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  31. <title>Why My Airbnb Lost Money…and Still Felt Like a Win</title>
  32. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-my-airbnb-lost-money-and-still-felt-like-a-win/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=why-my-airbnb-lost-money-and-still-felt-like-a-win</link>
  33. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-my-airbnb-lost-money-and-still-felt-like-a-win/#comments</comments>
  35. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dana Anspach]]></dc:creator>
  36. <pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2025 08:24:36 +0000</pubDate>
  37. <category><![CDATA[Investments]]></category>
  38. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  39. <category><![CDATA[investments]]></category>
  40. <category><![CDATA[objectives]]></category>
  41. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16525</guid>
  42.  
  43. <description><![CDATA[<p>I moved to Arizona on August 1, 2001, and spent the next four years working with various CPA firms across the Phoenix and Scottsdale area. At one of those firms, [&#8230;]</p>
  44. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-my-airbnb-lost-money-and-still-felt-like-a-win/">Why My Airbnb Lost Money…and Still Felt Like a Win</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  45. ]]></description>
  46. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I moved to Arizona on August 1, 2001, and spent the next four years working with various CPA firms across the Phoenix and Scottsdale area.</p>
  47. <p>At one of those firms, I saw my first tax return with more than a million dollars of income. The Suttons (not their real name) owned commercial properties across the city. This was the first of many wealthy families I met who secured their fortunes through real estate.</p>
  48. <p><strong>I found real estate investing intriguing.</strong> Clearly, it could be lucrative. But aside from owning my home, I never pursued it. The late-night infomercials promising passive income looked glamorous, but from where I sat, real estate success seemed to take full-time effort, expertise, and a dash of luck.</p>
  49. <p>In the fall of 2022, an opportunity emerged. I put my home of sixteen years on Airbnb.</p>
  50. <p>I didn’t do it with visions of striking it rich. My reason was much simpler.</p>
  51. <p>Here&#8217;s the story of my second year owning an Airbnb.</p>
  52. <hr /><p><em>I turned my property into an AirBnB and lost money. I still consider it a win. Here&#039;s why...</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fwhy-my-airbnb-lost-money-and-still-felt-like-a-win%2F&#038;text=I%20turned%20my%20property%20into%20an%20AirBnB%20and%20lost%20money.%20I%20still%20consider%20it%20a%20win.%20Here%27s%20why...&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  53. <p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16536" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-02-1.50.10-PM.png" alt="" width="443" height="666" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-02-1.50.10-PM.png 443w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-02-1.50.10-PM-200x300.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 443px) 100vw, 443px" /></p>
  54. <h1>Why My AirBnB Lost Money&#8230;And Still Felt Like A Win</h1>
  55. <p>I turned the house into a rental for one reason: <strong>flexibility.</strong> With one move, I could cover both a downside risk and an upside option.</p>
  56. <p>As I explain in <strong><a href="https://medium.com/@moneyover55/my-first-year-owning-an-airbnb-property-d49750c423fc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">My First Year Owning an Airbnb Property</a></strong>, at the time, I was in a new relationship. If it didn’t work out,<strong> I needed a fallback plan.</strong> Having a home to move back to offered me downside protection.</p>
  57. <p>Luckily, it’s the upside option we’re leveraging. My husband and I bought a new home, which we knew would require a major remodel. When that time came, we’d need a place to live.</p>
  58. <p>I’ve watched clients shuffle between rentals, hotels, and storage sheds when construction dragged on. I knew that wouldn’t work for me—not while running a business. Stability at home preserves my energy for everything else.</p>
  59. <p>If we kept the old house, whether it made money or not, the flexibility would be priceless.</p>
  60. <p><strong><em>So here was the plan:</em> </strong>Rent the old house on Airbnb while living in the new house for a few years, using that time to build up cash reserves and devise a remodel plan. Once the remodel plan began, we’d turn off the Airbnb calendar and move back in. No leases, no scrambling for dog-friendly rentals, no stress if the project ran long.</p>
  61. <p>That kind of peace of mind feels like biting into a cool peppermint patty.</p>
  62. <p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16538" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/chocolate-2202154_640.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="179" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/chocolate-2202154_640.jpg 640w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/chocolate-2202154_640-300x84.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></p>
  63. <hr>
  64. <h2><strong>Expertise</strong></h2>
  65. <p>In order to make the plan work, I needed someone with expertise.</p>
  66. <p>Of course, peace of mind only goes so far—you also need know-how.</p>
  67. <p>My brother had been running Airbnb’s for more than a decade. Me? I’d rented a few on vacations.</p>
  68. <p>So I asked him to help. For a percentage of the rental income, he flew out, set up the property, created the listing, handled pricing, guest communications, and most repairs.</p>
  69. <p><strong><em>Most importantly</em>, he became a voice of calm reason.</strong></p>
  70. <p>He told me what it would take to become a “superhost” and assured me year two would be better than year one. He was right.</p>
  71. <p>Looking back, he did for me exactly what I do for clients: guided me through unfamiliar decisions, set clear expectations, handled the details, and kept me from making too many costly mistakes.</p>
  72. <p>Could I have squeezed out more cash flow doing it myself? I doubt it. Without the time or expertise, I wouldn’t have had the same occupancy, the same great reviews, and certainly not the same level of sanity.</p>
  73. <p>All that being said, do I have <em>passive</em> <em>income</em>… or any income at all?</p>
  74. <hr>
  75. <h2><strong>4 Ways of Measuring Earnings</strong></h2>
  76. <p>Whether you call it income, earnings, or wealth-building, real estate has multiple dimensions. I break mine into four buckets: cash flow, effort, net worth impact, and taxes.</p>
  77. <h3>1. Cash Flow</h3>
  78. <p>In year one, total outgoing cash exceeded incoming cash by more than $18,000 thanks to two hefty repairs (a new pool pump and a major roof repair) and one mistake (installing a pool heater).</p>
  79. <p>In year two, cash flow turned positive at $1,476. I’ve shared the numbers in the figure below.</p>
  80. <p>Looking at year two numbers, leveraged real estate shows its appeal: someone else helps pay for the asset.</p>
  81. <p><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Airbnb_rental_income.png"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16526" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Airbnb_rental_income.png" alt="" width="356" height="527" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Airbnb_rental_income.png 356w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Airbnb_rental_income-203x300.png 203w" sizes="(max-width: 356px) 100vw, 356px" /></a></p>
  82. <h3>2. Effort</h3>
  83. <p>How much effort did those results require?</p>
  84. <p>Even with my brother handling most of it, <strong>Airbnb takes work.</strong> Guests call about TVs. Neighbors text about sprinklers. I haul trash bins, pay invoices, and organize records at tax time. One guest asked us to come by to change a light bulb. Others want more hangers.</p>
  85. <p>Passive? Not by my definition. With a robust portfolio and a full-time property manager, sure, then I’d call it passive.</p>
  86. <h3>3. Net Worth Impact</h3>
  87. <p>In years one and two, $9,815 and $7,845 of the cash flow paid down principal—this adds to wealth. (I accidentally made an extra payment in 2023, which is why more principal was paid in 2023 than in 2024. At a 2.75% mortgage rate, paying it down faster was not my goal. In transferring payments to occur from a business account, I neglected to stop the personal payment in time.)</p>
  88. <p>As far as overall asset value, the property’s value dipped from the prior year. We’re not selling yet, so I don’t worry about short-term fluctuations. However, values could decline further before our timeline comes to fruition. There are no guarantees that the property will rise in value during our holding period.</p>
  89. <h3>4. Tax Impact</h3>
  90. <p><strong>Here’s where it gets interesting. </strong></p>
  91. <p>Even though the 2024 cash flow was positive, in addition to cash expenses, you also deduct depreciation, which allows you to claim a dollar amount to recognize wear and tear on a tangible asset. This is all reported on tax form Schedule E and resulted in <strong>a net loss of $6,560 for the year.</strong></p>
  92. <p>Can I deduct that loss? It depends. Three key concepts are at play: real estate professional status, the MAGI-based special allowance for non-professionals, and the passive activity rules.</p>
  93. <p><em>Note:</em> If you want to study real estate taxation, the book <strong><a href="https://amzn.to/4nc4Yrx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advanced Tax Strategies, Cracking the Code for Savvy Real Estate Investors</a></strong> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Amazon Affiliate Link)</em></span> will help. My copy is tagged with color-coded mini sticky notes.</p>
  94. <p><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AdvancedTaxStrategiesforSavvyRealEstateInvestors-rotated.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-16527 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AdvancedTaxStrategiesforSavvyRealEstateInvestors-rotated-e1756836170264.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="734"></a></p>
  95. <p>I’ll cover the nuts and bolts of the three factors to determine if the loss is tax-deductible.</p>
  96. <h3><strong>1) Real Estate Professional Status</strong></h3>
  97. <p>If you qualify as a <em>real estate professional</em>, rental losses are active and can offset wages and other active income.</p>
  98. <p>It’s tough to qualify if you already have a full-time non-real estate career, but it can work for couples where one spouse devotes substantial time to the rentals, while the other maintains high W-2 or active business income. In our household, we both have full-time, non-real-estate careers, so this status doesn’t apply.</p>
  99. <h3><strong>2) Special $25,000 Allowance (for Non-Professionals)</strong></h3>
  100. <p>If you don’t qualify as a real estate professional, your ability to deduct rental losses against other income phases out as Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) rises:</p>
  101. <ul>
  102. <li>$100,000 or less MAGI: up to $25,000 deductible</li>
  103. <li>$100,001–$150,000: reduced by 50% of MAGI over $100,000</li>
  104. <li>Over $150,000: special allowance eliminated</li>
  105. </ul>
  106. <p>Our income is too high, so this allowance doesn’t help us either.</p>
  107. <h3><strong>3) Passive Activity Rules</strong></h3>
  108. <p>Since neither of the first two provisions applies, we move on to the passive activity rules.</p>
  109. <p>Here&#8217;s how they work:</p>
  110. <ul>
  111. <li><strong>Passive Losses and Income Matching</strong>:
  112. <ul style="list-style-type: square;">
  113. <li>The IRS categorizes income and losses as either passive or non-passive. Passive losses can only offset passive income (not earned income or portfolio income like interest or dividends).</li>
  114. <li>Royalty income is usually considered passive if the taxpayer does not materially participate in the activity (such as royalties from a book or mineral rights where the taxpayer isn’t actively involved in development or promotion).</li>
  115. </ul>
  116. </li>
  117. </ul>
  118. <ul>
  119. <li><strong>Passive Activity Grouping</strong>:
  120. <ul style="list-style-type: square;">
  121. <li>Losses and income don’t have to come from the same property to offset one another, unless you’ve made a formal grouping election that says otherwise.</li>
  122. </ul>
  123. </li>
  124. </ul>
  125. <ul>
  126. <li><strong>Loss Carryforward</strong>:
  127. <ul style="list-style-type: square;">
  128. <li>Unused passive losses carry forward indefinitely until you have passive income or dispose of the activity.</li>
  129. </ul>
  130. </li>
  131. </ul>
  132. <ul>
  133. <li><strong>Disposition Exception</strong>:
  134. <ul style="list-style-type: square;">
  135. <li>If you sell your entire interest in a passive activity in a taxable sale to an unrelated party, it unlocks suspended losses, and they can offset income – regardless of how that income is characterized.</li>
  136. </ul>
  137. </li>
  138. </ul>
  139. <p><em>Short-term rental nuance:</em> if your average booking is 7 days or less and you materially participate, that activity may be non-passive, which can allow losses to offset active income. Best to talk with your tax professional to determine if this applies.</p>
  140. <h3><strong>How This Works for Us</strong></h3>
  141. <p>Our rental is passive, but I have passive royalty income from my books and courses. <strong>In 2024, those royalties nearly equaled our rental loss, so the two offset each other.</strong> Prior-year passive losses are still being carried forward.</p>
  142. <p>Technically, I could calculate the resulting tax savings and add that to my cash flow analysis. It would add a few thousand.</p>
  143. <hr>
  144. <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16540" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/house-for-sale-2845213_640-e1756836525235.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="500"></h2>
  145. <h2><strong>What Happens Upon Sale?</strong></h2>
  146. <p>That <em>disposition exception</em> can be a powerful tool for high earners when pairing the transaction with a high-income year. Passive losses that have been carried forward unlock at sale and offset income taxed at your marginal rate.</p>
  147. <p>For retirees with carry-forward passive losses and large IRAs, unlocking losses in the RMD years (beginning at age 73–75, depending on birth year) could be more valuable than doing so earlier, as your tax rate may be higher. Or you might time a sale with a Roth conversion.</p>
  148. <p><em>Caveat:</em> not all “unlocked” losses offset at the top rate. Depreciation taken along the way is subject to recapture (generally, up to a 25% tax rate applies), and there are additional nuances. So, it is not quite as simple as saying all losses offset income at the highest rate. But then it never is simple when it comes to taxes, is it?</p>
  149. <h3><strong>Our Plan</strong></h3>
  150. <p>We expect to move back into the Airbnb in 2026 during our rebuild, then sell it in 2027. That sale should unlock accumulated passive losses while our marginal rate is high.</p>
  151. <p>That leaves us one last item to navigate: the home-sale gain exclusion rules.</p>
  152. <hr>
  153. <h2><strong>Primary Residence Gain Exclusion Rules</strong></h2>
  154. <p>When you sell a primary residence, you can exclude capital gains from taxation up to $250,000 as a single filer, and $500,000 as a married-joint filer, <em>if</em> certain tests are met.&nbsp; At time of sale, you must have owned and lived in the home for two out of the previous five years, and you can’t have used the exclusion in the prior two years. Only one spouse needs to meet the ownership test, but both must meet the use test.</p>
  155. <ul>
  156. <li>I meet the ownership test.</li>
  157. <li>We both lived in the house in 2022, although we weren’t yet married, and we will live there again as a married couple in 2026.</li>
  158. </ul>
  159. <p>However, the years we had it as a rental are a &#8220;non-qualified use&#8221; and there will be a pro-rata calculation to account for those.&nbsp; For example, if we rented itl three out of the ten years prior to sale, 3/10 of the normal gain exclusion would be taxable. In this example, instead of a $500,000 gain exclusion (which would apply as we are married and filing jointly at the time of sale), because of the rental years, we may get $350,000 of gain exclusion. We&#8217;ll be running all this through our CPA, of course.&nbsp;</p>
  160. <p>After accounting for capital gain exclusion, you then recapture depreciation, followed by suspended passive losses offsetting other forms of income.&nbsp;</p>
  161. <hr>
  162. <h2><strong>Rental Real Estate for Retirement</strong></h2>
  163. <p>Would I rely on this property, or something similar, for steady retirement income?</p>
  164. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>No.</strong> </span></p>
  165. <p>The cash flow is unpredictable. I don’t want a varying paycheck in retirement, let alone one that may at times require me to put money back in.</p>
  166. <p>As a wealth-builder, real estate can be great. As a retirement paycheck for the average, non-professional investor? I find the cash flow too lumpy for comfort.</p>
  167. <h3><strong>My Goals</strong></h3>
  168. <p>We all invest for different reasons. It gets confusing when goals are fuzzy. It works best if each investment has a clear job description.</p>
  169. <p><strong>For my Airbnb, the job description was crystal clear: provide flexibility and peace of mind.</strong> It’s doing that job beautifully. The freedom to move back on our timeline and start our project without scrambling is priceless.</p>
  170. <p>Flexibility is a valuable feature.&nbsp;</p>
  171. <p>Not every decision is about maximizing returns. Maximizing life satisfaction and ease of transitions matters too. By that measure, this rental has been a win.</p>
  172. <h3><strong>What about you?</strong></h3>
  173. <p>Have you owned rental real estate? What were your goals, and how did it work out? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below.</p>
  174. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-my-airbnb-lost-money-and-still-felt-like-a-win/">Why My Airbnb Lost Money…and Still Felt Like a Win</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  175. ]]></content:encoded>
  177. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-my-airbnb-lost-money-and-still-felt-like-a-win/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  178. <slash:comments>16</slash:comments>
  181. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16525</post-id> </item>
  182. <item>
  183. <title>Traveling In The Arctic</title>
  184. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/traveling-in-the-arctic/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=traveling-in-the-arctic</link>
  185. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/traveling-in-the-arctic/#comments</comments>
  187. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  188. <pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2025 08:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
  189. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  190. <category><![CDATA[carpe diem]]></category>
  191. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  192. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  193. <category><![CDATA[retirement activities]]></category>
  194. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16443</guid>
  195.  
