The Rob Berger Show

In this episode, we'll examine how to retire before taking Social Security. This is an ideal strategy for many to maximize Social Security retirement benefits.

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This is a follow-up to my episode on Dave Ramsey's belief that retirees can start with an 8% withdrawal rate, adjust the amount each year by inflation, and be perfectly fine in retirement. The problem that Dave seems to have overlooked is what is known as sequence of returns risk.

In his analysis, he uses average market returns and average inflation. But nearly 30 years ago Bill Bengen debunked this approach in a 1994 paper. The problem is that two retirees can enjoy the same average returns and inflation yet have two very different results. How?

Sequence of returns. If one retiree enjoys strong markets and low inflation in the first decade of retirement, their financial results may indeed support a higher initial withdrawal rate. In contrast, if the second retiree suffers through bad markets and high inflation during the first decade, they could run out of money using an 8% withdrawal rate in as little as 10 years.

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Target date retirement funds are a simple solution to save for retirement. But what about once you retire? Are there single-fund solutions you can use for all of your investments once you retire?

This episode will look at several options for one-fund investments in retirement. Keep in mind that these funds are best suited for tax-advantaged accounts like traditional and Roth IRAs.


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With the passing of Charlie Munger at the age of 99, I thought it appropriate to share 5 things I've learned from him over the years.

Poor Charlie's Almanack: https://amzn.to/4a1JF63

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In many couples, one person handles the money and the other thinks as little as possible about it. That's certainly true with my wife.

To help her, should I pass away, I created what I call the Blue Binder. To supplement the binder, I've started creating videos where I share my computer screen and walk through our finances.

This allows me to show her our brokerage and bank accounts online. I can walk through all of our finances and explain how it all works and why I've made the choices that I've made.

In this episode, I'll explain how you can create these videos and give you some ideas of the topics you should cover.

Tools Mentioned in this Video

Empower: https://go.robberger.com/empower/yt-b...
Tiller: https://go.robberger.com/tiller/yt-bl...
Loom: https://www.loom.com/
Snagit: https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capt...

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Change is everywhere: AI, the climate, interest rates, global conflict, and inflation, to name a few. So often, investors try to predict where all this craziness will take us so they can position their portfolio. Perhaps a better question to ask is what isn't going to change.

Here are 7 timeless truths about successful investing that apply no matter what the future throws our way.

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The new Secure Act 2.0 introduced the IRA Gift Annuity starting this year. It allows you to make a one-time charitable contribution out of an IRA for as much as $50,000 and get monthly income for life.

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So you've been using an investment advisor to manage your investments. They have your money in 10, 15, 20 or even more funds! And you start to wonder just how the performance of this absurd portfolio compares to a simple, 2, 3 or perhaps 4 fund portfolio.

Here's how to evaluate your advisor's portfolio with a free tool.

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Can one retire early if they have the ability to significantly cut back on discretionary spending during retirement if they must? A recent article on the MadFientist blog claims that following a Discretionary Spending Rule in retirement can significantly increase a retirees Safe Withdrawal Rate. And with a higher SWR, one can retire early.

Karsten Jeske (Big ERN) of Early Retirement Now responded with his own article. He called flexibility in retirement a myth, and detailed why he thinks the Discretionary Spending Rule won't work.

In this episode I give my take on both articles. We also look at a free Safe Withdrawal Calculator you can use to model your own retirement plan.

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When should you claim Social Security? It's an important question. One study found that retirees have lost $3.4 trillion because they started taking Social Security too early. In this episode we'll look at two strategies. One optimizes Social Security assuming you and your spouse will live long past your life expectancy. The other optimizes the claiming strategy based on life expectancy.

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