A top retirement podcast. Roger Whitney, CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, RMA, guides you on how to actually do retirement well financially and personally. This retirement podcast isn't afraid to talk about the softer side of retirement. It will teach you how to retire with confidence. Two-time PLUTUS winner for best retirement podcast / blog and the 2019 winner for best financial planner blog. This retirement podcast covers how to create a paycheck, medicare, healthcare, Social Security, tax management in retirement as well as retirement travel and other non-financial issues you'll need to address to rock retirement. Retirement isn’t an age OR a financial number. It’s finding that balance between living well today and feeling confident about your retirement. It’s about gaining more freedom to pursue the life you want. Join the rock retirement community at www.rogerwhitney.com
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If you are exploring a unique retirement, it is important to do your research. The best way to research something is to talk to someone who has walked the walk. That’s why, on this episode of Retirement Answer Man, I chat with people who are living their own unique retirements.
Press play to hear these unique stories. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT
[6:02] Identify what type of community has served you well in life
STORIES FROM AN EXPAT
[8:22] Meet Doug living the expat life in Thailand
[15:03] How to maintain a US address
[21:35] How to handle buying land in other countries
[26:41] How does estate planning work?
STORIES FROM A PARENT OF A DISABLED CHILD
[29:53] Navigating retirement with children with special needs
[31:11] How our retirement focus is different from other retirees
[38:08] How Special Sitters coordinates care in Omaha, Nebraska
[44:35] How they are making sure that their children are cared for
[49:49] What else you should remember
STORIES FROM A HUB AND SPOKE TYPE OF RETIREMENT
[50:35] What Rhoda and Rob are doing in retirement
Have you ever thought about retiring abroad? It seems like a fun adventure, but how do you begin?
On this episode of Retirement Answer Man, expat expert, Jane Mepham from Elgon Financial Advisors, joins me to discuss the financial and nonfinancial considerations of moving abroad in retirement. Press play to learn whether retiring abroad would be right for you. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN RETIRING AS AN EXPAT
[3:46] What is the attraction of retiring to another country?
[6:18] How to explore whether retiring abroad is right for you
[12:01] Should you buy or rent?
[14:54] How do you navigate your finances?
[22:04] What other considerations should you think about?
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[37:09] Is it worth selling investments and incurring significant taxes to change firms to reduce fees?
[46:03] How to plan retirement without using the 4% rule
[52:25] Where to put your contingency fund
TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT
[58:08] Examine the advice you’re getting and your process
Planning for retirement isn’t about creating a new job for yourself, it’s about using what you have to create a great life. On this episode of Retirement Answer Man, I’ll help Mike and Judy tally up and organize their resources so they can come up with a feasible plan for retirement.
Press play to hear how you can follow along and create your own plan of record. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN MIKE AND JUDY’S RESOURCES
[3:40] Some corrections from last time
[8:41] Their social capital
[12:34] Their estimated human capital
[18:18] Their assets
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[31:33] On investing to only keep pace with inflation
[38:14] Should he take his RMDs monthly or yearly
[45:16] Funding later in life healthcare costs
TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT
[57:02] Use the worksheet from Six Shot Saturday to organize your resources
Which Account Should I Begin Drawing from First in Retirement?
Episode 455
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 • Duration 41:19
RMD tables, bond classes, international exposure, and 1099s–we’ve got answers to your questions. First up is which account is best to begin drawing from in retirement. Listen to these answers to listener questions and take some time to reflect with me about how too much data can inhibit our ability to make good decisions. Press play to listen. Too much data can hinder your decision-making process
There comes a point where more information doesn’t help you make decisions, it can actually hurt your decision-making. A new low in this bear market recently passed taking it down 22.4% for the year. Rather than dwelling on this fact by looking up news articles, try changing your perspective. Use the data to flip the narrative. Instead of focusing on the current downward trajectory focus on the 10 years of growth that we had beforehand. When you have a feasible, resilient plan in place you won’t need to worry about this bear market. Are you curious about the Rock Retirement Club?
Have you heard me talk about the Rock Retirement Club in previous episodes but still aren’t sure exactly what it is? The RRC is a group of just under 1000 members from all over the country all within 10 years of retirement. Our focus is on how to live your best life as you make the transition into retirement.
We do that with a masterclass that helps you create an agile retirement plan. This isn’t simply a class where you watch videos and take a quiz at the end. This structured masterclass walks you step by step as you build your own agile retirement plan. Once you create your plan, then, you’ll learn how to make it resilient by testing it against common risk factors. Next, you’ll optimize and enhance your plan.