  196. <description><![CDATA[<p>It was a spontaneous decision. &#8220;Let&#8217;s Go To The Arctic!&#8221; My wife and I were on our way home last summer from a Disney Cruise we took with our daughter [&#8230;]</p>
  197. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/traveling-in-the-arctic/">Traveling In The Arctic</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  198. ]]></description>
  199. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It was a spontaneous decision.</p>
  200. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>&#8220;Let&#8217;s Go To The Arctic!&#8221;</strong></span></em></p>
  201. <p>My wife and I were on our way home last summer from a Disney Cruise we took with our daughter and granddaughter.&nbsp; The cruise was great, but the <strong>cacophony of excited children</strong> grated a bit on our aging nerves.&nbsp; As we were driving home, we discussed our mutual desire for a vacation &#8220;Just For Us.&#8221;&nbsp; We realized we both had the same desire to spend some time above the Arctic Circle.&nbsp;</p>
  202. <p>After a few weeks of research, we booked a <a href="https://www.vikingcruises.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Viking Cruise</strong></a> for August 2025 (they don&#8217;t allow children on their cruises).&nbsp; The &#8220;Expedition Cruise&#8221; took place on a polar-rated ship and spent 2 weeks above the Arctic Circle, along the coast of Greenland, and into the Northwest Passage. Here&#8217;s an overview of the cruise route:</p>
  203. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-16448 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot_20250725_103133_Gmail-e1756137104150.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="515"></p>
  204. <p>We just got home from the cruise.&nbsp; It was one of the best vacations we&#8217;ve ever taken.</p>
  205. <p>Today, I&#8217;ll tell you about it.&nbsp; And&#8230;I&#8217;ll share a lot of photos.</p>
  206. <p><em><strong>Hint:&nbsp; Yes, we saw polar bears.</strong></em></p>
  207. <hr /><p><em>We just got back from 2 weeks above the Arctic Circle. Want to see what it looks like?</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Ftraveling-in-the-arctic%2F&#038;text=We%20just%20got%20back%20from%202%20weeks%20above%20the%20Arctic%20Circle.%20Want%20to%20see%20what%20it%20looks%20like%3F&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  208. <hr>
  209. <figure id="attachment_16478" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16478" style="width: 440px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16478" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-26-2.21.46-PM.png" alt="" width="440" height="668" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-26-2.21.46-PM.png 440w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-26-2.21.46-PM-198x300.png 198w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16478" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Standing at the entrance to The Northwest Passage</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  210. <hr>
  211. <h1>Traveling in The Arctic</h1>
  212. <p>It isn&#8217;t easy to get to Greenland.</p>
  213. <p>While the capital city of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuuk" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Nuuk</strong></a> recently expanded its runway to 6,600 feet in length (allowing international jets to land), there are very few flights from the USA.&nbsp; To accommodate the 300+ passengers on our cruise, Viking hired a Charter jumbo jet to fly us all directly from NYC, along with all of the supplies necessary for our voyage (we had marvelous fresh fruit and sushi throughout our trip).&nbsp; An interesting and efficient solution to a difficult-to-service embarkation port.&nbsp; We all flew into NYC, were transported to a nearby hotel for the evening, and set our alarms for 2:15 a.m. to catch our early morning departure to Greenland.</p>
  214. <p><strong>Nuuk was fogged in.</strong></p>
  215. <p>As we approached Nuuk after our 4-hour flight from NYC, we were advised that Nuuk was fogged in and we would have to divert 200 miles to Kangerlussuaq Airport, originally an air force base and one of the only runways in Greenland long enough to land our plane.&nbsp; After sitting on the ground for 3+ hours, we resumed our journey, landed in Nuuk, and were transported to the ship via bus.</p>
  216. <p>In total, it was 30 hours door-to-door.</p>
  217. <p><strong>It isn&#8217;t easy to get to Greenland.&nbsp;</strong></p>
  218. <p>In spite of that, it&#8217;s an amazing country and well worth a visit.&nbsp; I expect you&#8217;ll see a surge of cruises working out of Nuuk in the coming years, and an increase in commercial airline traffic to support the growing tourism industry.&nbsp; FYI, Greenland is a huge country, as illustrated by this overlay on the USA:</p>
  219. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16498" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/6142204693326192979-e1756236893342.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="315"></p>
  220. <p>Below are highlights from the trip, starting with the vessel we traveled on:</p>
  221. <hr>
  222. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>The Ship</strong></span></p>
  223. <figure id="attachment_16467" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16467" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16467 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250813_103340-1-scaled-e1756230466498.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="468"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16467" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The Viking Octantis</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  224. <p>The <a href="https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/ships/viking-octantis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Viking Octantis</strong> </a>is a 665 ft long Polar Class 6 vessel, designed for travel in polar regions.&nbsp; In the winter, it travels to Antarctica, across the infamous Drake Passage.&nbsp; She&#8217;s tough, but designed for luxury travel.&nbsp; My favorite part of the ship is The Aula auditorium, an engineering marvel with retractable screens that reveal an amazing 270-degree view of the waters behind the ship.&nbsp; Throughout the trip, we enjoyed lectures from polar experts, Inuit &#8220;Cultural Ambassadors,&#8221; and daily briefings on our upcoming ports of interest.</p>
  225. <figure id="attachment_16465" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16465" style="width: 550px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16465" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-26-1.36.14-PM-e1756229841295.png" alt="" width="550" height="533"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16465" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The Aula (photo &amp; description courtesy of Viking website)</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  226. <hr>
  227. <p>We were allowed to tour the bridge of the Octantis, a modern-day wonder of technology for travel in some of the world&#8217;s most dangerous waters:</p>
  228. <figure id="attachment_16490" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16490" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16490 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250820_121948-scaled-e1756235323597.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16490" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The bridge of The Octantis</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  229. <hr>
  230. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Toys</strong></span></p>
  231. <p>The ship also carries all of her own &#8220;toys&#8221;, including kayaks, Zodiacs, two submarines, and Special Operations Boats to transport and entertain guests in the various locations we visited. We toured &#8220;The Hanger&#8221; during the cruise, and were in awe of the thinking that went into its design.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  232. <figure id="attachment_16482" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16482" style="width: 629px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16482" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-26-1.55.20-PM.png" alt="" width="629" height="499" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-26-1.55.20-PM.png 629w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-26-1.55.20-PM-300x238.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16482" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The Hanger where all the toys live.</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  233. <figure id="attachment_16468" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16468" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16468" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250812_112156-scaled-e1756230604700.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="318"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16468" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>My wife and I kayaking above The Arctic Circle.</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  234. <figure id="attachment_16469" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16469" style="width: 450px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16469 size-full" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1rem;" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250812_070635-1-scaled-e1756230698445.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="504" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250812_070635-1-scaled-e1756230698445.jpg 450w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250812_070635-1-scaled-e1756230698445-268x300.jpg 268w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16469" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>My wife on a Zodiac as we entered Sismiut, Greenland</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  235. <hr>
  236. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>The Inuit &#8211; Indigenous People of The Arctic</strong></span></p>
  237. <figure id="attachment_16470" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16470" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16470" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/original_02fd1401-ad7c-44fd-a6f2-bca55442d866_20250813_070522-e1756230944907.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="602"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16470" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Inuit elders in traditional dress (note the sealskin boots)</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  238. <p>One of my unexpected pleasures of the trip was learning about the<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Inuit</strong> </a>culture <em>(they&#8217;re not called Eskimos anymore</em>). These are rugged people who live in one of the most inhospitable parts of the world, and comprise the vast majority of the local population (there are <strong>57,000 people in Greenland</strong>, about 12% of whom are Danish). In addition to presentations from the Cultural Ambassadors aboard the ship (one of whom was a local high school teacher on her summer break), we were greeted warmly by the Elders in several of the fishing villages we visited on our cruise.</p>
  239. <p>In addition to performing<strong> local songs and dances</strong>, the elders displayed traditional attire, explained a bit about their culture, and answered every question asked by the curious tourists. In one town, they demonstrated local sporting competitions, which included fascinating techniques of kicking a piece of bone hanging at various heights from a rope. They&#8217;re a <strong>very soft-spoken people</strong>, often assumed to be shy due to their soft voices and focus on communal (versus individual) needs.&nbsp; Theirs is primarily a subsistence hunting culture, though they welcome the growth of tourism and view it as a means to educate outsiders about their unique lifestyle (not to mention the economic boost to their local economy).</p>
  240. <p>Greenlandic homes are colorful, as illustrated in this photo from Sismiut:</p>
  241. <figure id="attachment_16488" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16488" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16488" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250821_112150-scaled-e1756235028765.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="800"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16488" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The colorful homes of Sismiut, Greenland</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  242. <p>In one village, we were invited into an individual&#8217;s home for &#8220;Kappemik&#8221; (local coffee and danishes, baked by the women of the community before our arrival).&nbsp; It was fascinating to spend time inside a &#8220;local&#8217;s&#8221; home, and imagine what their life must be like in such remote communities far above the Arctic Circle.&nbsp;</p>
  243. <p><em><strong>Hint:</strong> </em>The Inuit don&#8217;t like their pictures being taken, so always ask for permission first (the elders in the photo above invited us to take that picture, it&#8217;s the only picture of Inuit I took the entire trip)</p>
  244. <hr>
  245. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>The Scenery</strong></span></p>
  246. <p>It&#8217;s hard to describe how wild Greenland and Nunavut, the Northernmost province of Canada, really are.&nbsp; The western coast of Greenland is the most beautiful coastline I&#8217;ve ever seen.&nbsp; With 80% of the country covered by an ice sheet, I can only imagine how remote and wild the interior is. There are over 150 named fjords in Greenland (and countless unnamed ones), most of which terminate with a glacier.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s one example:</p>
  247. <figure id="attachment_16484" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16484" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16484" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250811_121431-scaled-e1756234096520.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="563"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16484" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>A Greenland glacier (note Zodiacs in the foreground)</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  248. <p>The town of Ilulissat (which in Inuit means &#8220;Iceberg&#8221;) sits where the&nbsp; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilulissat_Icefjord" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Ilulissat Icefjord</strong></a> (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) runs from the interior ice field to the sea.&nbsp; A bit of trivia &#8211; the iceberg that sank the Titantic was deposited in the sea from this icefjord.&nbsp; I can&#8217;t even begin to describe the scale of the icefjord &#8211; <strong>note the people in the bottom</strong> of this picture for scale:</p>
  249. <figure id="attachment_16485" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16485" style="width: 550px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16485" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250813_091907-scaled-e1756234486659.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="733"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16485" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The Ilulissat Icefjord (note people at bottom for scale)</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  250. <p>I took a 5-mile hike from the town to an awe-inspiring overlook of the icefjord.&nbsp; It was worth every step:</p>
  251. <figure id="attachment_16486" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16486" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16486 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250813_084051-scaled-e1756234663509.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="800"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16486" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>A rock cairn marks the trail along the icefjord</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  252. <hr>
  253. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Entrance To The Northwest Passage</strong></span></p>
  254. <p>After a week cruising the western shore of Greenland, we were excited to enter the infamous Northwest Passage, where we spent the second half of our journey.&nbsp; No article about traveling in the Arctic would be complete without a photo showing the entrance to the famous waters in the Canadian province of Nunavut:</p>
  255. <figure id="attachment_16500" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16500" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16500 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250816_180122-1-scaled-e1756237547626.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="471" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250816_180122-1-scaled-e1756237547626.jpg 800w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250816_180122-1-scaled-e1756237547626-300x177.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250816_180122-1-scaled-e1756237547626-768x452.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16500" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The entrance to the Northwest Passage.</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  256. <hr>
  257. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>The Furthest Point North &#8211; Beechey Island</strong></span></p>
  258. <p>One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Beechey Island, <strong>562 miles above the Arctic Circle</strong> (for the record, it&#8217;s at 74.7° North and has 6 weeks of 24-hour daylight).&nbsp; Sadly, it&#8217;s also the final resting place for three members of the failed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin%27s_lost_expedition" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Franklin Expedition</strong></a> in 1845*.&nbsp; This map gives you a sense of how far North we were:</p>
  259. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16493" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot_20250704-155007-e1756236198528.png" alt="" width="600" height="508"></p>
  260. <div>Here are a few photos from Beechey Island:</div>
  261. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  262. <div dir="auto">
  263. <figure id="attachment_16494" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16494" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16494" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250818_055300-scaled-e1756236311620.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16494" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The desolate (and cold, windy) shores of Beechey Island, 560 miles above the Arctic Circle</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  264. </div>
  265. <figure id="attachment_16496" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16496" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16496 size-full" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1rem;" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250818_054609-scaled-e1756236475834.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16496" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The Final Resting Place for 3 members of the failed Franklin Expedition</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  266. <p><em style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>* Side note:</strong>&nbsp; Read some books before you go.&nbsp; I benefited greatly by reading <a href="https://amzn.to/4n33ekm" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Across The Top of The World </strong></a>(Amazon Affiliate link) before our departure, an amazing book about the early expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage, including a chapter on the doomed Franklin Expedition.</em></p>
  267. <hr>
  268. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>The Polar Bears</strong></span></p>
  269. <p>We visited Beechey Island early in the morning.</p>
  270. <p><strong>Why?</strong> Because we needed the rest of the day to go &#8220;hunting.&#8221;&nbsp; Based on ice maps the crew studied daily, they knew there was a large swatch of sea ice nearby.&nbsp; From experience, they knew that&#8217;s where the polar bears would be.&nbsp; Even in the summer, the polar bears use the sea ice to hunt for seals.</p>
  271. <figure id="attachment_16507" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16507" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16507 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/907db65ca71b466bad9411c6ef769010_Photo_Upload_4_Nuuk_to_Nuuk_August_10_2025-e1756309921823.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="422"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16507" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Mom is concerned about a nearby male hunting her cub (males eat cubs!)</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  272. <p><strong>We had a successful &#8220;hunt.&#8221;</strong></p>
  273. <p>We spotted 6 polar bears, and savored every minute watching them in their natural environment. <strong>The highlight was watching a Mom with her cub as they faced a life-threatening male</strong>, which are known to eat cubs. We were spellbound by the drama and watched as Mom and cub ultimately jumped in the water and swam 500 yards to move downwind from the male, who (fortunately) missed his snack.</p>
  274. <p>By the time the day was done, even the ship&#8217;s crew was excited by the results.&nbsp; &#8220;I&#8217;ve been traveling to the Arctic for years, and you just don&#8217;t see them this close!&#8221;&nbsp; <strong>Yes, it was that good.&nbsp;</strong> We all took photos with our cell phones, but I&#8217;m pleased to share some professional photos with you (thanks to John Chardine, a retired research scientist who was a guest speaker on the ship and permitted me to use his photos &#8211; he took them while we were standing next to each other on the deck of the boat.&nbsp; Check out his photography site <a href="https://www.chardinephoto.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here).</strong></a></p>
  275. <figure id="attachment_16509" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16509" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16509 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot_20250824_091952_Gallery-e1756310417124.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="733"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16509" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The first bear we spotted, a big (and curious) male.</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  276. <figure id="attachment_16511" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16511" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16511 size-full" style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1rem;" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot_20250824_091725_Gallery-e1756321344233.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="712"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16511" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Big male, trying to find the cub.</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  277. <figure id="attachment_16514" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16514" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16514" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot_20250819_090355_Gallery-e1756322092327.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="721"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16514" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Mom &amp; Cub swimming to safety</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  278. <figure id="attachment_16513" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16513" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16513" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot_20250824_091449_Photos-e1756321932508.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="582" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot_20250824_091449_Photos-e1756321932508.jpg 700w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot_20250824_091449_Photos-e1756321932508-300x249.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16513" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I took this one with my cell phone.</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  279. <hr>
  280. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  281. <p>The trip is one my wife and I will never forget.&nbsp; Sure, it cost a lot of money, but creating special memories is an investment I&#8217;ll never regret in these few short years we have to live our dream lives.&nbsp; How much did we enjoy it?&nbsp; Enough that we&#8217;ve already booked a second Expedition Cruise with Viking.&nbsp; In November 2027, we&#8217;ll be sailing The Octantis to Antarctica.</p>
  282. <p>We can&#8217;t wait.</p>
  283. <p>Long-time readers know I&#8217;ve been <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-spend-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>struggling to spend</strong> </a>in retirement.&nbsp; The good news?&nbsp; I&#8217;m getting better at it. &nbsp;I recently wrote a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7365391177686196224/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>LinkedIn post</strong></a>, which summarizes my thoughts on our trip and is an appropriate conclusion for today&#8217;s post.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  284. <p><strong><em>After we retire, what&#8217;s the best use of our money?</em></strong></p>
  285. <p><em>Once your basic needs are covered, give yourself permission to spend (within safe limits) on creating memories. In time, those memories will become your greatest investments. </em></p>
  286. <p><em>I returned last night from an (expensive) 2-week Expedition to Greenland and The Northwest Passage. </em></p>
  287. <p><em>The value of watching polar bears (including this mom and her cub) live in their natural environment, 500 miles North of The Arctic Circle?</em></p>
  288. <p><strong><em>Priceless.</em></strong></p>
  289. <p><em>Life is short. Invest in making new memories, while you still can.</em></p>
  290. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>#NoRegrets</strong></span></p>
  291. <p>P.S. If you enjoyed this &#8220;travel blog&#8221; article, you may be interested in the following summaries of every major trip we&#8217;ve taken since my retirement in 2018:&nbsp;</p>
  292. <ul>
  293. <li>2018:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-i-learned-from-an-epic-7000-mile-train-journey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>A 7,000-Mile Train Trip</strong></a></li>
  294. <li>2019:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/taking-an-rv-trip-across-america-with-4-dogs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>A Summer In The Pacific Northwest</strong></a></li>
  295. <li>2020:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-great-escape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Michigan’s Upper Peninsula</strong></a> and <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-drive-across-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>A Drive Across America</strong></a></li>
  296. <li>2021:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-2021-rv-adventure-is-underway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&nbsp;A Tour of The Midwest</strong></a></li>
  297. <li>2022:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-2022-rv-adventure-is-underway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How COVID Attacked Our 2022 RV Adventure&nbsp;</strong></a></li>
  298. <li>2023:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/on-the-road-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Slow Travel Visiting Family</strong></a></li>
  299. <li>2024:<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/were-going-on-vacation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&nbsp;The Maryland Shore</strong>&nbsp;</a>and <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/chasing-fall-colors-in-the-ozarks-our-next-rv-adventure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>A Month in The Ozarks</strong></a></li>
  300. </ul>
  301. <hr>
  302. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong> </span></em>What&#8217;s the best vacation you&#8217;ve ever taken, and why?&nbsp; Have you ever considered traveling in the Arctic?&nbsp; Want to join us in Antarctica? Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  303. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/traveling-in-the-arctic/">Traveling In The Arctic</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  304. ]]></content:encoded>
  306. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/traveling-in-the-arctic/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  307. <slash:comments>26</slash:comments>
  310. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16443</post-id> </item>
  311. <item>
  312. <title>OBBBA Tax Changes While Trekking Through the Alps: A Pre-Go-Go Reflection</title>
  313. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/obbba-tax-changes-while-trekking-through-the-alps-a-pre-go-go-reflection/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=obbba-tax-changes-while-trekking-through-the-alps-a-pre-go-go-reflection</link>
  314. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/obbba-tax-changes-while-trekking-through-the-alps-a-pre-go-go-reflection/#comments</comments>
  316. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dana Anspach]]></dc:creator>
  317. <pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 08:35:42 +0000</pubDate>
  318. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  319. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16410</guid>
  320.  
