MY RETIREMENT HAS been wonderful so far. Honestly, sometimes I have to stop and remind myself how lucky I am. Rachel and I have our health and enjoy each other’s company, which is not always true when a couple retires. However, there are four things that concern me as I reach my mid-70s.
Loneliness
I tried calling Mark, my old high school friend, a couple of weeks ago, and I haven’t heard from him.

BARRY RITHOLTZ’S NEW BOOK, How Not to Invest, offers investors a cautionary tale—many of them, in fact.
Ritholtz has been in and around the investment industry for more than 30 years—as a trader, a journalist and, most recently, as cofounder of a wealth management firm. 
In short, he is no stranger to Wall Street. His conclusion? It can be a minefield.
Bad actors like Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff are well known.

LARRY ELLISON, THE 81-YEAR-OLD cofounder of Oracle Corporation, recently became the world’s wealthiest person.
Oracle, a software company, isn’t nearly as large as its peers. So how did Ellison’s net worth manage to surpass that of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and the founders of other much larger companies?
The answer is simple: In the nearly 50 years since Oracle’s founding, Ellison has almost never sold a share of his company’s stock. According to an analysis by Smart Insider,

I know I and many others mockingly complain in a joking manner about our grandkids costing us a “fortune” when they visit—but with no malice intended, did you actually consider these costs when crafting your retirement spending plan?
I certainly never thought about this; it didn’t even cross my mind. Maybe I’m being too generous, or perhaps I’ve had a run of bad luck. In recent months, my granddaughter dropped an iPad, requiring a replacement, and my grandson accidentally let a toy car slip from his hand while spinning around,

A recent post on the Forum raised the issue of dealing with a cut in Social Security benefits – hopefully an unlikely or very temporary event. However, something still worth planning for. 
If the status of SS is not fixed, around 2033 benefits could be reduced by 23-24%. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projects a 24% cut by late 2032 for retirees, equating to an $18,100 annual reduction for a typical dual-earning couple retiring in 2033.

Almost four years ago I wrote an article about the 2020 OASDI Beneficiaries by State and County report. The report is put out by the Social Security Administration (SSA), and provides a wealth of interesting statistics. Here is the link to the 2024 report where you can investigate detailed national and local data.
Here are some basic numbers for context. As of December 2020, the U.S. population was 329,484,123. Four year later it had grown 3.5%,

I say it does, but that does not stop it from being attacked. The words Ponzi Scheme are being thrown about. The fact it is underfunded is being used as a argument that it doesn’t work. Some in government are calling for it to be replaced with private accounts.  I read one official say there is plenty of money to pay all the benefits to those now collecting, but we can’t continue. Well, that’s not true on either point.

I realize I am on the outside looking in, out of sync, ignoring “expert” advice and rehashing the subject, but I can’t help it. I need help here.
I simply cannot understand why anyone living off their investments would use those investments to live on in favor of delaying social security until age 70. 
It seems to me that unless there is a gigantic pool of money they’ll never need, they are taking an unnecessary risk using more of their investments sooner rather than later.

Bill Bengen, the godfather / creator of the 4% safe withdrawal rate (SWR), or rule, has just published a new book available on Amazon: A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More.
I have not read the book, however, he has done a number of interviews on YouTube.  The gist is that with a more diversified portfolio, as compared to that used to generate the original 4% rule,

Planning often costs nothing but time. Even then, the hours we devote to it can buy us buckets of happiness. Some plans may go no further. No matter. There’s no harm done. We’ve spent no money and taken no risk. 
A personal financial plan, on the other hand, can be costly–whether it’s implemented or not. For instance, if we don’t do what we know we ought, actions like making a Roth conversion or moving money out of a high-fee mutual fund,

While researching an article on the impact of the recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) I stumbled upon a very useful, free Social Security Taxability calculator. The calculator is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet. I found it while viewing a YouTube video presented by The Retirement Nerds. The video did a nice job of explaining some of the provisions of the tax bill, especially the new $6,000 bonus senior deduction. The presenter used the calculator to demonstrate the interaction between income,

I’m turning into my mother more and more every day. Back when I was taking care of her, she’d hand me her credit card whenever we went shopping. She’d say, “I’m not qualified to carry this anymore.” She was afraid she’d lose it.
Now I catch myself doing the same thing. When Rachel and I go out, I sometimes give her my wallet to toss in her purse. I’m scared I’ll lose it. Since I’ve retired,

My past writing on HD and numerous comments have made it clear my retirement is unique in that I have a good pension that together with our combined Social Security exceeds my working base salary the day before I retired. It also has been noted that my pension has given us a financial advantage by not being solely dependent on investments income. It’s all true.
But I have noticed that many people on HD are from couples with working spouses,

Glancing at the clock on the sunroom wall, I noticed it was 10:23, and the postman had just dropped a parcel at the door. I thought about going to investigate this mystery delivery but decided the second coffee was much more appealing. Anyway, my seat was comfy, the sun was kissing my skin and I didn’t have anything pressing to do until playing tennis at one o’clock this afternoon. Plenty of time to make a light breakfast,

Although I have been retired over 15 years, I still receive employee benefit questions from a few employees and retirees of my old company. Sadly, many of those questions reflect the person not paying attention to their own situation, not planning, and thus putting themselves and family at risk.
Here is an example of a message I received recently.
“I retired in 2011 after around 35 years in Operations and Maintenance. I still stand confused on two things,