Retirement Planning Education, with Andy Panko

Andy Panko
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Teaching you all about IRAs & Roth IRAs, employer retirement plans, taxes, Social Security, Medicare, portfolio withdrawal strategies, annuities, estate planning and much more!

  1. 6D AGO

    #199 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Jonathan Vance talk about opportunities in the current market environment, 2026 tax updates, questions to ask advisors and MORE!

    Andy and Jonathan Vance from Vance Financial Planning share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about:  Given current world affairs and their impacts on the markets, should you do anything different with your investments, or are there any other planning opportunities to consider ( 14:20 )Tax updates for 2026, and some recap of tax takeaways for 2025 now that the 2025 tax return season is mostly behind us ( 26:27 )Using in-kind gifts to family and friends to get rid of appreciated non-qualified assets you no longer want, but don't want to sell and realize the gains ( 38:45 )The importance of having a good grasp on your future expenses and how that impacts virtually all aspects of retirement planning ( 46:00 )The practicality of the "die with zero" concept, and how Monte Carlo can help try to put it into practice ( 1:00:48 )Questions to ask when interviewing a financial advisor ( 1:11:54 )Options for what to do with permanent life insurance policies or annuities you might no longer want, or are no longer in your best interest ( 1:23:10 ) Links in this episode: Vance Financial Planning website - https://www.vancefp.comManuka Financial's article, 9 Questions to ask a Flat Fee (or any!) Financial Advisor as you Near Retirement - here To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.com My company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

    1h 36m

  2. APR 2

    #198 - Whether to take a pension as a lump sum or monthly payments

    Andy discusses the pros and cons of taking a lump sum vs taking monthly payments for your pension, questions to ask yourself to help figure out if it might be better for you to take one vs the other, and other considerations to keep in mind in making the decision Links in this episode: www.ImmediateAnnuities.comwww.PBGC.govTenon Financial's April 2026 newsletter - Whether to take a pension as a lump sum or monthly payments Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.com

    1h 6m

  3. MAR 26

    #197 - Q&A edition...how often to rebalance, tracking Roth IRA contributions, are RMDs really that bad, paying off mortgages before retirement and MORE!

    Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:  How often to check your accounts for rebalancing, and how often to check on your bigger picture finances and plan ( 2:32 )What to do with old positions you no longer want in a brokerage account but they all have large unrealized gains ( 16:03 )How Medi-Cal benefits interact with a high deductible health plan and an HSA (spoiler alert...I don't know!) ( 22:20 )Are there any good reasons to leave old/prior employer 401(k) plans where they are ( 25:31 )Tracking Roth IRA contributions (including money inherited from a deceased spouse's Roth 401(k)) ( 29:50 )The mechanics of separating the cream from the coffee when rolling pre-tax money in an IRA to a 401(k) to leave behind in the IRA just the after-tax basis, and potential gotchas with that process ( 33:41 )Are potentially large RMDs really a threat to someone's financial plan, or just a pain ( 42:37 )Additional thoughts on whether to pay off a mortgage before retirement, particularly if using pre-tax funds (like from a 401(k)) to do it, even if the interest rate on the loan is really low ( 49:45 )Why Roth money within a 401(k) isn't actually in its own separate account, but is instead just an internal accounting record type of "sub" account ( 53:04 )Tax-free conversions of mutual fund share classes to ETF share classes of the same fund, where available ( 59:02 )Thoughts on rental property vs bank CD's for purposes of estate transfer, tax implications and general retirement plan considerations ( 1:03:23 ) To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.com Links in this episode: My article about pros and cons of rolling over old employer plans to an IRA - here My company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

    1h 11m

  4. MAR 19

    #196 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Jim Kellerman

    Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Jim Kellerman. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as when he started getting serious about planning for retirement, how he now spends his days in retirement, what he's doing for health insurance since he's not yet on Medicare and why he's at the local prison each week...    Links in this episode: Puritas tax prep software (including for Form 709 gift tax returns) - here Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.com

    1h 30m

  5. MAR 12

    #195 - Retirement planner chat with Bradley Hilton from Sonas Financial Planning

    Andy chats with fellow retirement planner Bradley Hilton, CFP®, TPCP®, MBA from Sonas Financial Planning. In this episode they talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as tax planning, distribution strategies, investing, annuities, long-term care insurance, what consumers often overlook in retirement planning and much more! Links in this episode: Bradley's advisory company website - https://www.sonasfp.com/ or https://www.sonasfinancialplanning.com Tax Foundation summary of state-level estate and inheritance taxes (as of 2025) - here  To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.com Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

    1h 59m

  6. MAR 5

    #194 - Gifting, gift taxes, annual gift exclusion and gift tax returns (IRS Form 709)

    Andy discusses the ins and outs of gifting, the annual gift exclusion, gift splitting, gift taxes, gift tax returns (IRS Form 709) and more! Links in this episode: Tenon Financial's March newsletter/blog about gifting - hereIRS Form 709 - here Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.com

    1h 6m

  7. FEB 26

    #193 - Q&A edition...Social Security lump sum for retroactive payments, whether to pay off a mortgage, step-up in basis, gifting without having to file a gift tax return and MORE!

    Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:  Income tax treatment of buying bonds in a normal non-qualified brokerage account when you buy or sell bonds in between coupon periods ( 8:37 )When still working, are 50 or older, are maxing out your 401(k) contributions, and are high income and therefore would need to have your catch-up contribution go into your Roth (instead of pre-tax) 401(k), would it be better to skip the catch-up and instead put that money in a normal brokerage account ( 14:40 )Taxation of Social Security lump sums received for prior month's retroactive payments; is it taxable in the year received or in the prior year that the payments were attributable to ( 17:56 )Does the imputed wage income from employer group life insurance in excess of $50,000 death benefit qualify as earned income for purposes of making Roth IRA contributions ( 24:26 )Deciding how/when to sell out of appreciated assets in a brokerage account you no longer want but don't want to have to deal with realizing taxable gains ( 29:11 )Thoughts on direct indexing, and whether it's a strategy worth considering ( 37:01 )Whether or not to pay off a mortgage, especially now that interest rates are higher than they were a few years ago ( 44:07 )Thoughts on when to stop saving if/when you've saved "enough," balancing planning for the future you vs the present you, deciding how much to sacrifice now for saving for the future, etc. ( 49:24 )The differences in step-up in basis rules for spouses in community property states vs common law states, and how that impacts federal taxes (even if the gains aren't taxable at the state level) ( 55:10 )What to keep in mind when spouses want to maximize gift giving and not have to file a gift tax return ( 1:01:44 )Deductibility of donating appreciated securities vs cash and how to plan large donations in years of doing Roth conversions to help manage taxable income ( 1:07:47 ) To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.com Links in this episode: My company newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com

    1h 13m

  8. FEB 19

    #192 – "Real" person chat with Kevin Sebesta from the Rock Retirement Club, discussing FIRE...Financial Independence, Retire Early

    Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. This week Andy is joined by Kevin Sebesta from the Rock Retirement Club Kevin retired at 43 as part of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) concept. He shares his planning and retirement journey, and discusses more about FIRE including the FIRE community and thoughts everyone (not just FIRE folks) should consider when planning for retirement.    Links in this episode: Kevin's blog - www.LifeInFIRE.comThe Rock Retirement Club - www.RockRetirementClub.com Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter/blog - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email andy@andypanko.com

    1h 18m
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Teaching you all about IRAs & Roth IRAs, employer retirement plans, taxes, Social Security, Medicare, portfolio withdrawal strategies, annuities, estate planning and much more!

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