The Retirement Risk Show

Would you rather retire with $2 million and pay every bill from it, or with $1 million and a steady income that covers your lifestyle? Host Dave Hall of Retirement Risk Advisors uses that question to explain why retirement income planning, not the size of your nest egg, decides whether your retirement is secure.

Dave covers why net worth doesn’t pay the bills and the difference between true income and portfolio withdrawals. He also ranks the main retirement income sources: Social Security, pensions, annuities, rental income, and investment portfolios. Along the way he tells a cautionary story from his years in Las Vegas about homeowners who never asked what it would cost to live in their new homes. The episode closes with a practical framework: cover essential and discretionary spending with dependable income, and keep liquid savings for large irregular expenses like a new roof, a new car, or a family trip.

If you’re near or in retirement and worried about running out of money, this episode will help you rethink how your plan is built.

Learn more and schedule a consultation at RetirementRiskAdvisors.com.

Investment advisory services offered through AlphaStar Capital Management LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. This is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax or investment advice. 

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You probably know what your 401(k), IRA and home are worth. But do you know your retirement income gap? It's the difference between what your lifestyle costs and the income you can count on every month, and for most Americans it's a gap that has to be planned for.

In this episode of the show, host Dave Hall explains why Social Security was only designed to cover about 40% of your retirement lifestyle, and how pensions, annuities, bond ladders and your portfolio can help close the difference.

In this episode:
 • Why a $1 million IRA isn't $1 million in spending money once taxes come out
 • How capital gains, IRMAA and taxes on Social Security affect your income
 • What a 20% market drop does to your withdrawal rate
 • Social Security at 62 vs. 70: a 76% difference, and the $111,000 the average person loses by claiming at the wrong time
 • Pension payout choices and protecting a spouse
 • Why your income gap shrinks once Social Security or a pension starts
 • The 75–90% guaranteed income guideline
 • Why you shouldn't be afraid to turn savings into income
 • How much liquidity you may need in retirement

Get Dave's books, webinars and free retirement planning resources at retirementriskadvisors.com.

Investment advisory services offered through AlphaStar Capital Management, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC nor does it indicate that the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and AlphaStar Capital Management is not involved with the offer, recommendation, sale or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. AlphaStar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax or investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product or investment strategy.

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Many retirees keep managing their portfolio the way they did while saving. In retirement, though, you’re spending your money, not adding to it. In this episode of The Retirement Risk Show, host Dave Hall explains how to move from an asset-based portfolio to a purpose-driven portfolio, where each part of your money has a specific job.

Dave covers the difference between risk tolerance and risk capacity, and why a 60/40 portfolio can leave you selling in a down market. He then goes through the five purposes a retirement portfolio should serve:

Income: Social Security, pensions and guaranteed income
Reserves: 12 months of cash plus a 2–5 year bucket to guard against sequence of return risk
Protection: long-term care and legacy planning
Growth: money for later in retirement
Legacy: Roth accounts that pass to heirs tax-free

He also discusses tax coordination, Roth conversions, and what a planner adds beyond picking investments.

Learn more at retirementriskadvisors.com.

Investment advisory services offered through AlphaStar Capital Management, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and AlphaStar Capital Management is not involved with the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. AlphaStar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy.

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Who will take care of you if you can’t take care of yourself in retirement? Most people say their spouse or their kids. In reality, only about 12% of spouses and 17% of children end up providing long-term care.

On this episode of The Retirement Risk Show, host Dave Hall explains one of the most expensive and least-planned-for risks retirees face: long-term care. You’ll learn how a long-term care event is defined (being unable to do 2 of the 6 Activities of Daily Living), what Medicare and Medicaid actually cover, and what happens to a surviving spouse’s finances when Medicaid becomes the plan.

Dave also compares the main ways to pay for care: self-insuring, traditional long-term care insurance, hybrid life/long-term care policies, and Life Insurance Retirement Plans (LIRPs). He includes real stories, such as a client whose premiums climbed to $37,000 a year, and explains why he plans to use a mix of approaches himself.