In addition to the master class and the camaraderie of the group, you’ll also get the experience of our team of coaches who will coach you through the financial and non-financial aspects of retirement.
Our goal is to give you the tools to create the ideal retirement plan for you and lifelines to reach out to when you need help. If you would like to learn more about the Rock Retirement Club sign up for our live meetups on October 27 or 29 at . Which account should I begin drawing from first in retirement?
What Is the Best Way to Save Money for Our Grandchildren?
Episode 454
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 • Duration 36:11
Many people choose to save money for their kids and grandkids in a 529 account, but one listener wonders if there is a better way to give. Learn the answer to this question and more on this episode of the Retirement Answer Man show.
Make sure to stick around until the end to hear the Coach’s Corner segment with Kevin Lyles. Kevin and I discuss growth and accepting challenges in retirement. Find out why it is so important to continue to challenge yourself in retirement. What is the best way to save money for the grandkids?
Like many people, Kathy saves money for her grandchildren in a 529 account, but she wonders if this is the best way to save for them. What if they choose not to go to college?
Before analyzing the best way to save for the grandkids, consider how you should think through this issue. What are your goals in saving for the grandchildren?
What do you want to accomplish? Do you want them to graduate from college without debt? Do you want to help them get launched to give them a great start to adult life? Do you want to buy them their first car or help them put a down payment on their first house? Think about your ultimate purpose for giving. Various methods that can be used for giving
If you would like to ensure that the kids graduate without debt, then, the 529 is an excellent vehicle to accomplish this goal. It’s also important to note that by keeping the 529 in your name you can change the beneficiaries from one child to another.
Another way to save for the kids is by creating a separate account in your name that you earmark for a specific child in mind. Then later on if that child veers down a wrong path, you can choose not to support their bad decisions. This option also allows for you to have control and you ensure that you aren’t making decisions for them too early.
The Uniform Gift to Minors Act provides a way to transfer financial assets to a minor without establishing a formal trust. A UGMA account is managed by you until the minor comes of age, at which point they assume control of the account. At this point, you relinquish all control over the funds.
If part of your goal is to help your kids while they raise their kids, then paying for private school or university directly is one way that you could do this. You can even pay directly for medical expenses as well. As long as you are paying the provider directly then you can give unlimited funds.
Should I Switch My 401K Contribution to the Roth Option Near Retirement?
Episode 453
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 • Duration 42:31
Life is about events, the challenges we overcome or not, our successes and failures, but, even more, it’s about how we touch and are touched by the people we meet.
Nicole is back! She is here this week to help me answer your listener questions. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of making friends in retirement, the value of international diversification, contributing to a Roth 401K vs. a regular 401K, the 4% rule, and much more.
I created the Retirement Answer Man show to help you, not just with the business side of retirement, but also to help you build a successful life so that you can lean in and really rock retirement. This month we are answering your retirement questions. If you have a question to submit, head on over to RogerWhitney.com/AskRoger to proffer your questions. Remember, if you want to get bumped to the front of the line and use our fastpass option by recording an audio question. Check out these resources to learn more about inflation in retirement and the RRC
Have you been thinking about joining the Rock Retirement Club? If so, sign up for our updates so that you can be the first to learn about the next online open house. We’ll be opening enrollment at the end of October and plan to have a few open house opportunities between now and then. These open houses will be an informative way to for you to learn more about the club so that you can decide whether it is right for you.
Are you worried about inflation in retirement? If so, we have created a resource to help you navigate this worrisome hurdle. Check out DoRetirementRight.com to get this FREE information to help you think strategically about inflation in retirement. Trying to make friends as a single person in retirement can be a challenge
In many 55+ communities, it is pretty easy to make new friends. Everyone is a transplant from somewhere else and there are endless opportunities to join activities and clubs.
However, if you are single it may not be as easy as it is if you are married. Many retirement activities are geared toward couples so single people can have a harder time getting invitations.
Should We Consider a Mortgage for Building Our Retirement House?
Episode 452
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 • Duration 49:29
We’re back again answering your retirement questions! On the docket for today are questions like whether should you consider taking on a mortgage in retirement, whether it’s feasible to hold only ESG investments in retirement, and if you need life insurance in retirement.
In addition to answering these listener questions, I’ll also share several book suggestions that I got in response to the 6-Shot Saturday newsletter and reflect on insights I learned from my time in Colorado.
