Retirement Planning Education, with Andy Panko
Teaching you all about IRAs & Roth IRAs, employer retirement plans, taxes, Social Security, Medicare, portfolio withdrawal strategies, annuities, estate planning and much more!
#229 - 2026 year-end tax planning tips and items to consider
Andy shares some year-end tax planning tips, deadlines and things to consider around the following topics:
contributions to qualified accountsRoth conversionsdistributions from qualified accountsRequired Minimum Distributions ("RMDs")charitable donations, including new deductibility provisions for 2026Qualified Charitable Distributions ("QCDs") from IRAsgiftingtax loss and tax gain harvestingdoing a projected/pro forma 2026 tax return2026 changes to eligibility rules for Affordable Care Act ("ACT") premium tax credits
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#228 - Special edition...MarketWatch columnist Beth Pinsker discusses the most common questions asked by her readers
Andy and MarketWatch columnist Beth Pinsker, CFP®, discuss the most common questions she gets from her readers:
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#227 - Q&A edition...Roth conversions, IRA basis tracking & Form 8606, Alternative Minimum Tax credits, Fixed Indexed Annuities & IRA RMDs, and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
A correction about the previously discussed topic of contributing to a child's Roth IRA if they have earnings but don't file a tax return and don't have the earnings reported on a W-2 ( 3:52 )A follow up on a previously discussed question of whether it's better to pay $27k of tax to do a $100k Roth conversion, or to contribute $27k to an employer Roth account via the mega backdoor Roth contribution approach ( 7:26 )A clarification about a previously discussed question regarding taking money out of a government 457 plan prior to age 59 1/2 ( 10:08 )How p...#226 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Mike
Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Mike. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as how he learned important investing insights from Paul Merriman, how he adapted going from accumulation to decumulation mode, how he used a health sharing organization in lieu of traditional health insurance prior to starting Medicare, his thoughts on trying to downsize homes, and more!
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#225 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Dan VanDusen talk about 529s vs Trump accounts vs UTMA brokerage accounts, common errors on tax returns, the current state of the bond market and MORE!
Andy and Dan VanDusen from Objective Wealth share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about:
How to decide between investing money for a child or grandchild in a 529 vs Trump account vs UTMA brokerage account ( 9:19 )What errors and missed items they commonly see in reviewing tax returns ( 18:28 )Their thoughts on the current state of affairs of the bond market ( 25:10 )What to do with appreciated mutual funds held in a normal brokerage account where the funds throw off variable and potentially large taxable capital gain distributions each...#224 - The basics of bonds: what they are, how they work, and how to use them in retirement planning
Andy discusses the basics of bonds, including:
Basic features and functions of bondsThe risks in bondsBond issuers and maturitiesHow bonds can be usedHow and why bond prices changes, and how interest rates impact pricesBonds vs bond funds
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#223 - Q&A edition...the 4% rule, Artificial Intelligence and the planning world, RMDs vs annuity income, TIPS, and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
Follow up thoughts on a previous question about whether it's better to use $27k of cash to make a mega backdoor Roth contribution, or to do a $100k in-plan Roth conversion and use the $27k to pay the taxes on it ( 4:01 )Why the 4% rule isn't called the 3% rule, when working with an advisor who charges 1% of assets under management ( 13:52 )His thoughts on how Artificial Intelligence might impact the advisory world with regards to service offerings and fee structures ( 17:25 )Similarities and differences between Required Minimum Distributions ("RMDs") and annuity income ( 22:56 )A few q...#222 - All about pensions...what they are, how they work, how to decide between taking lifetime payments or a lump sum, and MORE! [replay of Andy's appearance on the Catching up to FI podcast]
In this replay of Andy's recent guest appearance on the Catching up to FI podcast, Andy and hosts Bill Yount, MD, and Jackie Cummings Koski, CFP®, AFC®, talk all about traditional defined benefit pensions. What they are, how they work, how to decide between taking payments vs a lump sum and much more!
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#221 - Retirement planner chat with Ryan Langan from Your Path Fi
Andy chats with fellow retirement planner Ryan Langan, CFP®, from Your Path Fi. In this episode they talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as tax planning, distribution strategies, investing, annuities, long-term care insurance, what consumers often overlook in retirement planning and much more!
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#220 - How to move to a new state...tax compliantly
Andy discusses what all is involved in moving to a new state, from a tax perspective...properly changing your "domicile" and "residence" to the new state. Spoiler alert: It's not necessarily as simple as buying a house and spending at least six months and a day in the new state!
