Freedom for Retirement™

Josh Duncan, CFP®
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Investing

Freedom for Retirement™ is the podcast designed to help you move beyond the fear of the complexity of finances so you can be financially free to achieve personal significance. Tune in with Josh Duncan each week to turn fear into fuel that drives you into Freedom & Significance.

  1. 1d ago

    Employer Open Enrollment: 5 Decisions Before You Submit

    📄 Get your free open enrollment checklist and plan comparison worksheet: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a6e0cd7d1eab6461dcabb63/6ad37726ef96acd2cf392210_22-41%20Employer%20Open%20Enrollment%20Five%20Money%20Decisions%20Before%20You%20Click%20Submit%20downloadable.pdf Employer open enrollment makes your current elections feel like the safe choice. That click is a decision, and it carries a year of money. Josh Duncan, partner at F5 Financial Planning, a fee-only fiduciary firm, weighs each plan against a quiet year and an expensive one. A high-deductible plan works only if you can pay its out-of-pocket maximum without selling investments or carrying a credit card balance. This episode covers: • How to compare two health plans by total cost • Whether an HSA or a health FSA fits the plan you pick • Why your FSA election should match costs you can name • When disability benefits are taxable and when they are tax-free • Who receives your accounts when a beneficiary form overrides your will Group life insurance ends when your job does, whether you leave by choice or not. 🎥 What to check during Medicare open enrollment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URC2bjL9QGk 🎥 Paying medical bills out of pocket to grow your HSA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biECWXxdohc 🎥 How much life insurance you really need: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IglBI0Ig_w4 👉 Work with us at https://www.f5fp.com About F5 Financial Planning: At F5 Financial Planning, we help individuals and families align their finances with what matters most so they can live lives of Freedom and Significance. We are a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, meaning we don’t earn commissions or sell products — our only commitment is to our clients’ best interests. We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and retirement planning for families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. Our team serves clients nationwide through virtual meetings and from offices in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. At F5, our goal is simple: to help you gain confidence, clarity, and control over your financial future so you can focus on the people and passions that matter most. Visit https://www.f5fp.com to learn more about our services and planning process. ***** Advisory services are offered through F5 Financial Planning, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing these videos does not create an advisory relationship with F5 Financial. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

  2. Oct 28

    Two-Bucket Retirement Strategy: How Much Cash Do You Need?

    📄 Get your free worksheet for sizing your cash bucket and writing your refill rule: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a6e0cd7d1eab6461dcabb63/6ad3772639f9e376919609e4_22-40%20Retirement%20Bucket%20Strategy%20Explained%20How%20Much%20Cash%20Do%20You%20Need%20downloadable.pdf The retirement bucket strategy usually comes with three buckets. Two do the job if you hold enough cash and write a rule for refilling it. Josh Duncan, partner at F5 Financial Planning, a fee-only fiduciary firm, shows what that cash is for. A market decline early in retirement can force you to sell shares at low prices to pay the bills, and those shares are gone when prices recover. With cash on hand, you choose when to sell. This episode covers: • What the research says about bucket strategies and your returns • How much cash to hold, measured in years of spending • Whether holding extra cash makes your retirement safer • When to top up your cash and how much to add • Where each refill comes from and what it costs in tax Nothing in the strategy says you need more conservative investments because you had a birthday. 🎥 Which account to spend first in retirement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz2mS1dYbtE 🎥 Required minimum distributions, explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KPGAeO5sO4 👉 Work with us at https://www.f5fp.com About F5 Financial Planning: At F5 Financial Planning, we help individuals and families align their finances with what matters most so they can live lives of Freedom and Significance. We are a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, meaning we don’t earn commissions or sell products — our only commitment is to our clients’ best interests. We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and retirement planning for families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. Our team serves clients nationwide through virtual meetings and from offices in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. At F5, our goal is simple: to help you gain confidence, clarity, and control over your financial future so you can focus on the people and passions that matter most.  Visit https://www.f5fp.com to learn more about our services and planning process. ***** Advisory services are offered through F5 Financial Planning, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing these videos does not create an advisory relationship with F5 Financial. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

