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Author: Kevin Lao

Ep. 70: Celebrating 4 Years of Independence

Our retirement planning firm, Imagine Financial Security, turned 4 in February and I have been wanting to do a podcast celebration for this one! 

To celebrate, I thought I would do an episode about some of my initial experiences of going independent as a financial advisor.

  • I’ll touch on 4 things I miss about working for a larger financial institution.
  • Then, I will touch on 4 of the things I LOVE about being an independent financial advisor.

I hope you guys enjoy it.

Happy 4th Anniversary to IFS!

And, congratulations to Roberto Fortuna on his official promotion!

~ Kevin

⁠⁠⁠Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 69: 14 Ways to Protect Your Retirement from a Bear Market

No, I’m not saying a Bear Market is certain.  Nobody has a crystal ball.  However, the markets are volatile right now, and it’s a great reminder that the market doesn’t operate on a straight line upwards.  It has bumps along the road.  And that is a GOOD thing!  If there was no risk, there would be no opportunity for gains!

However, it’s important to begin preparing before you enter a bear market, or worse, a recession.  

In this episode, I’ll discuss 14 Retirement Planning moves to help you prepare for the NEXT bear market.  Because it’s not a function of “if,” but “when.”  

As always, everyone’s situation is unique, so please consult with your own advisors before making any changes!  This is for educational purposes only.

I hope you find it helpful.

-Kevin

Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 68: 9 Reasons to Claim Social Security Early

The default assumption for many online social security calculators, financial planning tools and expert advice tells you to DELAY Social Security as long as possible!  After all, that does yield the highest monthly benefit, assuming you wait until age 70.

Well, that may not be the best strategy for you!  

In this episode, I am going to break down 9 reasons why you may want to claim Social Security early!   

As always, everyone’s situation is unique, so please consult with your own advisors before making any changes!  This is for educational purposes only.

I hope you find it helpful.

-Kevin

Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 67: Retire at 62/61 with $1million IRA, Optimize Social Security, Managing IRA Withdrawals, Optimize Taxes

Today, we will be looking at a client example of a 62/61 year old couple with $1mm inside of a Traditional IRA, about $50k in cash savings, and a $450k home that is paid off.  

In this episode, we’re going to dive into the timing of their Social Security income, IRA distribution strategy, Roth Conversions, as well as their investment strategy.  We’ll also discuss some of the key risks they’ll face throughout retirement.  

I hope you enjoy this 4th edition of the “Whiteboard Retirement Plan.”

-Kevin

⁠⁠⁠⁠Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 66: 7 Reasons Not To Convert Your IRA to Roth

One of the top concerns for the clients we serve is related to taxes in retirement.  They’ve worked hard to get to this point where they could even think about retiring, but then realize that the more they pay in taxes, the less money in their pocket to enjoy life and ultimately leave to their kids or beneficiaries.  
After all, the federal government has shown that they have been a pretty poor money manager, leading us to a $36T deficit and counting.

Naturally, deciding on whether or not to convert funds from a tax deferred IRA or 401k to a ROTH IRA is a big deal.  

In this episode, we’ll talk about 7 reasons you may want to delay, reduce, or even avoid Roth conversions altogether.  

As always, everyone’s situation is unique, so please consult with your own tax professionals before making any changes!  This is for educational purposes only.

I hope you find it helpful.
~ Kevin

Resources Mentioned:

Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 65: Tax Preparation is Not Tax Planning (w/ Roberto Fortuna)

Most people start to think about taxes right about now around the tax filing deadline.

They gather a bunch of documents, send them to their tax preparer, and mistakenly believe their tax preparer is going to come up with this MAGIC way to save a bunch of money on taxes.

Then they get ticked off because there is not much you can do in April to lower your tax bill.  

Finally, they get frustrated by the complexity of the tax code and call it a day…until next year, rinse and repeat.

So what they are failing to comprehend is that “TAX PREPARATION” is NOT “TAX PLANNING!”  

Tax Planning is ongoing, it doesn’t start and stop at the tax filing deadline.  And it’s about reducing your LIFETIME tax bill, not simply looking for a maximum tax refund year to year.  

 In this episode, we are going to talk about this concept of “Tax Planning” and what can you, PFR Nation, do to reframe your way of thinking about your taxes in your retirement journey.  

Then, we’re going to talk through some action items you still can take advantage of before tax time, as well as a few common misconceptions about our tax code.

And finally, we are going to talk about TAX PLANNING strategies for YOU, PFR Nation!

But first, I had to go on a brief rant about what is rattling the markets right now.  I’ll give you a hint: it has to do with DOGE.

Thanks for listening!
Kevin

⁠⁠⁠⁠Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire


Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 64: Warren Buffett Says To Do ‘This’ With Your Will

“Legacy is not about leaving something for people, it’s about leaving something behind IN people.”