Links in this episode:
My in-depth write-up of changing state domicile and residence, examples and court cases of people who did and didn't properly change their domicile and residence, and more! - How to move to a new state...tax compliantly<...#219 - Q&A edition...paying down a mortgage vs paying tax on Roth conversions, Social Security survivor benefits, converting ALL pre-tax money to Roth, updating account beneficiaries, and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
Whether to use money in a 457b to pay down a mortgage or to pay taxes on Roth conversions ( 7:56 )How Social Security survivor benefits work, and the optimal ages for spouses to each claim their own Social Security ( 18:54 )His thoughts on why the Social Security trust fund hasn't been allowed to invest in equities ( 25:36 )Creating spreadsheets to replace financial planning software, and using it to help your ongoing retirement planning and projections ( 30:40 )His thoughts on whether someone should try to convert ALL of their pre-tax money to Roth ( 36:56 )Transferring/rolling money f...#218 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Mark
Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Mark. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as when he started getting serious about planning for retirement, how he got comfortable going from accumulation to decumulation mode, how he and his wife are navigating health insurance prior to Medicare eligibility, why he randomly showed up in Andy's office one day, and more!
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#217 - Q&A edition...unrealized gains in brokerage accounts, variable withdrawal strategies, unused 529 funds, protecting against fraud from advisors and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
How to sell and rebalance positions in a brokerage account when they have unrealized gains and you're trying to be tax-efficient about it ( 7:06 )His thoughts on a few different variable portfolio withdrawal strategies, namely Amortization Based Withdrawals ("ABW"), Total Portfolio Allocation Withdrawals ("TPAW") and Big ERN's CAPE-based approach ( 14:10 )Converting to a Roth IRA money you plan on spending in the near-term, instead of outright distributing it to your bank or brokerage account to be spent from there ( 23:18 )Whether doing Roth conversions or backdoor Roth contributions are ultimately the same thing from a...#216 - Trump accounts: what they are, how they work, and use cases
Andy discusses the ins and outs of Trump accounts:
Legislative backgroundHow to open themHow to fund themInvesting inside themHow to distribute from themReporting around themTaxation of themThe two potential worthwhile use cases I see for themLinks in this episode:
My in-depth write-up of Trump accounts, including all of the links I referenced in the show - Trump accounts: what they are, how they work, and use cases#215 - Summary of the 2026 annual Social Security trustees report
Andy summarizes the recent 2026 annual Social Security trustees report, including what it would actually mean if the system's trust fund were to deplete, and what changes can be made to ensure that doesn't happen
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The full 2026 Social Security trustees report - hereSummary of the recently proposed PROMISE Act - hereThe recent episode of Inspired Money with me, Wade Pfau and Mary Beth Franklin discussing all things Social Security - here#214 - Q&A edition...Roth conversions, directionality vs precision, separately managed accounts, tax return extensions and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
Should Roth conversion analysis look at marginal or effective tax rates ( 4:21 )His thoughts on why qualified Roth account distributions might eventually be included in certain measures of Modified Adjusted Gross Income ("MAGI") ( 8:28 )What other MAGIs are potentially impacted and should be watched out for with doing Roth conversions ( 12:38 )The difference between "directionality" and "precision" in retirement planning ( 20:40 )Is it reasonable for an advisor to charge you extra for outsourcing some of their investment management to a separately managed or sub-managed account ( 25:38 )His thoughts of reinvesting a deferred compensation plan to all c...#213 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Tom
Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Tom. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as when he started getting serious about planning for retirement, why he went back to work as a consultant a year after retiring, why their plans of relocating to a different state have since changed, what his Roth conversion plan is, and more!
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#212 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Tanya Nichols talk about having mortgages in retirement, when to start spending down HSAs, what might happen to Social Security and MORE!