Don’t miss out on upping your retirement game. Press play to hear answers to questions from listeners like you! Dealing with inflation in retirement
Have you been worried about how you will deal with inflation in retirement? If so, you are not alone. That is why my team and I created an Inflation in Retirement Guide to help you understand and navigate inflation as you approach retirement. In this FREE guide, you’ll learn 6 tactics to consider and practical ways to help you think through the issues that rising inflation brings to retirement. 6 insights from my time in Salida, Colorado
My goal with the Retirement Answer Man show is to help you navigate not just the financial side of retirement, but also the life side. You need to have both sides in order to really rock retirement.
If you have listened to the show in the past you may know that my wife and I go to Salida, Colorado, and rent a house for about a month each summer. We love it up there which is why we purchased a lot there last year with the intention of building a home and eventually splitting our time or relocating in the future.
We just returned from our most recent trip, so I thought I would share a few insights that I gained from my time there.
Set yourself up to experience the things you enjoy. I realized that one of the reasons that I love Salida is that it sets us up to easily do the things we love to do. We love hiking and mountain biking and these activities are easily accessible as opposed to our home in Fort Worth where partaking in these activities requires more planning. In retirement, consider moving closer to the things you love to do.
How Should I Pay for Big Ticket Expenses Near Retirement?
Episode 451
Wednesday, September 7, 2022 • Duration 35:58
Are you nearing retirement and wondering how you should pay for large out-of-pocket expenses? Should you dip into your emergency fund, take from your retirement savings, or is there another way?
We’ll consider this question, hear how Larry is living intentionally, learn how visual aids can help when trying to discuss finances with elderly parents, and discuss dollar cost averaging a lump sum payment on this episode of Retirement Answer Man.
All month we’ll be answering your questions. If you have a question that you would like to submit head on over to RogerWhitney.com/AskRoger and type in a question or use the record a question function to shorten the wait. We love audio questions so we bump those to the front of the line!
Tune in to hear these listener questions plus a summary of what was on my summer reading list. Make sure that you are signed up for the 6-Shot Saturday newsletter to learn all the details about the books I read this summer. How to pay for big-ticket expenses as you approach retirement
One listener would like to know the best way to pay for large expenses as she approaches retirement. She has already retired from her career and is now working (for minimum wage) as a teacher’s aide while her husband still works. They live in a high-cost of living area, and while their home is paid for, it requires a bit to keep it up.
Digging into cash reserves for big-ticket expenses can be scary since it is a drain on the assets, so she would like to know if her husband should decrease his 401K contributions so that they can increase their cash flow.
This is a good time to ensure that you have enough cash reserves in your after-tax bucket. While you are in the middle of dealing with a large expense it can be challenging to look ahead. But while it is important to meet those immediate needs, it is also essential to plan ahead.
Take some time to map out your plans for the near future. How long does your husband plan to work? Do you plan to stay in your high-cost-of-living area? Do you plan to downsize? This way you can explore the options you have to discover how to get on a sustainable path for the future. Building a decision-making framework can empower you to improve your situation and your future. How I approach reading
Living a Heroic Retirement: How to Walk the Hero’s Journey
Episode 450
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 • Duration 37:35
Michael Balchan from Heroic and I have been discussing how to live a heroic retirement for the last several episodes. Today, we wrap up this theme and learn to integrate the subjects we have discussed in the past 4 episodes into rocking retirement.
As usual, after the main theme, I’ll answer your listener's questions. If you have a question that you would like answered on the show, now is a good time to ask since next month we’ll focus solely on answering your questions. You can submit your question at RogerWhitney.com/AskRoger. You have the option to either type in your question or leave an audio question. We love audio questions, so leaving an audio recording is like getting a fast pass to the front of the line. Rekindle your best self each morning
If you have ever been camping you understand the importance of building a campfire. This camping essential provides heat and a way to cook, however, each night you must turn it off when you go to sleep. In the morning, you rekindle the fire to warm yourself up and start the morning off right.
This is just like living your best self. Each morning you must wake up and consciously rekindle your fire. By setting your intentions, you provide a way to set yourself up for success each day. Live each moment to create your best life
Since all we have is the now, each moment is an opportunity to live your best life. All you can do is show up one moment at a time to live life fully and completely. Looking back on your life you’ll see a bunch of separate great and not-so-great moments strung together to create a life.
If you are prepared to show up one moment at a time and live fully and completely you’ll find that those movements create an amazing life. Rocking retirement is about living heroically while mastering your finances
Here on this show, in my book, Rock Retirement, and the Rock Retirement Club, we talk about rocking retirement all the time. So it’s important to understand what I mean by rocking retirement. Rocking retirement is integrating the business of retirement with the act of living a heroic life.