  321. <description><![CDATA[<p>What is one thing the OBBBA Tax Changes have in common with the Alps? Today, I&#8217;m going to answer that riddle.&#160; I&#8217;m also going to highlight the key issues from [&#8230;]</p>
  322. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/obbba-tax-changes-while-trekking-through-the-alps-a-pre-go-go-reflection/">OBBBA Tax Changes While Trekking Through the Alps: A Pre-Go-Go Reflection</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  323. ]]></description>
  324. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>What is one thing the OBBBA Tax Changes have in common with the Alps?</strong></p>
  325. <p>Today, I&#8217;m going to answer that riddle.&nbsp; I&#8217;m also going to highlight the key issues from the new tax bill:</p>
  326. <ul>
  327. <li>What are the big wins for retirees?</li>
  328. <li>What changes may hurt early retirees?</li>
  329. <li>What the new law means for retirement planning.</li>
  330. </ul>
  331. <p>But first, a story of my recent Pre-Go-Go adventure&#8230;</p>
  332. <p>On June 29th, I left for Switzerland.</p>
  333. <p><strong>It was more than a vacation</strong>—it was my first deliberate experiment blending the final stretch of my working years with the early flavors of retirement. I’ve started calling it my “Pre-Go-Go” phase: that period before retirement where you test out what life might look like when the pace slows and priorities shift.</p>
  334. <p>Since starting my business in 2011, I&#8217;ve never taken a vacation without my laptop—until this one. While I remained mostly unplugged, I used my phone to peek in on emails and Slack messages (an internal messaging app we use).</p>
  335. <p>On July 1, we began our hike. Eight to ten hours a day, I was outdoors in the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen, with emails—and tax bills—far from my mind. I grew up watching <em>The Sound of Music</em>. Watching it on the screen and seeing it firsthand are quite different. The sheer scale of seeing mountains shoot straight up is… awe-inspiring. Our world is incredible.</p>
  336. <p>Below is a picture from our first day of hiking.</p>
  337. <figure id="attachment_16414" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16414" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Dana-Alps-Day1-rotated.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16414" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Dana-Alps-Day1-rotated.jpg" alt="A view from the hiking trail in the Alps." width="640" height="480" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Dana-Alps-Day1-rotated.jpg 640w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Dana-Alps-Day1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Dana-Alps-Day1-360x270.jpg 360w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Dana-Alps-Day1-80x60.jpg 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16414" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Tour du Mont Blanc Hike &#8211; Day 1</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  338. <hr>
  339. <h1>The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Rolls Out</h1>
  340. <p>On July 3<sup>rd</sup>, our internal “Planner” messaging channel began buzzing with the news of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).&nbsp;</p>
  341. <p><strong>“What would the team do?”</strong> I wondered.</p>
  342. <p>They immediately set out to update our planning model. By Monday, July 7th, they began putting clients in the new model to understand the impact. They even wrote and sent a brief newsletter outlining a few key provisions.</p>
  343. <p>I watched it all happen from afar and did not intervene. They didn’t miss a beat.</p>
  344. <p>And I didn’t miss a beat either! I enjoyed my vacation and did not let the news distract me. Two and a half weeks immersed in another world did wonders for my energy and focus.</p>
  345. <p>July 16<sup>th</sup> was my first day back in the office. I was ready to go back. I missed work. It felt like being away from home or family for too long. &nbsp;I’m clearly not ready for retirement—but I also confirmed that I need to incorporate more breaks like these. That balance is critical for me at this stage of my career.</p>
  346. <p>Given all this, I label my first Pre-Go-Go trip experiment a success!</p>
  347. <p>Now, on to what I (luckily) still love to do—translate financial complexity into what it means at a household level.</p>
  348. <hr>
  349. <h2>Digesting the New Tax Changes</h2>
  350. <p>My first thoughts on the OBBBA?</p>
  351. <p>What a hodge-podge of random provisions! What complexity. If we thought Roth conversion analyses were difficult before… <em>ooof </em>(me trying to type out the sound of getting the wind knocked out of you). They just got exponentially more challenging.</p>
  352. <p>For those who want a thorough technical run-down of the rules, no one does it better than the professionals who write for Kitces.com at the Nerd’s Eye View. You’ll find their write-up at <strong><a href="https://www.kitces.com/blog/obbba-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-tax-planning-salt-cap-senior-deduction-qbi-deduction-tax-cut-and-jobs-act-tcja-amt-trump-accounts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Breaking Down The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”: Impact of New Laws on Tax Planning</a></strong>.</p>
  353. <p><strong>For those who want a practical summary, I’ve outlined key provisions below</strong>—grouped by who benefits and who might be impacted negatively.</p>
  354. <p>Let’s dive in.</p>
  355. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16431" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/taxes-4326713_640.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="431" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/taxes-4326713_640.jpg 640w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/taxes-4326713_640-300x202.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></p>
  356. <hr>
  357. <h1>Key Provisions of OBBBA</h1>
  358. <hr>
  359. <h1><strong>1. Universal Wins</strong></h1>
  360. <h2><strong>A) Most Impactful: Tax Rates</strong></h2>
  361. <ul>
  362. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Everyone</li>
  363. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> 2025, no expiration</li>
  364. </ul>
  365. <p>The current brackets no longer sunset, avoiding a reversion to pre-2018 levels. This one change alone is responsible for increasing “fundedness” by around 3% in most plans I’ve reviewed. <em>(Fundedness is one of several metrics used to <strong><a href="https://www.sensiblemoney.com/learn/3-ways-to-tell-if-your-retirement-income-plan-will-work/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stress test a retirement plan</a>.</strong>)</em></p>
  366. <p>This positive impact comes from a reduction in households’ <a href="https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2023/11/13/managing-taxes-retirement-effective-marginal-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">effective marginal rate</a>, which reduces the present value of lifetime taxes, increasing the after-tax value of assets estimated at the end of a plan.</p>
  367. <p>Or, put another way, these improved metrics offer the opportunity to spend more earlier <em>without</em> compromising future financial outcomes.</p>
  368. <p>You may want to ask, “Rather than leave an extra couple hundred thousand when I’m 85, how much more could I spend now and still end up in the same place?”</p>
  369. <h2><strong>B) Standard Deduction and Bracket Adjustments (Minor, but Beneficial)</strong></h2>
  370. <p>These next two provisions also benefit nearly everyone:</p>
  371. <ul>
  372. <li>In 2025, a slightly higher standard deduction takes effect.</li>
  373. <li>In 2026, the 10% and 12% brackets expand modestly, which becomes worth a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in tax savings, depending on household income.</li>
  374. </ul>
  375. <h2><strong>C) Extra Senior Deduction</strong></h2>
  376. <ul>
  377. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Age 65+, MAGI &lt; $150K (singles), &lt; $250K (joint)</li>
  378. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> 2025 to 2028</li>
  379. </ul>
  380. <p>MAGI refers to Modified Adjusted Gross Income.</p>
  381. <p>Adds $6,000 (singles) or $12,000 (joint) to the standard deduction for qualifying seniors. The deduction begins phasing out at $75K (single) and $150K (joint), making Roth conversions and tax-deferred withdrawals trickier to plan when near those limits.</p>
  382. <h2><strong>D) Mortgage Insurance Deduction</strong></h2>
  383. <ul>
  384. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Homeowners with &lt;20% down</li>
  385. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> Begins 2026</li>
  386. </ul>
  387. <p>Mortgage insurance premiums become deductible again—helpful for late-start retirement savers, or perhaps those rebuilding after divorce or bankruptcy and using FHA/VA loans with less than 20% down.</p>
  388. <h2><strong>E) Auto Loan Interest Deduction</strong></h2>
  389. <ul>
  390. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> MAGI &lt;$150K (single), &lt;$250K (joint)</li>
  391. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> 2025 to 2028</li>
  392. </ul>
  393. <p>Eligible for vehicles assembled in the U.S. and purchased with a new loan (or refinanced without increasing balance). Only the first $10,000 of interest is deductible.</p>
  394. <p>I’m honestly perplexed how many households at these income levels will rack up $10K in interest. Perhaps that&#8217;s because I&#8217;m focused on retirees &#8211; a colleague reminded me that many households with teenage children have multiple cars. And who knows, maybe auto financing departments will get creative with loan packages where you pay all interest first?</p>
  395. <h2><strong>F) Qualified Tips and Overtime Deductions</strong></h2>
  396. <ul>
  397. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> MAGI &lt; $150K (single), &lt; $300K (joint)</li>
  398. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> 2025 to 2028</li>
  399. </ul>
  400. <p>The Qualified Tips (first $25,000 of qualified tip income – same limit single or married) and Qualified Overtime deductions (first $12,500 single/$25,000 joint) are subject to eligibility requirements and phaseouts.</p>
  401. <p>I see this as a win for service and blue-collar workers. Also helpful for retirees working part-time in tipped industries.</p>
  402. <h2><strong>G) Charitable Deduction for Non-Itemizers </strong></h2>
  403. <ul>
  404. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Non-itemizing filers</li>
  405. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> Begins 2026, no expiration</li>
  406. </ul>
  407. <p>Non-itemizers can deduct $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (joint) for charitable gifts. Modest, but could help households who give consistently but don’t meet the standard deduction threshold. However, this deduction, unlike the Qualified Charitable Contribution (QCD from an IRA), does not lower AGI, so it won&#8217;t help in other areas.&nbsp;</p>
  408. <h2><strong>H) SALT Deduction Increase</strong></h2>
  409. <ul>
  410. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> MAGI &lt; $600,000</li>
  411. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> 2025 &#8211; 2029</li>
  412. </ul>
  413. <p>Raises the SALT cap (state and local taxes) to $40,000 (phasing out at MAGI of $500K and gone by $600K). Most useful for middle-income earners in high-tax states.</p>
  414. <p>The definition of “middle income,” of course, is up for debate.</p>
  415. <h2><strong>I) Estate Tax Exemption</strong></h2>
  416. <ul>
  417. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Ultra-high-net-worth households</li>
  418. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> Begins 2026</li>
  419. </ul>
  420. <p>The estate tax exemption increases to $15 million per person, starting in 2026. Great news for the next generation of a select few families.</p>
  421. <hr>
  422. <h1><strong>2. Changes That May Hurt Early Retirees</strong></h1>
  423. <h2><strong>A) HealthCare Tax Credit Changes</strong></h2>
  424. <ul>
  425. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Pre-age 65 Marketplace Plan users</li>
  426. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> Begins 2026, no expiration</li>
  427. </ul>
  428. <p>We’re back to pre-2021 rules. The 8.5% MAGI cap on premiums is gone. Starting in 2026, your income must fall within the federal poverty level thresholds to qualify for Advance Premium Tax Credits.</p>
  429. <p>In the past few years, I’ve seen many early retirees (in the 55 to 64 age range) qualify for substantial credits that helped cover their insurance premium costs—even though many of them had financial assets in the $1.5 to $2.5 million range. That’s because eligibility is not tied to assets but to income. And income can be managed by when and how you use various assets for cash flow.</p>
  430. <ul>
  431. <li><strong>Before 2021</strong>, if your income exceeded the federal poverty levels (FPL &#8211; adjusted each year with inflation), you were not eligible for a subsidy to help cover the cost of a Marketplace health plan.</li>
  432. <li><strong>From 2021 to 2025</strong>, adjustments to the formula helped more households qualify for higher credits. In 2026, those adjustments are eliminated. Less households will qualify, and those who do will see lower credit amounts.</li>
  433. </ul>
  434. <p>Additional changes are beyond the scope of this summary. But it all means that starting in 2026, income projections for your Marketplace plan application will be more critical—if you overshoot, you may owe far more back when you file your tax return than in recent years.</p>
  435. <p>However, there may be one silver lining: a new HSA-eligible Marketplace plan. Some households losing credit eligibility may be able to get an HSA deduction instead—if they choose their plan appropriately.</p>
  436. <p>Deductions, however, are not as beneficial as credits.</p>
  437. <h2><strong>B) Not Great for Gamblers</strong></h2>
  438. <ul>
  439. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Itemizers with gambling activity</li>
  440. <li><strong>Timeframe</strong>: Begins 2025, no expiration</li>
  441. </ul>
  442. <p>Losses can now only offset 90% of winnings. This hits gambling retirees hard, since winnings inflate AGI but losses don’t reduce it. (And a higher AGI can result in higher taxes in many other areas.)</p>
  443. <p>I’ll never forget one client I worked with, who has since passed, who had over $500,000 in gambling wins and losses on his tax return <em>each year</em>. That’s a lot of time at the casino. Now that same client would claim $50,000 of gross income, even though his losses equaled his winnings.</p>
  444. <p>With sports betting on the rise, this may impact more people.</p>
  445. <h2><strong>C) Charitable Deduction Changes for Itemizers</strong></h2>
  446. <ul>
  447. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Itemizers who make charitable contributions</li>
  448. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> Begins 2026, no expiration</li>
  449. </ul>
  450. <p>Charitable contributions, beginning in 2026, will be subject to a .5% (half a percent) floor, with a complex set of ordering rules to follow depending on the type of donation.</p>
  451. <p>For some, donating more this year may be beneficial.</p>
  452. <p>In one recent client meeting, we had donor-advised fund (DAF) contributions planned for this year and next, then in 2027, donations shift to come from the IRA through Qualified Charitable Contributions as this person reaches age 70 ½ that year. Now, instead, we recommend making the 2026 DAF contributions in 2025 to avoid losing part of the deduction due to the floor next year.</p>
  453. <p>In addition, in 2026, there is an itemized deduction cap, which effectively means the benefit of the deductions is capped at the 35% rate, rather than the highest 37% rate. This impacts only those with income falling in this 37% bracket.</p>
  454. <p>Essentially, these rules impose both a floor and a cap on charitable deductions.</p>
  455. <p>For those who regularly contribute to charity, consider accelerating any future planned large charitable contributions into 2025.</p>
  456. <h2><strong>D) AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax)</strong></h2>
  457. <ul>
  458. <li><strong>Impacts:</strong> Taxable income &gt; $500K (single), &gt; $1M (joint)</li>
  459. <li><strong>Timeframe:</strong> Begins 2026, no expiration</li>
  460. </ul>
  461. <p>I’m not sure if anyone knows what AMT is anymore—since TCJA (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) changes, it impacts only about .1% (1/10 of 1%) of households. A specified amount of income is exempt from the AMT tax. But this exemption phases out as your income crosses IRS thresholds.</p>
  462. <p>Now, the AMT exemption phaseout limits drop, most likely hitting those who still hold incentive stock options—uncommon since 2006 accounting-rule changes—but potentially relevant in tech-heavy or executive households. This may also impact those with large capital gains, as those gains may more easily push them into the range where they lose the exemptions.</p>
  463. <hr>
  464. <h1><strong>What This Means for Planning</strong></h1>
  465. <p>There are many, many other changes. The sheer scope of this bill is mind-boggling. Without software, accurately incorporating everything into a tax return is nearly impossible. Perhaps Einstein could do it.</p>
  466. <p>Everyone wants a “rule of thumb” approach for what to adjust. That was hard before. Now, with multiple income cliffs and overlapping MAGI thresholds, the only realistic approach is case-by-case.</p>
  467. <p>One client told us they’d heard they should accelerate Roth conversions. Maybe—for some people, in some situations. But I can’t imagine recommending that universally based on OBBBA.</p>
  468. <p>Our planning team has also debated how “permanent” these changes really are. Could future legislation raise rates? Absolutely. But even then, plans still benefit from several years of lower rates.</p>
  469. <hr>
  470. <h2><strong>My Universal Conclusions</strong></h2>
  471. <p>There are only two things I’ve seen hold true in every single plan so far:</p>
  472. <ol>
  473. <li>OBBBA improves outcomes by a measurable margin.</li>
  474. <li>It adds immense complexity, especially around conversions and withdrawal strategies.</li>
  475. </ol>
  476. <p><strong>Oh, and I’ll add a third:</strong> it gives me one giant headache. Has anyone tried correlating Advil sales with tax bill releases?</p>
  477. <p>These changes illustrate the importance of thoughtful tax planning—it’s an evolving puzzle. And the OBBBA added <em>many</em> new pieces.</p>
  478. <p>Whether you’re still working or already easing into retirement, <strong>an updated plan may reveal more room to breathe</strong>—maybe even enough for an earlier retirement, that bucket-list Pre-Go adventure, or simply the confidence for more worry-free spending in your Go-Go years.</p>
  479. <p>In the opening line, I asked a riddle.&nbsp; In my final line, I&#8217;ll answer it.</p>
  480. <p><em><strong>&#8220;Room To Breathe&#8221;</strong></em></p>
  481. <p>Perhaps the one thing OBBBA has in common with The Alps.</p>
  482. <hr>
  483. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:</strong></span></em> Have you evaluated how the OBBBA changes impact you? If so, we’d love to hear your insights in the comments.</p>
  484. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/obbba-tax-changes-while-trekking-through-the-alps-a-pre-go-go-reflection/">OBBBA Tax Changes While Trekking Through the Alps: A Pre-Go-Go Reflection</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  485. ]]></content:encoded>
  487. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/obbba-tax-changes-while-trekking-through-the-alps-a-pre-go-go-reflection/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  488. <slash:comments>22</slash:comments>
  491. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16410</post-id> </item>
  492. <item>
  493. <title>The Future of Retirement: How Technology Will Make Aging Easier</title>
  494. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-future-of-retirement-how-technology-will-make-aging-easier/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-future-of-retirement-how-technology-will-make-aging-easier</link>
  495. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-future-of-retirement-how-technology-will-make-aging-easier/#comments</comments>
  497. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  498. <pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2025 08:38:56 +0000</pubDate>
  499. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  500. <category><![CDATA[retirement activities]]></category>
  501. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  502. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=15904</guid>
  503.  
