Keen On Retirement

It's worth celebrating just about any time our leaders on both sides of the political aisle can meet in the middle. But seniors in Kansas City, MO should all be smiling now that, starting in 2024, they’ll get to enjoy a little bit more of their Social Security benefits. Thanks to a broadly bipartisan vote, Missouri is set to become the 39th state to make Social Security payments exempt from state taxes. Of course, that also means many folks in our audience will have to factor in a new variable when they're deciding when to take Social Security. Luckily, Matt Wilson, Keen Wealth's Chief Investment Officer and President, recently hosted a comprehensive webinar on Maximizing Social Security Benefits that you can rewatch on our website. Today, we're going to discuss some follow-up questions Matt received from attendees.

Folks who attended our 2023 Q3 Market Outlook Webinar heard a much more positive message about the economy than the one you might be hearing on social media and cable news. Matt Wilson, Chief Investment Officer and President at Keen Wealth, always follows the latest data towards a no-nonsense picture of where we are and where we could be heading. On today’s show, we discuss why we’re cautiously optimistic about the rest of the year and answer some follow-up questions from webinar attendees.

At its meeting on June 14th, the Federal Reserve did something that it hasn't done in 15 months: it decided not to raise interest rates. This slight pause in the Fed's battle against inflation gives us an opportunity to discuss the state of our economy and the markets at the midway point of 2023. On today's show, we take stock of the latest market data, put current inflation and interest rates in their proper context, and consider the United States' place in the global economy.

Earlier this month, I attended The Barron’s Advisor Independent Summit in Dallas with Keen Wealth's Chief Investment Officer and President, Matt Wilson. It's a real privilege to be invited to this annual conference where we can talk to and learn from some of the top minds in finance. While the program had been scheduled well in advance, the recent bank collapses in California and New York became one of the dominant topics. Matt and I recorded today's show live at the Summit so that we could share some of the key insights we heard from colleagues and other financial pros about the state of our banking system and the broader economic outlook for the year ahead. We also scale these issues down so that you can have a better understanding of how the big picture could affect your personal financial plan.

Last week, concerned customers pulled their deposits from Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Capital in California after both banks reported major losses on their balance sheets. This triggered another bank run at Signature Bank in New York. All three banks were heavily exposed to the tech sector, which has struggled this year, in part, because higher interest rates make it tougher for these companies to borrow cash and pursue long-term growth strategies.

The "informal" definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Based on that one metric, the U.S. slipped into a recession in the summer of 2022. So why is there still so much debate on this topic?