammers are getting your personal data, and four concrete steps you can take right now to protect yourself:1. Freeze your credit at all three bureaus — it's free, it's easy, and it shuts down one of the most damaging things a scammer can do with your information.2. Clean up your data trail — there are services built specifically to find where your personal information is listed and file removal requests on your behalf.3. Lock down your Social Security account — and grab an IRS Identity Protection PIN while you're at it.4. Build one habit that beats them all — this is the step that actually stopped the scam in our case, and it costs nothing.If you're nearing retirement or already in it, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I cut through the conflicting headlines about bonds and walk through what's actually changed for retirement portfolios heading into 2026. I start with the 40-year tailwind that ran from 1982 to 2021 — when interest rates fell from 16% under Paul Volcker all the way to near zero — and explains why 2022 became the worst year for U.S. bonds in modern history, with the traditional 60/40 portfolio falling roughly 17.5% (its worst result since 1937). I then walk through why 2026 looks fundamentally different: the 10-year Treasury hovering around the low 4% range, Charles Schwab projecting continued short-rate cuts with sticky long-term yields, and Fidelity pointing to the return of the "term premium."Links:https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/fixed-income-outlookhttps://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/trading-investing/bond-market-outlookhttps://home.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/TextView?type=daily_treasury_yield_curve&field_tdr_date_value=2026https://www.morningstar.com/markets/experts-forecast-stock-bond-returns-2026-editionhttps://robberger.com/portfolios/the-60-40-portfolio/

Most retirement conversations stop at the number. This one goes further.

When a client told me that everything went quiet after he retired, he wasn't complaining. But he wasn't exactly relieved either. It was just... different. And that difference catches a lot of people off guard.

In this episode, I walk through 7 things that tend to go quiet once the paycheck stops. Some of them you'd expect. A couple of them genuinely surprised me when I dug into the research, and they have everything to do with how your brain and body have been wired for decades.

Here's what we cover:1. Your automatic identity2. Your external structure and daily rhythm3. Your stress response (and what cortisol has to do with it)4. Your dopamine loop5. Your daily sense of importance6. Your casual community and weak ties7. Your internal permission to actually spend and enjoy what you built

Two of these involve real neurological and hormonal shifts that most financial conversations never touch.

The goal isn't to recreate your career. It's to intentionally design what comes next, with a new identity, a new rhythm, and a clear sense of what the money was actually for.