  504. <description><![CDATA[<p>I remember my first &#8220;mobile phone&#8221; like it was yesterday (calling it &#8220;mobile&#8221; was a stretch). It was the late 1980s, I was in my first sales role, and our [&#8230;]</p>
  505. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-future-of-retirement-how-technology-will-make-aging-easier/">The Future of Retirement: How Technology Will Make Aging Easier</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  506. ]]></description>
  507. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I remember my first &#8220;mobile phone&#8221; like it was yesterday <em>(calling it &#8220;mobile&#8221; was a stretch)</em>.</p>
  508. <p>It was the late 1980s, I was in my first sales role, and our VP wanted all sales reps to be accessible while traveling.&nbsp; I recall the technician installing the &#8220;box&#8221; part of the phone in the trunk of my company car, and how I had to remove it from the mount and into a case for carrying.&nbsp; The thing was huge and similar to the following picture I found <a href="https://techcentral.co.za/the-cellphones-of-the-1980s/191544/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>:</p>
  509. <figure id="attachment_16072" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16072" style="width: 454px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16072" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-11-3.36.32-PM.png" alt="" width="454" height="379" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-11-3.36.32-PM.png 454w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-11-3.36.32-PM-300x250.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 454px) 100vw, 454px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16072" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Vodafone weighed 10 lbs.</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  510. <p>In 1996, I got a <a href="https://lowendmac.com/2016/a-history-of-palm-part-2-palm-pdas-and-phones-1996-to-2003/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Palm Pilot.</strong></a>&nbsp; I loved that thing.&nbsp; I remember the docking station and how you had to hit that &#8220;synch&#8221; button to run an update between your computer and the Palm unit. For the first time in my career, I could ditch my physical address book and calendar and view things on my computer or the Palm unit. I loved the cool stylus that slid sleekly into the case.&nbsp;</p>
  511. <p><strong>I was, finally, hip.&nbsp; <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f609.png" alt="😉" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></strong></p>
  512. <figure id="attachment_16073" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16073" style="width: 296px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16073 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-11-3.42.00-PM.png" alt="" width="296" height="379" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-11-3.42.00-PM.png 296w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-11-3.42.00-PM-234x300.png 234w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 296px) 100vw, 296px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16073" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Palm Pilot &#8211; I loved that stylus!</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  513. <p>A trip down memory lane wouldn&#8217;t be complete without mentioning the 2002 introduction of the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Blackberry</strong></a> smartphone, whose nickname &#8220;Crackberry&#8221; came years before people knew of the addictions <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/beware-the-dopamine-cartel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Dopamine Cartel</strong></a> would later spread to the world.&nbsp; I loved my BlackBerry and the irresistable tactile pleasure those buttons provided (I&#8217;ve never enjoyed the &#8220;smooth-faced&#8221; phones to the same degree as those wonderful little buttons):</p>
  514. <figure id="attachment_16079" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16079" style="width: 350px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16079 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-12-11.55.04-AM-e1739379738789.png" alt="" width="350" height="410"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16079" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Nothing beat the click of those buttons!</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  515. <p>A lunky old mobile phone, my first Palm Pilot, and the infamous CrackBerry&#8230; A fun trip down memory lane, but what&#8217;s my point?</p>
  516. <p>It&#8217;s easy to look in the rearview mirror and see the improvements technology has brought into our lives.</p>
  517. <p><strong>But what about the future?&nbsp; </strong></p>
  518. <p><strong>How will technology impact our later years?</strong></p>
  519. <hr /><p><em>Technology is changing fast. How will it impact our later retirement years? Today, we take a look...</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fthe-future-of-retirement-how-technology-will-make-aging-easier%2F&#038;text=Technology%20is%20changing%20fast.%20How%20will%20it%20impact%20our%20later%20retirement%20years%3F%20Today%2C%20we%20take%20a%20look...&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  520. <hr>
  521. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16350" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-06-17-2.35.11-PM.png" alt="" width="437" height="667" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-06-17-2.35.11-PM.png 437w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-06-17-2.35.11-PM-197x300.png 197w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 437px) 100vw, 437px" /></p>
  522. <hr>
  523. <h1><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>The Future of Retirement</strong></span></h1>
  524. <p>As a salesman in the mid-1980s, I thought nothing of pulling into a hotel in the middle of the day and using my corporate calling card in the pay phone cubicle to check in with the office secretary. Voice mail wasn&#8217;t a thing, so the secretary dutifully wrote down the messages and recited them when I called in. I remember those hotel corridors lined with pay phones, and the mass of other salespeople doing the same thing.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  525. <p>It&#8217;s just the way it was 40 years ago.</p>
  526. <p>We had no idea what was coming, and we were fine with how things were.</p>
  527. <p><strong>As it was in the past, so it will be in the future.</strong></p>
  528. <p>From the beginning of my career to the end of my career, the world changed. From the beginning of my retirement to the end of my retirement, the world will change again.&nbsp; We have no idea what is coming, and we&#8217;re fine with how things are. But one thing is certain:</p>
  529. <p>The speed of technological advancement will only increase, and our lives will be impacted in ways we can&#8217;t imagine.</p>
  530. <hr>
  531. <figure id="attachment_16124" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16124" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16124" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot_20250306-103438-e1741278980196.png" alt="will technology make aging easier" width="600" height="592"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16124" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">AI image by Google Gemini</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  532. <p><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Technology We&#8217;ll Use When We&#8217;re &#8220;Old&#8221;</strong></span></p>
  533. <p>It&#8217;s easy to look back and recall the changes that have occurred, but it&#8217;s entirely different to try to predict what the future will bring.&nbsp; Sure, we&#8217;ve all heard about <a href="https://chatgpt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>ChatGPT</strong></a>, but few of us truly grasp the impact AI will have on our later years.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  534. <p>None of us knows what the future holds, but it&#8217;s interesting to imagine what impact technology will have on our old age. Based on some research I&#8217;ve done and using my imagination, here are a few things we may have to look forward to.&nbsp; They seem far-fetched, but considering how far we&#8217;ve come in the past few decades, and recognizing the pace of technology will only increase, these projections may fall short of the reality we&#8217;ll be living when we&#8217;re &#8220;old.&#8221;</p>
  535. <p><strong>&#8220;Aging In Place&#8221;</strong> will become far more practical, and children who live miles away from their widowed Mom will have more options to provide care from afar.&nbsp; Transportation will change, as will the way &#8220;support&#8221; services are provided for the elderly.&nbsp;</p>
  536. <p>Some ideas to consider&#8230;</p>
  537. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Robotic Advancement:</strong></span>&nbsp; When we&#8217;re &#8220;old,&#8221;&nbsp; we&#8217;ll look back on that <a href="https://www.irobot.com/en_US/roomba.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Roomba</strong></a> in the same way we look back at that 10-pound &#8220;mobile&#8221; phone today.&nbsp; It worked, but we had no idea where the advancements would lead.&nbsp; Advancements in robotics, combined with AI technology, will revolutionize our elderly lives.&nbsp; Our robot assistants will carry in the groceries, keep our homes clean, and help us get out of bed (and into our robotic wheelchairs). Self-driving vehicles will, at some point, become common, eliminating the need for future generations to take away their parents&#8217; keys.</p>
  538. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>AI Personal Assistants:</strong>&nbsp;</span> An AI &#8220;nurse&#8221; who monitors us and is available 24/7 will be helpful for our far-away children, and a natural solution for the increased healthcare needs as Baby Boomers reach old age.&nbsp; In addition to ensuring we take our daily medications, our assistant will monitor our vitals, detect if we fall, and automatically contact emergency personnel in the event of an emergency.&nbsp; Personal safety devices could be available, which will automatically deploy in the event of a fall or when they detect instability.&nbsp; &#8220;I&#8217;ve fallen, and I can&#8217;t get up&#8221; will become a thing of the past.&nbsp; The burden of caregiving will be greatly reduced for children or spouses dealing with aging loved ones.</p>
  539. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Financial Management:&nbsp;</strong></span> The role of today&#8217;s financial planner will change dramatically. With the projected shortfall of financial planners, AI will fill the gap and become embraced by most.&nbsp; Automated rebalancing, monitoring of your financial accounts, fraud detection, and automatic refilling of your spending accounts will reduce the need for personal contact with an advisor.&nbsp; Smart advisors are already getting ahead of this trend by offering in-house AI features as part of their service, allowing them to serve a larger account base with the same hours of personal involvement.&nbsp; Client expenses will fall accordingly.</p>
  540. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Predictive Healthcare:</strong>&nbsp;</span> Doctors will treat a disease before you get it.&nbsp; Healthcare technology will move to preventative solutions rather than today&#8217;s &#8220;reactive&#8221; healthcare business model.&nbsp; AI monitors will constantly monitor your vitals and notify professionals in real time if something changes.&nbsp; Technology will learn to detect anomalies that increase your risk of certain diseases, and preventative medicine will become the norm.</p>
  541. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>AI Companionship:&nbsp;</strong></span> Loneliness is an epidemic, and AI will evolve to meet the need for companionship.&nbsp; Lifelike robotics are a certainty (it&#8217;s not if, but when), and their AI brain will tell you exactly what you want to hear.&nbsp; If you think those algorithms on your social media are addictive, wait until you meet your new AI friend.&nbsp; Some of us will call them our best friends. It&#8217;s sad, in a way, but compared to spending your latter years in a state of loneliness, it seems the lesser of two evils.&nbsp;</p>
  542. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Memory Preservation:</strong></span>&nbsp; I suspect we&#8217;ll see some breakthroughs in Alzheimer&#8217;s research (perhaps it&#8217;s wishful thinking).&nbsp; Technology will lead to breakthrough cures for many of the plagues of aging.&nbsp; Cognitive augmentation will provide AI-driven tools to help keep the mind sharp. The way we pass memories down to future generations will become almost life-like.&nbsp; Our great-great-grandchildren may view 3D holograms of us telling stories about our lives.&nbsp; More likely, our likeness will be preserved with AI and carry on conversations with the generations that follow.</p>
  543. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Increased Lifespan:</strong></span>&nbsp; By the time we get there, we&#8217;ll be celebrating our 100th birthday with plenty of friends. Technological advances will reduce the death rates of many common diseases, and improvements in preventive health care will result in an increased life expectancy.&nbsp; Nutrition and fitness programs will be customized via AI to address your areas of greatest weakness. Folks in their 90s will be running marathons.&nbsp; Not only will we live longer, but we&#8217;ll be healthier for most of those years. I fully expect I&#8217;ll live to 100, and I hope I&#8217;m still writing the occasional post to be able to tell you, &#8220;I told you so.&#8221; <em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(wink)</span></em></p>
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  555. <div class="markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light">
  556. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong data-start="2781" data-end="2818">Lifelong Learning &amp; Entertainment:&nbsp;</strong></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our options for lifelong learning will expand, offering augmented &#8220;reality tours&#8221; of every spot on earth, from some of the greatest experts in any topic of interest.&nbsp; Algorithms will know what you like, and you&#8217;ll be fed a constant stream of immersive experiences.&nbsp; Want to know what it was like to fight at Gettysburg? Curious what it was like to face a Roman Gladiator? Want to see Jesus give his Sermon on the Mount?&nbsp; Want to take a painting course from Picasso? The educational and entertainment opportunities will be limitless.</span></p>
  557. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The End of Aging:&nbsp;</strong></span> This one&#8217;s a stretch, but I think it&#8217;s fair to say how we age will differ dramatically from what previous generations experienced.&nbsp; No one knows the future, but I suspect in 40 years we&#8217;ll be laughing as we tell our great-grandchildren when we first heard the term &#8220;Artificial Intelligence,&#8221; and how naive we were when we said it wasn&#8217;t anything that would directly affect us in retirement.</p>
  558. <hr>
  559. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  560. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820">There was something quaint about stopping at payphones and using my phone calling card as a 25-year-old sales rep.&nbsp; When they installed that first &#8220;mobile&#8221; phone in my car, I never imagined we&#8217;d all be carrying computers in our pockets years before my retirement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  561. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820">Despite the drawbacks of technology, life is better now.</p>
  562. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820">I suspect when I&#8217;m 100 and looking back at my 60s, I&#8217;ll be saying the same thing.&nbsp; I encourage you to pay attention to technology.&nbsp; Rather than resist change, be willing to explore new developments that may be helpful as you age. Stay curious, and think about the possibilities.</p>
  563. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820">You can reject it or embrace it, but there&#8217;s little doubt that technology will make our lives easier when we get &#8220;old.&#8221;</p>
  564. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820">For that, we should be thankful.</p>
  565. <hr>
  566. <p data-start="2774" data-end="2820"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> Have you thought about how technology will impact the future of retirement?&nbsp; &nbsp;I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts.&nbsp; And, did you love your Blackberry as much as I loved mine?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat in the comments.</p>
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  575. </article>
  576. </div>
  577. </div>
  578. </div>
  579. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-future-of-retirement-how-technology-will-make-aging-easier/">The Future of Retirement: How Technology Will Make Aging Easier</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  580. ]]></content:encoded>
  582. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-future-of-retirement-how-technology-will-make-aging-easier/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  583. <slash:comments>60</slash:comments>
  586. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">15904</post-id> </item>
  587. <item>
  588. <title>How Social Security Spousal Benefits May Change My Claim Date</title>
  589. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date</link>
  590. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/#comments</comments>
  592. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dana Anspach]]></dc:creator>
  593. <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2025 08:36:24 +0000</pubDate>
  594. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  595. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  596. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  597. <category><![CDATA[social security]]></category>
  598. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16362</guid>
  599.  
  600. <description><![CDATA[<p>After 18 years of writing about Social Security and conducting hundreds of analyses for singles, couples, widows, widowers, and divorcees, I figured I had my own claiming strategy nailed down. [&#8230;]</p>
  601. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/">How Social Security Spousal Benefits May Change My Claim Date</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  602. ]]></description>
  603. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After 18 years of writing about Social Security and conducting hundreds of analyses for singles, couples, widows, widowers, and divorcees, I figured I had my own claiming strategy nailed down.</p>
  604. <p>So, when I finally ran my own customized analysis, <strong>my eyes popped open</strong> in astonishment at the recommendation I saw!</p>
  605. <p>Naturally, I assumed I’d claim at 70—not a day earlier. That’s the go-to advice for healthy, married high earners.</p>
  606. <p>I was 100% certain the software would confirm it.</p>
  607. <p>But it didn’t.</p>
  608. <h2><strong>Here’s what happened.</strong></h2>
  609. <hr /><p><em>I thought I had my Social Security claiming strategy figured out...until I didn&#039;t. Here&#039;s what happened.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fhow-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date%2F&#038;text=I%20thought%20I%20had%20my%20Social%20Security%20claiming%20strategy%20figured%20out...until%20I%20didn%27t.%20Here%27s%20what%20happened.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  610. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16384" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-24-4.24.12-PM.png" alt="when should I claim social security" width="444" height="660" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-24-4.24.12-PM.png 444w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-24-4.24.12-PM-202x300.png 202w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px" /></p>
  611. <hr>
  612. <h1>How Spousal Benefits May Change My Claim Date</h1>
  613. <p>Until two years ago, I was unmarried and hadn’t spent much time on my own claiming strategy. I’m in great health— my <a href="https://novoslabs.co/product/novos-age/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Novos Epigenic Age Report</a> pegs my biological age at 45 – nine years younger than my actual age. (Health aficionados – check it out!)</p>
  614. <p>I wanted to maximize my guaranteed, inflation-adjusted lifetime income. Unless my health took a major turn, claiming before 70 wasn’t on the radar. For most healthy, single individuals with assets or income to draw on between 62 and 70, that’s the approach I recommend.</p>
  615. <p><strong>Then I got married to a Canadian.</strong></p>
  616. <p>He is three years my senior and has no prior U.S. work history.</p>
  617. <p>Still, I didn’t give it much thought. I updated our retirement projections for the last two years, continuing to use my standard assumption for claiming at age 70.</p>
  618. <p>But this year, the details started to matter.</p>
  619. <hr>
  620. <h2><strong>What changed?&nbsp;</strong></h2>
  621. <p>Two significant changes made a bigger impact than I realized.&nbsp; <strong>First,</strong> I&#8217;m now 54 (my husband is 57), and have entered the timeframe where the details matter.</p>
  622. <p>When someone is within ten years of age 62—the earliest you can claim benefits—I stop using rough estimates. That’s when I switch to detailed calculations based on actual earnings history and projected work years.</p>
  623. <p>I diligently entered my earnings history and projected earnings from now through age 70 into <a href="https://www.covisum.com/solutions/social-security-timing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social Security Timing</a>, my preferred advisor-facing software package for this function.</p>
  624. <p><strong>Second,</strong> I got married, and my husband will only have 10 years of work history that will &#8220;count&#8221; toward Social Security.&nbsp; Unlike in the past, I had to figure out how to handle my husband’s earnings. He’s self-employed and will barely log ten years of U.S. work history before his Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is 67.</p>
  625. <hr>
  626. <h2><strong>How Social Security calculates your benefits</strong></h2>
  627. <p>It&#8217;s worth taking a brief detour in my story to explain how Social Security calculates your benefits:</p>
  628. <ol>
  629. <li>Take your highest 35 years of earnings.</li>
  630. <li>Index them to inflation, resulting in AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings).</li>
  631. <li>Run AIME through the <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/bendpoints.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bend points</a> for the year you reach age 62. This calculates a monthly benefit amount called your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). (See graphic for detail on bend points – uses 2022 data – however, they are indexed to inflation each year.)</li>
  632. <li>Post age 62, your PIA increases based on the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).</li>
  633. <li>After age 62, new earnings aren’t inflation-indexed for the AIME—but if they’re higher than one of your lowest 35 years, they can still boost your benefit.</li>
  634. </ol>
  635. <p>Based on the numbers, my husband’s earnings weren’t likely to generate a retirement benefit larger than his <em>spousal benefit</em>. Even with ten years of work, he’d still have <strong>25 years of zeroes</strong> in his record.</p>
  636. <figure id="attachment_16363" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16363" style="width: 900px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16363" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit.png" alt="" width="900" height="568" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit.png 900w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit-300x189.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HowSocialSecurityCalculatesYourBenefit-768x485.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16363" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">A graphic explaining how Social Security calculates your benefits.</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  637. <hr>
  638. <h2><strong>How spousal benefits work</strong></h2>
  639. <p>If you’ve been married for at least one year, you may be eligible for a spousal benefit of up to 50% of your spouse’s FRA benefit—if you claim at your FRA or later. You’ll receive whichever is higher: your own benefit or the spousal. Not both.</p>
  640. <ul>
  641. <li><strong>Note:</strong> FRA is age 67 for anyone born Jan. 2, 1960, or later. Survivor benefits use a different FRA. Don’t confuse the two!</li>
  642. <li><strong>Note:</strong> Spousal benefits don’t grow past FRA and are reduced if claimed before FRA.</li>
  643. <li><strong>Note:</strong> To claim a spousal benefit, you and your spouse must both be age 62, and your spouse must have filed for their benefits before you are eligible for a spousal benefit.</li>
  644. <li><strong>Note:</strong> Divorced? If you were married 10+ years and remain unmarried, you may be eligible for an ex-spouse benefit. (Different rules apply.)</li>
  645. </ul>
  646. <p>In our case, we only need to focus on the spousal benefit rules. But I can’t stress this enough: there are distinct—and often confusing—rules for each benefit type. Here’s a quick breakdown:</p>
  647. <ul>
  648. <li><strong>Retirement benefits</strong> – Based on your own earnings record.</li>
  649. <li><strong>Spousal benefits</strong> – Based on your spouse’s record. You must be age 62+, and your spouse must have filed.</li>
  650. <li><strong>Divorced spouse benefits</strong> – Available if you were married 10+ years and remain unmarried. Your ex does not need to file first.</li>
  651. <li><strong>Survivor benefits (current spouse passes away)</strong> – You must have been married at least 9 months. Can claim as early as age 60. Different FRA applies. Can switch later to your own benefit.</li>
  652. <li><strong>Ex-Spouse Survivor benefits (divorced &amp; ex-spouse passes away)</strong> – Available if the marriage lasted 10+ years and you were not remarried before age 60. Switching options also apply.</li>
  653. <li><strong>Disability benefits</strong> – Eligibility based on medical condition and work credits.</li>
  654. <li><strong>Benefits for dependents</strong> – May apply if you have a child under age 18, disabled, or still in school.</li>
  655. </ul>
  656. <p>If you are in any of these situations, don’t assume the rules that apply to one benefit type are universal. There are nuances to each benefit type. I’ve captured only the highlights in my list above.</p>
  657. <hr>
  658. <h2><strong>Our Recommended Claiming Strategy</strong></h2>
  659. <p>Back to my story&#8230;so what did the software recommend based on my earnings alone?</p>
  660. <p><strong>Claim at 67.</strong></p>
  661. <p>I stared at the screen.</p>
  662. <p>This can’t be right.</p>
  663. <p>What about maximizing survivor benefits? What about longevity risk? I used life expectancies of 90 for each of us, which, in this software package, impacts the calculations.</p>
  664. <p>Perturbed, I bumped life expectancy to 95 for each of us. It moved my recommendation out one year – to 68.</p>
  665. <p>“What?” my brain exclaimed. “What assumptions get me to my planned age 70 claiming?”</p>
  666. <h2><strong>Inflation and Return Assumptions</strong></h2>
  667. <p>I began experimenting with assumptions, such as the assumed annual inflation rate (currently 2.4%) and the assumed real rate of return (currently 2.55%, based on Treasury data). Both of these inputs impact the projections and recommendations.</p>
  668. <p>The real rate of return is what you expect to earn—safely—<em>above</em> inflation. Add that to the inflation rate, and that would be the total investment return you might expect &#8211; in this example, 4.95% (2.4 + 2.55).</p>
  669. <p>The real rate of return is used to take the future cash flows expected from Social Security and turn them into a present value number – essentially what lump sum would you have to have, earning a real rate of return of 2.55% or more, that would deliver the same cash flows as Social Security. That lump sum view allows you to compare claiming strategies on an apples-to-apples basis in <em>today’s </em>dollars. In our case, changing these assumptions did not change my recommended strategy.</p>
  670. <p>Here’s why.</p>
  671. <hr>
  672. <h2><strong>Spousal Benefits and Age Intersect</strong></h2>
  673. <p><strong>I’m the higher earner—but not the <em>older</em> spouse.</strong> At 67, my FRA, my husband can claim a spousal benefit – and even if we live a long, long time, the extra monthly amount we get by me delaying until 70 doesn’t make up for the three years where he gets nothing if I delay until age 70.</p>
  674. <p>While I understood the math, I still felt incredulous. Naturally, I ran a second analysis—nerd mode fully engaged.</p>
  675. <p>I went over to <a href="https://opensocialsecurity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Open Social Security</a>, a free online program, to run the numbers there.&nbsp; (Fritz provides a detailed analysis of this tool and how he used it in his post on <strong><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-determine-when-to-claim-social-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to Determine When to Claim Social Security</a>.</strong>)</p>
  676. <p>And it got even more complicated!</p>
  677. <h2><strong>Open Social Security</strong></h2>
  678. <p>At Open Social Security, when the answers initially didn’t make sense, I discovered a tiny box at the top that says “Click here to hide the selection list.” I clicked it and it opened an expanded list of options, where I could then click “still working.”&nbsp;</p>
  679. <p>Then I entered our PIA, the approximate month we’ll stop working, and our monthly earnings until the month we retire. (I don’t like that I can’t input actual earnings into this package. It’s fine for a ballpark estimate, but not great for people with complex earnings trajectories.)</p>
  680. <p>The recommended strategy? I claim at 66 and 8 months, and my husband at 69 and 6 months.</p>
  681. <p>Hmmmmm… &nbsp;</p>
  682. <hr>
  683. <h2><strong>The Earnings Limit</strong></h2>
  684. <p>At 66, I will still be subject to the <a href="https://www.sensiblemoney.com/learn/dont-get-pinged-by-the-social-security-earnings-limit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earnings limit</a>, which reduces your benefit if you claim before FRA and earn more than the annual adjusted limit.</p>
  685. <p>I turn 66 in May 2037. I would be 66 for 7 months that year. If I claimed at 66, my benefits would be reduced $1 for every $2 earned over the limit for the 2037 calendar year.</p>
  686. <p>However, Social Security uses two earnings limits—one for years before FRA, and a higher one for the calendar year you attain FRA.</p>
  687. <p>In your FRA calendar year, a higher earnings limit applies, and only earnings <em>before the month</em> you reach FRA are counted. At 66 and 8 months (2038), I will be within the calendar year where I reach my FRA – so a higher earnings limit applies, and only earnings before FRA count. So, technically, I could start benefits a few months before my FRA and would not be subject to the earnings limit for those few months. But just because I could, doesn&#8217;t mean I should. I would be quite reluctant to claim any time before FRA.</p>
  688. <hr>
  689. <h2>Why Different Recommendations?</h2>
  690. <p>So why did the two tools offer recommendations that differ by four months? I’ve gone down this rabbit hole before. It usually comes down to how each software calculates present value. This time, I chose not to investigate.</p>
  691. <p>Instead, I was deep in calculation frenzy (like shark frenzy for nerds in spreadsheet mode), so I went back to Social Security Timing, where I tested different earnings scenarios to see when my husband might qualify for a benefit of his own.</p>
  692. <p>If he earns enough, the recommended strategy changes – he should claim at 67, receiving his retirement benefit. I would claim at 70, maximizing my retirement and survivor benefit. And when I claim at 70, he instantly becomes eligible for a spousal benefit, which would be more than his retirement benefit, so he would begin receiving what I call a spousal “top-off payment” to level-up his benefit amount to the full spousal amount.</p>
  693. <p>Basically, you get your retirement benefit or the spousal benefit – whichever is more. If the spousal amount is more, the calculation pays your benefit first, and then the difference is added as the spousal amount. I call it a “top off”.</p>
  694. <hr>
  695. <h2><strong>What’s On the Line</strong></h2>
  696. <p>The difference between best and worst (claiming as early as possible) strategies was <strong>$200,000</strong> in terms of present value, assuming I live to 95. That’s a lot of money on the line.</p>
  697. <p>However, as we delved into nuances, such as claiming ages of 67 or 70, the differences in outcomes became smaller. Perhaps $30,000, $40,000, or up to $80,000 is at stake. Still not pocket change.</p>
  698. <p>There is real money at stake in this decision.</p>
  699. <p>So, what will we decide?</p>
  700. <hr>
  701. <h2><strong>The Unique Characteristic You Can’t Get Anywhere Else</strong></h2>
  702. <p>We have a decade before my husband’s FRA – so we have time to figure it out.</p>
  703. <p>But most likely – I’ll delay until 70.</p>
  704. <p><strong>Why?</strong></p>
  705. <p>Retirement comes with risks—and not everything can be measured with a rate-of-return lens. What if I live to 100? In my mind, I’ve always planned to. Social Security provides <strong>lifelong inflation-adjusted income</strong> – a unique characteristic you can’t get from investments or anywhere else.</p>
  706. <p>Essentially, Social Security becomes a unique puzzle piece in our plan—doing what no other investment can.</p>
  707. <p>People who claim early to “invest the difference” are missing this point entirely. They are also frequently neglecting to factor in the value of future inflation adjustments, taxation, their own future cognitive abilities to maintain an investment program, and, if married, the value of the survivor benefit using joint-life expectancy odds. &nbsp;</p>
  708. <h2><strong>What About the System Running Out?</strong></h2>
  709. <p>The annual Social Security Trustees report has just been released, and headlines are vying for our attention with claims of Social Security’s impending “insolvency.” I see frequent queries in retirement planning chat groups from people considering claiming at 62—because they fear that if they don’t, they’ll get nothing.</p>
  710. <p>It doesn’t work this way. In the software, I can click a button that implements a 21% benefit cut. And guess what? It doesn’t change the recommendation. Because if you delayed, you’re still getting 79% of a larger number. And that number is still going up with inflation, and providing a unique benefit that no other asset can provide.</p>
  711. <p>I don’t know what is going to happen – but I do fear Congress will wait too long to act. In the 80’s the system was facing imminent insolvency – potentially a few months of benefit payments remaining. You can read an excellent overview of it – and a comparison to what is going on today at <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47040">Congress.gov</a>.</p>
  712. <p>I do believe the system is a success and should continue. And I do believe we should all tell our representatives we’d like them to prioritize this now – and not procrastinate a day longer.</p>
  713. <hr>
  714. <h2><strong>Conclusion:&nbsp; My Take-Away</strong></h2>
  715. <p>This whole experience reminded me that rules of thumb don’t cut it as you approach retirement.</p>
  716. <p>While reporters love simple axioms—Social Security and “simple” don’t belong in the same sentence.</p>
  717. <p>As you&#8217;re planning for retirement, don&#8217;t finalize your Social Security claiming strategy without doing your research. Don&#8217;t let the headlines scare you into making a poor decision.&nbsp; Also, recognize that spousal benefits can make a big difference in when you claim, and there&#8217;s serious money at stake in the decision.</p>
  718. <p>I thought I had it all figured out, but then I got married, and the spousal benefits impact was more significant than I realized.</p>
  719. <p>Learn from my experience.</p>
  720. <p>Do your homework, then do it again.</p>
  721. <p>Continue to refine your numbers as you get closer to your claim date.&nbsp; Determining when to claim your Social Security is an important decision.&nbsp; Take the time to understand your options before you finalize your plan.</p>
  722. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  723. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:</strong></span></em>&nbsp; What age are you planning on claiming Social Security?&nbsp; What lessons have you learned about spousal benefits, and did they impact your claiming decision?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  724. <hr>
  725. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>PS: Dana in the Wild</strong></span></em></p>
  726. <p>For podcast fans, I was recently on two podcasts that may be of interest:&nbsp;</p>
  727. <ul>
  728. <li><strong>Stacking Benjamins&#8217;s</strong> June session on <a href="https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/create-your-retirement-spending-plan-1698/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carving Out a Robust Retirement Spending Plan</a>. Watch out &#8211; my fellow guests began debating risk management techniques. Interesting discussion, but a tad technical at times.</li>
  729. <li><strong>Inspired Money&#8217;s</strong> June episode on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retirement-income-strategies-maximizing-returns-for/id1278174903?i=1000711588386" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Retirement Income Strategies: Maximizing Returns for Peace of Mind</a>. I take issue with the title of this episode, but it was a great convo, including incredibly insightful statements from one of my favorites in the industry &#8211; Roger Whitney of Rock Retirement.&nbsp;</li>
  730. </ul>
  731. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/">How Social Security Spousal Benefits May Change My Claim Date</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  732. ]]></content:encoded>
  734. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-social-security-spousal-benefits-may-change-my-claim-date/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  735. <slash:comments>51</slash:comments>
  738. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16362</post-id> </item>
  739. <item>
  740. <title>My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</title>
  741. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement</link>
  742. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement/#comments</comments>
  744. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  745. <pubDate>Thu, 12 Jun 2025 08:12:36 +0000</pubDate>
  746. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  747. <category><![CDATA[asset allocation]]></category>
  748. <category><![CDATA[financial independence]]></category>
  749. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  750. <category><![CDATA[Personal finance]]></category>
  751. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  752. <category><![CDATA[retirement savings]]></category>
  753. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16298</guid>
  754.  
