Navigating ACA subsidy cliffs and timing income

💬 Show Notes

Wade Pfau, author of The Retirement Planning Guidebook and creator of the Retirement Income Style Awareness (RISA®) assessment joins Roger for a wide-ranging conversation on the big questions of retirement income planning. Wade breaks down why the RISA is a better fit for retirement than a traditional risk tolerance questionnaire, how to think about real estate and reverse mortgages as retirement tools, and what the research actually says about annuities — including when to buy, whether to add inflation protection, and how fixed index annuities with living benefits really work. This podcast is a replay of a recent Rock Retirement Club meetup where members were able to join live and ask questions.

Outline Of This Episode Of The Retirement Answer Man

• (00:00) Roger previews the episode and invites listeners to register for Noodle Live — a Saturday morning Zoom on March 28 at livewithroger.com

CONVERSATION WITH DR. WADE PFAU

• (02:00) Roger introduces Wade Pfau, author of The Retirement Planning Guidebook 
• (04:15) RISA vs. risk tolerance questionnaires
• (10:45) How to use The Retirement Planning Guidebook
• (12:00) AI in retirement research
• (14:30) RRC Member Question: How does real estate fit into retirement planning?
• (17:00) Reverse mortgages as a retirement tool — usage trends, how the HECM line of credit works, upfront cost hurdles, and why adoption remains low
• (21:30) RRC Member Question: What is an effective marginal tax rate (EMR) and how does it affect Roth conversion strategy? 
• (25:00) Navigating ACA subsidy cliffs before Medicare
• (28:00) RRC Member Question: Fixed vs. inflation-adjusted annuities
• (33:00) Annuity timing
• (37:00) RRC Member Question: Should we explore intentionally breaking the ACA cliff every few years?
• (48:00) Fixed index annuities with living benefits vs. income annuities
• (53:00) RRC Member Question: Is there an optimal age window for buying an annuity if it's a "nice to have" rather than a must?
• (57:00) Interpreting retirement planning software

SMART SPRINT

• (59:00) Pick up the latest edition of The Retirement Planning Guidebook. Use it as an approachable reference guide, or read it straight through if you're really into retirement planning.

REFERENCES

• livewithroger.com — Register for Noodle Live on March 28!
• The Retirement Planning Guidebook, 3rd Edition — Wade Pfau / retirementresearcher.com
• Take the RISA® assessment.
• Submit a Question for Roger.
• Sign up for The Noodle.