Learn more, access free webinars, or schedule a no-fee consultation at retirementriskadvisors.com.

Investment advisory services offered through AlphaStar Capital Management, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and AlphaStar Capital Management is not involved with the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. AlphaStar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy.

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Nearly half of retirees risk running out of money before they run out of retirement. In this episode, Dave Hall traces how retirement planning quietly became a "do-it-yourself" project — from the creation of Social Security in 1935, through the era of employer pensions, to the 1974 IRA and 1978 401(k) that shifted the responsibility for retirement income onto individuals. Dave explains why accumulating money for retirement is relatively simple, but spending it down safely is a different skill entirely, and walks through the four areas where self-directed retirees most often run into trouble: tax coordination and required minimum distributions, income and liquidity planning, healthcare and Medicare decisions, and legacy planning.

Whether you're managing your own 401(k) and IRA or just want to understand where retirement plans tend to break down, this episode covers the decisions that matter most once you shift from saving to spending.

In this episode:

• How Social Security, pensions, and the 401(k)/IRA shaped today's "do-it-yourself" retirement model
• Why nearly 46% of Americans are at risk of running out of money in retirement
• The difference between accumulating assets and living off them (and why it's a much harder problem)
• Tax coordination: required minimum distributions, Roth conversions, and why portfolios often outgrow tax brackets
• Income planning: liquidity, sequence of return risk, and why a 5-year liquid asset bucket matters
• Healthcare planning: Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap, and the real cost of long-term care
• Legacy planning: making sure your assets go where you want them to, not where probate sends them
• The "tunnel vision" mistake that causes otherwise careful retirees to miss bigger risks

Learn more:
Visit retirementriskadvisors.com for educational tools, webinars, Dave's books, and to schedule time to talk through your own retirement plan.

Investment advisory services offered through AlphaStar Capital Management LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and AlphaStar Capital Management is not involved with the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. AlphaStar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy.

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The 60/40 portfolio was the retirement gold standard for decades — so why is it failing so many retirees today? In this episode of the Retirement Risk Show, host Dave Hall breaks down where the 60/40 portfolio came from, why it worked so well for previous generations, and the 5 specific problems causing it to fall short for retirees now.

Dave traces the 60/40 portfolio back to Harry Markowitz's 1952 Modern Portfolio Theory, then walks through why bonds no longer provide the protection they once did, how sequence of returns risk can cost you 15+ years of retirement income, and why a single "one-size-fits-all" portfolio can't handle everything your money needs to do across a 20-40 year retirement. He also covers the bucket strategy approach to structuring retirement portfolios, how taxes quietly erode a 60/40 portfolio's returns, the real lesson behind Warren Buffett's wealth timeline, and a quick update on Trump accounts for kids and grandkids.

Whether you're actively planning for retirement, already retired, or just want to understand whether your current portfolio can support a multi-decade retirement, this episode breaks down what's changed and what to look at instead.

In this episode:

(1:14) The history of the 60/40 portfolio and Modern Portfolio Theory

(4:03) Problem #1 — Your portfolio has to do more jobs than it used to

(5:41) Problem #2 — Bonds aren't the hedge they used to be

(6:43) Problem #3 — Longevity risk and 20-40+ year retirements

(8:27) Problem #4 — Sequence of returns risk

(9:50) The bucket strategy — why one portfolio isn't enough

(11:07) Problem #5 — Taxes and portfolio inefficiency

(13:50) Portable retirement accounts and policy changes

(15:07) What Warren Buffett's wealth timeline really teaches us

(16:58) Trump accounts for kids and grandkids

(18:24) Risk tolerance vs. risk capacity

Want help applying this to your own retirement plan? Visit retirementriskadvisors.com for free tools, our blog, our email newsletter, on-demand webinars, and a no-fee consultation where we'll review your goals and help you figure out what your portfolio should actually look like.

New episodes of the Retirement Risk Show cover the risks, mistakes, and planning strategies that matter most as you approach and move through retirement — subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

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Investment advisory services offered through AlphaStar Capital Management, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate that the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and AlphaStar Capital Management is not involved in the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. AlphaStar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This episode is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice, or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy.

