Keen On Retirement

Organizing expert Marie Kondo encourages folks to look at their stuff and ask, "Does this spark joy?" The Swedes have a slightly less sunny spin on decluttering: döstädning, or, "death cleaning." As popularized in both a bestselling book and a Peacock reality show, death cleaning is a way for older adults to streamline their possessions so that their heirs won't have to when they're gone. “A loved one wishes to inherit nice things from you,” writes author Margareta Magnusson. “Not all things from you.” But “death cleaning” and the KonMari Method aren't just about clearing out your closets and saving your kids some hassle. Organizing your possessions and your home can have a liberating effect on how you live in retirement and how you plan for your legacy.

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 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.

When we fall behind on our holiday shopping lists, there are usually some last-minute deals and expedited shipping options that can help us catch up. But if you fall too far behind on your annual financial planning checklist, you might miss out on some important rule changes or time-sensitive strategies that could impact your retirement next year. Based on the questions we've been fielding lately from Keen on Retirement listeners and readers, I'm glad that so many folks are making time during the holiday hustle and bustle to think about some important issues and get a jump on their 2024 financial planning. On today's show, we discuss popular questions about next year's tax brackets, a controversial video about retirement withdrawals that's been making the rounds on social media, and how seniors should be planning for long-term care.

One of the reasons my team at Keen Wealth puts so much care into personalizing our comprehensive planning process is that there's no one path to a successful retirement. Yes, we often incorporate some tried-and-true strategies and tools, like diversification, downside volatility protection, and Monte Carlo simulations. But as we discuss on today's show, even professional financial advisors have to sort through a wide array of options to help folks find their optimal plan. When you're managing your finances on your own, those options can be overwhelming and, in some cases, a little dangerous for your money. After discussing four listener questions, I'd also like to share some exciting personal news and thank my alma mater, the University of Central Missouri.

The comprehensive financial plans we design at Keen Wealth factor in every piece of available information to help folks plan for what we know is coming and prepare for the unexpected. While recent events at home and abroad are raising some new questions, we did learn some important answers last week that will help folks get ready for 2024. On today's show, we discuss listener questions about Social Security, Medicare, Ukraine and Israel, and year-end financial planning.