Eight hundred shows in, the mission hasn’t changed: build income you can trust so you can sleep well at night. To celebrate the milestone, we brought together five leaders whose work has shaped modern retirement planning—Tom Hegna on the go‑go, slow‑go, and no‑go years, Heather Schreiber on Social Security strategy and IRMAA, Cheryl J. Moore on the truth about indexed annuities, Dr. Wade Pfau on the RISA framework, and Ed Slott on turning tax traps into tax opportunities.

We start with Hegna’s simple playbook: guarantee paychecks for life during the go‑go years so you actually spend; set a real plan for long‑term care risk in the slow‑go years; and use life insurance to deliver legacy, tax advantages, and permission to enjoy your savings. From there, Schreiber shows how spousal benefits, retroactive filing, and the repeal of GPO/WEP for certain cases can unlock more income for families with non‑covered pensions, while also flagging IRMAA’s two‑year lookback so you don’t get ambushed by Medicare surcharges.

Moore clears the fog around fixed indexed annuities—principal protection, growth linked to an index with a floor, and options for lifetime income that mirror what people already love about Social Security and pensions. Then Pfau explains why the Retirement Income Style Awareness assessment changes the conversation: Total Return, Income Protection, Time Segmentation, or Risk Wrap aren’t rival camps, they’re valid paths. When your plan matches your psychology—probability vs. safety, flexibility vs. commitment—you stick with it through volatility.

Ed Slott closes with a blunt truth: taxes are the biggest lever between the retirement you want and the one you get. Multi‑year Roth conversion planning, RMD strategy, beneficiary design, and charitable giving can shift wealth from forever taxed to never taxed and keep IRMAA in check. If you’re ready to align guaranteed income, healthcare planning, and tax efficiency with your personal style, let’s talk.

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To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com