The Retirement and IRA Show

Jim Saulnier, CFP® & Chris Stein, CFP®
  • 4.3 (727)
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What do you get when you combine two knowledgeable CFP® PROFESSIONALS (one also a well-informed COLLEGE FINANCE INSTRUCTOR)? If you mix in relevant financial information and a healthy dose of humor you get the Retirement and IRA Radio Show! JIM SAULNIER, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional with Jim Saulnier and Associates who specializes in retirement planning for clients across the country, CHRIS STEIN, a Finance Instructor at Colorado State University who is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, offer real-world knowledge on a diverse range of topics including Social Security planning, investing for your retirement, the fundamentals of 401(k) and IRA accounts. Jim and Chris make learning about your retirement both educational and entertaining!

  1. 1D AGO

    IRMAA, Social Security, Roth 5-Year Rule, Rollover IRA Protections: Q&A #2619

    Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on IRMAA appeals, Social Security survivor benefits, a Venn Diagram PSA, Roth IRA spousal rollover and the five-year rule, and Rollover IRA protections. (8:15) A listener asks whether their parents should appeal an IRMAA surcharge—triggered by a one-time annuity payout—on the basis of loss of pension income. (17:15) George asks how a serious health diagnosis may affect his Social Security strategy, including whether his wife should claim on her own record now and delay survivor benefits until he would have reached age 70. (35:30) A listener shares a Venn Diagram PSA 38:15) The guys hear from someone who used spousal rights to roll his late wife’s Roth 401k into his own Roth IRA, and wants to know whether doing so reset the five-year clock on her previously qualified funds. (54:00) Jim and Chris address whether the ERISA protections of 401k and 403b plans are reason enough to avoid rolling them into IRAs, and whether an umbrella insurance could offer additional Rollover IRA protections. The post IRMAA, Social Security, Roth 5-Year Rule, Rollover IRA Protections: Q&A #2619 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

    1h 16m

  2. 4D AGO

    Is The Safe Withdrawal Rate Useful? EDU #2618

    Chris’s Summary Jim and I discuss the Safe Withdrawal Rate as a projection tool before retirement, but not as the distribution tool we would use for many retirees. We address Bill Bengen’s research, the 1968 retiree scenario, Monte Carlo planning, and why a worst-case floor can limit early retirement spending on fun. We also contrast accumulation planning with distribution planning and explain how the See Through Portfolio helps separate different retirement spending needs. Jim’s “Pithy” Summary Chris and I discuss why we think Bill Bengen’s research has real value, while still believing the Safe Withdrawal Rate is the wrong tool once the rubber meets the road in retirement. His work helped advisors move away from unrealistic withdrawal rates, and it can be useful for people still in the accumulation phase who are trying to see if they are on track. But once someone reaches retirement, especially with only so many Go-Go years ahead, I think the tool has to change. The part I don’t like is when the industry takes a worst-case historical number and turns it into the anchor for everyone. Chris and I talk about Bengen’s own comments, Monte Carlo probability statistics, and why software can make this kind of planning look cleaner than it really is. That may work for some people, especially if the goal is to leave the biggest portfolio possible, but that is not the same as helping someone spend with more clarity while they still have the health, desire, and ability to do so. That is where our process separates the money allocated for needs, reserves, and later-life planning from the money available for fun. Minimum Dignity Floor, SEAL Reserve, and the Fun Number help frame those dollars differently instead of treating retirement as one big portfolio with one smooth withdrawal path. You are not getting younger, stronger, or healthier, and most people’s retirement goals don’t include being the wealthiest person in the graveyard. The post Is The Safe Withdrawal Rate Useful? EDU #2618 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

    1h 22m

  3. MAY 2

    Social Security, IRMAA, Roth Conversions, IRA Beneficiaries: Q&A #2618

    Jim and Chris discuss emails on Social Security survivor benefit strategies, IRMAA exceptions, Roth conversion timing during market downturns, and the implications of naming IRA beneficiaries directly versus routing assets through a trust. (8:15) A listener whose husband plans to delay Social Security to 70 while she claims early at 62 asks whether she can still receive the maximum survivor benefit if he passes away before reaching 70. (19:30) The guys field a question about whether the SSA-44 reduced work exception to IRMAA applies when the reduction in earned income is far too small to bring MAGI below the applicable tier. (31:00) Jim and Chris address whether it makes sense to front-load Roth conversions during a market downturn so that subsequent recovery gains are captured tax-free. (1:06:00) George wants to better understand the mechanics a trustee must navigate when distributing IRA assets to trust beneficiaries, compared to simply naming beneficiaries directly on the account. The post Social Security, IRMAA, Roth Conversions, IRA Beneficiaries: Q&A #2618 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

