Retire With Style

In this episode of 'Retire with Style', Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia dive into the implications of the SpaceX IPO, exploring its unique characteristics, the risks associated with investing in IPOs, and the historical performance of such investments. They discuss the impact of index funds on IPOs and the broader lessons investors should consider when navigating the market, particularly in light of the excitement surrounding mega IPOs ...

In this episode, Alex and Wade clarify important aspects of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), particularly focusing on the rules surrounding beneficiaries. They address common misconceptions about what non-spousal beneficiaries can do with HSA receipts after the account holder's death and emphasize the importance of utilizing HSA funds during one's lifetime. The discussion also touches on the implications for charitable giving when i...

In this episode of 'Retire with Style', Alex Murguia and Wade Pfau dive into tax planning strategies, focusing on Roth conversions, effective marginal tax rates, and withdrawal strategies for retirement. They discuss the implications of current tax rates, the importance of blending techniques in tax planning, and the necessity of tax diversification for a successful retirement. The conversation is driven by listener questions, prov...

In this episode of Retire with Style, hosts Alex Murguia and Wade Pfau address various listener questions regarding retirement planning. They discuss the implications of long-term care and Medicaid, explore the ARVA framework for retirement income, and delve into variable spending strategies. The conversation also covers healthcare options for early retirees, methods to mitigate sequence of returns risk, and the evaluation of disco...

In this episode of Retire with Style, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia continue to answer listener questions, including how stocks perform during inflationary periods, whether equity investments can be viewed through a bond-duration lens, the tradeoffs between buying a deferred income annuity today versus waiting to purchase a SPIA later, and how QLACs interact with Roth conversion rules. Along the way, they emphasize that there are no u...

In this final part of the Retire With Style Live Q&A, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia answer a wide range of retirement planning questions covering annuities and life insurance surrender charges, the financial impact of losing a spouse, Roth conversions as a hedge against the "widow's tax penalty," tax-loss harvesting through direct indexing, dividend reinvestment strategies in retirement accounts versus taxable accounts, HSA withdr...

In Part 2 of this Live listener Q&A episode, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia tackle several retirement planning topics, including Social Security claiming strategies for spouses with age differences, how younger workers should think about Social Security's long-term solvency, whether to assume future benefit cuts in retirement projections, the impact of the "widow's penalty" on tax planning and Roth conversions, evaluating an older ...

In Part 1 of this live Q&A episode of Retire With Style, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia answer listener questions covering reverse mortgages, retirement withdrawal rates, Roth conversion strategies, tax-efficient retirement income planning, asset allocation decisions, and bond ladders. The discussion emphasizes that retirement planning rarely has one-size-fits-all answers, highlighting the importance of balancing taxes, investment ...

In this episode of 'Retire with Style', Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia discuss the non-financial aspects of retirement with Jason Rizkallah. They explore how relationships change during retirement, the importance of maintaining social connections, and the need for communication between spouses. The conversation also touches on balancing time spent together and apart, as well as the significance of leading a healthy lifestyle in retirem...

This episode of Retire With Style explores the non-financial aspects of retirement, focusing on how retirees can build purpose, identity, and fulfillment beyond just having enough money. Wade Pfau, Alex Murguia, and guest Jason Rizkallah discuss the importance of “retiring to something, not from something,” emphasizing that retirement planning should begin with envisioning the life you want before determining the financ...

This episode of Retire with Style continues the Retirement Planning Guidebook series by focusing on how tax planning changes when legacy and estate considerations are incorporated into the retirement planning process. Wade and Alex break down key estate planning concepts in a practical way, including step-up in basis rules, Roth conversion decisions tied to beneficiaries’ future tax brackets, inherited IRA distribution rules ...

In this episode of Retire With Style, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia walk through the foundational elements of estate, legacy, and incapacity planning from Chapter 11 of the Retirement Planning Guidebook. They discuss why estate planning is about far more than drafting a will, including how to organize important financial and personal documents, avoid common beneficiary designation mistakes, understand the role of trusts and probate, a...

In this episode of Retire with Style, Wade and Alex continue their discussion of retirement tax pitfalls. They focus on how small increases in income can trigger disproportionately large financial consequences through lost benefits and higher effective tax rates. The conversation highlights key risks such as Affordable Care Act subsidy cliffs, Medicare IRMA surcharges, required minimum distributions, and deduction phaseouts, emphas...

In this episode of 'Retire with Style', Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia delve into the intricacies of tax planning as part of retirement strategy. They discuss the importance of asset location in retirement accounts, the pitfalls that retirees face regarding taxes, and strategies for effective tax planning. The conversation emphasizes the need for careful consideration of how different types of income can impact tax liabilities, includi...

This week on Retire with Style, Alex and Wade focus on how retirees can improve tax efficiency to maximize after-tax spending power. They walk through the structure of the tax system, emphasizing the importance of understanding adjusted gross income (AGI), above-the-line and below-the-line deductions, and how different tax rules interact. They also introduce the concept of tax diversification across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-f...

In this episode, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia revisit reverse mortgages and explain why they are often misunderstood in retirement planning. Rather than a last-resort tool, they frame modern HECM reverse mortgages as a strategic asset that can enhance retirement outcomes when used properly. The discussion highlights how a growing line of credit can act as a buffer against market downturns, improve tax efficiency, and even provide rel...

In this episode of Retire with Style, Wade and Alex continue the breakdown of the  Retirement Planning Guidebook Third Edition. Focusing on one of the most overlooked but impactful retirement decisions: housing. Wade and Alex challenge the common assumption that retirees will downsize or relocate, showing that most people actually stay put and often even move into larger homes. The conversation then shifts to how to evaluate w...

This episode continues the long-term care discussion by breaking down how long-term care insurance actually works, including benefit structures, coverage limits, and key policy levers like waiting periods and inflation adjustments. Wade and Alex explore why traditional policies have declined in popularity, how hybrid options and annuities can serve as alternatives, and why long-term care planning ultimately requires balancing trade...

In this episode of Retire With Style, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia introduce the fundamentals of long-term care planning as part of their ongoing walkthrough of the Retirement Planning Guidebook. They clarify what long-term care actually is, how it differs from traditional healthcare, and why it represents one of the largest and most unpredictable financial risks in retirement. The conversation explores how long-term care is defined,...