Retirement Starts Today

Hosted by Benjamin Brandt CFP®, RICP®

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414

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Do you want to spend more money in retirement, while paying less taxes? Great news, you're in the right place! I'll also teach you the benefits of retiring TO something, while most retirees only solve half the equation by retiring FROM something. Tune in every Monday morning - hosted by Benjamin Brandt CFP, RICP. Join my "Every Day is Saturday" weekly newsletter for show notes, free book giveaways and other great retirement content: www.retirementstartstodayradio.com/newsletter

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60 recent

August 24, 2026Episode 46718 min

Your $135,000 Retirement Risk

The 2025 Milliman Long-Term Care Index put a number on long-term care: $135,000, the lump-sum amount an average 65-year-old would need to set aside today to cover the expected lifetime cost of long-term care. But there are some details you need to know that make up that number. About half of those who need paid long-term care only do so for less than a year (averaging $30,000 in total cost). The other half need care for more than 5 years at an average of $665,000. $135,000 is just the average. We will also take a question with multiple millions wanting to know if he should buy long-term care insurance or self-fund? Resource: Article by Christopher Giese, Annie Gunnlaugsson, Evan Pollock, and Kevin Brown: 2025 Milliman Long-Term Care Index Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

August 17, 2026Episode 46620 min

38% of Retirees Underspend

A Corebridge Financial's decumulation study found 70% of American retirees say it's "very important" that their nest egg doesn't shrink in retirement. Another result found 38% say they've spent less than they wanted to- but not because the money isn't there. They spent less specifically to keep the balance from going down. We go over more results from the study and what they mean in today's episode. In our Listener Question segment, a married person has two pensions. While he's alive, the guaranteed income covers everything. If he dies first, his wife loses half of it. So how do you account for that WITHOUT drastically underspending your portfolio? Finally, we wrap up the show with our Retire To Something segment. Resources: Article by Vawn Himmelsbach in Moneywise: 'It's not the climb up. It's the way down': 38% of retirees have trouble spending their money Read And Feed program: https://readandfeed.org Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

August 10, 2026Episode 46518 min

"New" Rules around 401K Catch-Up Contributions

A rule changed on January first that takes the tax deduction away from catch-up contributions for a lot of people who are still working. We'll run through all the 2026 numbers and talk about whether it's still worth doing. In our Listener Question segment, a fellow in Connecticut is worried that the low-income window he's been counting on for Roth conversions may never show up, because his wife is a high earner four years younger than he is. He's come up with a clever workaround. And to close out the show we hear from a retired HR Manager. After building a successful career, he found a meaningful way to give back through Reading Partners, serving as a remote reading tutor for students who need extra support. Resources: Article by Amy Arnott in MorningStar: Should Higher Earners Still Make 401(k) Catch‑Up Contributions? Reading Partners: https://readingpartners.org Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

August 3, 2026Episode 46419 min

The Four Risks to Retirement Security

Chris Heye makes the case in a Journal of Financial Planning article that the two retirement risks we obsess over might not be the two most likely to derail us. There are four risks in play, and the two nobody models are the ones quietly doing the most damage: Longevity Risk Market Risk Health Risk Decision Risk I go into depth on those last two. In our Listener Question, a 69-year-old retired engineer and do-it-yourselfer asks about setting up my plan for his wife who's just not into dollars and cents. And in our Retire To Something segment: Debbie shares her "One Year Sabbatical" — and how she gives herself permission to figure out her purpose along the way. Resource: Article by Chris Heye, Ph.D. in the Journal of Financial Planning: Beyond Sequence of Returns: The Four Risks to Retirement Security Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

July 27, 2026Episode 46320 min

How Much Should You Worry About Inflation?

