Keen On Retirement

According to recent data, 62 has become the new 65. This generation of healthier, more active, more connected seniors wants to start enjoying their Golden Years as soon as possible. But there's one reason why age 65 is still a major marker on a retirement timeline: Medicare eligibility. Early retirement can also trigger some critical decisions about the best time to start claiming Social Security benefits. Let's look at five items on Keen Wealth's early retirement checklist that we use to help seniors bridge the gap to Medicare and Social Security.

Folks reach out to Keen Wealth for all sorts of reasons, at all different points in their lives. We talk to young couples just starting out who want to put themselves on a path towards financial security. New retirees want to feel secure about transitioning away from work. Older seniors come to us looking to secure their legacies and make life a little easier for the next generation. And, sometimes, a person realizes they've been receiving bad financial advice, and they're hoping my team can help them clean up the mess. On today's show, we discuss some warning signs that the person managing your money might not be putting your best interests first, as well as how Keen Wealth's comprehensive process can restore your confidence in your financial planning.

"Jim" (66) and "Karen" (64) both retired in the last six months. Jim has an IRA with $900,000, and Karen has a Roth IRA with $300,000. They inherited a brokerage account with $600,000 and a cost basis of $500,000. They have $100,000 in an emergency cash fund. Jim is receiving his Social Security benefits of $2,600 per month. He also has a pension of $1,800 per month. Karen is planning to start receiving her Social Security benefits at 67, for $1,900 per month. Their total net worth is $2.7 million. And now, just months into their retirement, Jim and Karen are wondering if they retired too soon. Do they need to jump back into the workforce to protect their financial plan against current market volatility? On today's show, we analyze "Jim and Karen's" situation in the context of our broader economic moment and comprehensive planning principles. I hope this case study will help anyone who's close to retirement gain some perspective about whether market movements should affect your short-term or long-term financial goals.

If you receive most of your financial advice from cable news and social media, you might feel like we're perpetually on the brink of a recession. The prospect of a major downturn can feel especially unsettling for those whose short-term financial goals include retirement. Even aspiring retirees who do understand the inevitable ups and downs of investing might worry that now isn't "the right time" to retire. One of the benefits of the Keen Wealth Advantage is that we don't just react to external economic events, we proactively plan for a wide variety of contingencies -- including recessions. And while retiring during a downturn might sound like bad timing, with proper planning it's possible to retire on your terms, and on your timeline, no matter what's happening on Wall Street. In some cases, following your retirement plan right through market volatility can even be advantageous.

With about a month until Tax Day on Tuesday, April 15th, you should, ideally, have all your financial documents collected. It might be a good idea to check in one last time with your financial advisor before you send your 2024 data to your CPA or start plugging away on your favorite tax software. But as you put a bow on last year, it's important to keep an eye on the future, especially for retirees. Cracking open your nest egg and sequencing how and when you use your assets and benefits is a complex process. Decisions you make today can affect your lifetime tax liability, the lifestyle you can enjoy during your Golden Years, and your legacy planning. On today's show, we use this combination of short-term and long-term perspective to tackle some listener tax questions and explain how the Keen Wealth Advantage can help you feel more confident about how taxes fit into your comprehensive planning.

The words “fun” and “taxes” probably don’t go together in your mind. But, as I mention on today’s episode, they do at Keen Wealth! Helping folks be good stewards of their money so that they can enjoy life to the fullest is one of the most rewarding parts of being a financial advisor. And as Tax Day approaches, I love seeing my team in action, working through our checklist-driven process to make sure folks aren’t overlooking any details or making any mistakes that might not be fixable. Whether you’re working with professionals or preparing your taxes solo, make sure these four common filing errors are on your radar.