Here we go again, discussing hot takes on permanent life insurance and its use as an investment vehicle.

In this episode, I tackle one of the best questions I have received in a long time regarding the cash value and hidden costs associated with permanent life insurance that I think is critical to understand.

Before considering a permanent life insurance policy as an investment option, make sure you are utilizing the more transparent, low cost, and tax efficient investment vehicles on a regular basis.

More specifically, I discuss:

• The biggest hidden cost in many permanent life insurance policies
• Where your premiums go when funding permanent life insurance
• What is the cash value component of a permanent life insurance policy?
• How does the death benefit payout work in permanent life insurance policies?
• What can happen if you take a loan from your permanent life policy?
• Why permanent life insurance policies make for poor “investment vehicles”

Resources From The Episode:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Get Show Notes Here

Key Moments:

(02:05) The Controversial Question About Permanent Life Insurance Nobody is Asking

(05:18) The Answer

(06:23) Understanding Permanent Life Insurance Premiums

(10:33) Taking A Loan From Your Permanent Life Insurance Policy

With the growing US federal deficit, tariffs, fears of recession, and upcoming tax breaks, inflation is a top concern in the minds of many retirees and soon-to-be-retirees.

Investing in TIPS, or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, is one of the most commonly touted strategies that can help stave off unexpected inflation, however there are still important risks to understand.

Can TIPS really preserve your purchasing power in a meaningful way and kill off inflation no matter what happens in the markets or economy? Or are they just another government bond with a fancy name and a built-in marketing hook?

More specifically, I discuss:

• What are Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)?
• How do TIPS work? How are they different from traditional (nominal) bonds?
• Important things to know when purchasing TIPS
• Individual TIPS vs. mutual funds and ETFs that invest in TIPS
• Potential risks of investing in TIPS
• Tax ramifications of TIPS
• Why would a pre-retiree or retiree consider adding TIPS to their portfolio?

Resources From The Episode:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Get Show Notes Here

Key moments:

(02:35) Understanding TIPS: The Basics

(08:55) Important Things to Know When Buying TIPS and/or TIPS Fund

(15:09) Some Risks With TIPS

(19:03) Tax Implications of TIPS

(23:32) Should You Consider Investing in TIPS?

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” recently passed through the House of Representatives by a narrow margin and is now in the Senate’s hands.

This bill consists of extremely important tax legislation that aims to continue on and add to the current tax provisions we have grown accustomed to for the last several years under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

As a pre-retiree or retiree, many of the federal tax proposals in the current bill are highly relevant and could warrant adjustments to your retirement planning if passed.

In this episode, Cameron provides a breakdown of the most impactful changes and how they may affect you.

More specifically, I discuss:

• Proposed changes to current Tax Cuts & Jobs Act legislation
• State & local tax deduction (SALT) cap proposed changes
• Deduction updates for business owners and landlord (bonus depreciation, QBI)
• Current tax provisions to be repealed under the One Big Beautiful Bill
• Brand new provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill relevant to pre-retirees and retirees
• Proposed changes to Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Resources From The Episode:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Get Show Notes Here

Key moments:

(00:00) Introduction to the One Big Beautiful Bill
(02:05) Key Provisions of the Proposed Bill
(03:56) Proposed Changes to Current Tax Law
(08:52) Proposed Changes to SALT Deduction
(11:01) Proposed Changes in Small Business Owner Tax Breaks
(14:10) Proposed Tax Provisions Set to be Repealed
(15:43) Proposed Brand New Tax Provisions

Income planning will make or break your retirement years - This is because your income throughout retirement will be what controls your lifestyle, not your net worth.

When doing your pre-retirement planning - hopefully several years before your desired retirement - you’ll want to match your lifestyle wants, needs, and goals with the income you are able to generate from your various financial assets.

However, depending on where and how you plan to generate income from, you may run into problems along the way.
Many times, we see issues arise with those who primarily focus on a dividend spending strategy from their investment portfolios to supplement their other retirement income sources.

More specifically, I discuss:

• Defining retirement income planning
• The 2 major pitfalls you need top watch out for when creating your retirement plan
• Investment returns or income?
• Potential cons of a “probability-based” retirement plan
• Wade Pfau’s Four L’s of Retirement
• Matching your various retirement income sources with your goals
• Potential issues when relying on only one income source such as real estate or dividends
• The importance of dividends
• A pure dividend spending strategy isn’t a great retirement income strategy

Resources From The Episode:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Get Show Notes Here

Key moments:

(02:02) The Error of Relying Solely on 1 Retirement Income Source

(02:57) Challenges of Basic Income Planning

(04:58) Retirement Income is More Important Than Investment Returns

(08:33) The Four L’s of Retirement Planning

(11:15) Funding Your Desired Lifestyle

(12:30) Rental Real Estate May Not Be The Most Efficient Retirement Income Plan

(14:53) Planning for Legacy, or Not

(16:04) The Importance of Liquidity in Retirement

(18:06) The “Live Off Of Dividends” Strategy Debate

(24:44) The Risks of High-Dividend Paying Stocks

(29:52) Total Return Investing as an Alternative

This is a must-listen episode that could save your family's financial future… Seriously.
Estate planning is important, we know that, but what happens when things go wrong, very wrong?

