Welcome to This Week in Retirement

The promise of This Week in Retirement:​
If you only have 15–30 minutes per week to dedicate to learning more about retirement planning, I’ve got you covered.

Retirement planning is both my job and my hobby. Every week, I read dozens of articles and watch or listen to hours of podcasts and YouTube videos.
​Every Thursday, I’ll share the best options from each category.

Pick a few. Skip the rest. You’re covered.

📰 Best in Retirement News

​Don’t Fall for This Common Dividend Mistake When Investing for Retirement​ - Morning Star

The article cautions retirees against chasing high dividend yields as if they’re guaranteed income. A big yield can actually signal trouble if the company’s fundamentals are weakening, and focusing only on dividends ignores total return. The smarter approach is to prioritize sustainable payouts and long-term growth rather than simply reaching for the highest yield.

​Tax deferral proposal could narrow mutual funds’ long-standing disadvantage, says ICI - Investment News

A bipartisan proposal would allow mutual fund investors to defer taxes on reinvested capital gains until they sell, instead of paying annually. That change could reduce the long-standing tax drag mutual funds face compared to ETFs and individual stocks, potentially improving after-tax returns in taxable accounts.

📺 Best in YouTube

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​Once You Have More Than THIS Amount, Net Worth Doesn’t Matter Anymore -Ben Brandt​

In this video I explain that once a person reaches a certain level of wealth—enough to comfortably cover their needs and lifestyle—increasing net worth further doesn’t significantly improve happiness or life satisfaction. At that point, the focus should shift away from simply accumulating more money and toward using money to support freedom, experiences, and meaningful goals.

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​The Hidden $1M Most Retirees Forget to Count - Kevin Lum

In this video Kevin explains that the traditional net worth formula—assets minus liabilities—falls short for retirees because it overlooks the economic value of guaranteed income sources like Social Security and pensions. To address this, he walks through a free calculator he created that estimates the “portfolio equivalent” required to generate the same income using a specified withdrawal rate. In his example, he uses a 62-year-old with a life expectancy of 92 and assumes a 4% withdrawal rate to illustrate the concept.

🎧 Best in Audio (Podcasts)

Healthcare Before Medicare: Creating Your Own Action Plan- Retirement Answer Man

Roger Whitney concludes his series on pre-Medicare health care by applying the OODA Loop—observe, orient, decide, act—to help retirees avoid costly mistakes. He covers organizing cash flow, estimating MAGI and ACA subsidies, comparing COBRA and ACA options, and balancing tax optimization with simplicity. Joined by Taylor Schulte, he also explores Roth conversions, Social Security timing, ACA cliffs, and the trade-offs between subsidy maximization and long-term tax planning.

​Spotify | Apple Podcasts​

Guaranteed Retirement Income - 2026 Retirement Challenge Part 3 - Sound Retirement Radio

This is the first exercise of the 2026 retirement challenge that most people actually enjoy. The first episode was all about purpose and understanding why you will retire. The second episode was about spending. I've discovered that most people really don't like the word budget.

Today we're going to add up how much guaranteed income you will have in retirement.

​Spotify | ​Apple Podcasts​

🧭 Other Business

Starting this year, I’m adding a short segment to the end of the podcast:

Retire TO something, not FROM something.

Each week, I’ll spotlight:

• Volunteer opportunities
• Part-time “fun” jobs
• Creative or meaningful ways people stay engaged in retirement

​Click here to share your ideas!

Additional resources:

​Click here to order my book, Retirement Starts Today: Your non-financial guide to an even better retirement

​Click here to get started on your retirement plan

Have a link you'd like to share with our audience? Reply with your best links & you might see them featured in an upcoming issue.

We'll see you next week for issue #11 of This Week in Retirement,

Ben Brandt