Keen On Retirement™

Are you ready to retire? Great! Why? Because you're turning 65 this year? Or 70? Or 75? Because you've hit your "retirement number" and you feel good about your nest egg? Because you like how the markets are performing? Because you finally paid off your mortgage? All these factors can contribute to a positive retirement transition. But none of them should "trigger" a rush into retirement either. Even if you're retiring in the right time frame, you could move too quickly and make some of these common mistakes that planning ahead with an advisor could help you avoid.

Well ... we were wrong. During our previous discussion about The One Big Beautiful Bill, we predicted that the final law would probably pass with a different name. But, instead of the acronyms we're used to seeing lately, like the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement), President Trump and Congress stuck with the original title. For the most part, the final bill also maintains the big picture tax policy objectives that President Trump has been discussing since the start of his second term. On today's show, we focus on the portions of the One Big Beautiful Bill that could have the biggest impact on retirement planning.

What's the biggest threat to the long-term security of your retirement plan? Many seniors would answer, "The economy," or "The markets." And that makes sense. No matter how much you try to control your screen time, financial news will always make a big impression on how you feel about your money. But as nerve-wracking as market fluctuations can be in the moment, in the long run, they continue trending upwards and generating positive returns for most investors. That's why a truly comprehensive plan should be prepared to manage not just market fluctuations, but more personal and less obvious threats that can erode a senior's wealth over the course of a 30-year retirement. The next time you meet with your advisor, discuss how your plan protects you and your money against these five threats:

At Keen Wealth, we don't just want seniors to make it to retirement -- we want them to set themselves up to enjoy it! And achieving that all-important goal takes more than just hitting a "number" or buying the perfect beachfront condo. According to a recent study by Fidelity, 72% of retirees say that their retirement is "going as planned." These seven practical, actionable steps will help you join their ranks when you're ready.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, there were 580,887 pending Social Security claims in March 2025. That's an increase of more than 80,000 from a year ago. Many of those claimants are seniors who have not yet reached their full retirement age. I'd love to believe that the majority of these folks are taking Social Security early as part of a carefully considered plan to achieve a specific goal, such as early retirement. But, unfortunately, fear and short-sightedness often play far too big a role in the Social Security decision, especially for seniors who aren't working with an advisor. On today's show, we clear up some of the misconceptions around Social Security and explain how Keen Wealth incorporates this important benefit into our comprehensive planning process.

For the eighth year in a row, the happiest country in the world is ... Finland! An annual collaboration between Gallup polling, the University of Oxford, and the United Nations, the 2025 World Happiness Report asked respondents from more than 130 countries to rate their lives on a scale from zero (the worst) to 10 (the best). Researchers also factored in questions about kindness and generosity, as well as how people perceive the benevolence of their neighbors. Not only did Finland claim the top spot, but fellow Nordic countries Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands rounded out the top five. And the United States? We actually dropped from 23 last year down to 24, due in part to younger people feeling more pessimistic about the future. So, where would you rate yourself on that scale? Is there anything we can do to experience more happiness in our lives? And how does money fit into this equation? Let's look at the three main conclusions that the WHR drew from its data and think about how we can apply those lessons to comprehensive financial planning.