Keen On Retirement

I couldn't be prouder to have my name above the door at Keen Wealth Advisors. If you've read my book, you know that I have a very personal connection to financial planning, and it's been my lifelong mission to help folks avoid the kinds of hardships that my father and I went through. Every day, Keen Wealth carries out that mission in so many different ways: educational events, informative blog posts and podcasts, and a comprehensive planning process that has secured retirement for hundreds of hardworking families over the years. But Keen Wealth is so much bigger than Bill Keen! The folks we have the privilege of serving can count on the support of a whole team of professionals who are passionate about every aspect of every financial plan we manage. On today's show, I talk with my co-host, Matt Wilson, the President and Chief Investment Officer at Keen Wealth, about the value of having a financial team with a disciplined process that understands your unique goals and works together to help you achieve them.

Most soon-to-be retirees have a broad understanding of the differences between living off their assets and living off a monthly paycheck. But making that switch and adjusting to new spending habits can be more complicated than you might think, especially if you aren't prepared for the rules around withdrawing from your retirement accounts and how your relationship to your money might change. In his most recent webinar, Matt Wilson, CFP® Chief Investment Officer and President at Keen Wealth explained the importance of making a plan for your retirement spending before you actually retire. Today's episode touches on some of the topics that Matt's webinar covered in depth, as well as important follow-up questions we received about budgeting, required minimum distributions, and managing the psychological and emotional challenges of retirement.

If you go back and skim the 200-plus episodes we've recorded of Keen on Retirement, you'll notice that every year or so, we devote an episode to the latest financial frauds and scams that are making the rounds. Especially as we head into tax season, it's important that folks remember the IRS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Social Security Administration are never, ever going to call you and ask for your banking info. We also regularly caution folks against clicking on suspicious emails or text message links, or making investments that seem too good to be true with the Bernie Madoffs of the world. On today's show, we talk about another type of financial "fraud" that's perfectly legal but potentially just as dangerous to your financial security: taking bad advice from unaccredited financial commentators and celebrities trying to further their own best interests, not yours.

We spend a lot of time on Keen on Retirement discussing how retirement is changing, from new laws and rules to generational shifts in how seniors work and live. But one constant in the retirement planning process is the importance of the age of 65. Many folks still feel like turning 65 means you've hit "retirement age," even though the government's definition is a bit different. And even if you continue to work well into your 70s, at age 65 there are some important decisions that should be coordinated as your vision for your Golden Years comes into focus. On today's show, we discuss why the age of 65 will be an especially important transition point for the next couple of years. We also answer listener questions about charitable contributions and required minimum distributions that might factor into your tax prep this spring.

My team at Keen on Retirement has been hard at work analyzing the question that's top-of-mind for many of our listeners. And after crunching the numbers ... Yes, it looks like Taylor Swift will be able to attend the Super Bowl! She's scheduled to perform in Tokyo the night before our Chiefs take on the 49ers, but thanks to a 17-hour time difference -- and, presumably, a private jet -- we do expect to see Taylor in Las Vegas. All kidding aside, I'm especially excited for this round of listener questions. A couple of folks who have been with Keen Wealth for many

My team at Keen Wealth has seen retirement play out just about any way you can imagine. We've celebrated with folks as they've clocked out for the last time. We've seen photos of dream vacations, new homes, and new grandbabies. And we've used our comprehensive planning process to help folks adjust to some major challenges, recalibrate the best path forward, and keep progressing toward long-term goals. Unfortunately, we've also seen folks fall short of their retirement goals, often because they tried to "go it alone" at the start of their retirement transitions. If 2024 is going to be the year that you finally retire, talk to your loved ones and your advisor about how you can steer clear of these seven preventable retirement errors and set up your Golden Years for success.