The topic of withdrawal rates in retirement has sparked a heated debate in recent times, with financial guru Dave Ramsey making controversial claims about the viability of an 8% withdrawal rate. Today, Laura Stover RFC® gets into the arguments

Time Segmentation, a Smart Way to Invest Retirement Money

Dec 20th, 2023 28m 42s

Laura Stover, RFC® discusses the concept of time segmentation and its application in allocating retirement savings for a stable income during retirement. Time segmentation involves matching investments with the point in time when they will be n

This Four-Part Retirement Strategy Can Help Withstand Bad Timing

Dec 13th, 2023 29m 53s

Simple diversification used to be the go-to plan for a typical portfolio. A balanced plan of stocks, bonds, and cash would simply do the trick. But that type of diversification has been proven less effective in recent years with the abundance o

Navigating Investment Choice Overload: Tips To Become a Better Decision Maker

Dec 6th, 2023 25m 42s

Today Laura Stover, RFC® explores the concept of choice overload and how it can affect your investment behavior and retirement planning. With so many options and information available to us, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure of the best

What To Do About These High Interest Rates

Nov 29th, 2023 32m 2s

Laura Stover, RFC®, takes on the topic of interest rates today, and how they relate to your financial future. It is important to consider the historical context of interest rates. Over the past few decades, interest rates have been kept artific

Could an Israel- Hamas war change what the Fed does about interest rates?

Nov 22nd, 2023 26m 30s

Laura Stover, RFC® looks at the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and how it might affect interest rates and your financial future.. With ongoing uncertainty about the economy, wars in Europe and the Middle East, and protests at home, it's no wonder tha

'Not QE' Puts Fed Between A 'Rock And A Hard Place'

Nov 16th, 2023 20m 7s

Laura Stover, RFC® discusses the Federal Reserve's Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) today, a topic that is often overlooked but has significant implications for our economy.This program, which was introduced in response to the failures of banks

The Fed is still pushing to get inflation down. Do people feel it?

Nov 8th, 2023 27m 35s

Laura Stover, RFC® is discussing the recent decision by the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged and the potential implications for retirees and investors. We will also explore the ongoing efforts by the Fed to combat inflation and

Consistency Is the Key to Investing When You're Retired

Nov 1st, 2023 30m 28s

Laura Stover, RFC is solo today for a special episode as we cover this week’s featured article from Kiplinger “Consistency Is the Key to Investing When You're Retired.” We need to focus on consistent returns rather than average returns or mark

5 Predictions For An Economic ‘Soft Landing’ That Were Totally Wrong

Oct 25th, 2023 36m 5s

Laura Stover, RFC® is joined by guest co-host Darlene Tucker, CFP® today. This week’s weekend brief comes from Forbes: “5 Predictions For An Economic ‘Soft Landing’ That Were Totally Wrong.” With a lot of uncertainty in the world, and now 2 w

What is a Major Advantage of Separately Managed Accounts?

Oct 18th, 2023 31m 5s

In this week’s Retirement Talk podcast, with Laura Stover, RFC®, and Michael Wallin, CFP®, we delve into the major advantages of separately managed accounts (SMAs), a topic that doesn't often make its way into the podcasting world. SMAs can be

Investment Tradeoffs: Why You Should Know Your Return on Hassle Spectrum

Oct 11th, 2023 32m 42s

Laura Stover, RFC®, and Michael Wallin, CFP®, discuss this week’s featured article from the weekend brief: "Investment Trade Offs: Why You Should Know Your Return on the Hassle Spectrum." It's a critical consideration for investors, especially

The Most Important Financial Goal in Retirement Isn't What You Think

Oct 4th, 2023 27m 30s

Today, Laura Stover, RFC® and Michael Wallin, CFP® discuss the importance of planning for retirement income and the role of annuities in retirement planning. They start by emphasizing the significance of having a solid plan in place, especially

What Clients (Actually) Value Most in a Financial Advisor

Sep 27th, 2023 28m 53s

In this episode of Retirement Talk: The Redefining Wealth Show, Laura Stover, RFC® and Michael Wallin, CFP® delve into what clients value most in a financial advisor. They emphasize the importance of effective communication between clients and

What Is An Annuity and When Is It A Smart Investment?

Sep 20th, 2023 29m 37s

The Baby Boomer Dilemma’ Documentary Exposes America’s Failed Retirement Experiment

Sep 13th, 2023 31m 1s

Laura Stover, RFC® and Michael Wallin, CFP® discuss the Baby Boomer Dilemma documentary and its implications for pre-retirees and retirees. The film talks about many topics we routinely cover on the show- the growing national debt crisis, the p

Why 1966 Was The Worst Year to Retire (And Why That Matters in 2023)

Sep 6th, 2023 27m 14s

Laura Stover, RFC® and Michael Wallin, CFP® discuss why 1966 was the worst year to retire and why it matters in 2023. They explore the market downturn in 1966 and its impact on retirees, as well as the similarities and differences between that

Are You Making These 5 Common Retirement Mistakes?

Aug 30th, 2023 30m 45s

Investors often underestimate the risk in their portfolio. Today, Laura Stover and Michael Wallin break down 5 common portfolio mistakes, as outlined by Christine Benz in Morningstar. They are portfolio sprawl, when your assets often overlap

Retirement Risks

Aug 23rd, 2023 28m 54s

Retirement planning involves mitigating risk and understanding the various risks that retirees face. Laura Stover and Michael Wallin break down these risks today, including reduced earnings capacity, visible spending constraint, heightened inve

Do You Have a Cookie Cutter Portfolio?

Aug 16th, 2023 30m 23s

In this episode, Laura Stover, RFC® and Michael Wallin, CFP®, discuss the concept of a cookie-cutter retirement portfolio and its implications for retirees. They start by addressing the recent news of the US being downgraded due to its high deb

What is a Registered Investment Advisor?

Aug 9th, 2023 36m 43s

Once you make the decision to take the next step toward ensuring a solid financial future, the next is who you should work with. There are all types of financial professionals that provide a variety of services, and one that we get asked about

Understanding Stock Market Concentration

Aug 2nd, 2023 32m 33s

Big tech has seen strong gains in 2023 and has outpaced most other sectors. In doing so, the S&P 500 has also performed well, but when you take away a handful of tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and others, the S&P 500 is only

How to Properly Evaluate Investment Fees

Jul 26th, 2023 33m 16s

Every investor, whether you do it yourself or have professional help, needs to understand the fees they are paying because this is one of the most important factors attributing to investment performance overall. Fees can really eat into returns

How to Stress Test Your Financial Plan

Jul 19th, 2023 31m 50s

No one can predict the future of finance, so how do you make sure your portfolio is able to withstand the inevitable swings in the market? The answer is through stress testing, which has proven to be a valuable tool in financial planning. In th

Beware of the Pitfalls of SECURE Act 2.0

Jul 12th, 2023 30m 35s

We’re more than halfway through 2023 and we’ve already seen the impact SECURE Act 2.0 has on retirement planning. These first six months have given the financial industry time to identify some of the potential pitfalls that the legislation crea