In this episode, we delve into true stories of oversight and missed opportunities, each one a powerful lesson in what not to do.

Learn how simple mistakes today can cause chaos tomorrow and discover the steps you can take to avoid these pitfalls. Don't let your hard-earned legacy become a cautionary tale.

More specifically, I discuss:

• When multiple executors/trustees disagree
• Who has the power to make decisions when you’re gone?
• Corporate trustee failures tie up significant family wealth
• Digital recordkeeping in the 21st century put beneficiaries at a stand still
• Outdated estate plans can create tax time bombs

Resources:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Get a 2nd Opinion on Your Estate Planning Strategy
• Get Show Notes Here

Key moments:

(02:00) Sibling Disagreements and Executor Conflicts

(08:22) Who Holds the Power After You’re Gone? Decision-Making in Trusts

(13:04) Corporate Trustee Mishaps

(20:25) Digital Recordkeeping Issues

(24:32) Retirement Accounts and Trusts

(29:57) The Expensive Dangers of Outdated Estate Planning Strategies

Long-term care insurance typically becomes a consideration for people in their 50s and 60s after they experience helping out with their aging parent’s care and realizing the substantial hit it can make on their life savings.

But one of the most overlooked aspects of long-term care insurance is the potential tax benefits that can be had. When considering long-term care insurance, understanding the potential tax benefits and how they pertain to your own financial situation can help you make a more informed decision.

More specifically, I discuss:

• How does the potential deduction for long-term care insurance work?
• What are the limitations when trying to deduct qualified long-term care insurance premiums?
• How might changes in tax law allow for or increase your long-term care premium deduction?
• What types of long-term care insurance are considered “qualified”?
• Can you deduct premiums paid for hybrid or asset based long-term care insurance?
• Can business owners get a deduction for long-term care insurance premiums paid?
• When can’t you deduct premiums paid for long-term care insurance?

Resources From The Episode:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Get Show Notes Here

Key moments:

(03:02) Are Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums Deductible?

(05:33) Deducting Medical Expenses Above 7.5% Adjusted Gross Income

(06:14) Long-Term Care Premium Deduction Limits By Age

(10:53) Issues With Itemizing Deductions & The SALT Cap

(13:24) What Constitutes a “Qualified” Long-Term Care Policy

(15:31) Deducting Hybrid or Asset Based LTC vs. Traditional Long-Term Care Insurance

(19:19) Deducting Long-Term Care Premiums for Business Owners

(22:19) When Can’t You Deduct Your Long-Term Care Premiums?

Since President Trump took office for the second time in 2025, tariff talks are all the rage and markets have entered a new phase of extreme volatility.

Since tariffs can be a good and a bad thing, we think it’s necessary to have some additional context beyond what the mainstream media seems to be focused on specifically - which is higher prices and inflation.

To understand the potential economic impacts moving forward and how these tariffs might affect markets and your investment portfolio, we need to zoom out and take a look at more than just the current headlines.

More specifically, I discuss:

• What are tariffs in layman’s terms, and why do they exist?
• What are the potential impacts of tariffs?
• What has happened historically with tariffs in the U.S. and how did the stock market react?
• What happened to inflation and the stock market during President Trump’s first term and his “America First” trade policies?
• What can happen with inflation and volatility in the stock market when tariffs are increased?
• LISTENER QUESTION: Collecting Social Security Benefits while working and when benefit payments adjust for additional years of earnings.

Resources From The Episode:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-up
• Get Show Notes Here

Key moments:

(02:01) What are tariffs and why do they exist?

(03:14) Potential impact of tariffs

(04:19) Historical facts about U.S. tariffs

(06:53) Potential impacts of tariffs on your investment portfolio

(07:36) What happened the last time President Trump’s Administration increased tariffs?

(14:42) Listener question: Collecting Social Security while working and benefit adjustments

Due to the increasing political and market uncertainty, and recent stock market correction, we felt it was more important than ever to reintroduce this episode of the Retired·ish Podcast throwing it back to episode #8!

In this episode we defined the downside of what is called Sequence of Returns Risk - which is in my opinion can be the greatest threat to your retirement savings and income.

This risk can present itself when markets happen to be volatile to the downside at nearly the same time that you enter retirement when you go from saving to spending your retirement nest-egg – which can be a very nerve-wracking experience to go through.

We explained why it is crucial to understand that saving for retirement is actually the easy part, and how spending what you’ve saved up in your investment portfolio can quickly become a risky endeavor, especially if you have no strategy to mitigate the downside of Sequence of Returns Risk.

More specifically, I discuss:

• What is the greatest threat to your retirement savings?
• Examples of sequence of returns risk in the savings phase of your life
• Examples of sequence of returns risk in the spending phase of your life
• The difference between monitoring account balances vs. average investment returns
• What types of strategies can you implement to try and reduce sequence of returns risk

Resources From The Episode:

• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Get Show Notes Here

Key moments:

(05:23) "Sequence of Returns Risk": Retirement's Hidden Threat

(08:06) When The Sequence of Returns is Irrelevant

(10:34) Impact of Return Sequence When Spending in Retirement

(20:51) Emotion-Free Investment Strategy

(23:09) Short-Term Retirement Fund Strategy

(26:11) Investment Growth and Legacy Strategy