Retirement GPS Radio (Senior Retirement and Income Solutions)

While paying voluntary tax is likely an insulting thought, so many retirees are setup to do exactly that. The US Treasury has a big heart and will accept voluntary taxes from retirees--but we think you shouldn't pay them. This week, we aim to inform you on how to start paying way less in taxes in retirement on your accounts and keep more of what's yours. 

Almost all retirement goals combine to one common end: peace and confidence in retirement. What retirement strategies tend to support that aim, and which--unknowingly--tend to diminish the likelihood of its achievement? Today, we how to bring your retirement assets and strategies into alignment with your goals. 

Protecting the luster of the golden years can be more challenging than most realize. The path is fraught with pitfalls and false allures, but knowing where they are gives you a distinct advantage in overcoming them. Today we cover 9 myths that can turn your retirement blue--and what to do about them. 

More yield. Better Social Security timing. Higher returns. Retirees try all of it in the quest for maximum income. Some of it works. Some of it backfires. And almost none of it compares to the one strategy that can increase what you actually keep by 30, 40, even 50 percent — without taking a single dollar of additional risk. This week — the quest for max income.
 

Here's the cruelest twist in retirement planning: the people most likely to get hit with IRMAA are the ones who saved the most. The harder you worked and the more you saved, the bigger the target on your back. This week we're talking about the IRMAA Ambush — what it is, how it finds you, and what you can do about it.

Think of the Retirement Red Zone as the 8 to 10 year window surrounding retirement — about 4 to 5 years before, and 4 to 5 years after.What happens during this period often has a bigger impact on your financial future than the following 20 years. Sequence of returns, withdrawal timing, and tax decisions all matter more than ever. Get the Red Zone right, and retirement can feel a whole lot more secure.

On this week's episode of Retirement GPS Radio, we take you through 7 key estate planning elements to make sure you have checked off. 

When it comes to retirement income planning, the traditional Wall Street Advice - which based on a growth approach - often falls short. There are 8 truths or principles that don't work in Wall Street's favor when you retire and need your hard-earned savings to live on. So, Wall Street is not excited to share them. 
We will. 
Herein, we tackle the 4% rule, growth vs income approaches, the "retirement red zone", sequence of return risk, and more. 

More important than your asset allocation is your asset location. There are only 3 columns (categories) of financial vehicles:
Taxable
Tax-deferred
Tax-free
Before deciding what your allocation should be, you must decide where you want your assets to live. There is a perfect balance for each saver. In this episode, we dive into the advantages and disadvantages of each column, the proper uses of the assets that make up in column, and how to strategically transfer taxable and tax-deferred assets to the tax-free column.

Roth conversions aren’t about avoiding taxes — they’re about deciding when, how, and at what rate you’ll pay them. Too many people focus on the micro view: “How much tax will this cost me this year?” A better question is, “How will this decision impact my entire retirement?”
Strategic conversions can create decades of tax-free income, reduce or eliminate required minimum distributions, lower Medicare premiums and Social Security taxation, and provide insulation from future tax increases. Yes, there can be short-term friction — higher taxable income or temporary IRMAA surcharges — but for many households, those are time-boxed issues in exchange for long-term control, certainty, and tax-free wealth.