Most retirement plans focus on returns—but the real threats come from blind spots. In this episode, we break down the four major risks that can derail retirement if left unaddressed: Market risk – How early losses and withdrawals can devastate even strong portfolios. Long-term care risk – The financial and emotional impact of unexpected care needs. Spousal risk – Why taxes often go up when a spouse passes away. Financial elder abuse – The growing threat few retirees see coming. Learn how integra...
Aug 18, 2025•46 min•Ep. 231
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul dig further into the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill, which affects retirement age individuals to a greater degree. They focus specifically to taxes and how the OBBB will impact what you have to pay to the Federal government. Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/ Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Sponsored Program of United Charita...
Jul 24, 2025•43 min
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul explain that most of the people consuming our content and attending our courses are men. And this is a problem. But as Gen X approaches retirement age, we know that women are going to be more engaged in the planning process. Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/ Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Sponsored Program of United Charitable, a r...
Jul 18, 2025•50 min
Recorded right after the One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law, Financial Instructors Kirk and Michael explain that the only thing constant is change. Once again, we are seeing changes in the one thing that could affect you most in retirement. And that is taxes.
Jul 11, 2025•41 min
After a decade of record-setting gains, many 50-somethings felt untouchable—until the market’s recent whiplash erased that comfort overnight. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Financial Instructors Kirk and Michael pull back the curtain on what really happened, how overconfidence crept in, and the mindset shift every near-retiree needs before the next swing hits. Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/R...
Jun 26, 2025•50 min
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul address why it's so hard for people (especially men!) to raise their hands and say, "I need help!" Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Sponsored Program of United Charitable, a registered 501(c)(3) public charity. This information is for educational purposes only and is not to be considered as tax, legal...
Jun 20, 2025•43 min
It is vital that we understand where to get true control in retirement. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Financial Instructors Kirk and Michael describe the disconnect between the things that people believe are driving control versus what ACTUALLY produces the outcome we all want—Freedom. Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/ Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Sponsored Program of United C...
Jun 05, 2025•43 min
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul explain that most of the people consuming our content and attending our courses are men. And this is a problem. But as Gen X approaches retirement age, we know that women are going to be more engaged in the planning process. Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/ Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Sponsored Program of United Charitable, a r...
May 29, 2025•42 min
After a decade of record-setting gains, many 50-somethings felt untouchable—until the market’s recent whiplash erased that comfort overnight. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Financial Instructors Kirk and Michael pull back the curtain on what really happened, how overconfidence crept in, and the mindset shift every near-retiree needs before the next swing hits. Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/ ...
May 14, 2025•43 min
"I want an A+ retirement, not just a passing grade. What are the steps I need to take to get there?" In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Financial Instructor Michael explain that retirement shouldn't be graded like a pass/fail college course. People judge if they've had a successful retirement based on whether or not they outlive their money. But that's not the appropriate way to approach your retirement. There are better ways to grade, based on your outcomes. Register for...
May 01, 2025•50 min
Market volatility is on everyone's mind right now. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Michael address this question you may be asking: "How do I make the right moves given all the emotion I'm feeling right now?"Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Sponsored Program of United Charitable, a registered 501(c)(3) public charity. This information is for...
Apr 22, 2025•50 min
Market volatility is on everyone's mind right now. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Michael address this question you may be asking: "How do I make the right moves given all the emotion I'm feeling right now?" Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/ Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Sponsored Program of United Charitable, a registered 501(c)(3) public charity. This information is f...
Apr 17, 2025•42 min
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul answer the question, "How do we begin to manage this idea of market volatility?" They explain that, on average since 1980, we have had intra-year drawdowns of 13 to 14%. And this year, we haven't even gotten to this average drawdown—yet people are still panicking. Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/ Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Spo...
Mar 14, 2025•43 min
There are questions that you and your advisor should be asking when you talk. On this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul focus on the questions that the advisor should be asking you. And if they're not asking the right questions, this might be a red flag that may be a reason to search for a different team. The types of questions an advisor asks says a lot about who they are and what they do. Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https...