  755. <description><![CDATA[<p>Surprise! Fritz here.&#160; I know I said I was retiring from full-time blogging, but we&#8217;ve just started a two-month home expansion project (a 700 sq ft addition), and our house [&#8230;]</p>
  756. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement/">My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  757. ]]></description>
  758. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Surprise! Fritz here.&nbsp;</p>
  759. <p>I know I said I was <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>retiring from full-time blogging</strong></a>, but we&#8217;ve just started a two-month home expansion project (a 700 sq ft addition), and our house is a construction zone.&nbsp; My <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-treehouse-writing-studio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>treehouse writing studio</strong></a> is an oasis from the chaos, so I&#8217;ve had some time to write.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s what our front hallway looks like at the moment <em>(you can see why I&#8217;m <del>hiding</del> writing in my studio):</em></p>
  760. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16319" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PXL_20250602_205430605-scaled-e1748983137714.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="533"></p>
  761. <p><em><strong>PS:</strong> You can watch the project&#8217;s progress on my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_retirement_manifesto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Instagram</strong></a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRetirementManifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Facebook</strong></a> account, if interested. </em></p>
  762. <p>Anyway&#8230;.on to the post.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  763. <hr>
  764. <h1>My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</h1>
  765. <p>If you&#8217;re a long-time reader, you know how much I planned for retirement.</p>
  766. <p>That planning paid off.</p>
  767. <p>My transition into retirement went smoothly <em>(check out my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-the-first-week-of-retirement-is-really-like/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Reality Series,</strong></a> where I journaled through the transition)</em>, and I&#8217;ve enjoyed the last 7 years more than any period in my life.</p>
  768. <p>And yet, there&#8217;s one <strong>financial</strong> element that caught me by surprise.</p>
  769. <p>Today, I&#8217;m sharing it with you.</p>
  770. <p>I suspect you&#8217;ll be surprised, too&#8230;</p>
  771. <hr /><p><em>I planned well for retirement, but this one financial element caught me by surprise.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fmy-biggest-surprise-in-retirement%2F&#038;text=I%20planned%20well%20for%20retirement%2C%20but%20this%20one%20financial%20element%20caught%20me%20by%20surprise.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  772. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16303" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.19.19-PM.png" alt="" width="419" height="668" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.19.19-PM.png 419w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.19.19-PM-188x300.png 188w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 419px) 100vw, 419px" /></p>
  773. <hr>
  774. <h1>My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</h1>
  775. <p>I&#8217;m fortunate to have saved aggressively in my company&#8217;s 401(k) since I started my career at Age 22.</p>
  776. <p>It&#8217;s what allowed me to retire at Age 55.</p>
  777. <p>And yet, like many folks my age, <strong>those savings were predominantly in &#8220;Before-Tax&#8221; accounts</strong> in my company&#8217;s 401(k) plan.&nbsp; Sure, I got the tax break while working, and I felt like a genius. Besides, we didn&#8217;t have the option of investing in a Roth, so the decision was easy.&nbsp;</p>
  778. <p>I knew those taxes would come due when I &#8220;got old,&#8221; but I&#8217;d worry about that later.</p>
  779. <p><strong>Later has arrived.&nbsp; </strong></p>
  780. <p>As I shared in my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-retirement-investment-drawdown-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Drawdown Strategy</strong></a>, when I retired, we had 56% of our retirement savings in Before-Tax accounts, as shown below:</p>
  781. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4465" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-Allocation.png" alt="" width="607" height="380" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-Allocation.png 607w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-Allocation-300x188.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 607px) 100vw, 607px" /></p>
  782. <hr>
  783. <h2><strong>The Golden Age of Roth Conversions</strong></h2>
  784. <p>Now that I&#8217;m retired, I&#8217;ve been laser-focused on doing annual Roth conversions to reduce that Before-Tax balance. As I wrote in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-golden-age-of-roth-conversions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Golden Age of Roth Conversions</strong></a>, it makes sense to do Roth conversions in your early retirement years <em>(be careful if you&#8217;re getting ACA subsidies, and ugly Aunt IRMAA can be a problem if you&#8217;re 63 or older).</em>&nbsp; I won&#8217;t rehash the arguments for why; you can read about it in the linked article.&nbsp;</p>
  785. <p>My goal is to manage the taxes on my terms, rather than being &#8220;forced&#8221; into whatever the Required Minimum Distributions rule requires in my 70s.&nbsp; I&#8217;d also like to get as much of that money converted into a Roth for the benefit of my wife, in the event I die early (she&#8217;d pay higher taxes as a single tax filer vs. our current &#8220;Married Filing Jointly&#8221; status). For now, I&#8217;m playing the tax bracket &#8220;stuffing&#8221; game (topping off my selected tax bracket with Roth conversions) and trying to be smart about minimizing the taxes I pay throughout my retirement.</p>
  786. <p><strong>The Bad News:</strong> The Roth conversions are not making as much of a difference as I had hoped.</p>
  787. <p>And that, in summary, is my biggest surprise.</p>
  788. <hr>
  789. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>My Biggest Surprise in Retirement:&nbsp; It&#8217;s Hard To Reduce Your Pre-Tax Account Balance!</strong></span></p>
  790. <p>We&#8217;ve all heard about the power of compounding and how valuable it is in personal finance.&nbsp; If you want a refresher, check out my post, <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/15-building-block-ii-the-most-powerful-force-in-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;The Most Powerful Force in the Universe.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong></a></p>
  791. <p>What I didn&#8217;t think about, and only realized after I retired and started doing Roth conversions, is the fact that compounding makes it difficult to reduce your pre-tax account balance.</p>
  792. <p>Despite doing aggressive Roth conversions, our pre-tax balance isn&#8217;t coming down like I expected!</p>
  793. <p>In fairness, part of that &#8220;problem&#8221; is driven by above-average returns since my retirement in 2018.&nbsp; First world problem, I know.&nbsp; But it&#8217;s still been a big surprise.</p>
  794. <p><strong>Let&#8217;s do a hypothetical example to demonstrate the point.&nbsp; </strong></p>
  795. <p>To make the math easy, let&#8217;s say you have $1M in your pre-tax account, and your first full year of retirement is 2019.&nbsp; If you had that entire $1M in stocks, here&#8217;s what would have happened without doing any Roth conversions (S&amp;P 500 returns from <a href="https://ycharts.com/indicators/sp_500_total_return_annual" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>ycharts</strong></a>, including dividends):</p>
  796. <p>&nbsp;<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16305" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.31.50-PM-1.png" alt="" width="515" height="177" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.31.50-PM-1.png 515w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.31.50-PM-1-300x103.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 515px) 100vw, 515px" /></p>
  797. <p>In this example, a $1M portfolio would have grown to $2.6M in 6 short years.&nbsp; That&#8217;s the power of compounding. Amazing!</p>
  798. <p>Let&#8217;s modify the above example, and say you&#8217;re doing an annual Roth conversion of $50k.&nbsp;</p>
  799. <p><strong>How much impact would Roth conversions make?</strong>&nbsp;Not much&#8230;</p>
  800. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16308" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.41.00-PM.png" alt="" width="616" height="180" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.41.00-PM.png 616w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.41.00-PM-300x88.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" /></p>
  801. <p>Despite doing annual Roth conversions of $50k, the pre-tax value has still doubled, to $2.15 M!</p>
  802. <hr>
  803. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>A More Realistic Scenario &#8211; $500k&nbsp;</strong></span></p>
  804. <p>Ok, I hear you.&nbsp; No one has $1M in their pre-tax account.&nbsp; I got your attention, though, right?</p>
  805. <p>Fair enough, let&#8217;s assume the starting balance is $500k (which compares nicely with the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/401k-balance-60-year-old-11678393" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>average 401(k) balance of $573k</strong></a> for folks in their 60&#8217;s):</p>
  806. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16309" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.44.11-PM.png" alt="" width="616" height="180" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.44.11-PM.png 616w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-1.44.11-PM-300x88.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" /></p>
  807. <p><strong>The problem remains.</strong></p>
  808. <p>With a $500k starting balance and $50k annual Roth conversions, the account has still grown by $357k (to $857k), or 71%.</p>
  809. <p><strong>Bottom Line:</strong>&nbsp; It&#8217;s difficult to reduce your pre-tax account balance due to the power of compound interest.</p>
  810. <p>In fact, the only way to reduce your pre-tax account is to do annual Roth conversions in excess of the annual return generated by the pre-tax portion of your portfolio.&nbsp; Sticking with the $500k example, <strong>an average annual Roth conversion of $89k would have been required</strong> to maintain the pre-tax balance at $500k, as shown below:</p>
  811. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16312" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.52.03-PM.png" alt="" width="617" height="192" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.52.03-PM.png 617w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.52.03-PM-300x93.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 617px) 100vw, 617px" /></p>
  812. <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(<strong>Note:</strong>&nbsp; you could argue about my $0 Roth conversion in a down year, but it&#8217;s just an example.&nbsp; Quit whining and do your own math &#8211; wink.)</em></span></p>
  813. <hr>
  814. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>What About A 60/40 Portfolio @ $500k?</strong></span></p>
  815. <p>No one has a 100% stock portfolio in their pre-tax accounts, right?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s see what things look like if our retiree had a 60/40 stock/bond allocation in their pre-tax accounts.&nbsp; We&#8217;ll use the S&amp;P 500 for stocks, and Vanguard&#8217;s Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX) for bonds, we can find their annual returns <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VBMFX/performance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here.</strong></a></p>
  816. <p>Without any Roth conversions, the account would have grown from $500k to $990k, as shown below:</p>
  817. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16328" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-12.38.08-PM.png" alt="" width="741" height="180" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-12.38.08-PM.png 741w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-12.38.08-PM-300x73.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px" /></p>
  818. <p>Add in our $50k/year of Roth conversions, and the ending balance is $609k, an increase of 22%:</p>
  819. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16315" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.59.48-PM.png" alt="" width="844" height="222" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.59.48-PM.png 844w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.59.48-PM-300x79.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-03-3.59.48-PM-768x202.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 844px) 100vw, 844px" /></p>
  820. <p><strong>Bottom Line:&nbsp;</strong> Even with a 40% bond allocation, it&#8217;s difficult to reduce your pre-tax balance via Roth conversions.</p>
  821. <p>We&#8217;ve done aggressive Roth conversions every year, yet I continue to be frustrated by how little we&#8217;ve moved the needle.&nbsp; In full transparency, we&#8217;ve reduced it, but only by 15% of its starting value.&nbsp; That&#8217;s far less than I would have expected, given the size of the conversions we&#8217;ve done.&nbsp;</p>
  822. <p>I&#8217;m grateful, as I realize this &#8220;problem&#8221; is a result of a strong market through my first 7 years of retirement, but I still worry about those darned RMD&#8217;s.&nbsp; Perhaps <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-if-stocks-only-rise-3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>a decade of 3% returns</strong></a> will help, but that&#8217;s not the type of help I had in mind.&nbsp; <em>(BTW, that article, written in Jan 2025, seems a bit prophetic now&#8230;)</em></p>
  823. <hr>
  824. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>A Note About Asset Allocation &#8220;Location&#8221;</strong></span></p>
  825. <p>This is a reasonable place to mention which assets should be held in which type of tax-structured account.</p>
  826. <p>One of the more advanced techniques (&#8220;tweaking&#8221;, some would say) for optimizing your portfolio is Asset Location Optimization, which focuses on putting certain assets in certain tax buckets to optimize after-tax returns.&nbsp; For example, since bond income is taxed at your nominal tax rate, it&#8217;s best to hold them in your Before-Tax accounts (which are taxed at your nominal rate when doing a Roth conversion/RMD/withdrawal).&nbsp; Compare that to stocks, which are best in your Roth, where the higher growth is tax-free.</p>
  827. <p>Below is a chart summarizing the concept (I discuss this in more detail <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-retirement-investment-drawdown-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here</strong></a>):</p>
  828. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4470" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-location.png" alt="" width="449" height="269" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-location.png 449w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tax-location-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 449px) 100vw, 449px" />&nbsp;</p>
  829. <p>When my investments were in a 401(k), the plan rules didn&#8217;t allow me to shift assets between account types, so I held the same asset allocation in both my pre-tax and Roth 401(k).&nbsp; One of the main reasons I said <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/saying-goodbye-to-the-401k/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;Goodbye to my 401(k)&#8221;</strong> </a>was to give flexibility to move asset classes within different tax-structured accounts per the above chart, which I&#8217;ve been doing since closing the 401(k) in mid-2022.&nbsp;</p>
  830. <p><em><strong>A note on nomenclature:</strong> &#8220;After-Tax&#8221; and &#8220;Taxable&#8221; are the same names for funds held in a taxable account (e.g., brokerage), and &#8220;Before-Tax&#8221; and &#8220;Pre-Tax&#8221; are the same names for funds deducted from your annual income when contributed (e.g., 401k or Traditional IRA).</em></p>
  831. <hr>
  832. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Our Asset Allocation By Account Type:</strong></span></span></p>
  833. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As the table below demonstrates, while <strong>our overall portfolio is 66% stocks</strong>, our Roth allocation is 96% stocks (you want the highest growth in your tax-free account).&nbsp; Compare that to bonds, where our overall portfolio holds 16%, but our pre-tax bond allocation is 34% (you want bonds in pre-tax, where they&#8217;ll be taxed at your marginal rate).&nbsp; It&#8217;s not a perfect implementation of the table above, but we&#8217;re moving in that direction.</span></p>
  834. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16324" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-11.45.20-AM.png" alt="" width="529" height="143" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-11.45.20-AM.png 529w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-04-11.45.20-AM-300x81.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 529px) 100vw, 529px" /></p>
  835. <p>I should note that most of the 25% &#8220;Alternative&#8221; allocation in our pre-tax is in a REIT, which is similar to bonds from a tax perspective.&nbsp; I hope the <strong>lower allocation to stocks in our pre-tax account</strong> (44%) will help reduce the power of compounding and allow us to draw down the pre-tax balance more effectively via future Roth conversions.</p>
  836. <p>A note about the taxable allocations:&nbsp; the 25% &#8220;Alternative&#8221; in our taxable account represents our <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-we-just-bought-a-second-home-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>second home in Alabama</strong></a>, which we include in our &#8220;spendable&#8221; assets since we could sell the property, if necessary, to fund retirement needs. Also, our taxable account&#8217;s 16% bond allocation is held primarily in tax-free municipal bonds.</p>
  837. <hr>
  838. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Difficulty of Covering The Tax Burden</strong></span></p>
  839. <p>A note about how to cover the tax burden associated with Roth conversions is in order.</p>
  840. <p>To make the best use of Roth conversions, it&#8217;s best to cover the tax burden with taxable funds (rather than using some of the pre-tax money to cover the taxes).&nbsp; This maximizes the amount of money you&#8217;re moving into the Roth, rather than &#8220;diverting&#8221; some of those funds for taxes.</p>
  841. <p>Sounds great in principle, but the second part of my &#8220;biggest surprise in retirement&#8221; is how much after-tax cash gets consumed paying those taxes on the Roth conversions.&nbsp; I always knew the tax would come due, but I didn&#8217;t realize how painful it would be. I&#8217;m committed to paying taxes with after-tax money to maximize the value of the Roth conversion, but it takes a lot of cash.</p>
  842. <p><strong>As you&#8217;re planning for your retirement, do not overlook the tax burden.</strong></p>
  843. <p>Every quarter, I wince as I send Uncle Sam my Estimated Quarterly Tax payment.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve enjoyed the benefits of tax deferral for 4 decades, but we can&#8217;t avoid the taxman forever.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve sized Bucket 1 in my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bucket Strategy</strong></a> accordingly, and we&#8217;re doing fine.&nbsp; But the impact of those taxes is easy to miss in your pre-retirement planning.</p>
  844. <p>I take some solace in the fact that we&#8217;re (hopefully) being smart in managing our Roth conversions, and the result should be a lower tax burden throughout our retirement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  845. <p>Pay them now, or pay them later.</p>
  846. <p>The one fact is&#8230;you will pay those taxes.</p>
  847. <p><strong>No surprise there.</strong></p>
  848. <hr>
  849. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  850. <p>There you have it.&nbsp; My biggest surprise in retirement is how difficult it&#8217;s been to reduce our pre-tax account balance despite aggressive annual Roth conversions.&nbsp; I realize that&#8217;s primarily due to the power of compounding in a strong market, but it&#8217;s still been a surprise. Also, I knew the increased tax burden would consume a lot of cash, <strong>but &#8220;knowing it&#8221; and &#8220;living it&#8221; are two different things.</strong></p>
  851. <p>Dealing with drawing down your pre-tax accounts is a surprise you should be prepared for as you plan for retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  852. <p>It&#8217;s not as easy as you think.</p>
  853. <p><strong>Don&#8217;t be surprised.</strong></p>
  854. <hr>
  855. <p>That&#8217;s it for now&#8230;time to head back inside and face the home expansion chaos.</p>
  856. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span></em> If you haven&#8217;t yet retired, have you included tax impacts in your spending forecasts?&nbsp; If you&#8217;ve already retired, are you facing the same surprise that I am?&nbsp; Finally, would you be interested in an article about our home expansion project? Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  857. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-biggest-surprise-in-retirement/">My Biggest Surprise in Retirement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  858. ]]></content:encoded>
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  861. <slash:comments>116</slash:comments>
  864. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16298</post-id> </item>
  865. <item>
  866. <title>Retirement &#8211; My Journey From &#8220;No, Never&#8221; to &#8220;Maybe One Day&#8221;</title>
  867. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day</link>
  868. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/#comments</comments>
  870. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dana Anspach]]></dc:creator>
  871. <pubDate>Thu, 05 Jun 2025 09:14:05 +0000</pubDate>
  872. <category><![CDATA[Retirement State of Mind]]></category>
  873. <category><![CDATA[Semi-Retirement]]></category>
  874. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  875. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  876. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16278</guid>
  877.  
