For most people who retire with financial resources, the hardest part of retirement is not the money. It is the identity. Decades of disciplined saving build not just a portfolio but a deeply ingrained set…
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What Actually Matters More Than Market Performance in Retirement
Retirement planning conversations tend to focus on returns. What did the market do this year? What is the portfolio up or down? How does performance compare to a benchmark? These are natural questions, and they…
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Why Mid-Year Is the Perfect Time for a Retirement Plan Checkup
Most retirement planning conversations happen in January. New year, fresh resolve, a stack of year-end statements — it feels like the right moment to review the plan. And it is a reasonable time. But January…
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Planning for a 30-Year Retirement—Without Over-Saving or Under-Living
The standard retirement planning assumption for most of the twentieth century was roughly 20 years: retire at 65, plan to 85, done. That assumption has been obsolete for some time. A healthy 65-year-old couple today…
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Healthcare Costs in Retirement: What to Expect Before and After Medicare
Ask most pre-retirees to name the expense they are least prepared for, and healthcare is nearly always the answer. It is not that people ignore it — it is that the cost structure of healthcare…
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How Social Security Fits Into a Comprehensive Retirement Income Plan
Social Security gets a lot of attention in retirement planning conversations — and it deserves it. For most Americans, it is the largest guaranteed income source in retirement, it is inflation-adjusted, and it lasts for…
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Why Claiming Social Security at 62 Is Usually a Permanent Decision
Social Security is one of the few decisions in retirement planning that is almost entirely permanent. Once you start collecting — with a narrow exception we will cover — you are locked into that benefit…
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CalPERS, CalSTRS, and Social Security: Coordinating Your Retirement Income
For many California public employees and educators, retirement income looks different from what most financial planning articles describe. Instead of relying entirely on a portfolio and Social Security, you have a defined benefit pension —…
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Why Roth Conversions Belong in Your Retirement Tax Plan
Most people associate Roth conversions with their working years—converting traditional IRA money to a Roth while still earning a paycheck. And while that can be a sound strategy, it overlooks something important: for many retirees,…
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Which Retirement Accounts Should You Spend From First?
Most retirees have their savings spread across several different types of accounts: a taxable brokerage account, one or more traditional IRAs or 401(k)s, and perhaps a Roth IRA. When it comes time to generate income,…
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