    1h 25m

  4. APR 29

    Retirement Spending Phases: EDU #2617

    Chris’s Summary Jim and I continue our discussion of the New York Times article titled “You Saved and Saved for Retirement. Now You Need a Plan to Cash Out,” focusing on Retirement Spending Phases as the article moves into go-go, slow-go, and no-go years. We walk through how the article is using that framework and how it compares with how we approach retirement planning, particularly in how different types of spending behave and how that ties to Social Security, pensions, and simple annuities. Jim’s “Pithy” Summary Chris and I pick back up with the New York Times article from last week and this time we focus on Retirement Spending Phases and how that go-go, slow-go, no-go framework is being used. I’m not saying the concept is wrong. I’m saying if you apply it across everything, you’re going to miss the point. Because not all expenses behave the same way. Your Minimum Dignity Floor is there no matter what. Your Fun Number is what actually changes depending on how you’re living your life. If you don’t separate those, you can end up making decisions that don’t reflect reality. That’s really the issue we keep coming back to as we walk through this and react to how the article is presenting it. And that’s where this starts to matter. Because once you’re thinking about what has to be covered versus what can change, you’re dealing with different kinds of decisions. That’s where Social Security, pensions, and annuities come into the conversation. Not as a blanket solution, but as part of figuring out how different pieces of a plan are supposed to work depending on the job they’re trying to do. And it’s why you can’t just treat everything the same and expect the outcome to make sense over time, especially as those phases play out differently across different types of spending. The post Retirement Spending Phases: EDU #2617 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

    1h 44m

  5. APR 25

    Social Security, Wash Sales, Taxes: Q&A #2617

    Chris is joined by Jake Turner, while Jim is traveling, to discuss listener emails on Social Security spousal benefits, wash sales across brokerage and IRA accounts, estimated tax payments for Roth conversions, and tax withholding strategies in retirement. (6:45) A listener asks when an ex-spouse can claim a spousal Social Security benefit and if retroactive benefits are available. (19:20) The guys address if a surviving spouse automatically receives the higher benefit upon their spouse’s death, and why the family maximum benefit is affecting a couple who are each collecting their own individual benefit. (30:00) A listener wonders how wash sales are tracked across different account types, and if buying back only half the funds results in only half of the sold funds qualifying as a wash sale. (42:31) Chris and Jake help determine if a Roth conversion requires quarterly estimated tax payments throughout the year or just a single year-end payment. (55:00) George wants to know if skipping tax withholdings on a pension and part-time job is acceptable when prior over-withholding is expected to cover the year’s tax bill. The post Social Security, Wash Sales, Taxes: Q&A #2617 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

    1h 11m

  6. APR 22

    Retirement Spending Plans: EDU #2616

    Chris’s Summary Jim and I discuss retirement spending plans through the lens of a New York Times article titled “You Saved and Saved for Retirement. Now You Need a Plan to Cash Out,” reviewing its key arguments about decumulation and where we agree, question, or hold no opinion. We cover why the Minimum Dignity Floor rarely fails in projections, why the 4% rule may be an outdated framework for structuring retirement withdrawals, how individual inflation rates for specific expense categories can produce more accurate projections than a single blended rate, and why underspending on fun during the go-go years may pose a greater risk than outliving assets for many listeners. Jim’s “Pithy” Summary Chris and I dig into a New York Times article — “You Saved and Saved for Retirement. Now You Need a Plan to Cash Out” — and use it as a jumping-off point to talk about what spending in retirement actually looks like in practice versus what the industry has been selling people for decades. Here’s what struck me most: the 4% rule was created in 1994 with rudimentary spreadsheets, and the recommended safe withdrawal rate swings from 2.8 to 4.7 depending on who you ask and what year it is. That’s supposed to be your anchor? Are you watching TVs that look like the ones from 30 years ago? Talking on the same phones? My beeper evolved into a smartphone with more computing power than the Apollo mission, and yet most of the industry is still essentially creating retirement spending plans with a beeper. What the Fun Number framework helps clarify is that you don’t need a universal withdrawal percentage. You need to isolate your actual expenses, inflate each one at the rate that reflects how that spending actually grows — not some blended average — and then see clearly what’s left for fun. The article also makes the point that fearful retirees may scrimp during their go-go years when they could afford to spend — and that’s something my dad reinforced in his own way. He’d watch people in his retirement community who had money but couldn’t bring themselves to spend it on fun, and he called them Debbie Downers. For many people listening to this podcast, that’s the real risk — not outliving your assets but failing to spend on fun while you still can. The post Retirement Spending Plans: EDU #2616 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