  878. <description><![CDATA[<p>When Fritz and I agreed to this experiment, we had no idea what to expect. Who knew my sparkle bomb of an idea (sharing my own thoughts on retirement on [&#8230;]</p>
  879. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/">Retirement &#8211; My Journey From &#8220;No, Never&#8221; to &#8220;Maybe One Day&#8221;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  880. ]]></description>
  881. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When Fritz and I agreed to this experiment, we had no idea what to expect. Who knew my sparkle bomb of an idea (sharing my own thoughts on retirement on this blog) would, well, set off so many sparkles! Thank you for the warm welcome in the comments. I look forward to continuing the journey with all of you.</p>
  882. <p>As I said in<strong> <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/">our initial post</a></strong>, I want to share how my personal thoughts on retirement shifted from “Nope, Never” to “Maybe One Day.” It may sound subtle, but to me, it was <strong>seismic.</strong></p>
  883. <hr /><p><em>I never thought I&#039;d retire. Then...I took a vacation and had an awakening.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fretirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day%2F&#038;text=I%20never%20thought%20I%27d%20retire.%20Then...I%20took%20a%20vacation%20and%20had%20an%20awakening.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  884. <p><strong>Here&#8217;s how it happened&#8230;</strong></p>
  885. <hr>
  886. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16290" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-02-2.32.53-PM.png" alt="" width="442" height="669" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-02-2.32.53-PM.png 442w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-02-2.32.53-PM-198x300.png 198w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 442px) 100vw, 442px" /></p>
  887. <hr>
  888. <h2><strong>A Personal Awakening</strong></h2>
  889. <p>I love&#8230;</p>
  890. <ul>
  891. <li>&#8230;accomplishing things.</li>
  892. <li>&#8230;growing my company.</li>
  893. <li>&#8230;contributing to my profession.</li>
  894. <li>&#8230;mentoring those new to the financial planning career.</li>
  895. </ul>
  896. <p>Give me three days off, and I&#8217;m itching to return to work.</p>
  897. <p>That’s why this vacation was different. It was day 13, and I hadn’t been bored yet. We were in Beaver Creek, CO, where we got married. It’s my favorite mountain town.</p>
  898. <p>Until this vacation, when people asked about my retirement plans, I’d casually say I planned to work until 70. But it wasn’t a carefully thought-out plan. It was simply the only path I could see.</p>
  899. <p>Then, at 53, on that vacation, <strong>I experienced what a joyful retirement might feel like</strong>: a life centered around nature, health, and writing. Writing fills me with joy — when I can do it at a reasonable pace, not squeezed between emails, financial statements, and Zoom meetings.</p>
  900. <p>Suddenly, retirement wasn’t a vague checkbox I advised others to prepare for—it was something I could see for myself one day. Not a fully formed picture.… but like being in a room with the light off and then a dimmer switch turns on, casting just enough glow to glimpse a path forward.</p>
  901. <ul>
  902. <li><strong>Pre-awakening:</strong>&nbsp; The logic was clear: I was supposed to save and plan for retirement. And, since I help others do that, I didn’t want to be a hypocrite.</li>
  903. <li><strong>Post-awakening:</strong> I was no longer planning for retirement out of obligation — I can see it one day. My future no longer felt like a murky unknown—it felt like something I could shape.</li>
  904. </ul>
  905. <p>Here&#8217;s our Sept 2023 wedding photo from the top of the ski lift in Beaver Creek.</p>
  906. <figure id="attachment_16279" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16279" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-16279" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-300x200.jpg" alt="Beaver Creek, CO Wedding Photo" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/176-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16279" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Dana&#8217;s favorite place in the mountains.</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  907. <hr>
  908. <h2><strong>What Shape Will I Shape?</strong></h2>
  909. <p>As I spent time thinking about the retirement I wanted to design, and how I would achieve it, a few things became clear:</p>
  910. <p><strong>1) I Can’t Go from 100 to Zero</strong></p>
  911. <p>Work full time – then stop all at once? No,&nbsp;such an abrupt transition doesn’t suit me. I must begin weaving in more time off now. That means planning more vacations, remote work weeks from Colorado, and learning to take weekends and holidays off like a normal person – weaning myself from the “always on” mindset of an entrepreneur. This is easier said than done.</p>
  912. <p><strong>2) I Work for Fun—So I Need More Fun</strong></p>
  913. <p>When I don’t have anything else exciting planned, I work. Because for me, my work <em>is</em> fun. So, the only way to scale back is to deliberately add other joyful experiences to my calendar. The first step? My husband and I booked a bucket-list hike along the Mont Blanc circuit in the Alps, spanning France, Italy, and Switzerland. We’ll hike about 99 miles over twelve days this summer.</p>
  914. <p><strong>3) I&#8217;m Not Building to Sell—I&#8217;m Here for the Journey</strong></p>
  915. <p>I needed more clarity around what I want from my eventual succession plan. Some business owners build to sell for maximum enterprise value. That’s never been my path. I’m building future generations of financial planners who will become owners of the firm. Two already have. This gives me something more valuable: maximum <em>life satisfaction</em> value. How do I continue to use this metric as my compass?</p>
  916. <p><strong>4) I Want a Long, Gradual Transition</strong></p>
  917. <p>I need to communicate to my team that I’m looking for shared responsibility. My goal is to scale down gradually over the next sixteen years. Yes—sixteen. It’s a long ramp, but it feels right for me. Each year, I must identify key tasks, determine who can take them over, train them as needed, and then I must let go of that item.&nbsp;</p>
  918. <p>That clarity I found gave me energy.</p>
  919. <p>Energy is a good sign that you&#8217;re headed in the right direction.</p>
  920. <hr>
  921. <h2><strong>My Pre-Go Phase Begins&nbsp; (And Go-Go Starts Now, Too)</strong></h2>
  922. <p>With my newfound clarity, I began working on a new book, which I hope to release this fall.</p>
  923. <p>It’s called<strong> <em>Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide to the Four Phases of Retirement</em>.</strong> It covers the mindset and financial shifts that happen in each phase: Pre-Go, Go-Go, Slow-Go, and No-Go.</p>
  924. <p>When does each phase begin? It’s different for each of us.</p>
  925. <p>My Pre-Go phase began on that vacation, when the light went on. While this phase typically spans the five to ten years before retirement, I realized I would need to overlay mine with the Go-Go phase—which for those with a more abrupt path to retirement, typically occurs during the first five to ten years <em>of</em> retired life.</p>
  926. <p>If I don’t overlap mine with my current working years, I’ll reach 70 without having done many of the things I dream about. And at 70, my window to do them will be shorter. So I’m layering in my Go-Go experiences now. This is my path. And I’m intentionally making it happen.</p>
  927. <hr>
  928. <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-248" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Money.jpg" alt="" width="717" height="406" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Money.jpg 717w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Money-300x170.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Money-624x353.jpg 624w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px" /></h2>
  929. <h2><strong>The Financial Side</strong></h2>
  930. <p>My financial plan was already in motion. I update it each year. But now, with a more clearly defined path, I approached several things differently in my 2025 update.</p>
  931. <p><strong>First, I stress-tested an earlier retirement.</strong><br />
  932. What if health issues force me out of work early? What if my feelings about work shift in my early 60s? I stress-tested a retirement as early as 65. I don’t think that’s my path—but according to the Transamerica Retirement Survey, <strong><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">56% of retirees retired</a><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <em>earlier</em> than planned. </a></strong>I’d be foolish to assume it couldn’t happen to me.</p>
  933. <p><strong>Next, I ran our custom Social Security plan.</strong><br />
  934. When estimating future benefits, if retirement is far in the future, I use generalized assumptions in financial plans—often based on the Full Retirement Age benefit amount as estimated on someone&#8217;s statement. But as someone approaches retirement, we refine those projections. Typically, refinement begins around age 55. This year, I am 54 and my husband is 57. It was time.</p>
  935. <p>Using specialized software, I input our historical and future estimated earnings through our projected last year of work. The program then calculates an actuarially recommended claiming strategy based on inflation, interest rates, and life expectancy.</p>
  936. <p>This is where I got the surprise of a lifetime. I’ve run hundreds of Social Security analyses – I was pretty sure I knew what our recommended plan would be. I would have been wrong. And that?</p>
  937. <p><strong>That’s a story for my next post.</strong></p>
  938. <p>Until then… I’d love to hear from you in the comments.</p>
  939. <ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
  940. <li>Where have you found clarity?</li>
  941. <li>What activities give you energy?</li>
  942. <li>Where is retirement still murky for you?</li>
  943. <li>And if you’ve had your own “light went on” moment—what was it like?</li>
  944. </ul>
  945. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/">Retirement &#8211; My Journey From &#8220;No, Never&#8221; to &#8220;Maybe One Day&#8221;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  946. ]]></content:encoded>
  948. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-my-journey-from-no-never-to-maybe-one-day/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  949. <slash:comments>42</slash:comments>
  952. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16278</post-id> </item>
  953. <item>
  954. <title>A New Chapter for The Retirement Manifesto</title>
  955. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto</link>
  956. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/#comments</comments>
  958. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dana Anspach]]></dc:creator>
  959. <pubDate>Thu, 22 May 2025 08:55:16 +0000</pubDate>
  960. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  961. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  962. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  963. <category><![CDATA[Purpose]]></category>
  964. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16228</guid>
  965.  
  966. <description><![CDATA[<p>A month ago, I wrote about my retirement from full-time blogging&#160;and made the following statement: &#8220;I don’t know exactly what that means yet, but I’m going to explore it for [&#8230;]</p>
  967. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/">A New Chapter for The Retirement Manifesto</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  968. ]]></description>
  969. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A month ago, I wrote about <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my retirement from full-time blogging</strong></a>&nbsp;and made the following statement:</p>
  970. <p><strong><em>&#8220;I don’t know exactly what that means yet, but I’m going to explore it for a while to see where it leads.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
  971. <p>On the morning I published that post, I celebrated my &#8220;Retirement 2.0&#8221; by mountain biking on the <a href="https://sabacycling.com/bicycling/piney-knob-murphy?pineyknob" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Piney Knob trails</strong></a> of Western North Carolina. As I rode, I thought about this blog and its direction. I didn&#8217;t want to write as frequently, but I didn&#8217;t want the blog to fade into obscurity.&nbsp; I wasn&#8217;t sure how to balance those conflicting goals, but I determined to keep myself open to new opportunities and see where things led.</p>
  972. <p>Little did I know that as I was riding, a friend was thinking about the same thing, and those thoughts would lead to an exciting new direction for this blog.&nbsp;</p>
  973. <p>Before I go there, I&#8217;ll share a pic from the trail to help you join vicariously in the moment:</p>
  974. <figure id="attachment_16241" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16241" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16241" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PXL_20250424_140800089-scaled-e1747754486804.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="533"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16241" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Celebrating &#8220;Retirement 2.0&#8221; on my MTB as I ponder the future.</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  975. <p>As I came off the trail, I received a text from a friend that changed everything, and I couldn&#8217;t be more excited about where it&#8217;s led.&nbsp; That text led to an email exchange, and an exciting new path was established for this blog.</p>
  976. <p><strong>In short, we&#8217;re going to conduct an experiment.&nbsp;</strong> If you&#8217;re a regular reader, you know how often I encourage folks to experiment and try new things in retirement. Seems appropriate, then, that we&#8217;d do the same thing with the blog.&nbsp; The exciting part is that you get to participate, and your feedback is always welcome <em>(I&#8217;ll see you in the comments).</em></p>
  977. <hr /><p><em>Today, I&#039;m sharing the plans for the next chapter of The Retirement Manifesto - we&#039;re doing an experiment.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fa-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto%2F&#038;text=Today%2C%20I%27m%20sharing%20the%20plans%20for%20the%20next%20chapter%20of%20The%20Retirement%20Manifesto%20-%20we%27re%20doing%20an%20experiment.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  978. <p><strong>I suspect many of you know the friend who sent the text.</strong>&nbsp; She&#8217;s a true &#8220;Rock Star&#8221; in the world of retirement planning, and her book was one of the best books I read as I was planning my retirement.&nbsp; She has been writing as an expert on retirement-related topics since 2008 and has created tremendous content in the field. I was a huge fan of hers long before she knew who I was, and I&#8217;m honored to consider her a friend now.</p>
  979. <p>I&#8217;m even more excited to have her as a partner<em> (hold that thought, I&#8217;ll explain more in a minute).</em></p>
  980. <p>Her name?&nbsp;</p>
  981. <p>The infamous <a href="https://www.sensiblemoney.com/partners/independent-financial-planners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Dana Anspach</strong></a>, a Certified Financial Planner, Founder of Sensible Money, and author of <a href="https://amzn.to/4mH82fZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Control Your Retirement Destiny </strong></a><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Amazon Affiliate link)</em></span>, one of the best books I&#8217;ve read on retirement planning. I first discovered her when she was writing the &#8220;MoneyOver55&#8221; column on About.com, and have followed her writing since 2010.&nbsp; She&#8217;s long been one of my favorite writers in the field, and in the second half of this post, you&#8217;ll get an opportunity to read her writing yourself.&nbsp;</p>
  982. <p><strong>Hint:</strong>&nbsp; It won&#8217;t be the last time you&#8217;ll read her content on The Retirement Manifesto.</p>
  983. <figure id="attachment_16244" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16244" style="width: 282px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16244" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-11.40.56-AM.png" alt="" width="282" height="280" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-11.40.56-AM.png 282w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-11.40.56-AM-150x150.png 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16244" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Dana Anspach &#8211; Rock Star</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  984. <p>Ironically, after years of helping thousands of people retire successfully, <strong>she&#8217;s now at the same point I was when I started this blog.&nbsp;</strong> She&#8217;s still working, but she&#8217;s thinking seriously about when she can retire.&nbsp; She&#8217;s a talented writer, and in her text, she floated the concept of having her share her journey and thoughts via posts on this blog.&nbsp;</p>
  985. <p>I immediately agreed.</p>
  986. <p>What is it like for a retirement professional to personally go through the retirement transition?&nbsp; After years of helping others, how is it different when you go through it yourself? Thanks to this partnership, we&#8217;ll all gain some insight.&nbsp; I&#8217;m excited for the journey.</p>
  987. <p>We&#8217;re keeping the new &#8220;partnership&#8221; informal, with no money changing hands and no commitments.&nbsp; Either of us can cancel the agreement at any time, though I suspect that won&#8217;t happen.&nbsp; We&#8217;ll play it by ear and see how it goes.&nbsp; If things work well, we&#8217;ll consider a more formal agreement in a year or so.&nbsp; Stay tuned.</p>
  988. <p><strong>The Bottom Line:</strong> We all stand to benefit:</p>
  989. <ul>
  990. <li>Dana gets a platform to share her thoughts as she prepares for retirement.</li>
  991. <li>Fritz gets a talented writer to create new content and keep the blog interesting.</li>
  992. <li>You get insight as a retirement professional plans her transition into retirement.</li>
  993. </ul>
  994. <hr>
  995. <h2>The Retirement Manifesto 2.0</h2>
  996. <p>At this point, here&#8217;s how we envision things happening.&nbsp;</p>
  997. <p>Both Dana and I will contribute to this blog, and we&#8217;ll have complete freedom to write whatever is on our minds. I suspect having Dana onboard will give me more energy than if I were to continue solo, and I already have a few draft articles saved on topics I&#8217;d like to address.&nbsp; I realize it will take a while for you to get used to a new &#8220;voice&#8221; on the blog, and I ask for your patience as we conduct this experiment.&nbsp; Dana is an excellent writer and has more experience in this field than almost anyone I know.&nbsp; Participating in her retirement transition will provide value for all of us.</p>
  998. <p>In short, The Retirement Manifesto is moving from a solo act to a duet.</p>
  999. <p><strong>I hope you like the new music.</strong></p>
  1000. <p><em>PS &#8211; To make it easier for you, we&#8217;ll add the writer&#8217;s name as a byline below the title of each post.&nbsp; If you were paying attention, you&#8217;d have caught Dana&#8217;s name below the title of today&#8217;s post.&nbsp; I wonder how many readers noticed that?</em></p>
  1001. <hr>
  1002. <p>This isn&#8217;t the first time Dana and I have collaborated.&nbsp; A year ago, I was a guest on a webinar she hosted discussing &#8220;The 5 Keys to Retirement Success&#8221; (YouTube link below).&nbsp; I met Dana in Phoenix a month before we recorded, and we hit it off immediately.&nbsp; I&#8217;m proud of the content we created, and I am excited about what the future holds.</p>
  1003. <p>&nbsp;<br />
  1004. <iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BuRE7xwuaak?si=1qLcER_XLotdLyzv" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />
  1005. &nbsp;</p>
  1006. <hr>
  1007. <p>With that introduction out of the way&#8230;</p>
  1008. <p>&nbsp;<br />
  1009. <iframe loading="lazy" class="giphy-embed" src="https://giphy.com/embed/RoajqIorBfSE" width="480" height="250" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
  1010. <p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/scenes-inyminy-RoajqIorBfSE">via GIPHY</a></p>
  1011. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Discovering The Retirement Manifesto</strong></span></p>