Andy and Tanya Nichols from Retire Agile share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about:
#211 – 8 common tax planning mistakes often made in retirement
Andy discusses common tax planning mistakes often made in retirement. Additionally, he shares insight on how to attempt to prevent such mistakes, and/or fix them after they've happened
The 8 common mistakes are:
Not paying enough income tax timely throughout the year, and having underpayment penalties as a resultMissing or not taking the correct amount of Required Minimum Distributions (“RMDs”)Having improper beneficiary designationsNot properly applying Roth account withdrawal rulesNot understanding IRA “basis” and the pro rata ruleNot being as tax-efficient as possible with charitable givingNot managing Modified Adjusted Gross Income (“MAGI”)Not planning for...#210 - Q&A edition...Mega backdoor Roth contributions, nonqualified annuities, exceptions to the IRA early withdrawal penalty, when to hire an advisor, how much is too much to pay for an advisor and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
Are tax return amendments needed if info from a 1099-R was left out but doesn't impact the return's gross or taxable income ( 4:08 )What are the pros and cons of using average cost basis tracking for mutual funds ( 8:36 )Tax implications of nonqualified annuities and surrendering vs annuitizing it ( 13:55 )Is there a more optimized way to pay taxes on in-plan Roth conversions as opposed to having additional taxes withheld from your paycheck ( 23:21 )Thoughts on using "reverse budgeting" to figure out how much you spend, instead of manually adding up all of the line i...#209 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Mark Ross from the Rock Retirement Club
Andy and Mark Ross from the Rock Retirement Club talk about Mark's journey in retiring to become an "encorepreneur" by starting a coaching business, and spending more time creating art. They also address some of standard "real person" planning questions such healthcare before Medicare, Social Security claiming, the emotional transition to leaving the corporate world, and more!
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#208 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Adam Grossman talk about analyzing annuities, retiring to a different state, bonds vs bond funds, inflation and MORE!
Andy and Adam Grossman from Mayport Wealth Management share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about:
#207 – Roth conversion analysis: more than meets the eye
Andy discusses the various areas of consideration and analysis that go into deciding whether Roth conversions might potentially be of value. Furthermore, he explains why it's impossible to actually quantify how much tax savings, if any, Roth conversions might potentially create. And what to consider when figuring out how much to convert in any given year
Links in this episode:
Vanguard's "Break Even Tax Rate" Roth conversion analysis white paper - hereTenon Financial's June 2026 Newsletter/blog - Roth conversion analysis: more than meets the eye<...
#206 - Q&A edition...Social Security spousal benefits, tax withholdings on Social Security, bonds vs bond funds, separating basis out of IRAs and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
Claiming your own Social Security benefit at 62 and then later switching to collecting a spousal benefit after your spouse starts their benefit ( 5:45 )It's said by comedians that there are just a small number of basic jokes and everything else is just a variation. The same could be said about financial planning, where there are just a few core topics, and everything else is a variation on a core topic ( 11:18 )What is meant when it's said the stock market is a "complex adaptive system," and that it's movement is a "random walk" ( 14:08 )H...#205 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Daryl
Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Daryl. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as when he started getting serious about planning for retirement, how he's gotten comfortable spending from his nest egg, what he's doing for health insurance since he's not yet on Medicare and what his claim to fame was with being on television...
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#204 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Brad Flood talk about portfolio withdrawal strategies & sequence of returns risk, financial planning software limitations, balancing optimization and simplicity, and MORE!
Andy and Brad Flood from Tenon Financial share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about:
#203 – Options for holding cash and cash equivalents
Andy discusses the different options for holding cash and cash equivalents (i.e. things that are principal protected, offer some amount of interest and are highly liquid and readily accessible)
The options are:
Physical bills and coinsChecking accountsSavings accountsCertificates of Deposit, or CD'sMoney Market Mutual Funds or Exchanged Traded Funds that invest like Money Market Mutual FundsMulti-Year Guaranteed Annuities, or MYGA's (but hear why he doesn't fully consider them cash equivalents)Links in this episode:
FDIC insurance calculator - https://edie.fdic.gov/calculator.htmlhttps...#202 – Guest host Mark Rosinski discusses Treasury obligation interest, basis in inherited IRAs, RMD aggregation rules, doubling up contributions to 457 plans, and ways to invest during the Social Security delay period
Guest host Mark Rosinski, CFP®, CPA, RICP®, from Dunes Financial does a "hot topics" episode where he talks about:
US Government obligation interest and what to look for on your consolidated 1099 to make sure you properly reflect the state income tax treatment on your tax return ( 9:06 )Understanding and tracking after-tax "basis" in inherited IRAs ( 20:14 )Required Minimum Distribution ("RMD") aggregation rules ( 25:03 )Potentially doubling up contributions to governmental 457 employer retirement plans, and other unique aspects of 457 plans ( 33:27 )Different approaches for investing money during the period where income from working has stopped but Social Security has not yet been st...#201 - Q&A edition...A.I. and financial planning, the "withhold and replace" method of paying taxes, step DOWN in basis, TIPS ladders and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
Correction to a previous Q&A episode regarding taxation of lump sum Social Security benefits paid in one year for benefits attributable to the prior year ( 9:54 )His thoughts on artificial intelligence and how it can impact the financial planning industry ( 13:00 )The "withhold and replace" method of paying taxes when doing IRA distributions or conversions and using the indirect 60-day rollover approach to ultimately pay taxes out of your bank or brokerage account, but with the benefit of doing it via withholdings from the IRA ( 20:30 )Step DOWN in basis when inheriting assets t...#200 – 200th episode special edition: my observations about the financial services industry
Special edition 200th episode where Andy shares some of his observations about the financial services industry from his time working in it:
Creating good and consistent content is hard to do and do well ( 9:32 )A lot of content is just clickbait to get your views and/or advertise something to you, and not actually good content ( 13:15 )Personal finance is a lot more personal than it is finance ( 17:40 )The vast majority (all?) of long-term retirement planning is ultimately just a lot of educated guesses and there is no way to create a perfect or infallible retirement plan ( 21:46 )Roth conversions...#199 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Jonathan Vance talk about opportunities in the current market environment, 2026 tax updates, questions to ask advisors and MORE!
