The Road to Retirement Monthly Newsletter

This quarter, The Road to Retirement draws inspiration from spring cleaning to explore financial decluttering in retirement. We cover three essential areas every retiree should consider: consolidating accounts to simplify your financial picture, addressing investment clutter that may be quietly working against you, and evaluating whether downsizing your vehicles makes sense.

This quarter’s issue of The Road to Retirement is all
about saving. This includes topics like the best time to buy big-ticket items, ways to reduce Medicare IRMAA surcharges, and the best times to travel. Have a great quarter, and a Happy New Year!

In honor of the season, this issue covers three “freaky” financial mistakes that people are vulnerable to make with their finances, all of which can affect their retirement planning. Fortunately, you don’t need a clove of garlic or some silver to ward off these ghouls — and you don’t need to fear them either. All that’s required is just a little planning and foresight.

The July edition of Road to Retirement is devoted to one thing: Social Security.  It covers some common questions, such as which states tax Social Security benefits and how much your benefits are taxed.  It also covers when you should apply and provides an outlook on the future of Social Security.

The June edition prepares you for things coming around the bend, over the next hill, and on the horizon.  It covers topics like taxes, personal health, and overly conservative investments.

The May edition continues our series on retirement planning issues that often go unnoticed. This issue covers the following topics:

- Planning for your personal goals as well as your financial goals in retirement
- Handling unexpected expenses
- The importance of proper beneficiary designations
- Market recap for April 2025

The April edition continues our series on retirement planning issues that often go unnoticed. This issue covers the following topics:

·         Checking your credit report in retirement

·         Loaning money in retirement

·         Meeting your personal hierarchy of needs in retirement

·         Market recap for March 2025

This edition is about retirement planning issues that often go unnoticed.  This issue covers the following topics:

- Taking inflation into account
- Company stock decisions 
- Liquidity considerations
- Market recap for February 2025. 

The February edition completes our series on income planning.  This issue covers the following topics:

- “Lightning round” of ways to potentially maximize Social Security benefits
- Simple steps for minimizing taxes on retirement income
- Exploring REITs as a possible source of income
- Market recap for January 2025. 

The January edition continues our series on income planning.  This issue covers the following topics:

- Maximizing Social Security through spousal benefits

- Understanding the effect of taxes on retirement income

- Exploring dividends as a possible source of income

The December edition kicks off a new series about income planning. This issue covers the following topics:

·         Maximizing Social Security

·         Creating an Income Schedule

·         Exploring Alternative Sources of Income

The November edition is all about important conversations you should have with your loved ones about retirement. It covers the following topics:

+Sharing your dreams and goals
+Sharing your estate plans
+Sharing your concerns, especially about aging
+Market recap and outlook for October/November 2024.

This month's issue highlights the importance of planning for caregiving, setting a withdrawal strategy, and finding purpose in retirement.

In this month's issue, we take a look at some of the decisions and activities we should focus on immediately after retirement.