Retirement on the Horizon

The United States crossed $40 trillion in debt on August 19th — climbing about five and a half million dollars a minute. This week Retirement on the Horizon skips the outrage and talks about what it means for money you spent decades saving, and how a side-by-side look at both paths lets the math, not opinions, decide.

A deep dive on conversions and the Widow’s Penalty. This week Retirement on the Horizon uses the Tax Scorecard to show the other side of the pre-tax equation: one couple’s total retirement taxes and surcharges came to about $2.6 million through age 95, even after every deduction.

One dollar. That's all it can take to cross a line that costs a retired couple over $2,000 a year in Medicare surcharges — for the rest of retirement. That's a 200%+ tax bracket on that single dollar. It's not a typo, and it's not rare. This week: the tax torpedo, the IRMAA cliff, and the shadow tax you never saw coming.

While paying voluntary tax is likely an insulting thought, so many retirees are setup to do exactly that. The US Treasury has a big heart and will accept voluntary taxes from retirees--but we think you shouldn't pay them. This week, we aim to inform you on how to start paying way less in taxes in retirement on your accounts and keep more of what's yours. 

What makes a portfolio able to endure tough times, provide reliable income despite economic woes, and keep the IRS at bay? When things are great in the economy, we can become complacent and ignore area of concern that get revealed when its too late to do something about them--especially without great cost. Today, we discuss theprinciples of portfolio resiliency. 

Almost all retirement goals combine to one common end: peace and confidence in retirement. What retirement strategies tend to support that aim, and which--unknowingly--tend to diminish the likelihood of its achievement? Today, we how to bring your retirement assets and strategies into alignment with your goals. 

Protecting the luster of the golden years can be more challenging than most realize. The path is fraught with pitfalls and false allures, but knowing where they are gives you a distinct advantage in overcoming them. Today we cover 9 myths that can turn your retirement blue--and what to do about them. 

More yield. Better Social Security timing. Higher returns. Retirees try all of it in the quest for maximum income. Some of it works. Some of it backfires. And almost none of it compares to the one strategy that can increase what you actually keep by 30, 40, even 50 percent — without taking a single dollar of additional risk. This week — the quest for max income.

Here's the cruelest twist in retirement planning: the people most likely to get hit with IRMAA are the ones who saved the most. The harder you worked and the more you saved, the bigger the target on your back. This week we're talking about the IRMAA Ambush — what it is, how it finds you, and what you can do about it.

On this week's episode of Retirement on the Horizon, we take you through 7 key estate planning elements to make sure you have checked off. 

In this episode of Retirement on the Horizon, we dive into 5 high-level social security updates for 2026 and how they impact your social security decisions.

Through a case study, we explore how to make your social security potentially tax-free as well as leaving nearly 3X more to heirs while not sacrificing current life style.