Episode 234: Cash in Retirement: When to Hold It, When to Invest It

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 […]
Episode 233: Should You Worry About Social Security Running Out?

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 […]
Episode 232: Is 4.7% the New Safe Withdrawal Rate?

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, […]
Episode 231: Why Financial Planning Alone Won’t Prepare You for Retirement

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 […]
Episode 230: Are You Emotionally Ready for Retirement? Beyond the Financial Plan

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 […]
Episode 229: How to Leave More Wealth to Your Children After Taxes

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’ […]
Episode 228: Is Your Family Prepared If Something Happens To You?

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 […]
Episode 227: Can $1 Really Cost You $20,000 in Retirement? How to Avoid Tax Cliffs

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 […]
Episode 226: 5 Tax Planning Mistakes That Can Reduce Your Retirement Income

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 […]
Episode 225: 3 Tax Strategies to Improve Retirement Income Efficiency

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 […]