Keen on Retirement

Dolly Parton's songs and movies will live on forever. But when the 80-year-old entertainment icon passed away last month, she also left behind an impressive financial legacy that we all can learn from.  In a 2020 interview, Parton made it clear that she had no intention of becoming another celebrity cautionary tale about poor estate planning, saying, "You don't want to leave that mess to your family for people to have to fight over. You need to take care of that yourself."  Parton's $450 million estate is protected by a trust with executors and successor trustees, as well as a team of legal and financial professionals. And while one of the benefits of establishing these kinds of protections around your estate is that many details may remain private, I'm guessing a good portion of Parton's fortune will continue her extraordinary philanthropic mission.  Most of us won't write hit songs and build our own theme parks. But we can follow Parton's example by being proactive about protecting our legacies and giving back what we can to make the world around us a little bit brighter.  Another important part of shoring up your own financial plan is making the most of your Social Security benefits. On today's show, we follow up Matt Wilson's recent webinar, Maximizing Social Security Benefits, by answering some questions from our audience. 

"Save more than you spend" sounds like a timeless piece of money advice, as true today as it was two hundred years ago.  But in the mid-1800s, many folks believed you needed to spend your money as soon as possible. In fact, saving too much back then could lead to financial ruin! That's just one example of how Americans' attitudes about money have evolved throughout history. But it's not just rules of thumb and hand-me-down wisdom that's changed. It's the nature of money and our relationship to it.  On today's show, we welcome author Joseph S. Moore to discuss his new book, How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (& Didn't), and the surprising ways five money philosophies have shifted over time. 

Housing is one of the biggest line items on just about any retirement budget. Whether you're still paying a mortgage, looking to escalate your payment schedule so you can retire debt-free, or thinking about relocating or buying a vacation home, where you live plays a significant role in how you spend your time, who you spend it with, and what your financial plan looks like.  On today's show, we group together some common questions about managing mortgages that we've received from seniors in our Keen on Retirement audience. 

"Ute" (SUV), "chips" (French fries), "sunnies" (sunglasses), and "mates" (friends) are just a few of the slang terms I picked up earlier this year when the Keens visited our family in Brisbane, Australia.  Another was "super," which is short for "superannuation." This mandatory savings program is central to Australia's retirement planning. And recently, President Trump floated the idea of implementing a similar program here in the U.S.  On today's show, we discuss if taking some inspiration from our friends Down Under could provide a "super" solution to Social Security's looming insolvency and help more Americans build their nest eggs for retirement. 

Keen on Retirement listener "Joe" is 51 and his wife is 60. They are thinking about an early retirement before either of them turns 65. Joe wrote in asking about the best strategy for coordinating Social Security benefits around that retirement goal. Should they take his wife's benefits now? Delay benefits to keep their income low and make Roth conversions? And since they're both too young to collect Medicare, how will their Social Security benefits affect their Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies? The good news is that Joe and his wife are already thinking about the main topic of today's episode: when you pull one lever on your retirement plan, another piece adjusts.  Working with a professional advisor can help you navigate these interconnected decisions with greater clarity and confidence.