The Retirement and IRA Show

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on the best month to claim Social Security, IRMAA strategy for married couples, Social Security ex-spouse benefits, inflation and annuity purchase decisions for a Minimum Dignity Floor shortfall, and Minimum Dignity Floor tax calculations.

(9:30) A listener asks whether there is a best month to apply for Social Security benefits before age 70, given how often benefits ...

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I use a Life Annuity Specialist article on pension risk transfer mortality models to examine longevity risk for individual retirees. These models weigh sub-ZIP codes, income, and over 200 socioeconomic factors, suggesting some retirees may live more than 10 years past age-65 life expectancy. We discuss why a household is a risk pool of one, why projections should reach well into the 90...

Chris and Jacob discuss listener emails on Social Security survivor benefits, a TIPS ladder paired with a QLAC, investment positioning across taxable, tax deferred, and tax-free accounts, and buffered ETFs for sequence of returns risk.

(12:30) A listener whose spouse recently died asks whether they can claim child in care survivor benefits now while caring for their young daughter, and whether claiming now...

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I discuss five common power of attorney mistakes flagged in an estate planning attorney’s article, along with points from Peter Scott. We cover naming an alternative agent, the friction a springing agency can create, gifting authority that is either absent or overly broad, notifying old agents and financial institutions after a change, and the boilerplate real estate language tha...

Jim and Chris are again joined by Dr. Phillip Snider. They discuss listener emails on coronary artery calcium scoring, followed by a broader conversation on healthy aging. Dr. Snider revisits the five tests he recommended in a previous episode, explains what the calcium score ranges mean, and covers how to get the tests done. He then turns to the dietary patterns linked to a longer, healthier life and closes with where...

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I continue our Fun Number series with a listener email laying out a DIY retirement plan built account by account, each with an assigned purpose. We cover where her approach lines up with positioning dollars by spending need, where tax planning could change what comes from which account, and how declining ability to manage money shaped her decisions.

Jim’s “Pith...

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on IRMAA brackets after a spouse’s death, Social Security claiming and spousal benefits, annuities and inflation for a Minimum Dignity Floor shortfall, and a Qualified Charitable Distributio (QCD) funding a charitable gift annuity, followed by listener PSAs on expense tracking, home sale timing, and annuity flexibility.

(10:00) A listener asks which year’s ...

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I are joined by Jacob as we tackle four listener questions on Investment Positioning , covering Quicken tools for tracking positions, funding a delay period Minimum Dignity Floor with a stable value fund, evaluating a too-good-to-be-true real estate return, and weighing a target date fund for long-term care reserves.

Jim’s “Pithy” Summary
Chris and I ...

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on Social Security survivor benefits and earnings records, financing a home purchase, and using a fixed indexed annuity (FIA) for discretionary spending.

(11:15) A listener asks why a Social Security estimate lists a $3,944 survivor benefit rather than the projected $5,101 age-70 benefit and which amount would actually be paid.

(21:45) The guys consider whether adding previously omitted stock o...

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I continue our discussion on the Fun Number, this time as a dialogue episode built around one listener’s hesitation around spending retirement savings and how growth and legacy positioning and establishing his SEAL Reserve helped him work through it. We revisit the seesaw framework for undeployed assets, clarify how the SEAL Reserve consolidated the old reserve positions, and explain why the ...

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on spousal Social Security timing, a listener PSA on the super catch-up contribution rule, early withdrawals from a Roth 457(b) plan, Minimum Dignity Floor coverage using SPIAs, QLACs as a hedge against potential Social Security cuts, and a couple’s retirement strategy.

(10:00) — A listener asks whether a wife nearing full retirement age can claim her own smaller Social Security ben...

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I are joined again by Dr. Phillip Snider as we continue looking at narrowing the gap between healthspan and lifespan and extending your go-go years. We discuss a listener-submitted article on health-adjusted life expectancy, which argues for concentrating retirement spending in the first decade of retirement rather than following a static, Monte Carlo-based safe withdrawal rate. Dr. Snyder updates ...

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on the Social Security Fairness Act, an IRMAA question involving deferred compensation, Roth conversions before and after key age milestones, Roth contributions for high-income catch-up savers, and how TEFRA affects an inherited annuity.

(9:45...

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I are joined by Jacob Vonloh as we continue our discussion on investment positioning, wrapping up asset placement for emergency, aging, and long-term care reserves and the fun spending that flows from your Fun Number, across the Go-Go and Slow-Go/No-Go phases. Jacob also outlines the guaranteed inheritance set-aside and cl...

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on Social Security spousal benefits, a listener PSA on HSA tax strategies and treasuries, and inherited IRA RMD rules for minor beneficiaries.

(9:00) A listener asks about qualifying for spousal benefits after a lengthy separation, since both spouses are now retired but remain legally married.

(28:15) The guys share a listener PSA on tax strategies involving harvesting HSA-eligible expenses, in...

If you’d like to skip past Jim, Chris, and Jacob’s opening chat about Jacob relocating to Iowa, Jim’s hiking plans, weather, office dog Apollo, and generational pop culture gaps, skip ahead to (10:00).

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I continue our discussion on the Fun Number, joined this time by Jacob as we turn to invest...

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on Social Security survivor benefits after the GPO repeal, estate planning for minor children, and annuity safety.

(10:00) A listener asks whether the repeal of GPO permits the survivor in a mixed Social Security and non-covered pension couple to keep both Social Security benefits rather than only the higher benefit, and where this rule appears ...

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I continue our discussion on the Fun Number, this time tackling what comes out first and how we plan for covering retirement income gaps. We look at funding both the delay period and post-delay period, including how a SPIA quote helps determine how much to set aside today to close a future gap. We also address aging and lo...

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on Social Security survivor benefit strategies, a Roth 401(k) catch-up rule loophole, HSA reimbursement for Medicare premiums, pension options including a lump sum rollover, and trust titling versus individual beneficiaries.

(13:00) — George asks whether his brother can claim his own Social Security benefit at 62...