— Peter Strople

Many retirees create estate plans with their attorneys.  They get a big binder with their documents, hopefully they update their beneficiaries,
retitle their assets to their trust, and then they throw that big binder in a safe and “tell their kids where it is.”

But they ignore the fact that some day those documents will be read by their beneficiaries, or, perhaps an ‘ex-beneficiary.’  

Warren Buffet has a different take on estate planning that we will dive into today.  

So, we’re going to dive into Warren Buffett’s annual ‘Thanksgiving Letter.’

Then, I’ll also discuss 3 potential reasons this might be hard for you.

And as a result, I’ll give you 5 tips to make it easier to at least get the ball rolling.

I hope you all find this episode helpful.  Make sure to follow along and share this with a friend/family member who would also find it useful.  

-Kevin

Resources Mentioned:

  • Warren Buffet advised on reviewing your will with adult children

Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 63: Retirees – Should You Give Yourself a Raise?

WELCOME to the OFFICIAL episode 63!  I was jumping ahead of myself last week when I thought I was recording 63, but in fact that was episode 62.

Las week we talked about cash flow and budgeting, and how that sets the framework for one of the core assumptions for your retirement planning.

Today, we are going to dive into how your cash flow needs impacts your rate of withdrawal,  and ultimately how you should be giving yourself “raises” in retirement.

We’ll walk through the revolutionary study by Bill Bengen and his 4% rule.  We’ll also walk through some of the downsides of the 4% rule, and ultimately how this dovetailed into Guyton and Klinger’s “Guardrail” study.  

We’ll walk through the 4 different “Decision Rules” from the Guardrail study which creates the framework of what a safe rate of withdrawal is for your retirement and ultimately when you should give yourself a raise from your investment portfolio.  

I’ll also touch on a couple of news stories that are relevant related to:

  1. DeepSeek and the selloff of Nvidia last week.
  2. Deferred Resignation Program (Federal Government’s buyout program) and how this impacts Federal employees.

I hope you enjoy this episode!  

If you are interested in working with us on your retirement income plan, start by filling out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire linked below.  And make sure to check out our YouTube channel so you can follow along with our Whiteboard Fireside Chats and fun retirement meme videos 😊.

Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 62: ‘Save More Money’ = Top New Year’s Resolution for 2025

Hello PFR Nation,

Welcome to the official kickstart of our show going weekly!  Yes, we switched the day of the week to Tuesday.  I will also be continuing the weekly “Fireside Chats” on YouTube, and those will be released weekly on Thursdays.  

For this episode, I wanted to chat with you all about a core financial planning topic that I haven’t discussed enough. BUDGETING.

For some of you, that may feel like a 4-letter-word.  For others, it’s music to your ears.  

I’ll highlight why tracking cash flow and having a budget will be the foundation to designing your retirement projections.

I’ll also explain 4 popular budgeting frameworks to get you started.

And finally, I’ll discuss a few things to be aware of and think through as you create your budget for retirement.  

I hope you find this one helpful!  And as always, please be sure to follow our show and give us that 5-star review if you find value in our content.  Thank you!

-Kevin

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Connect with me here:

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

Ep. 61: Benefits of ‘Working’ in Retirement (w/ Roberto Fortuna)

PFR Nation,

I am very excited to have one of our very own, Roberto Fortuna, on to the show this week!  We are going to discuss the benefits of ‘Working’ in retirement.  But, when we say ‘Working’ we just mean having purpose in retirement.  Whether that is part time work, volunteering, starting a consulting business, or just being Grammy and Grandpa!  Whatever it is that is going to give you purpose in retirement, you should do more of!  

For those of you who don’t know, Roberto joined my financial planning firm last May.  Yes, I do this for a living and I’m not a ‘professional podcaster!  Roberto is a big part of our financial planning process, but he’s also a retired firefighter!  Yes, he’s the youngest looking retiree in America, I know.
Anyhow, I thought he could bring a unique perspective to this topic, plus I always enjoy my chats with Roberto and thought you would enjoy his cool,
calm and collected perspective on retirement, his journey to find purpose, taxes, and of course a fun story about how we joined forces.  

I hope you all find value in this one.  If you do, make sure to give our show a follow and leave that 5-star review.  It helps “pump the algorithm” in our
favor so we can reach and impact more people.  

Also, make sure to check out our YouTube channel as we post the video form of our podcast in addition to weekly videos on retirement related topics.
We’ll link it in the notes below.  We’ll be seeing you every week on the PFR Podcast very soon!  😊 

-Kevin 

Resources mentioned:

  • Questions for a Purposeful and Successful Retirement

Connect with me here:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire

Or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit my website

[email protected]
(904) 323-2069

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