Tag: Retirement Income

How to Know If Your Financial Advisor Is Really Helping You Plan for Retirement (Ep. 34)

How to Know If Your Financial Advisor Is Really Helping You Plan for Retirement (Ep. 34)

Are you getting financial advice, or are you simply getting investment updates?

Many people build strong relationships with their financial advisor, but that doesn’t always mean every part of their retirement plan is being addressed. Knowing what questions to ask can make a meaningful difference before small planning gaps become bigger problems.

In this episode, Dan Reese, CFP®, explains how to evaluate whether your financial plan is covering the areas that matter most. He shares the 3-lane planning framework, covering investments, retirement income, and tax planning, and discusses how Social Security, Medicare, estate planning, and long-term tax decisions work together. Dan also explains why planning performance often matters just as much as investment performance when preparing for retirement.

Key takeaways:

  • How fiduciary advice differs from investment-focused conversations and why that distinction matters
  • Why retirement income, tax planning, and investments should work together instead of separately
  • Questions to ask when evaluating whether your advisor is addressing your complete financial plan
  • How Social Security and Roth conversion decisions can influence lifetime retirement taxes
  • Why planning performance may have a greater financial impact than investment returns alone
  • And more!

Converting from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is a taxable event.

Resources:

Connect with Dan Reese CFP®:

Tax-Focused Estate Planning Before Retirement (Ep. 33)

Tax-Focused Estate Planning Before Retirement (Ep. 33)

Estate planning is often treated as a task to complete later, but many of the biggest financial decisions begin long before legal documents are signed.

How can tax planning, retirement income planning, and investment decisions work together to support your long-term goals while potentially improving how assets are transferred?

In this episode, Dan Reese explains why estate planning is much more than wills and legal paperwork. He shares how investment planning, retirement income planning, and tax planning all influence one another through what he calls the three lanes of the financial highway. Dan also explores how Roth conversions, beneficiary designations, charitable giving, and account positioning can affect taxes during retirement and for future generations. 

Throughout the conversation, he emphasizes creating a coordinated strategy while there may still be more planning flexibility.

Key takeaways:

  • How investment, retirement income, and tax planning work together instead of as separate decisions
  • Why estate planning begins with strategy before legal documents are created and updated
  • How Roth conversions may influence taxes paid by both retirees and future beneficiaries
  • Why beneficiary designations and asset location can change long term tax outcomes
  • How coordinated planning may uncover opportunities across multiple financial decisions
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Dan Reese CFP®:

You’ve Retired. Now What? The Hardest Financial Shift You’ll Ever Make (Ep. 16)

You’ve Retired. Now What? The Hardest Financial Shift You’ll Ever Make (Ep. 16)

Most people think the hard part is saving for retirement, but the real challenge begins when the paychecks stop.

Dan Reese walks through the crucial mental and financial shift from accumulation to decumulation and why so many retirees get it wrong. From tax surprises and market volatility to emotional roadblocks and overlooked estate planning, Dan breaks down the common pitfalls and shares what it takes to create a truly sustainable income plan.

You’ll learn how to map out long-term tax liabilities, balance guaranteed vs. variable income, and build financial confidence in retirement.

What to expect in this episode:

  • The #1 mistake retirees make when “flipping the switch”
  • How market downturns affect withdrawals differently from contributions
  • Why tax surprises can be more common (and dangerous) in retirement
  • How to align spending, legacy goals, and income with confidence
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Dan Reese CFP®: