Keen On Retirement

“To all the clients I’ve worked with over the years, thank you for demonstrating that through hard work, character, and responsibility, it is possible to start from nothing and build a fulfilling retirement for you and your families."

Whether you’re 30 or 60 years old, involving a financial advisor in your retirement planning is a smart move. But not all financial advisors are created equal. Some advisors are more interested in making money or meeting employer metrics. It’s important you know how to steer clear of these folks and find an advisor who truly has your best interests in mind.

When you’re working full time and raising kids, it’s hard not to get caught up in the minutiae that dominates your daily life. Just getting from Monday to Friday can feel like one frantic slog through whatever’s next on the agenda: getting the kids to school, getting yourself to work, meetings, project deadlines, picking the kids up, soccer practice, dance rehearsal, homework, and a few meals squeezed in wherever they fit.

Generally, on Keen on Retirement, we don’t like to discuss proposals that are floating around in Washington. There’s so much politicized chatter in our newsfeeds every day that we prefer to wait until the facts get separated from the fiction, all the dust settles, and a new law is actually put into effect. But we’re making an exception on today’s episode for the SECURE Act of 2019, which passed the House back in May and is currently kicking around in the Senate. The discussion surrounding the House version of the bill gives us some important insights on what the government is thinking about your nest egg and the future of retirement planning.

There’s more to crafting a sensible estate plan than just deciding what assets you want to leave to your loved ones. That’s a big part of the process, of course. But your estate plan might also include establishing a trust that safeguards your assets for beneficiaries. You might set up a charitable fund that benefits a favorite cause. You’ll need to file all your important documents in one easy-to-find spot. You’ll need to make decisions about how you want to be cared for at the end of your life. And you’ll need to coordinate with attorneys and tax experts.

I talk a lot in my blogs and podcasts about understanding how to separate the news from the noise. In this Market Update Webinar, Matt Wilson, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Keen Wealth Advisors, takes a look back at what happened in the second quarter of 2019 in the markets and in the economy.