  1012. <p>I’m not sure when I first came across Fritz’s blog—probably 2016, a year or so after he began writing.</p>
  1013. <p>At the time, I wrote as the MoneyOver55 Expert for About.com, something I’d done since 2007, when the site was owned by The New York Times. All of us &#8220;experts&#8221; maintained a blog, where we were encouraged to share our personal voice along with stories and anecdotes, and we wrote “evergreen” content &#8211; for me, that meant covering core topics like Social Security, 401(k) withdrawals, and all things retirement.</p>
  1014. <p>I loved it. Writing was one of the most rewarding parts of my week. Constantly on the lookout for fresh topics and inspiring voices in the retirement space, I found <em>The Retirement Manifesto</em> and featured the blog in a “top retirement blogs” piece.</p>
  1015. <p>What drew me in? Fritz was out there being real—sharing his journey with transparency and vulnerability, and allowing us all to come along for the ride.</p>
  1016. <hr>
  1017. <h2>A Different Kind of Retirement Conversation</h2>
  1018. <p>While I was steeped in the mechanics of retirement income planning—tax efficiency, income distribution strategies, and cash flow modeling—Fritz was writing about the emotional side of the transition. About finding identity and purpose. His<strong> <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-ten-commandments-of-retirement/">Ten Commandments of Retirement</a></strong> post struck a chord. It showcased the depth of thought he and his wife applied to their retirement and who they wanted to become.</p>
  1019. <p>That idea resonated with me. I lived by my own version of a manifesto—I called it my <em>Operating System</em>. It included things like:</p>
  1020. <ul>
  1021. <li>Be the best me I can be.</li>
  1022. <li>Spread a little sunshine wherever you go.</li>
  1023. <li>I believe I’m 100% responsible for my life—my life is a reflection of the choices I make.</li>
  1024. </ul>
  1025. <p>The thought of applying this same kind of intentionality to designing retirement life felt like a mini sparkle bomb going off in my head. “Of course,” I thought. “That is the way!”</p>
  1026. <p>And yet, while I referred many people to Fritz’s work, when it came to <em>my own</em> retirement – it felt far, far away. When I tried thinking about it… I felt blank. I help others plan for retirement. But for me? Nope, I couldn’t picture it.</p>
  1027. <hr>
  1028. <h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16254" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/board-2084772_1280-e1747842036234.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="500"></h2>
  1029. <h2>The Shift: From “Nope, Never” to “Maybe One Day”</h2>
  1030. <p>Until, at the age of 53, one vacation changed everything, I’ll share that story in a future post.</p>
  1031. <p>After that trip, I began thinking about retirement more. By “more” I mean I went from “Retirement for me–nope, never” to “Holy cow, I actually want to retire one day!” This was a fundamental shift.</p>
  1032. <p>I wondered: Could I blog about <em>my</em> journey, just like Fritz had?</p>
  1033. <p>But, I no longer had a personal blog. You see in 2012, the New York Times sold About.com to IAC—a digital media conglomerate that owns everything from Match.com to Investopedia. Like many corporate transitions, the tone shifted. Our blogs were taken away. The platform became more transactional. I kept writing for a few years, then stepped away as it lost its luster and personal feeling.</p>
  1034. <p>Over the years, Fritz and I exchanged a few notes on Twitter (now X). We emailed occasionally and met in person during his 2024 visit to Scottsdale.</p>
  1035. <p>His genuine nature shines through in person just as it does within his writing.</p>
  1036. <p>So, when I saw his post about retiring from blogging, another sparkle bomb went off. Could I pick up where he left off?</p>
  1037. <p>I tapped out a text, and after a short exchange, we decided to do something we each value: experiment. No financial ties. No obligations. Just an experiment.</p>
  1038. <p>I’d share my thoughts and stories about retirement. When inspired, he might share his. In a year, we’ll check in and see what we think.</p>
  1039. <p>I’m excited to blog again—it feels like Fourth of July sparklers inside.</p>
  1040. <hr>
  1041. <h2>What My Plan <em data-start="1256" data-end="1260">Is</em>—And Isn’t</h2>
  1042. <p>My only hesitation: how might this be received? I’m the founder and CEO of a firm specializing in retirement planning. While we welcome new clients, this is not a sales pitch, and I don’t want anyone feeling that way.</p>
  1043. <p>Yet, I’m sure I’ll talk about my work—it’s a huge part of my life, and I’m proud of it. But my belief is this: we’re all wired differently.</p>
  1044. <p>Some of us are well-suited to handle our own planning.</p>
  1045. <p>Others benefit immensely from delegating.</p>
  1046. <p>Either way, good advice is good advice. We can all learn from one another—with respect, kindness, and encouragement.</p>
  1047. <p>I plan to share my hopes, stories, and reflections about my retirement journey—and snippets from the hundreds of households I’ve learned from.</p>
  1048. <h2>Let’s See Where This Leads</h2>
  1049. <p>Let’s see where this experiment leads. I hope you’ll join me on the journey.</p>
  1050. <p>And, stay tuned. Shortly, I’ll share my own personal awakening about retirement and how it shifted my entire way of thinking.</p>
  1051. <hr>
  1052. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  1053. <p>Fritz here, jumping in with some final thoughts.&nbsp; Throughout my blogging career, I&#8217;ve been fascinated by the exciting opportunities that spring up just by being &#8220;out there.&#8221; The countless podcast interviews, webinars, and new friends I&#8217;ve made. By taking that first step in April 2015, I&#8217;ve created something that&#8217;s brought true purpose and meaning to my retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  1054. <p>By being willing to experiment and try new things, I&#8217;ve discovered the rewarding feeling that comes from &#8220;Helping People Achieve A Great Retirement&#8221; (my byline). As a result, I&#8217;ve learned to embrace change, to be willing to experiment, and to take risks.&nbsp; I hope that you&#8217;ve all benefited as a result.</p>
  1055. <p>After years of being a solo act, I&#8217;m embracing the opportunity of singing in a duet.</p>
  1056. <p>I hope you enjoy the experiment.</p>
  1057. <hr>
  1058. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> I&#8217;d love your input as we launch this new chapter in the life of The Retirement Manifesto. Have you read Dana&#8217;s material in the past, or is this your first introduction?&nbsp; What do you think of the approach? I appreciate your support as we conduct this experiment, and encourage you to learn to hear a new voice on this blog.&nbsp; I think you&#8217;ll enjoy the music&#8230;</p>
  1059. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/">A New Chapter for The Retirement Manifesto</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1060. ]]></content:encoded>
  1062. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-retirement-manifesto/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1063. <slash:comments>116</slash:comments>
  1066. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16228</post-id> </item>
  1067. <item>
  1068. <title>I&#8217;m Retiring    (from full-time blogging)</title>
  1069. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging</link>
  1070. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/#comments</comments>
  1072. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  1073. <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 08:58:07 +0000</pubDate>
  1074. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  1075. <category><![CDATA[carpe diem]]></category>
  1076. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  1077. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  1078. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16132</guid>
  1079.  
  1080. <description><![CDATA[<p>On April 12, 2015, I wrote my first post on this blog. A decade of writing.&#160; 441 articles.&#160; 1 Million Words. Wow. It&#8217;s been a heckuva ride. I&#8217;m in awe [&#8230;]</p>
  1081. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/">I&#8217;m Retiring    (from full-time blogging)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1082. ]]></description>
  1083. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On April 12, 2015, I wrote <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/hello-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my first post</strong></a> on this blog.</p>
  1084. <ul>
  1085. <li>A decade of writing.&nbsp;</li>
  1086. <li>441 articles.&nbsp;</li>
  1087. <li>1 Million Words.</li>
  1088. </ul>
  1089. <p>Wow.</p>
  1090. <p>It&#8217;s been a heckuva ride. I&#8217;m in awe that over 16,000 of you subscribe to my blog and read what I write <em>(a sincere &#8220;Thank You!&#8221; to all of you).</em>&nbsp; It&#8217;s an honor, and I take it seriously.&nbsp; In that very first post, I wrote the following:</p>
  1091. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>&#8220;This is the story of my journey, told in The Present before it becomes The Past.&#8221;</strong></em></span></p>
  1092. <p>I&#8217;ve always liked that sentence, and it&#8217;s become one of my goals with this blog.&nbsp; To share my journey, as I&#8217;m living it, with the hope that sharing my experiences will help others achieve a great retirement.</p>
  1093. <p>At this point in my journey, I feel I&#8217;ve accomplished that goal.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1094. <p>As I seek to continually experiment with my retirement lifestyle, I challenge myself to embrace the freedom these years offer. Sometimes it&#8217;s hard, and today is one of those days.&nbsp; As that journey has evolved, it&#8217;s reached the point where it&#8217;s led to a major decision for this blog.&nbsp;</p>
  1095. <p>That decision?</p>
  1096. <p><strong>I&#8217;m retiring from full-time blogging.</strong></p>
  1097. <p>But&#8230;I&#8217;m getting ahead of myself.&nbsp; To gain insight into my decision and what it means for this blog, read on&#8230;</p>
  1098. <hr /><p><em>I&#039;m retiring from full-time blogging. Today, the story behind my decision, and my plans for the future...</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fim-retiring-from-full-time-blogging%2F&#038;text=I%27m%20retiring%20from%20full-time%20blogging.%20Today%2C%20the%20story%20behind%20my%20decision%2C%20and%20my%20plans%20for%20the%20future...&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr />
  1099. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16199" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-9.28.49-AM.png" alt="" width="397" height="593" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-9.28.49-AM.png 397w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-05-9.28.49-AM-201x300.png 201w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 397px) 100vw, 397px" /></p>
  1100. <h1><b>Shifting Gears After 10 Years of Blogging</b></h1>
  1101. <p>I&#8217;ve known a lot of bloggers over the past decade, most of whom have faded away. That&#8217;s not a surprise, given that 80% of blogs fail to survive beyond 18 months.</p>
  1102. <p>One thing I&#8217;ve noticed is how most bloggers seem to just fade away.</p>
  1103. <p>They just&#8230;disappear.</p>
  1104. <p>One day, you&#8217;re reading their stuff, and a few months later, you realize you haven&#8217;t seen anything from them in a while.&nbsp; A year later, they&#8217;re all but forgotten.</p>
  1105. <p><strong>I&#8217;m taking a different approach.</strong></p>
  1106. <p>As always, I&#8217;m being transparent about this phase of my journey, and I&#8217;d rather tell you what I&#8217;m thinking than have you wonder where I&#8217;ve gone. This is my Present, before it becomes my Past.</p>
  1107. <p>After 10 years of diligent writing, it&#8217;s time to shift gears.&nbsp; I still enjoy writing, but it&#8217;s becoming more of an obligation than the true joy it&#8217;s been in the past.&nbsp; With over 440 articles<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/archives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> in my archives</strong></a>, it&#8217;s harder to find fresh topics to challenge my mind.&nbsp; I think less and less about potential topics, a sharp contrast to the earlier years of writing when ideas were constantly flooding my mind.</p>
  1108. <p><strong>It&#8217;s time to move on.</strong></p>
  1109. <p>I&#8217;ve always encouraged you to remember that <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-is-like-a-game-of-poker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Is Like A Game of Poker</strong></a>, and challenged you to constantly improve the cards you&#8217;re holding.&nbsp; If a card is getting stale, don&#8217;t hesitate to exchange it for a new card from the deck.&nbsp;</p>
  1110. <p>I&#8217;d be a hypocrite if I didn&#8217;t apply the same advice. The blogging card has gotten a bit stale, so I&#8217;m shuffling the deck and putting the card down for a while.</p>
  1111. <p>I hope you&#8217;re doing the same.</p>
  1112. <p>Never stop experimenting.</p>
  1113. <p><strong>Never stop improving your hand.</strong></p>
  1114. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15609" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-TRM-Logo-1.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="409" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-TRM-Logo-1.jpg 1024w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-TRM-Logo-1-300x120.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-TRM-Logo-1-768x307.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></p>
  1115. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Future of The Retirement Manifesto</strong></span></p>
  1116. <p>The good news is, this blog isn&#8217;t going anywhere.&nbsp; I have no intention of selling it, and I plan on keeping it online well into the future.&nbsp; I&#8217;ll still write when the urge strikes.</p>
  1117. <p>The thing that will change is the frequency of my writing.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1118. <p>After all, I&#8217;m retiring from full-time blogging.&nbsp; <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f609.png" alt="😉" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
  1119. <p><strong>I don&#8217;t know exactly what that means yet</strong>, but I&#8217;m going to explore it for a while to see where it leads. I&#8217;ve been writing about retirement for a long time, perhaps I&#8217;ll use this platform to share thoughts on other topics in the future.&nbsp; Most likely, I&#8217;ll follow the path that <a href="https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mr. Money Mustache</strong></a> and<a href="https://jlcollinsnh.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> JL Collins</strong></a> have taken, and write when I feel I have something worthwhile to say.&nbsp; They both only write a few times a year, but I still read every word.&nbsp; I hope my readers will do the same for me.</p>
  1120. <p>Stay tuned (and please don&#8217;t unsubscribe)&#8230;</p>
  1121. <p>I&#8217;m getting busier with other activities that I enjoy, and the blogging card has become more intrusive. I seldom find time to sit at my keyboard, and I&#8217;m fine with that.&nbsp; I prefer to be out&#8230;..</p>
  1122. <ul>
  1123. <li>Hiking <em>(I did a 13-miler last week!)</em>&#8230;</li>
  1124. <li>Riding my mountain bike in the woods.&nbsp;</li>
  1125. <li>Swimming in a lake.</li>
  1126. <li>Playing in our garden (<em>that <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-experiment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>experiment</strong></a> succeeded, we&#8217;ve doubled the size this year</em>)&nbsp;</li>
  1127. <li>Hanging out at a campground.</li>
  1128. <li>Building a fence <em>(we just finished our 170th <a href="https://www.facebook.com/freedomforfido" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido</strong></a> fence!).&nbsp;</em></li>
  1129. <li>Exercising <em>(you can follow me on <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/21680610" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Strava</strong></a>).</em></li>
  1130. <li>Spending time with our daughter and granddaughter.</li>
  1131. </ul>
  1132. <p>If you follow my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_retirement_manifesto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Instagram</strong></a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRetirementManifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Facebook</strong></a> pages, you&#8217;ll see that I&#8217;m living more and more of my life outside the walls, and retiring from blogging is consistent with that trend.</p>
  1133. <hr>
  1134. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Why Now?</strong></span></p>
  1135. <p>The 10th anniversary of my blog seems like a good time to announce my official retirement.</p>
  1136. <p>In my &#8220;real&#8221; job, I retired on July 5th, the same date (33 years later) that I was hired.</p>
  1137. <p>I wanted to do the same with my blog, and had planned to publish this post on April 12th, 10 years from the date I wrote my first post.&nbsp; Life got in the way, and I missed the April 12th target by a few weeks.</p>
  1138. <p><strong>And that is exactly the point.</strong></p>
  1139. <p>Other things in life have taken on a higher priority than my writing, and I&#8217;m embracing that.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t worry, nothing is &#8220;wrong,&#8221; and there is no hidden agenda behind my decision.&nbsp; It just feels like the right time to mix things up a bit.&nbsp; After 7 years of retirement, it&#8217;s no longer a puzzle to me.&nbsp; I&#8217;m content with where I am in life, and find fewer elements of retirement worth thinking about, worth writing about.&nbsp; The retirement transition is complete, and taking a break from writing about the topic aligns with that reality.</p>
  1140. <p>I&#8217;ll still write when I feel like it, but I won&#8217;t be publishing regularly.&nbsp; I expect months may go by between articles, and I wouldn&#8217;t want to make that drastic a change without letting you know.&nbsp;</p>
  1141. <p>As my life continues to evolve, the time may come when I prefer to be back inside on the keyboard.&nbsp; Or, it may not.&nbsp;</p>
  1142. <p><strong>Time will tell.</strong></p>
  1143. <p>Regardless of what the future holds, one thing I know is this:&nbsp; The encouragement I&#8217;ve received from all of you over the past 10 years is one of the most rewarding things I&#8217;ve experienced in my life.&nbsp; Your engagement in the comments, the emails, and the personal visits means more to me than you&#8217;ll ever know.&nbsp; There is nothing as satisfying as hearing from someone who has decided to retire, and thanks me for helping them navigate these interesting waters called retirement.</p>
  1144. <p>As my path leads in new directions, a special word of thanks to each of you.</p>
  1145. <p>I hope my words have encouraged you to achieve a great retirement.&nbsp; As I log off to begin my new retirement, I&#8217;ll leave you with one final word to ponder:&nbsp;</p>
  1146. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><em><strong>Freedom.</strong></em></span></p>
  1147. <p>I&#8217;m embracing mine.</p>
  1148. <p>I encourage you to do the same.</p>
  1149. <p>Until next time&#8230;</p>
  1150. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/">I&#8217;m Retiring    (from full-time blogging)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1151. ]]></content:encoded>
  1153. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/im-retiring-from-full-time-blogging/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1154. <slash:comments>118</slash:comments>
  1157. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">16132</post-id> </item>
  1158. <item>
  1159. <title>How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You</title>
  1160. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan</link>
  1161. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan/#comments</comments>
  1163. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Fritz Gilbert]]></dc:creator>
  1164. <pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2025 09:24:30 +0000</pubDate>
  1165. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  1166. <category><![CDATA[contingency planning]]></category>
  1167. <category><![CDATA[insurance]]></category>
  1168. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  1169. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=16091</guid>
  1170.  
