Keen On Retirement™

A comprehensive retirement plan usually includes a lot of important documents. Charts and graphs. Monte Carlo simulations. Annual rate of return projections. Lifetime tax liability. Legacy plans. But a comprehensive retirement plan isn't just documents. It's a dynamic framework for making the best possible decisions for you, your family, your money, and your life for decades to come. And as important as the numbers printed in black and white are to that framework, I believe that the true strength of a retirement plan is measured by its durability and by the confidence it gives seniors to live their best lives during their Golden Years.

Are you feeling a little more anxious than usual about your money? Given everything that's happening in the world right now, that's perfectly understandable. What concerns me is the rising number of Americans who say that their money worries are nudging them towards high-risk speculation in crypto, meme stocks, and prediction markets. And what's even more concerning is that folks aren't taking massive money risks just because they want to get rich quick. They're afraid that their peers and some of the bedrock assumptions of our financial system are leaving them behind. Unfortunately, substituting a disciplined financial plan with speculative gambling rarely helps anyone catch up, let alone build wealth to secure retirement. On today's show, we try to ease some of this financial anxiety by answering three listener questions that touch on some very common money fears.

As I've discussed in my recent blog posts, many of the most important retirement choices don’t happen on a spreadsheet. And, as you and your advisor navigate the complex money decisions that touch on your feelings, your relationships, and your goals, you'll probably start to see that these decisions also extend beyond the horizon of your own retirement. But rather than asking yourself what you're planning to leave behind, a successful wealth transition should answer the question “What are we preparing the next generation to handle?”

Your phone buzzes with a text message that appears to be from your bank: "Did you authorize a purchase on your debit card at a local apparel shop today? Reply YES if you recognize this. Reply NO if you don't, and a fraud specialist will contact you." You reply, "No." A minute later, your phone rings. The man on the other end is calm, professional, and sympathetic. "I'm from the fraud department. I'm going to help you stop this unauthorized transaction. I sent a six-digit code to your phone. Just read it back to me." You do. He thanks you. The call ends. Minutes later, three transfers leave your bank account. You call your bank and manage to cancel one. But two transfers totaling thousands of dollars are gone permanently. And because you voluntarily provided the man on the phone with that six-digit code, the bank is likely not liable for your loss. This is a hypothetical example of what the FBI calls "takeover fraud." But the reality is that scams like this are targeting more and more seniors every single day. On today's show, we review the latest data from the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report and some best practices that can help keep your money and personal info safe.

A comprehensive financial plan gives you options. Working with a fiduciary advisor gives you a trusted partner who can help you sort through those options and make informed and thoughtful decisions. But what happens if you aren't capable of making decisions for yourself? When assessing potential risk scenarios in a financial plan, cognitive decline and incapacitation are every bit as important as market volatility and liquidity. Maybe even more important. You can always earn more money. You can adjust your spending. The markets, historically, bounce back. But health is a resource that we can't always renew. That's why a secure retirement plan must include a clear, actionable process for protecting you and your assets against these cognitive risks.

Are you ready for the Great Wealth Transfer? Financial analysts estimate that older Americans will pass on as much as $124 trillion of personal wealth to their spouses, heirs, and charities over the next 25 years. And, unfortunately, much of that wealth won't survive for another transfer. According to one study, 42% of heirs fall back to their pre-inheritance net worth in about 12 months. Meaning that, due to poor planning or poor fiscal discipline, the money is gone. Whether you're a senior fine-tuning your legacy plan, a potential beneficiary, or a caregiver who might be tasked with settling a loved one's estate, folks have to plan ahead to make sure that wishes are honored and wealth is preserved, potentially for generations to come. On today's show, we discuss some best practices for managing inheritances at both ends of a family's wealth transfer and taking a generational approach to comprehensive financial planning.