Mar 13, 2025•43 min
There's an idea out there that we will each get to choose our retirement date. But that's not always the case. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul recognize that only 40 percent of people get to pick when they retire. What about the other 60 percent?
Mar 05, 2025•49 min
There's an idea out there that we will each get to choose our retirement date. But that's not always the case. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul recognize that only 40 percent of people get to pick when they retire. What about the other 60 percent?
Feb 12, 2025•43 min
Feb 04, 2025•41 min
As we enter into 2025, now is a good time to look back to last year and explore some of the lessons we learned in 2024. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Michael point out that we don't always get to choose when we retire. In fact, over two-thirds of people are forced to retire earlier than they originally planned.
Jan 23, 2025•50 min
As we enter into 2025, now is a good time to look back to last year and explore some of the lessons we learned in 2024. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Michael point out that we don't always get to choose when we retire. In fact, over two-thirds of people are forced to retire earlier than they originally planned.
Jan 10, 2025•43 min
Register for one of our almost Master's level advanced retirement courses: https://retirementplanningedu.org/courses/ Retirement Education Foundation is a Fiscally Sponsored Program of United Charitable, a registered 501(c)(3) public charity. This information is for educational purposes only and is not to be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.
Dec 23, 2024•42 min
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul explain how you may be getting mislead by what the so-called "experts" are telling you. How do you even determine who the real experts are, and why do they give you the advice they give. Is it meant to help you, or is it self-serving?
Dec 11, 2024•43 min
Do you feel like everything is just a little louder than normal? If you're getting ready to retire, you'd probably say, "Absolutely." There's a lot of information on all things retirement, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. On this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul explain how to filter out all of this noise.
Nov 22, 2024•41 min
People experience significant stress as they approach the end of their working years. It's a huge change to transition from working to retirement, but we don't want to allow fear and anxiety to have a front seat in your retirement plan. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul show how to keep those negative feelings at bay.
Nov 06, 2024•42 min
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul talk about investing in your future, and they discuss options to get in control. They explain the importance of getting the right type of education so you can be empowered to find the right people to help you.
Oct 25, 2024•41 min
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul discuss the economy and what could happen if there's a recession. Markets go up and down—and sometimes, they REALLY go down. If someone is getting close to retirement, or if they're in retirement, what should they be thinking about, and how do they even begin to plan for something like this?
Sep 30, 2024•49 min
In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul discuss the economy and what could happen if there's a recession. Markets go up and down—and sometimes, they REALLY go down. If someone is getting close to retirement, or if they're in retirement, what should they be thinking about, and how do they even begin to plan for something like this?
Sep 26, 2024•40 min
Bonus! Testing out a new video format for the Retirement Education Hour. In the latest episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and guest instructor Michael explain that there are real risks in retirement we have to acknowledge, but there are also perceived risks. It's a blurred line. There are a lot of risks that are real, but often used to manipulate people into making poor decisions, such as hiring the wrong advisor or buying the wrong products—doing things that don't produce the best o...
Sep 10, 2024•49 min
In the latest episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and guest instructor Michael explain that there are real risks in retirement we have to acknowledge, but there are also perceived risks. It's a blurred line. There are a lot of risks that are real, but often used to manipulate people into making poor decisions, such as hiring the wrong advisor or buying the wrong products—doing things that don't produce the best outcomes.
Aug 30, 2024•42 min
Ignorance isn't bliss, especially when it comes to retirement planning. You don't know what you don't know. As a follow up to an episode we released in September of 2023, Kirk and Dr. Paul stress the importance of having both spouses involved in the retirement planning process. Sometimes, one spouse isn't interested in being involved. It's the responsibility of the other spouse. But what happens if that other spouse passes away first. Now what do they do?
Aug 16, 2024•41 min
After teaching one of the Retirement Education Foundation's advanced retirement courses, our financial instructors often hear feedback like, "Wow - I can actually retire!" Quite often people already have what they need to get the retirement they want. In this episode of the Retirement Education Hour, Kirk and Dr. Paul stress that the less you spend in retirement, the more the financial industry makes. For most people, spending less and working longer is not sound advice for retirement.
Aug 02, 2024•43 min