  1171. <description><![CDATA[<p>This post contains Affilliate links which will pay a small commission to me (at no cost to you) if you order through the links.&#160; &#160; A question has been plaguing [&#8230;]</p>
  1172. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan/">How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1173. ]]></description>
  1174. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  1175. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  1176. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  1177. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  1178. <div><em>This post contains Affilliate links which will pay a small commission to me (at no cost to you) if you order through the links.&nbsp;</em></div>
  1179. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1180. <div>A question has been plaguing me lately&#8230;</div>
  1181. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1182. <div><em><strong>&#8220;How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You&#8221;</strong></em></div>
  1183. </div>
  1184. </div>
  1185. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1186. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  1187. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  1188. <div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">I&#8217;m turning 62 this month and inching closer to a decision I view with mixed feelings.</span></div>
  1189. </div>
  1190. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1191. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  1192. <div class="zw-column-container">
  1193. <div>On the one hand, I&#8217;ve heard from many retirees that Medicare is a confusing web of options.&nbsp; I have a friend who has spent hundreds of hours analyzing the options, and I dread doing that myself.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve only recently begun to read about the topic, and I&#8217;m realizing the complexity of the decision ahead.</div>
  1194. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1195. <div><strong>I&#8217;m dreading the thought of figuring it all out.</strong><em> (Fortunately, I&#8217;ve discovered a solution&#8230;read on)</em></div>
  1196. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1197. <div>On the other hand, there&#8217;s the relief of saving some serious money.&nbsp; We&#8217;ve been paying for private insurance since I retired 7 years ago.&nbsp; It&#8217;s expensive, and I&#8217;m excited to experience the lower costs associated with Medicare.&nbsp;</div>
  1198. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1199. <div><strong>I just wish there were an easier way to sign up for Medicare&#8230;&nbsp;</strong></div>
  1200. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1201. <div>Fortunately, I&#8217;ve found a great <em>(and easy, and free)</em> solution, and today I&#8217;m excited to share it with you.</div>
  1202. </div>
  1203. </div>
  1204. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1205. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  1206. <div>I now know how we&#8217;re going to choose the best Medicare for my wife and me.&nbsp; The great news is, <strong>you&#8217;re going to be able to use the same solution I&#8217;ve discovered, for free!</strong>&nbsp; But I&#8217;m getting ahead of myself&#8230;&nbsp;</div>
  1207. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1208. <div><hr /><p><em>I&#039;ve been dreading the chore of figuring out Medicare. Fortunately, I found an easier solution, and today I&#039;m sharing it with you.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fhow-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan%2F&#038;text=I%27ve%20been%20dreading%20the%20chore%20of%20figuring%20out%20Medicare.%20Fortunately%2C%20I%20found%20an%20easier%20solution%2C%20and%20today%20I%27m%20sharing%20it%20with%20you.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Share on X</a><br /><hr /></div>
  1209. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1210. <div class="zw-column-container">
  1211. <div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16106" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-10.05.18-AM.png" alt="Medicare Advantage versus Traditional Medicare" width="440" height="666" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-10.05.18-AM.png 440w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-21-10.05.18-AM-198x300.png 198w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px" /></div>
  1212. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1213. <div>
  1214. <hr>
  1215. </div>
  1216. <h1>How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You</h1>
  1217. <div>If you were paying attention, you received an email a few weeks ago announcing my first webinar.&nbsp; Today,<strong> I&#8217;m sharing the story behind that webina</strong>r, which includes the solution I&#8217;ve found for a question that&#8217;s been plaguing me:&nbsp; How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan.&nbsp;</div>
  1218. </div>
  1219. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1220. <div class="zw-column-container">
  1221. <div>I couldn&#8217;t be happier with the solution I&#8217;ve found, and I&#8217;m excited to share it with you. But first, here&#8217;s a reminder in case you missed the announcement:</div>
  1222. </div>
  1223. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1224. </div>
  1225. <div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>I&#8217;m Hosting My First Webinar!</strong></span></span></div>
  1226. </div>
  1227. </div>
  1228. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1229. <div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Post Publishing Edit:&nbsp;</strong> <em><strong>Here&#8217;s The Recording of the Webinar:&nbsp;</strong></em></span></div>
  1230. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1231. </div>
  1232. <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Medicare 101: The 7 Crucial Medicare Mistakes to Avoid" width="810" height="608" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d_pHq45j5jA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
  1233. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1234. <div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  1235. <div>
  1236. <hr>
  1237. </div>
  1238. <div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Solution I&#8217;m Using To Choose The Best Medicare Plan</strong></span></div>
  1239. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1240. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  1241. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  1242. <div>Here&#8217;s the fun part &#8211; the story behind the webinar.</div>
  1243. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1244. <div>There&#8217;s a reason I&#8217;m doing this webinar with Ari. As I started looking into Medicare, I made a conscious decision.&nbsp; Rather than invest my time researching Medicare, wouldn&#8217;t it be smarter to use that time to research Medicare experts instead?&nbsp; Some areas are best outsourced, and I&#8217;ve concluded that deciding on how to choose the best Medicare plan is something I&#8217;m comfortable leaving to the experts.</div>
  1245. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1246. <div>
  1247. <figure id="attachment_16092" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16092" style="width: 280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16092 size-medium" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-14-10.50.28-AM-280x300.png" alt="" width="280" height="300" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-14-10.50.28-AM-280x300.png 280w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-14-10.50.28-AM.png 382w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16092" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Ari Parker: Co-Founder of Chapter</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  1248. </div>
  1249. <div>Ari&#8217;s company (Chapter) is the solution I&#8217;ve found to solve the puzzle of How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan.</div>
  1250. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1251. <div>Solving the Medicare puzzle is what they do.&nbsp; And they&#8217;re good at it.&nbsp; Very good at it.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s a quick summary:</div>
  1252. </div>
  1253. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1254. <ul>
  1255. <li>Dave Ramsey uses them for all of his listeners.</li>
  1256. <li>They&#8217;re independent and unbiased experts on Medicare.</li>
  1257. <li>Their advisors do not know the commissions of the products they recommend.</li>
  1258. <li>They have an A+ Rating from the Better Business Bureau.</li>
  1259. <li>They have a 5.0 rating, with over 2,500 reviews.</li>
  1260. <li>Their proprietary software finds your best solution.</li>
  1261. <li>It&#8217;s entirely free, and there&#8217;s no obligation.</li>
  1262. </ul>
  1263. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  1264. <div>A special point on Bullet 3:&nbsp; This was one of the biggest reasons I chose Chapter.&nbsp; The reality is that many Medicare &#8220;experts&#8221; are guilty of being overly influenced by the commissions they receive on various products. One of my biggest concerns was having my advisor recommending something that made them the most money, rather than the product that best matched my needs.&nbsp; The fact that their advisors are &#8220;blind&#8221; to the commissions on the products they&#8217;re recommending was a big factor in my final decision.&nbsp;</div>
  1265. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1266. <div>Let me be clear:&nbsp; I&#8217;m not going to try to &#8220;sell&#8221; you on using them.&nbsp; I&#8217;m simply sharing what I&#8217;ve found in my research, and letting you know that I&#8217;m going to be using them to help me choose the best Medicare for my wife and me.&nbsp; I believe they are a great solution to a difficult challenge all of us face, and I wanted to make you aware.</div>
  1267. </div>
  1268. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1269. <div>Second, rest assured that <strong>the webinar will NOT be a sales pitch.&nbsp;</strong> I have asked Ari to focus his presentation on common mistakes people make when choosing a Medicare plan and answering the reader&#8217;s questions.&nbsp; I will mention my new partnership with Ari&#8217;s company, but that will be it.&nbsp; The purpose of the webinar is to provide education to you from a true Medicare expert, NOT to sell you on a solution.</div>
  1270. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1271. <div>Based on the response to the webinar, I know Medicare is a major concern for many of you.&nbsp; I&#8217;m simply sharing what I&#8217;ve discovered as the solution I&#8217;ll be using to make it a lot easier when it&#8217;s my time to decide on a plan.&nbsp;</div>
  1272. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  1273. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1274. </div>
  1275. </div>
  1276. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  1277. <div>
  1278. <hr>
  1279. </div>
  1280. <div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-16113" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/problem-2731501_640.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="336" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/problem-2731501_640.jpg 640w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/problem-2731501_640-300x158.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
  1281. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1282. <div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Good News &#8211; A Solution For My Readers</strong></span></div>
  1283. </div>
  1284. </div>
  1285. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1286. <div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  1287. <div>I&#8217;ve had numerous phone calls with Ari and his team, and we&#8217;ve reached an agreement.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve decided that Ari&#8217;s company will be the company I recommend for any of my readers looking for help with Medicare.&nbsp; For readers of The Retirement Manifesto, they&#8217;ll:</div>
  1288. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1289. <ul>
  1290. <li>Help you choose the best Medicare plan for you, at no cost.</li>
  1291. <li>Provide expertise in all 50 States, based on the plans available in your area.</li>
  1292. <li>Get you signed up with whatever plan you choose.</li>
  1293. <li>Conduct an annual review during the &#8220;enrollment window&#8221; and advise if changes should be made.&nbsp;</li>
  1294. <li>If you&#8217;re already enrolled, they&#8217;ll review your plan and let you know if it&#8217;s the best for you.</li>
  1295. <li>Once you&#8217;ve talked with them, you&#8217;re under no obligation to follow their recommendation.</li>
  1296. </ul>
  1297. </div>
  1298. <div>If you&#8217;re interested in talking to them:</div>
  1299. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1300. <div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://switchers.askchapter.org/ntm/embed/simple-switchers?overridePhoneNumber=7755650284&amp;utm_campaign=RM_MC_WE_DF_4O_US_H0_3U" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>CLICK THIS LINK TO GET STARTED</strong></a>&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Affiliate Link)</em></span></span></div>
  1301. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1302. <div>If you prefer to call, simply <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>dial (775) 565-0284.</strong></span>&nbsp;</div>
  1303. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1304. <div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  1305. <div>In full transparency, I&#8217;ve entered an &#8220;Affiliate Agreement&#8221; with Ari&#8217;s company, Chapter.&nbsp; It&#8217;s a common arrangement in the blogging world, and it means I&#8217;ll get a small commission (at no cost to you) if you decide to use Chapter as your Medicare advisor.&nbsp; I wouldn&#8217;t have entered this agreement if I didn&#8217;t believe it was the best solution available, and I&#8217;d be recommending them regardless of whether or not I received a commission.&nbsp; &nbsp;In fact, as a show of good faith, I&#8217;ve decided to donate 50% of any commissions earned to charity.&nbsp; <strong>I&#8217;m not in this for the money</strong>, and I hope I&#8217;ve earned enough of your trust at this point for you to recognize my motives are pure.</div>
  1306. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1307. <div><strong>The good news:</strong>&nbsp; you can take advantage of that link, talk with them to get their input on the best Medicare plan (or have them review your current plan and give their recommendation on whether it&#8217;s the best plan for you), and then decide you don&#8217;t want to go that route and do something else.&nbsp;</div>
  1308. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1309. <div>There&#8217;s no obligation, and it&#8217;s always free.</div>
  1310. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1311. <div>
  1312. <hr>
  1313. </div>
  1314. <div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Decide For Yourself</strong></span></div>
  1315. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1316. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  1317. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  1318. <div>I wanted to share the full story before you joined the webinar.&nbsp; Hopefully, you&#8217;ll now be watching with a slightly different perspective.&nbsp; Consider it your opportunity to get a glimpse into Ari&#8217;s way of thinking as you review your options for how you&#8217;re going to choose the best Medicare plan for you and your family.&nbsp; If you like what you see, come back to this post and simply <a href="https://switchers.askchapter.org/ntm/embed/simple-switchers?overridePhoneNumber=7755650284&amp;utm_campaign=RM_MC_WE_DF_4O_US_H0_3U" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>click the link</strong></a> to start the process.</div>
  1319. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1320. <div>
  1321. <hr>
  1322. </div>
  1323. <div><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>A Brief Homework Assignment:&nbsp; Medicare 101 (3 P&#8217;s)</strong></span></div>
  1324. </div>
  1325. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1326. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  1327. <div>As we prepare for the webinar, I wanted to give a brief overview of Medicare to &#8220;get you up to speed&#8221; on the basics before the session.&nbsp; The &#8220;3 P&#8217;s&#8221; outline below are taken from Ari&#8217;s book, <a href="https://amzn.to/41Bo8iJ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s Not That Complicated: The Three Medicare Decisions to Protect Your Health and Money&#8221; </strong></a><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(<em>Amazon Affiliate link</em>)</span>.&nbsp; I ordered the book last week and look forward to reading it as I continue my Medicare education.&nbsp;</div>
  1328. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1329. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  1330. <div class="zw-column-container">
  1331. <div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Medicare 101:</strong></span></div>
  1332. <div class="zw-column">
  1333. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1334. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1335. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1336. <div class="zw-line-content"><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="92">Traditional Medicare consists of two parts:</span></div>
  1337. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1338. <ul>
  1339. <li class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Part A covers hospital stays and is premium-free for most people but there’s a substantial </span><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" style="font-size: 1rem;" data-text-len="11">deductible.</span></li>
  1340. <li class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Part B covers doctor visits and outpatient care. The monthly premium is $185/mo for most Americans.</span></li>
  1341. </ul>
  1342. </div>
  1343. </div>
  1344. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1345. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1346. <div class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Part D is prescription drug coverage. It’s technically optional, but there’s a late enrollment penalty if you don&#8217;t sign up in time.&nbsp; </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">It’s crucial to understand that Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) is not comprehensive health insurance.&nbsp; So, the key question is:</span></div>
  1347. </div>
  1348. </div>
  1349. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1350. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1351. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1352. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" style="font-size: 1rem;" data-text-len="36">How will you cover the 20% Medicare doesn&#8217;t cover?</span></strong></div>
  1353. </div>
  1354. </div>
  1355. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1356. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1357. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1358. <div class="zw-line-content"><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="73">The good news is that there are only two options to cover the 20%.</span></div>
  1359. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1360. </div>
  1361. </div>
  1362. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1363. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1364. <div class="zw-line-content"><span class="zw-bullet zw-bullet-unorder-list"><strong>&#8211;</strong> </span><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="85"><strong>Option&nbsp;1</strong> is to choose a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan, which sits on top of your Original Medicare and allows you to see any Medicare provider nationwide.</span></div>
  1365. </div>
  1366. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1367. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1368. </div>
  1369. </div>
  1370. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1371. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1372. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong><span class="zw-bullet zw-bullet-unorder-list">&#8211; </span></strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="87"><strong>Option&nbsp;2</strong> is a Medicare Advantage plan, which is an &#8220;all-in-one&#8221; alternative to Original&nbsp;</span><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" style="font-size: 1rem;" data-text-len="87">Medicare offered by private insurers. These bundled plans typically include Part D drug </span><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" style="font-size: 1rem;" data-text-len="79">coverage and extras like dental and vision. They often have lower premiums than Medigap but come with network restrictions and other rules.</span></div>
  1373. </div>
  1374. </div>
  1375. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1376. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1377. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1378. </div>
  1379. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1380. <div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Three P&#8217;s</strong></span></div>
  1381. </div>
  1382. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1383. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1384. <div>When deciding between Original Medicare (Parts A &amp; B) plus a separate drug plan versus an all-in-one Medicare Advantage plan, consider these &#8220;3 P&#8217;s&#8221;:</div>
  1385. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1386. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong style="font-size: 1rem;"><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="9">Providers:&nbsp; </span></strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="9">Is it important to keep your current doctors?&nbsp; With Original Medicare, you can see any provider nationwide who accepts Medicare.&nbsp; Most Advantage plans have restricted networks.</span></div>
  1387. </div>
  1388. </div>
  1389. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1390. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1391. <div class="zw-line-content">&nbsp;</div>
  1392. </div>
  1393. </div>
  1394. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1395. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1396. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="13">Prescriptions:</span></strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="74"> How much do you spend on medications?&nbsp; Compare Part D and Advantage plan formularies and costs for the drugs you take.&nbsp; An inexpensive plan may cost more in the long run if it has high prescription copays.</span></div>
  1397. </div>
  1398. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1399. <div class="zw-line-content">&nbsp;</div>
  1400. </div>
  1401. </div>
  1402. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1403. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1404. <div class="zw-line-content"><strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="10">Priorities: </span></strong><span class="zw-portion zw-text-portion" data-text-len="86"><strong>&nbsp;</strong>What do you value most in a health plan &#8211; low premiums, extra benefits, simplicity, flexibility, or minimal out-of-pocket costs? Advantage plans often have low premiums but more restrictions. Pairing Medigap with Original Medicare costs more monthly but covers more with less complexity.</span></div>
  1405. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1406. </div>
  1407. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1408. <div class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">In closing, it&#8217;s important to note that every Chapter Advisor is trained to use their proven 3 Ps Method to review each Medicare beneficiary’s providers, prescriptions, and priorities —</span><em style="font-size: 1rem;"> &#8220;ensuring that every client receives the high-quality healthcare they need and deserve at the best value.&#8221;</em></div>
  1409. </div>
  1410. </div>
  1411. </div>
  1412. </div>
  1413. </div>
  1414. </div>
  1415. </div>
  1416. </div>
  1417. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1418. <div class="zw-paginated zw-page ui-1056-816-portrait">
  1419. <div class="zw-pagecontainer">
  1420. <div class="float-image-container">
  1421. <div class="float-image-content-container">
  1422. <hr>
  1423. </div>
  1424. <div class="float-image-header-container unselectableSection"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></div>
  1425. </div>
  1426. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1427. <div class="float-image-container">
  1428. <div class="float-image-footer-container unselectableSection">I&#8217;m no longer dreading having to choose the best Medicare plan. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">I&#8217;ve found a solution that I&#8217;m comfortable with.&nbsp; It&#8217;s free, it&#8217;s easy, and I have confidence that I&#8217;ll be getting my recommendations from unbiased experts who know more about Medicare than I care to learn.</span></div>
  1429. </div>
  1430. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1431. <div class="zw-content-wrapper">
  1432. <div class="selectableSection zw-contentpane">
  1433. <div class="zw-column-container">
  1434. <div class="zw-column">
  1435. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1436. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1437. <div class="zw-line-content">I&#8217;m so impressed with the company that I&#8217;ve decided to partner with them. I realize Medicare is a concern for many of the readers of this blog, and I wanted to share the solution that I&#8217;ve decided to use personally.&nbsp; Yes, I have an Affiliate Partnership with them, but my motives are pure.&nbsp; I think they&#8217;re the best solution available, so I&#8217;m sharing it with you.&nbsp; If you know of a better solution, drop a comment below.&nbsp; Let&#8217;s work together to solve a frustratingly complex issue for all of us &#8211; How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan.</div>
  1438. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1439. <div class="zw-line-content">As a next step, I&#8217;d encourage you to join the free webinar and see what you think.&nbsp; At a minimum, you&#8217;ll learn a lot about Medicare from a true expert.&nbsp; At best, you&#8217;ll be on a path to figuring out how you&#8217;re going to choose the best Medicare plan for your family.&nbsp; If you haven&#8217;t yet, click the button below to register for the webinar:</div>
  1440. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1441. <div class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JnfGizfaSq6Yw96Pnd5TCA#/registration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Register For the Webinar.</strong></a></span></div>
  1442. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1443. <div class="zw-line-content">Then, make your own decision.&nbsp; If you&#8217;ve already heard enough and want to get started with Chapter:</div>
  1444. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1445. <div class="zw-line-content"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://switchers.askchapter.org/ntm/embed/simple-switchers?overridePhoneNumber=7755650284&amp;utm_campaign=RM_MC_WE_DF_4O_US_H0_3U" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Click This Link To Talk With Chapter</strong></a></span> <em>(Affiliate Link)</em></div>
  1446. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1447. <div class="zw-line-content"><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong style="font-size: 14pt;">If you&#8217;d rather call, dial (775) 565-0284.</strong></span>&nbsp;</em></div>
  1448. </div>
  1449. </div>
  1450. <div class="zw-paragraph" data-width="624" data-tabpoints="[]" data-textformat="{&quot;size&quot;:11}">
  1451. <div class="zw-line-div">
  1452. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1453. <div class="zw-line-content">I&#8217;m excited about being able to provide this solution to my readers.</div>
  1454. </div>
  1455. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1456. <div>I know there&#8217;s a real need, and I hope others can benefit from the solution I&#8217;ve chosen for myself.</div>
  1457. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1458. </div>
  1459. </div>
  1460. </div>
  1461. <div>
  1462. <hr>
  1463. </div>
  1464. </div>
  1465. </div>
  1466. </div>
  1467. </div>
  1468. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></em></span> If you&#8217;re already on Medicare, what process did you use and how confident are you that you chose the best Medicare plan for you?&nbsp; If you&#8217;re not yet on Medicare, are you intimidated by the decision?&nbsp; How are you planning to go about making the decision?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat&#8230;</p>
  1469. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  1470. <div>
  1471. <p class="" dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em><span class="">Chapter Advisory, LLC (“Chapter”) is a private health insurance agency. In California, Chapter does business as Chapter Insurance Services (Lic. No. 6003691). Chapter is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government entity. While Chapter has a database of every Medicare plan option nationwide and can help you to search among all options, it has contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, Chapter does not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, Chapter represents 50 organizations which offer 18,601 products nationwide. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact&nbsp;<a class="" href="http://medicare.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Medicare.gov</a>, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. Enrollment in a plan may be limited to certain times of the year unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period or you are in your Medicare Initial Enrollment Period.</span></em></span></p>
  1472. </div>
  1473. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-choose-the-best-medicare-plan/">How To Choose The Best Medicare Plan For You</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
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