Nevin's Data "Points"

  It’s hard to believe that I’ve now been “retired” for three years. That said, there are some things that, in hindsight, I wish I had known and/or acted on sooner. And a couple that I actually did - but might easily have overlooked.  Here they are: Do More Roth — Sooner I’ve long been a huge fan of Roth. It’s not hard to look at the federal government’s finances, the current tax brackets, and figure out that the rates aren’t likely to get any lower in the future. And yes, for the last decade or so of work, I went all Roth, including catch-ups. In fairness, Roth wasn’t an option for most of my retirement savings career. Even so, in those first years, recordkeepers weren’t really ready — and I, like most of my generation, had by then been so thoroughly coached on the advantages of pre-tax accumulations — well, it was easy to shrug off Roth as one of those things of which only the wealthy could afford to benefit. But — and particularly as I got closer to retirement — the questio...

  I’ve written previously – albeit just a couple of times – about my decision to “retire.” Not that I don’t have stories to share, and perhaps even insights to impart. [i]   I’ve mostly held off because (a) people keep telling me I “suck” at retirement, and (b) I have come to believe that every retirement experience is unique.  That said, of late, I have become aware of just how many folks write and counsel about retirement – who are actually well short of that milestone. I’m not saying that guidance is irrelevant – I’m just saying that I have found that the reality is… different. My good friend and podcasting partner Fred Reish (who hasn’t yet crossed over into retirement, it bears noting) came up with the idea of doing a podcast where we talk to retirement industry people about their retirement(s). We’ve now done  three of those interviews  – and I hope that you’ll come check them out.  In the most  recent episode , [ii]  Fred thought it would b...