Andy and Jonathan Vance from Vance Financial Planning share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about:
#198 - Whether to take a pension as a lump sum or monthly payments
Andy discusses the pros and cons of taking a lump sum vs taking monthly payments for your pension, questions to ask yourself to help figure out if it might be better for you to take one vs the other, and other considerations to keep in mind in making the decision
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www.ImmediateAnnuities.comwww.PBGC.govTenon Financial's April 2026 newsletter - Whether to take a pension as a lump sum or monthly payments#197 - Q&A edition...how often to rebalance, tracking Roth IRA contributions, are RMDs really that bad, paying off mortgages before retirement and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
How often to check your accounts for rebalancing, and how often to check on your bigger picture finances and plan ( 2:32 )What to do with old positions you no longer want in a brokerage account but they all have large unrealized gains ( 16:03 )How Medi-Cal benefits interact with a high deductible health plan and an HSA (spoiler alert...I don't know!) ( 22:20 )Are there any good reasons to leave old/prior employer 401(k) plans where they are ( 25:31 )Tracking Roth IRA contributions (including money inherited from a deceased spouse's Roth 401(k)) ( 29:50 )The mechanics of separating t...#196 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Jim Kellerman
Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Jim Kellerman. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as when he started getting serious about planning for retirement, how he now spends his days in retirement, what he's doing for health insurance since he's not yet on Medicare and why he's at the local prison each week...
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#195 - Retirement planner chat with Bradley Hilton from Sonas Financial Planning
Andy chats with fellow retirement planner Bradley Hilton, CFP®, TPCP®, MBA from Sonas Financial Planning. In this episode they talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as tax planning, distribution strategies, investing, annuities, long-term care insurance, what consumers often overlook in retirement planning and much more!
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T...
#194 - Gifting, gift taxes, annual gift exclusion and gift tax returns (IRS Form 709)
Andy discusses the ins and outs of gifting, the annual gift exclusion, gift splitting, gift taxes, gift tax returns (IRS Form 709) and more!
Links in this episode:
Tenon Financial's March newsletter/blog about gifting - hereIRS Form 709 - here#193 - Q&A edition...Social Security lump sum for retroactive payments, whether to pay off a mortgage, step-up in basis, gifting without having to file a gift tax return and MORE!
Listener Q&A where Andy talks about:
Income tax treatment of buying bonds in a normal non-qualified brokerage account when you buy or sell bonds in between coupon periods ( 8:37 )When still working, are 50 or older, are maxing out your 401(k) contributions, and are high income and therefore would need to have your catch-up contribution go into your Roth (instead of pre-tax) 401(k), would it be better to skip the catch-up and instead put that money in a normal brokerage account ( 14:40 )Taxation of Social Security lump sums received for prior month's retroactive payments; is it taxable in the year r...#192 – "Real" person chat with Kevin Sebesta from the Rock Retirement Club, discussing FIRE...Financial Independence, Retire Early
Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. This week Andy is joined by Kevin Sebesta from the Rock Retirement Club
Kevin retired at 43 as part of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) concept. He shares his planning and retirement journey, and discusses more about FIRE including the FIRE community and thoughts everyone (not just FIRE folks) should consider when planning for retirement.
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#191 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Jason Cutitta talk about inheritances, Die With Zero, TSP in-plan conversion, taking RMDs and MORE!
Andy and Jason Cutitta from ToBa Financial share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about:
#190 - All about "backdoor" Roth contributions
Andy does a deep dive into everything about "backdoor" Roth contributions, which is where you make an after-tax contribution to a traditional/pre-tax account, and then convert it to a Roth account. Looks simple on the surface, but there are a lot of angles and gotchas to watch out for
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