Saving for retirement is a big deal. The average American will spend nearly a million dollars between the time they retire and their death. Social Security payments won’t cover those expenses, so having savings and investments is essential.
One of the most common retirement plans is the 401(k). It’s a benefit that some jobs offer. You and your employer generally get some sort of tax advantage, which makes it a popular choice.
Annuities can be incredibly confusing, but they don’t have to be. Once you understand the most common annuity acronyms, it’s a lot less scary. Each annuity contract will be unique to your needs, the insurance company, and the optional riders available.
When buying an annuity, it’s best to zoom out and look at your entire financial picture first, and then decide if an annuity is right for you. We don’t want you to get excited about one particular type of annuity first, and then figure out how to make it fit your goals. Your life and retirement goals should drive all your retirement decisions.
Looking for financial advice can be confusing and overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. The financial industry uses ambiguous and overlapping terms, but what do they really mean?
If you’re like most people, you just need an honest answer to tough financial questions. Yet, when you start looking for help, you’re met with a variety of terms like adviser, advicer, manager, and planner – all with the words financial, wealth, fiduciary, and investment added to spice things up.
The “Rule of 55” is a useful tool for early retirement. However, retiring early is a relatively new concept, so the mechanics of withdrawing funds from retirement accounts can be a little complex. If you know the rules and exceptions, you can easily patch together a penalty-free withdrawal strategy to fund your retirement.
We want to preface by saying the starting point isn’t access to your retirement accounts; it’s what you want retirement to look like. This is why going through a comprehensive review like our COLLAB™ Financial Planning Process is a must. You want to uncover your deeper “why” and design your ideal retirement lifestyle before ironing out the nuanced details.
Many employer 401 (k) plans offer an option to purchase an annuity. But should you? This isn’t a decision to be made lightly.
Annuities can be overly complex and expensive products. An annuity can be a useful tool in certain situations, but there’s more to the situation than many people realize. You really need to think through your long-term retirement income and tax situation.
This post was last updated on March 31, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
Before 2026 ends, retirees need to make sure they’ve covered all their bases for taxes, charitable giving, RMDs, and more. With recent changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, there’s even more to consider for your retirement checklist. Whether you’re thinking about retirement, currently transitioning into retirement, or are already fully retired, there are many items on the to-do list.
This post was last updated on March 31, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
Social Security changes from the 'One, Big, Beautiful Bill' could have the longest-lasting impacts on your retirement. Healthcare and tax reforms have dominated headlines, but they also have numerous secondary effects.
This post was last updated on March 31, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
Receiving an inherited IRA is a significant and emotional event. Sadly, inheriting a retirement account means someone close to you has passed away. The last thing anyone wants to think about is having to avoid tax penalties on the account they inherited, but it’s a real concern.
This post was last updated on March 30, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
There are many rising costs senior citizens have to contend with, but you might be able to stop your property taxes from rising any further. We took a look at programs affecting the Kansas counties surrounding Kansas City to see how you can save on property taxes.
This post was last updated on March 30, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
Rising costs and running out of money are a huge worry for many retirees. However, moving forward, you may be eligible for a new “tax freeze” on your Missouri personal property bill. Every little bit helps!
This post was last updated on March 30, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 significantly changed our tax landscape. Most changes were temporary and set to expire or “sunset” at the end of 2025. However, this didn’t exactly happen.
This post was last updated on March 29, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
Losing a spouse is awful, and getting hit with a larger tax bill only makes things worse. Thinking about death is never fun, but failure to plan could mean serious tax issues for a surviving spouse. This is what’s often called the “widow’s penalty.”
This post was last updated on March 29, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
Are you looking for a way to supercharge your retirement savings? You might want to look into after-tax contributions to your 401k. Many larger employers offer this option, but some smaller employers do as well.
This post was last updated on March 28, 2025, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
SECURE 2.0 didn’t cause any real major changes, but collectively, all the small changes have a significant impact. Put a different way, SECURE 2.0 probably won’t make or break your retirement, but you certainly need to update your financial plan.
This post was last updated on March 28, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
You might not care much about what age you are, but the government does. It’s very important you keep track of key age-related milestones in retirement. If you fail to properly plan for these, you may be missing out on some opportunities – or even face penalties.
This post was last updated on March 27, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
There are three main phases of retirement planning: accumulation, transition, and decumulation (retirement). Depending on which you’re in, you’ll need to focus on different aspects of your financial life. The advice and expertise you need also change as you move through these phases.
Annuities and required minimum distributions (RMDs) are some of the most confusing and buzzworthy topics in retirement. But do you need to worry about either one? Maybe, maybe not.
Annuities often create confusion because of their complexity and the high-pressure sales tactics used to get you to buy them. RMDs are annoying because nobody wants to be forced to do anything in retirement, let alone pay taxes on top of it. It’s important to understand what type of annuity you’re talking about, whether RMDs are going to be an issue for you, and what alternatives you might have.
This post was last updated on February 27, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
Are you looking for ways to avoid taxes on retirement and Social Security income? There are many retirement tax strategies you should be aware of. You may even be looking for how to avoid taxes on withdrawals from your 401k or other investment accounts.
This post was last updated on February 26, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
Interested in keeping your medical costs low in retirement? Failing to plan out key details could cost you if you’re not careful. Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA) for your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums are a prime example.
This post was last updated on February 25, 2026, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
It seems like Roth conversions are all the rage, but are they really the right thing for you? There are many potential benefits, but there are some trade-offs to consider as well. The decision to use a Roth conversion incorporates a much longer timeline than many other tax-saving strategies.