How to Live a Heroic Retirement Today
Episode 449
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • Duration 55:12
“You are who you are here and now” – Bruce Lee
We all live life with the best intentions, yet rocking retirement is all about what we are actually doing–not intending to do. Do the things that you say are important to you now.
In this episode of the Living a Heroic Retirement series, you’ll learn how you can begin to live a heroic life today. Michael Balchan and I break down what we are doing to live our best lives. We bring the macro level that we have been discussing in the past few episodes down to the micro level. Press play to learn how to embody your virtues by taking baby steps towards your goals. Life is like a game
When you are young, you going to school is like a game where you get motivation and rewards for doing well. You get to level up each year and then move on to the next stage. Work is also like a game. There are boundaries, a scorecard, and of course, more leveling up.
In retirement, you have a clean slate, but since we are already so gamified you might as well continue playing. The difference is, that now you get to decide the rules of the game you are playing. Take the game and personalize it to your own needs. How to play the game
Your virtues are how you want to play the game. Once you decide which virtues ring true to yourself then you can set targets that align with those virtues. Set 3 targets that you can do today to make sure that you are living a life that aligns with your virtues. These targets are a way to make commitments to the behaviors that you want to act upon.
When you set your intention your attention follows.
Remember that this is your own game so set yourself up for success. Listen in to hear how Michael and Roger play their games differently using the Heroic app. Why celebration is important
It is important to celebrate your wins, but many of us have a hard time doing so. Celebrating your wins can feel inauthentic, or manufactured. However, celebrating acting on your virtues use positive reinforcement for your brain. Positive reinforcement creates a reward system for your brain to help you rewire and create positive habits. By celebrating your wins you create an internal sense of joy and satisfaction and therefore become more likely to make positive decisions OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT
One of the classic optimization questions is which account to draw from first. Many are often drawn to the after-tax assets first, but if you take all these away, you will only be left with tax-deferred assets. These are subject to RMDs once you turn 72, so you could be left with a situation where you have to take more out than you need. Consider taking advantage of lower tax brackets now to pay today’s low tax rate.
Listen in to hear the answer to this retirement question and many others. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT
[1:56] More data can cause you to distort your view
[6:34] What is the Rock Retirement Club?
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[12:42] Which account should I begin drawing from first in retirement?
[16:46] What are the actual percentages of RMDs taken each year
[20:10] Comments on my recent comments on international exposure
If your goal is to gift your assets as a part of estate planning, remember that you can give up to $16,000 to anyone you want each year.
Before gifting anything, understanding your motivation for the gift is essential. Find purpose with action to propel yourself forward
Thinking about things is, oftentimes, an avoidance behavior. The only way we discover who we are or the things that we enjoy is by doing them.
“A sense of purpose doesn’t come from thinking about it. It comes from taking action that moves you towards the future. The moment you do this you activate a force more powerful than the desire to avoid the pain of loneliness or inactivity. We call this the force of forward motion.” Phil Stutz.
Continue to challenge yourself physically, socially, and intellectually. By continually expanding you prevent rigid mindsets from setting in. Without challenge, the status quo sets in and while we may feel comfortable with our lives, before long we may discover that our lives will actually shrink without growth.
How will you challenge yourself in retirement? OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN PRACTICAL PLANNING
[1:10] Find purpose by doing things
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[2:45] Giving to grandkids
[10:44] Is there a list of the major retirement benchmarks?
[15:00] Who does the RRC consist of?
[17:22] Social Security claiming
COACH’S CORNER WITH KEVIN LYLES
[24:27] Try new things in retirement
[31:55] Developing new routines can help
TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT
[34:10] Do what needs to be done not what you feel like doing
Are you single in retirement? What strategies have you implemented to help you make friends? Reply to the 6-Shot Saturday newsletter with your suggestions. Why keep international equities?
Many people wonder what the point of keeping international equities in a portfolio is. It seems as though global equities fall at the time when we need them to be stable or growing, so why bother to include them in our portfolios? Traditionally, they do poorly as compared to other markets, yet including international equities is recommended as a part of having a diversified portfolio strategy.
I tend to recommend international equities, not for diversification, but for the fact that many fantastic companies aren’t based in the U.S. Think about Toyota, Mercedes, Glaxo, Novartis, and even Ikea. Rather than considering a different asset class to add to your portfolio, choose the best worldwide companies to expand your portfolio to include top-notch mid to large-cap international companies. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT
[5:23] On making friends
[8:23] The value of international diversification
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[12:05] Should I contribute to my Roth 401K or just a 401K near retirement
[16:12] Are investment advisor fees worth it?
[26:00] Why haven’t I heard back from the IRS?