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How do the ultra-wealthy actually plan for retirement? In this episode, CPA and retirement risk advisor Dave Hall reveals 6 things the ultra-wealthy do differently in their retirement and wealth planning — and how you can apply the same strategies to protect your own retirement.

Drawing on years of experience as a CPA working directly with billionaires and high-net-worth individuals on tax planning, Dave breaks down the pattern he saw again and again: the ultra-wealthy aren't smarter or luckier with money — they're following a different system than most Americans ever get access to.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why the ultra-wealthy focus on outcomes, not just financial products
 - How "family office" style coordination between advisors leads to better retirement outcomes
 - Why they obsess over taxes — and why taxes may be the single largest expense of your retirement
 - The difference between liquidity and safety, and why chasing one without the other can quietly cost you
 - Why they think in generations instead of planning only for themselves
 - Why they build a complete retirement system instead of just a portfolio

Whether you're already retired or getting ready for retirement, these six shifts can help you avoid the irreversible mistakes that quietly derail retirement plans in the second and third decades of retirement — long after most people think they're in the clear.

This episode is part of an ongoing series on navigating risk in retirement. To learn more or schedule a meeting with our team, visit https://retirementriskadvisors.com.

If you found this episode helpful, please follow the show and leave a rating or review — it's the best way to help other retirees and pre-retirees find this content.

Investment advisory services offered through AlphaStar Capital Management LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and AlphaStar Capital Management is not involved with the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. AlphaStar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This episode is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice, or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy.

Topics: retirement planning, retirement risk, ultra wealthy retirement strategies, family office planning, tax planning in retirement, generational wealth, legacy planning, retirement income

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In this episode, host Dave Hall of Retirement Risk Advisors breaks down the four biggest tax traps that quietly derail retirement plans — and the strategies to avoid them before they become irreversible mistakes. 

For many retirees, taxes end up being the single largest cost of retirement — bigger than housing, healthcare, or even a long-term care event. Dave explains why decades of "save everything in your 401(k) and IRA" advice built up a tax bill many retirees don't see coming, how Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) force you to pay an increasingly higher percentage of your account in taxes as you age, why the "Widow's Tax Penalty" catches so many surviving spouses off guard, and how capital gains and investment income are taxed differently than ordinary income — and why that matters for where you hold your investments. 

Dave also covers practical strategies retirees can use, including Roth conversion planning, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), building a tax-efficient investment portfolio, and legacy planning moves that can help you pass more to your heirs tax-free. 

Topics covered in this episode: 

• Why taxes may be the biggest expense of your retirement 
• Tax Trap #1: Large pre-tax retirement accounts (401(k)s and IRAs) 
• Tax Trap #2: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) 
• Tax Trap #3: The Widow's Tax Penalty 
• Tax Trap #4: How capital gains and investment income get taxed differently 
• Roth conversion strategy, and how to think about which tax bracket to convert up to 
• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) as a way to offset RMDs 
• Why Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s have no required minimum distributions 
• Building a tax-efficient retirement portfolio to reduce "tax drag" 
• Legacy and estate planning: Roth vs. traditional retirement accounts for beneficiaries 

Retirement Risk Advisors helps retirees and pre-retirees build comprehensive, coordinated retirement plans — addressing investments, income, taxes, and legacy planning together instead of in separate silos. Learn more at retirementriskadvisors.com. 

This episode is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice, or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy. Investment advisory services are offered through AlphaStar Capital Management LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate that the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors; AlphaStar Capital Management is not involved in the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. AlphaStar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities.

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Most retirement advice fixates on one number: your rate of return. But the risk that actually derails a retirement has almost nothing to do with your average performance — it's about when your losses happen. In this episode, CPA and retirement planner Dave Hall explains why structured income, not investment growth, is the real foundation of a secure retirement, and why the financial industry keeps the conversation focused on the wrong thing. 

