Category: Podcast

Ep. 28 – The top estate planning concern leading DIY investors to hire a fiduciary financial advisor, and what you can learn from it

Opposites attract, and this bleeds into the world of personal finance. There is a reason why the #1 cause for marital issues is related to personal finances. Well, when planning for retirement, this is no different. There’s oftentimes a “CFO” of the household, and a “Non-CFO.” It varies, depending on the couple, how much the “Non-CFO” is involved and/or interested in the personal finances. But either way, the concern is if the “Non-CFO” spouse had to take over the “CFO” role. As we get older, we realize we aren’t Superman or Superwoman. Then the question becomes, how do you equip the “Non-CFO” to minimize financial stress if and when they have to take over the “CFO” role? We’ll unpack all of this and more! I hope you find this episode to be helpful! -Kevin

7 reasons to own permanent life insurance in retirement

We’ve all heard the sales pitches! “Permanent life insurance solves all of your problems!”

For those of you who have followed me for a period of time know I don’t believe this to be true. But at the same time, there is a large % of the financial advisor (and talking heads) population that blanketly tells people, “Don’t ever buy permanent life insurance.”

To me, this is a breach of fiduciary duty. Just because we all have our biases doesn’t mean we should PUSH those biases on someone’s personal financial situation. As my friend Cody Garrett likes to say, “Keep Finance Personal.”

Here is a link to the article I referenced in the show about “How to divide assets in a blended family.”

Here’s a link to an episode from Andy Panko’s podcast;

Episode 77 – “Understanding cash value life insurance and how it’s sold, with Kevin Lao.”

This could be a nice compliment to what we discussed today!

I hope you enjoy it.

Make sure to give the show a follow and leave us a review so we can reach more people and make a bigger impact!

Kevin

 

 
 
 
 

Ep. 25 – The #1 “Value Add” a Comprehensive Financial Planner Provides for Retirees

I hope you enjoy this one! I am not going to give it away in the description but here are the most common responses I hear from people (until they listen to this episode of course): – Tax planning – Peace of mind – Investment management – Income distribution planning – Estate planning All good answers, but all of them are wrong! Here are a few links I referenced during this episode, check them out below:

WSJ Article – Retirement Regrets 

Investment News – Why people are reluctant to hire an advisor 

Vanguard’s Advice Alpha 

Episode 21 – Purpose in Retirement

 
 
 
 

Ep. 24 – Self Funding Long-term Care Expenses

Most people go into retirement without Long-term Care Insurance. Meaning, they plan to “self-fund” Long-term Care expenses. But really, what ends up happening is that a family member, or family members, will end up providing the care.

In fact, 70% of care provided is done by unpaid caregivers (aka family members).

This goes against what most people’s primary goal is in retirement; “Never to be a burden on their loved ones.”

The problem is the “self-funding” plan wasn’t communicated properly to their loved ones. Or, there was no “self-funding” plan to begin with.

In this episode, we’ll dive into the different assets you could tap into during retirement to “self-fund” long-term care costs, and tips and tricks on how to implement your plan while maintaining your dignity (at home!).

Here are a few links referenced in the show:

Genworth Cost of Care

Publication 502 (IRS)– Qualified Medical Expenses

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Ep. 23 – Using Hybrid Long-term Care to Fund Extended Care Costs in Retirement

This is part 2 of 3 in our series, “How to pay for Long-term care costs in retirement.”

Rodney Mogen and Peter Ciravalo from BC Brokerage are my guests again today and they bring a ton of knowledge on this topic! There is a reason Hybrid Long-term Care policies make up the majority of insurance products sold today. However, because there are so many different types of products and how they fit into a client’s situation, oftentimes retirees and pre-retirees can feel overwhelmed with where to start.

I hope you enjoy this episode and make sure to hit “FOLLOW” so you don’t miss out on part 3, “How to self-fund extended care costs in retirement.”

Here is how to get in touch with BC Brokerage!

BC Brokerage Website

Only Fee Only Podcast

Ep. 22: Paying for Extended Care with Traditional Long-term Care Insurance

One commonly shared concern for all retirees and pre-retirees I’ve spoken to over the years: “Never be a burden on your loved ones.”

As we all go through the aging process, the potential need for extended care is more and more at the forefront.

However, many pre-retirees and retirees fail to prepare for this because financial advisors focus more on selling products instead of real planning.

In episode 17, Harley Gordon joined us to discuss the consequences of not planning for extended care.

In this 3 part series (episodes 22-24), we will talk about the three ways to pay for extended care expenses:

Part 1 – Traditional Long-term Care Insurance

Part 2 – Hybrid Long-term Care Insurance

Part 3 – Self-funding extended care costs

In parts 1 and 2, I had the pleasure of speaking with Peter Ciravalo and Rodney Mogen from BC Brokerage. Peter and Rodney have a wealth of product knowledge but with a financial planning mindset.

I hope you enjoy this episode’s 3-part series.

Here are a few links we referenced in the show.

Genworth Cost of Care

BC Brokerage Website

Peter’s LinkedIn

Rodney’s LinkedIn

Purpose in Retirement, Purpose of this Podcast

The Wall Street Journal just came out with an article called “How to Retire Better, From Retirees Who Learned the Hard Way.”

What’s interesting is that 2 of the 3 suggestions had NOTHING to do with money or finances! It was all about purpose and relationships. So, this podcast is dedicated to talking about this NON-financial topic, “Purpose in Retirement.”

Also, many of you are new listeners whom of course I’ve never met before! Welcome! As a result, I thought I would share my personal story on WHY I initially launched this podcast in 2021, and how that purpose has evolved over time.

I hope you enjoy this show!

I’m including a couple of links below:

WSJ article 👈 Purposeful Retirement (book by Hyrum Smith) 👈

Ep. 20 – How to Reduce Taxes on Your Social Security Income

Did you know your Social Security benefits in retirement could be 100% tax-free? 

Perhaps you didn’t even know Social Security would be taxable as many of you paid into the system for decades!

Today we will unpack how Social Security retirement benefits are taxed, and most importantly how to reduce taxes on those benefits in retirement.


A few notes for the listeners:

Provisional Income / Social Security Tax Rates for 2023

Individual

  • Not Taxable: Less than $25k
  • Up to 50% Taxable: $25k-$34k
  • Up to 85% Taxable: Over $34k

 Married Filing Jointly

  • Not Taxable: Less than $32k
  • Up to 50% Taxable $32k-$44k
  • Up to 85% Taxable: More than $44k

A helpful Kitces.com article

https://www.kitces.com/blog/the-taxation-of-social-security-benefits-as-a-marginal-tax-rate-increase/

Ep. 19 – Tax Loss Harvesting to Create Tax Free Retirement Income

Sometimes “hanging tight” isn’t the best solution during times of volatility. We’ve had two bear markets since the Great Recession of 2008. COVID-19 was the first, and the inflation that ensued thereafter in 2021-2022 led to the second. Tax Loss Harvesting involves selling investments when they are down in value (in a taxable account) to create a realized loss for tax purposes. You can then use these losses in current or future years (retirement) to reduce taxes!

These opportunities don’t come every year, so it’s important to take advantage while you (still) can!

I hope you enjoy this episode!