[29:06] Where do my 401K profits go when inflation goes up?
[32:33] How does the 4% rule apply to dividends?
[35:22] Is 15% enough to save for retirement?
[37:20] Why is there a disclaimer about indices at the end of the show?
TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT
[40:43] Be inclusive make an effort to reach out to new people you meet
It’s easier to make friends in Salida. This smaller town has a slower pace and lacks the hustle and bustle of Fort Worth. People are more open to having conversations, so it is easier to make connections.
Just do it! Just do the things you enjoy doing. Acting is better than (over)thinking. It is easy to think about doing things rather than acting upon them, but the only thing that will move you forward is actually doing the thing you want to do.
It is harder to make decisions when your heart is involved. It is difficult to gain perspective on your own life. Oftentimes, your head goes along with what your heart wants. Listen in to hear how a recent decision backfired on me when I pulled the trigger and acted with my heart.
Home is an important base to have. As much as we enjoy our yearly trips to Salida, a month in a rental never feels like home.
Spend big on the important things and be ruthless about everything else. It is important to strike a balance in life, so make sure that your spending is aligned with what you care about.
Should we take a mortgage to build our retirement dream house? This listener is careful with money and has been mortgage and debt free for over a decade. They are looking to build their dream home their “castle in the sky” and are considering whether they should take a mortgage out to build this home. The mortgage would only take 20% of their retirement pension. Is it worth it or should they pay cash for the home? What do you think? Listen in to hear my answer. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT
[3:30] Insights from my time in Colorado
[12:38] Listener book suggestions
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[14:45] Mortgage in retirement
[22:00] How challenging is it to control where your retirement investments come from?
[32:03] On the necessity of life insurance in retirement
[38:41] On credit in retirement
[42:12] If relying on a dividend approach they need to be diverse
TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT
[45:54] Think about your affluence - are you protecting it?
Before I share the books that I’ve been reading over the past couple of months, I wanted to share with you my approach to reading so that you can better understand my system and where I’m coming from.
I try to make reading my default activity. Instead of looking at my phone or turning on the TV, if I have some extra time, I grab a book and read.
The books I read vary based on my interest at the time, but I mostly read nonfiction books about business and retirement.
I always have more than one book going on at a time. I generally have an audiobook and a few different physical books around the house.
I learned a few years back that I don’t have to finish a book and that changed my life! Sometimes I don’t read a whole book, rather, I use certain books like reference books and pick and choose what I want to get out of them.
I prefer physical books to ebooks. I also write, highlight, and underline in my books so that I can easily refer back to them.
Books I’ve been reading Now that you understand how I use books and reading in my life you can check out my summer reading list. The Lost City of Z by David Grann Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens On the Shortness of Life by Lucius Annaeus Seneca The Second Mountain by David Brooks The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky Originals by Adam Grant Red Teaming by Bryce G. Hoffman I’d love to hear any book recommendations that you have. You can simply reply to the 6-Shot Saturday newsletter to let me know what you have enjoyed reading this summer. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
[3:30] How I approach reading
[6:22] What I’ve been reading this summer
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[14:32] On making your portfolio an all ETF IRA
[20:21] How Larry is living intentionally in retirement
[22:39] Dollar cost average or a lump sum
[27:02] Using a visual aid to help elderly parents understand overspending
[29:15] Large expenses approaching retirement
TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT
[33:54] Instead of taking big actions find tiny actions that you can do consistently
The business side of retirement means getting the financial side of retirement correct. With agile retirement management, you’ll adjust your financial plan in a series of little changes so that you can have the confidence to weather the storms that life throws at you
By living a heroic retirement, you’ll create an amazing life for yourself each day by showing up and consciously choosing to become a better person. The RRC can help you live a heroic retirement
The Rock Retirement Club helps people with both sides of their retirement journey. Marrying the two together is how to really rock retirement.
The Rock Retirement Club is a safe place both online and in person to take the baby steps to set you on your way to rocking retirement. In the club, you’ll receive a world-class education from financial and retirement experts while walking this journey with other like-minded individuals who are traveling the same path.
Our next enrollment for the RRC is at the end of October, so be on the lookout if you have been considering joining the club. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT
[4:38] It can be easy to beat yourself up for being human
[9:52] How living your best self has to do with rocking retirement
LISTENER QUESTIONS
[12:12] Does Social Security count 401K withdrawals as income
[14:58] Single retirees are often struggling alone
[16:30] Should we charge for the podcast?
[17:37] Does it make sense to sell higher fee funds and reinvest in lower fee funds?
[24:00] On balancing the portfolio in today’s market
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