  3. Oct 21

    Medicare Open Enrollment 2027: What to Check by December 7

    Medicare open enrollment advice usually says to pick the lowest premium or leave your plan alone. Both skip the numbers that decide what you pay. Josh Duncan, partner at F5 Financial Planning, a fee-only fiduciary firm, treats the choice as a cash-flow decision. Your plan renews on its own, and the notice of changes it sent this fall shows whether keeping it will cost more next year. A switch takes effect in January, and your new plan must receive your request by December 7. This episode covers: •    What the rising out-of-pocket limit on drugs means for your budget •    Why a plan with a higher premium can cost you less for the year •    How to compare plans in Plan Finder with your own drugs and pharmacies •    Whether you can get a Medigap policy after leaving Medicare Advantage •    When to ask Social Security for a new IRMAA decision A large Roth conversion or the sale of an appreciated asset this year can raise your Medicare premiums two years from now. 🎥 Medicare surcharges (IRMAA), explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIYukNMVm5M 👉 Work with us at https://www.f5fp.com About F5 Financial Planning: At F5 Financial Planning, we help individuals and families align their finances with what matters most so they can live lives of Freedom and Significance. We are a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, meaning we don’t earn commissions or sell products — our only commitment is to our clients’ best interests. We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and retirement planning for families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. Our team serves clients nationwide through virtual meetings and from offices in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. At F5, our goal is simple: to help you gain confidence, clarity, and control over your financial future so you can focus on the people and passions that matter most.  Visit https://www.f5fp.com to learn more about our services and planning process. ***** Advisory services are offered through F5 Financial Planning, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing these videos does not create an advisory relationship with F5 Financial. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

  4. Oct 14

    Roth Conversions Can Shrink Your $6,000 Senior Deduction

    📄 Get the free one-page chart that shows where a Roth conversion starts to cost more: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a6e0cd7d1eab6461dcabb63/6ac8b942b8335498f04d5560_22-38%20-%20Roth%20Conversions%20and%20the%20Senior%20Deduction%20Image.pdf Roth conversion advice says to fill your tax bracket. After 65, the same converted dollars can also shrink the senior deduction you were counting on. Josh Duncan, partner at F5 Financial Planning, a fee-only fiduciary firm, shows where the old advice still works. Conversions that stay inside the lower brackets leave the deduction alone. Beyond them, each dollar you convert can cost more than your bracket suggests, and many people never spot the difference on their tax return. This episode covers: •    How much to convert to Roth and keep the full senior deduction •    Whether to spread conversions across several years or finish in one •    Why one big conversion year can raise your Medicare premiums through IRMAA •    What waiting for the deduction to expire can cost you in larger RMDs •    When this year's conversion must be finished, with no way to undo it Size your conversion with your own numbers, not a rule of thumb. 🎥 The new senior deduction, explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-H-zr2y8Pk 🎥 Medicare surcharges (IRMAA), explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIYukNMVm5M 🎥 Required minimum distributions, explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KPGAeO5sO4 👉 Work with us at https://www.f5fp.com About F5 Financial Planning: At F5 Financial Planning, we help individuals and families align their finances with what matters most so they can live lives of Freedom and Significance. We are a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, meaning we don’t earn commissions or sell products — our only commitment is to our clients’ best interests. We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and retirement planning for families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. Our team serves clients nationwide through virtual meetings and from offices in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. At F5, our goal is simple: to help you gain confidence, clarity, and control over your financial future so you can focus on the people and passions that matter most.  Visit https://www.f5fp.com to learn more about our services and planning process. ***** Advisory services are offered through F5 Financial Planning, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing these videos does not create an advisory relationship with F5 Financial. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

  5. Oct 7

    Business Exit Strategy: What to Do Years Before You Sell

    A business exit strategy starts three to five years before the sale, not when a buyer shows up. By then, most of what decides your outcome is settled. Josh Duncan, partner at F5 Financial Planning, a fee-only fiduciary firm, compares two owners who sell similar businesses at the same price. The first spent years working out what the sale needs to fund and measures the offer against that number. The second hears a large price with nothing to compare it to and is guessing. This episode covers: • Why a sale to family or employees can leave you carrying the risk • How payment terms and deal structure change what you keep • What a buyer sees when every major customer still calls you • Who belongs on your team before the letter of intent • When the sale year raises your Medicare premiums two years later Plan the time after the sale as carefully as the money. 🎥 Medicare surcharges (IRMAA), explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIYukNMVm5M 👉 Work with us at https://www.f5fp.com About F5 Financial Planning: At F5 Financial Planning, we help individuals and families align their finances with what matters most so they can live lives of Freedom and Significance. We are a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, meaning we don’t earn commissions or sell products — our only commitment is to our clients’ best interests. We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and retirement planning for families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. Our team serves clients nationwide through virtual meetings and from offices in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. At F5, our goal is simple: to help you gain confidence, clarity, and control over your financial future so you can focus on the people and passions that matter most.  Visit https://www.f5fp.com to learn more about our services and planning process. ***** Advisory services are offered through F5 Financial Planning, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing these videos does not create an advisory relationship with F5 Financial. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