    1h 10m

  7. APR 18

    Social Security, ERISA, Trusts: Q&A #2616

    Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on Social Security benefits for a family with a disabled adult child, survivor benefits, ERISA vs. non-ERISA 403(b) protections, a listener PSA on Monte Carlo simulations, special needs trusts, and how a revocable living trust handles a primary home transfer. (5:00) A listener asks whether her husband’s early Social Security filing while still working would suspend her child-in-care benefits, and whether his benefit would be recalculated to his Full Retirement Age amount once the earnings limit no longer applies. (20:20) George wonders whether survivor benefits for his wife would be based on his age-70 amount or her Full Retirement Age amount. (25:15) Jim and Chris take a question about the differences between ERISA and non-ERISA 403(b) protections, and whether state IRA protections offer comparable coverage. (39:45) The guys share a listener PSA pointing them to a recent Retirement Answer Man episode on Monte Carlo simulations. (44:00) Georgette enquires which assets belong in a special needs trust and how to structure it tax-efficiently. (54:45) A listener asks how a primary home transfers to children through a revocable living trust and what the selling process looks like. The post Social Security, ERISA, Trusts: Q&A #2616 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

    1h 7m

  8. APR 15

    Tax Rules and Mistakes: EDU #2615

    Chris’s Summary Jim and I are joined by Jake as we discuss tax rules and mistakes through two tax-focused PSAs before moving into listener emails. Jake covers a denied non-cash charitable deduction due to an incomplete Form 8283 and missing contemporaneous documentation, then walks through how estimated tax payments and safe harbor rules are calculated from prior-year tax liability. We then address listener emails on establishing home basis after a spouse’s death, how the senior deduction is reduced for married couples, and comparing IRA versus Roth withdrawal strategies. Jim’s “Pithy” Summary Chris and I are joined by Jake as we spend some time on two tax-focused PSAs from Jake before getting into listener emails. Jake walks through a tax court case where a non-cash charitable donation was denied because Form 8283 wasn’t completed correctly and the required documentation wasn’t done at the time—even though the donation itself was valid. This highlights how strict tax rules and mistakes around them can cost you. He also breaks down estimated tax payments—those quarterly amounts that show up on your return after you’ve already paid what you owed—and how they’re calculated off the prior year to get you into the safe harbor. We then get into a situation involving a home purchased in the early 1970s, no improvements over the years, a spouse passing in a community property state, and now the question of what the basis actually is and how to determine it years later without anything documented at the time, which is more common than you’d think. There’s also a question on the senior deduction where the reduction ends up applying to each spouse, which changes the expected result. Finally, we look at two different withdrawal approaches using traditional IRA and Roth accounts over the next few years, and how those choices shift balances and taxes depending on how the income is sourced and what you’re actually trying to accomplish with it. The post Tax Rules and Mistakes: EDU #2615 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

    1h 23m
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About

What do you get when you combine two knowledgeable CFP® PROFESSIONALS (one also a well-informed COLLEGE FINANCE INSTRUCTOR)? If you mix in relevant financial information and a healthy dose of humor you get the Retirement and IRA Radio Show! JIM SAULNIER, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional with Jim Saulnier and Associates who specializes in retirement planning for clients across the country, CHRIS STEIN, a Finance Instructor at Colorado State University who is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, offer real-world knowledge on a diverse range of topics including Social Security planning, investing for your retirement, the fundamentals of 401(k) and IRA accounts. Jim and Chris make learning about your retirement both educational and entertaining!

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