Dave breaks down sequence of return risk — the reason two retirees with the exact same average return and the exact same savings can run out of money 15 years apart, simply because of when the market dropped. He explains why the first 5 to 10 years of retirement are the highest-risk window you'll ever face, why most financial advisors are incentivized to keep your money invested and growing rather than spent down, and how guaranteed income can improve retirement outcomes by up to 30%. Dave also shares the 3-bucket, family-office-style income strategy his firm uses with clients, and the data on how guaranteed income changes not just financial security but how much retirees actually spend, give, and enjoy in retirement. 

Whether you're a few years from retiring or already there, this episode will change how you think about what actually protects a retirement plan. 

In this episode, you'll learn: 

• Why market returns are the wrong thing to focus on in retirement planning 
• What sequence of return risk is, and why it can cost you 15+ years of retirement savings 
• Why the first 5 to 10 years of retirement are the riskiest financial window you'll face 
• Why financial advisors are incentivized to keep your money invested and growing, not spent down 
• How guaranteed income can improve retirement outcomes by up to 30% 
• Why retirees without guaranteed income spend about 50% less than they safely could, and how guaranteed income closes that gap to 85% 
• The 3-bucket family office retirement structure: income, reserve, and legacy 
• Why reducing the risk of failure, not maximizing returns, should be the real goal of your retirement plan 
• The #1 fear most people carry into retirement, and how to plan around it 

About the host: Dave Hall is a CPA and retirement planner who has spent his career helping people move from a do-it-yourself, returns-focused approach to retirement toward a structured, family-office-style income plan built around reducing risk instead of chasing growth. 

Connect with Dave and learn more about family office-style retirement planning: Website: https://retirementriskadvisors.com 

Subscribe to The Retirement Risk Show so you never miss an episode on retirement income planning, sequence of return risk, guaranteed income strategies, and how to build a retirement plan that actually holds up. 

Investment advisory services offered through Alphastar Capital Management LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and Alphastar Capital Management is not involved with the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. Alphastar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice, or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy. 

Keywords: retirement planning, retirement income, sequence of return risk, guaranteed income, retirement risk, income planning, family office retirement planning, CPA retirement advisor, retirement income strategy, annuity income, retirement red zone, market downturn retirement 

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Most retirement plans don't fail on day one — they fail in the middle, ten or fifteen years in, when it's too late to go back to work. In this episode of The Retirement Risk Show, host Dave Hall breaks down longevity risk, the retirement risk he ranks as the single biggest threat to a happy retirement in his book Getting Safely Through Retirement. 

Dave starts with the story of a 91-year-old woman whose family called a police welfare check after she went two days without answering the phone — only to find she'd been fine the whole time, just too absorbed in a video game to check in. That story sets up the real topic: why the "average life expectancy" number you'll find online (around 79) is misleading once you've actually made it to 65, and why a healthy retired couple should be planning for one spouse to live into their 90s, not their late 70s. 

From there, Dave explains why longevity isn't just one risk among many — it's a multiplier that makes inflation risk, market risk, and withdrawal risk worse with every extra year you live. He covers the retirement planning gap nobody talks about, the "independence illusion" that convinces retirees they're fine right up until they're not, how long-term care risk fits into the picture, and the silent tradeoff between overspending and underspending that traps most retirees who don't have a real plan. The episode closes with a practical framework: guaranteed income, built-in flexibility, reserves for the unexpected, and giving every asset in your portfolio a specific purpose. 

If you're within a decade of retirement, already retired, or helping a parent plan for the years ahead, this episode will change how you think about how long your money actually needs to last. 

Resources mentioned in this episode: 
Getting Safely Through Retirement by Dave Hall — available at https://www.gstrbook.com/info 
Learn more or schedule a consultation at https://www.retirementriskadvisors.com 

New episodes of The Retirement Risk Show release weekly, covering the risks that actually derail retirement plans — longevity, inflation, market risk, sequence-of-returns risk, taxes, and long-term care — and how a holistic retirement plan addresses all of them together. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode. 

Investment advisory services offered through Alphastar Capital Management LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and Alphastar Capital Management is not involved with the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. Alphastar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice, or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy.

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