Inflation again? Christine Benz over at Morningstar has three questions that tell you exactly how exposed you are - and how much retirees worry about inflation. Then, a listener question from someone one year into retirement who says their pension check feels like it just shrank ten percent - and what they might do to remedy that. And in our Retire To Something segment, Linda from Ontario, Canada, wanted a job at a cheese shop that wasn't hiring — and she applied anyway. Resources: Morningstar article by Christine Benz: How Much Should Retirees Worry About Inflation? Christine Benz book: How to Retire: 20 lessons for a happy, successful, and wealthy retirement Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

July 20, 2026Episode 46221 min

Revisiting the 4% Rule, with Bill Bengen

If you've been anywhere close to a retirement podcast over the last 10-20 years, you've heard of the 4% rule. And like many people, you might have questions about it. We're going to hear about it directly from the horse's mouth as we talk to Bill Bengen, who first articulated the 4% withdrawal rate as a rule of thumb for withdrawal rates from retirement accounts. The 4% rule is not a rigid rule but a guideline. Its application requires careful consideration of individual factors, including health, life expectancy, and specific financial circumstances. Bengen encourages retirees to tailor their withdrawal strategies based on their unique situations. Our discussion also explored required minimum distributions (RMDs), which may necessitate higher withdrawals in later years of retirement. However, Bengen suggests that for most people, RMDs would not exceed the calculated withdrawal rates until a very advanced age, making the two compatible. Core Points: The 4% rule, initially a worst-case scenario calculation, suggests a 4% annual withdrawal from retirement savings. This has since been refined Research indicates a more generous 4.7% withdrawal rate is now possible due to portfolio diversification and lower investment costs Higher withdrawal rates might be feasible (5-5.5%), depending on market valuations and inflation Early retirement withdrawal timing significantly impacts long-term success Consider individual circumstances, market conditions, and inflation when adjusting withdrawal strategies Resource: Bill Bengen's book, "A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More" https://www.bengenfs.com/order-my-book Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

July 13, 2026Episode 46121 min

Retirement Is a Sprint, Not a Marathon

Fritz Gilbert says the adage that "Retirement is a marathon, not a sprint" is backwards. He cites an average age where health starts to decline is 64, so sprinting in those first few years when the average retiree is 61-63 makes sense. We will dig into that idea, then follow it up with a listener who can't get her husband to think about anything but saving money. Resource: Article by Fritz Gilbert: Retirement is a Sprint, Not a Marathon Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

July 6, 2026Episode 46025 min

Is Your Cautious Retirement Spending Doing More Harm Than Good?

The fear of running out of money in retirement turns out to be mostly backwards. For super-savers, the data says the opposite usually happens. A piece from Danielle Labotka at Morningstar makes the case that for a lot of retirees: Being too cautious with your spending is actually the bigger risk. In our listener question segment: Anonymous wants to give money to her kids with warm hands, not cold. How much you can safely give today without putting your own retirement at risk? And then we'll wrap up with our Retire To Something segment: Dabbling in a little of everything. Resources: Article by Danielle Labotka at Morningstar: Is Your Cautious Retirement Spending Doing More Harm Than Good? Book by Bill Perkins: Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

June 29, 2026Episode 45921 min

The IRS Penalty Retirees Never See Coming (And How to Beat It)

Every year, thousands of retirees pay an extra penalty to the IRS — and almost none of them see it coming. What catches them off guard isn't a penalty for owing too much. You can do everything right — claim Social Security at the right age, run picture-perfect Roth conversions, manage your withdrawals down to the dollar — and still get a letter from the IRS charging you extra. I reworked a framework from an article by Sheryl Rowling at Morningstar into four clean, completely legal ways to avoid getting tax penalties. After that, we've got a listener question: A retiree writes in and says, "I don't want to think about money. My plan is tested, I have enough — so what's a simple checklist I can use to stay on track?" And to close the show, our Retire To Something segment where Clif traded his to-do list for a garden plot — and found community, leadership, and a whole lot of homegrown vegetables in the process. Resource: Article by Sheryl Rowling at Morningstar: 5 Ways to Avoid Tax Penalties Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart

June 22, 2026Episode 45819 min

Consumer Sentiment is Terrible

Americans don't feel great about the economy. Consumer Sentiment just hit the lowest reading in roughly 75 years. Ben Carlson over at A Wealth of Common Sense dug into why that might be, and what it means for those of us trying to enjoy a retirement when it always feels like the second shoe is about to drop. In our Listener Question segment, we hear from someone who is sitting on 50x their annual spending - and they can't get their spouse to spend it. Wrapping up the episode we hear from Karen in our "Retire To Something" segment. She's thru-hiking thousands of miles and loving it. Resource: Article by Ben Carlson of A Wealth of Common Sense: The Lowest Consumer Sentiment EVER Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement : http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit : http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin : https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book! Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast , Pocket Casts, Amazon Music , or iHeart