  6. Sep 30

    No Tax on Social Security? Here's What the Law Really Says

    No tax on Social Security never became law. What passed is a $6,000 deduction for people 65 and older, and your income decides whether you see a dollar of it.   Josh Duncan explains how the deduction works when you file: $6,000 per person 65 or older, $12,000 for a couple who both qualify, claimed on the new Schedule 1-A whether you itemize or take the standard deduction, and stacked on the extra standard deduction you already had at 65. This episode covers: How combined income decides the taxable share of your benefitWhy the $25,000 and $32,000 thresholds have not moved since 1983Whether the 6.2% payroll tax changed for anyone still workingWhere the deduction starts shrinking and where it reaches zeroWhen the deduction expires and what that opens up for Roth conversionsYour own number settles this, not the headline you read.   🎥 Roth conversions, explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7suIjH8-Rk 👉 Work with us at https://www.f5fp.com About F5 Financial Planning: At F5 Financial Planning, we help individuals and families align their finances with what matters most so they can live lives of Freedom and Significance. We are a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, meaning we don’t earn commissions or sell products — our only commitment is to our clients’ best interests. We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and retirement planning for families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. Our team serves clients nationwide through virtual meetings and from offices in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. At F5, our goal is simple: to help you gain confidence, clarity, and control over your financial future so you can focus on the people and passions that matter most.  Visit https://www.f5fp.com to learn more about our services and planning process. ***** Advisory services are offered through F5 Financial Planning, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing these videos does not create an advisory relationship with F5 Financial. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

  7. Sep 23

    Step-Up in Basis: Should You Gift Assets Now or Wait?

    Gifted stock carries your cost basis to your children, tax bill included. Josh explains why that is still no reason to hold everything until you're gone. Josh Duncan, partner at F5 Financial Planning, a fee-only fiduciary firm, treats the tax cost as one input among several: how much you can afford to give, what your children need right now, and how appreciated the asset is. A gift you can't comfortably afford isn't generous. It's a risk to your own plan. Cash carries no capital gains question at all, which makes it the simplest thing to give now. This episode covers: What to give first when one position holds most of your gainWhere a joint account resets in full and where only half doesWhy revocable trusts keep the step-up and irrevocable trusts often lose itWhether an inherited IRA or 401(k) ever gets a step-upWhen to get the appraisal that makes the new basis defensibleWork through your own numbers first, so that when you give, you're deciding on purpose. 🎥 How an inherited IRA works today, including the 10-year rule: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds5ATumKo-Y 👉 Work with us at https://www.f5fp.com About F5 Financial Planning: At F5 Financial Planning, we help individuals and families align their finances with what matters most so they can live lives of Freedom and Significance. We are a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, meaning we don’t earn commissions or sell products — our only commitment is to our clients’ best interests. We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and retirement planning for families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. Our team serves clients nationwide through virtual meetings and from offices in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. At F5, our goal is simple: to help you gain confidence, clarity, and control over your financial future so you can focus on the people and passions that matter most.  Visit https://www.f5fp.com to learn more about our services and planning process. ***** Advisory services are offered through F5 Financial Planning, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing these videos does not create an advisory relationship with F5 Financial. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

  8. Sep 16

    Should You Pay Medical Bills Out of Pocket to Grow Your HSA?

    Letting your health savings account grow is the right move for some people and the wrong move for others, and the difference is cash flow, not discipline. An HSA is the only account in the tax code where money goes in untaxed, grows untaxed, and comes out untaxed for qualified medical expenses. Most people collect two of the three and treat the account like a coupon for this year’s doctor visits. Josh Duncan, fee-only fiduciary and partner at F5 Financial Planning, names the one condition that has to be true before paying medical bills out of pocket makes sense. This episode covers: How an HSA beats a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA on taxesWhat the 2026 contribution limits and eligibility thresholds areWhy two people with the same balance need different plansWhether spending your HSA on this year’s copays is doing it wrongWhen Medicare enrollment stops contributions but not tax-free withdrawalsHow to compare last year’s numbers to find which side you are onThe account is there to help you, and there is nothing to prove by leaving a balance untouched that you need. 👉 Work with us at https://www.f5fp.com About F5 Financial Planning: At F5 Financial Planning, we help individuals and families align their finances with what matters most so they can live lives of Freedom and Significance. We are a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, meaning we don’t earn commissions or sell products — our only commitment is to our clients’ best interests. We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax-efficient strategies, and retirement planning for families, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. Our team serves clients nationwide through virtual meetings and from offices in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. At F5, our goal is simple: to help you gain confidence, clarity, and control over your financial future so you can focus on the people and passions that matter most.  Visit https://www.f5fp.com to learn more about our services and planning process. ***** Advisory services are offered through F5 Financial Planning, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing these videos does not create an advisory relationship with F5 Financial. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

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About

Freedom for Retirement™ is the podcast designed to help you move beyond the fear of the complexity of finances so you can be financially free to achieve personal significance. Tune in with Josh Duncan each week to turn fear into fuel that drives you into Freedom & Significance.

Information

  • Creator
    Josh Duncan, CFP®
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Josh Duncan, CFP®
  • Show Website
    Freedom for Retirement™

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