#151 – Retirement planning chat with a "real" person, Rob Berger

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: A short explanation of bonds and "the bond market" ( 2:48 )Are actively managed bond funds better than passive bond funds ( 21:53 )What are the pros and cons of making all of the year's estimated tax payments in the first quarter ( 30:30 )Why insurers don't offer a long term care product with a 2-3 years elimination period or deductible to cover just LTC needs beyond a few years ( 34:07 )His thoughts on getting retirement income from dividends, Treasury interest and municipal bond interest ( 37:20 )Are there any advisors who specialize in working with couples where only one couple is involved in the household finances ( 42:47 )Are there any disadvantages to converting ALL pre-tax account balances to Roth ( 46:20 )Is disability income considered "earned income" and eligible to make IRA or Roth IRA contributions ( 55:30 )To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Andy chats with three different "real" people to discuss how they handled the non-financial/emotional transition from working to retirement, and what they do now to provide a sense of fulfillment, meaning and purpose and in retirementLinks in this episode:Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]

Andy and Larry Pershing from Optimum Retirement Planning share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about: The pending "Big Beautiful Bill" tax bill that recently was approved by the House; what's in it, what's not in it, practical planning considerations around it, etc. ( 8:12 )Potential concerns about US debt US government bond defaults ( 34:50 )Talking to kids and heirs about your estate planning and wishes for after you're gone ( 50:02 )Estimated tax payments for people who recently retire ( 59:40 )Sources and tools to consider using to do tax return and estimated tax estimates ( 1:02:27 )The level of the S&P 500's concentration to the top few companies and the technology sector ( 1:06:04 )Whether 1.75% of assets is a reasonable fee for a financial advisor to charge ( 1:19:07 )What to know and consider when keeping money behind in a 401(k) vs rolling it over to an IRA ( 1:26:01 )Links in this episode:Larry's firm - Optimum Retirement PlanningLarry's previous appearance on the Retirement Planning Education Podcast - #081 – Retirement planner chat, with Larry Pershing from Optimum Retirement PlanningTax Foundation's summary of the Big Beautiful BillStephanie Kelton's book - The Deficit MythThe DinkyTown 1040 estimatorThe IRS Tax Withholding EstimatorTenon Financial's August 2024 newsletter about - Employer plan-to-IRA rollover pros and consTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Andy discusses what financial firms do for their fee, using his own firm, Tenon Financial, as an exampleLinks in this episode:Tenon Financial's website - https://tenonfinancial.com/Tenon Financial's June 2025 newsletter - hereAndy's article explaining how it's impossible to quantify the value of advisory services in - How Much Are Your Services Worth?Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]

In this special guest host episode, Mike Powers and Kirsten Ashbaugh from Manuka Financial talk cybersecurity best practices.Links in this episode:Manuka Financial's website - https://www.manukafinancial.com/Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: Why more fund managers don't offer mutual fund-to-ETF conversions ( 5:02 )How my firm helps clients prepare for severe market declines, and how we communicate bad markets to them ( 8:48 )Who's the voice of the intro and outro to this podcast ( 16:06 )For spouses claiming Social Security, what's a good claiming strategy when one spouse doesn't have enough work history to get their own benefit and can only get spousal benefits ( 17:19 )Could a person continue to fund a 529 for their children and later transfer the beneficiary to eventual grandchildren ( 21:37 )What constitutes a gift of digital assets; is it the transfer of the key to the wallet? ( 24:01 )What date/time is used for the date of death valuation of assets, like crypto, that trade 24/7 ( 25:52 )How will the sale of a vacation property impact IRMAA ( 26:55 )How will the sale of a vacation property impact Roth conversion analysis and trying to fill up a certain tax bracket ( 28:46 )Why were the recent 3 and 5-year returns of total bond market funds so poor ( 32:48 )Making estimated payments or withholdings to cover the tax obligations from a Roth conversion done late in the year ( 41:39 )Thoughts on a listener's proposed basic retirement plan, investment allocation and bucketing strategy ( 47:20 )The Smart Money, Fresh Minds podcast - hereMy YouTube video on Estimated Taxes, Tax Withholdings and Underpayment Penalties - hereTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Andy chats with real people (not advisors) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Rob Berger, the creator of the Rob Berger YouTube channel, the founder of the former DoughRoller website, published author and more!. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as when he started getting serious about retirement planning and a variety of financial topics such as Social Security, investing, how he plans to address any potential long term care scenarios and more!Links in this episode:Rob's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@rob_bergerRob's website - https://robberger.com/Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]

Andy and Brian Tegtmeyer share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about: Should someone delay their planned retirement if the markets are bad ( 6:50 )Should someone cancel or delay taking a big trip in retirement if the markets are bad ( 13:48 )Should someone start Social Security earlier than they were otherwise planning to since there appears to be increased uncertainty about the future strength of the system ( 18:22 )Do people need to make estimated tax payments in retirement ( 26:44 )If someone has never worked with an advisor and has always DIY'd their own planning, should they continue to DIY it in retirement ( 32:49 )Are inheritances taxable, and what should people do with them ( 41:58 )Tax smart ways to do charitable giving in retirement ( 54:01 )Do gift givers or receivers of gifts have to pay tax on gifts ( 57:49 )Links in this episode:Brian's firm - Truly Prosper Financial PlanningSara Grillo's list of flat fee advisors - hereAdvisors in the Advice Only Network - hereTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Andy provides some tips and best practices to help keep your ID and financial information secure. Specifically:Check your credit report regularlyFreeze your creditGet a tax return filing PIN from the IRSUse strong and unique passwords for all websites and online accountsUse a password managerUse two-factor (if not multi-factor) authentication wherever possibleUse a VPN (Virtual Private Network) whenever on public Wi-FiUse separate e-mails for different types of accountsPut a "Self-Lock" on your SSN within the E-Verify systemLock your SIM card with your cellular providerBe cognizant of phishing and vishing scamsBe mindful of protection physical information and itemsLinks in this episode:Transunion credit freeze - hereExperian credit freeze - hereEquifax credit freeze - herewww.MyFICO.comwww.CheckFreeScore.comIRS PIN info - hereE-Verify Self-Lock info - hereFTC article about how to spot phishing - hereAARP article about how to spot vishing - hereTo send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: Buffer ETFs and whether they can be used as replacements for CDs in building a ladder for upcoming years' expenses ( 4:29 )His thoughts on direct indexing and whether it's worth doing to try to make non-qualified accounts for tax-efficient ( 14:11 )Whether or not it's practical to implement a bucketing strategy ( 23:38 )Considerations to put into a will when there is a beneficiary who may be contentious or difficult to deal with ( 34:18 )Estate size exemptions and considerations for spouses splitting up accounts ( 42:55 )Annualizing income on Form 2210 when making estimated payments and income earned or recognized is lumpy or uneven throughout the year ( 48:37 )The "Kiddie Tax" and when it applies ( 54:27 )To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected] company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com