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Retirement Planning Course
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Retirement Accounts BasicsFilter by Difficulty:
Level 1: Foundations
Essential retirement planning concepts everyone should understand
Retirement Accounts
Understand 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA differences, contribution limits, and employer matching strategies.
Social Security Basics
How benefits are calculated, claiming age optimization, and spousal/survivor benefits explained.
Retirement Spending
The 4% rule, essential vs discretionary spending, and healthcare cost planning.
Longevity Planning
Life expectancy statistics, sequence of returns risk, and planning to avoid running out of money.
Level 2: Deep Dives
Advanced strategies and detailed implementation guidance
Withdrawal Strategies
Compare fixed percentage, fixed dollar, dynamic rules (Guyton-Klinger, VPW), bucketing, and RISA approaches.
Tax Optimization
Roth conversion ladders, tax bracket management, RMD planning, and IRMAA threshold strategies.
Healthcare Planning
Medicare parts A, B, C, D, Medigap policies, long-term care insurance, and HSA strategies.
The Retirement Spending Smile
Why spending follows a smile curve: peaks in your 60s-70s, declines in 70s-80s, rises in late life. Plan accordingly.
Social Security Optimization 2025
Master claiming strategies, spousal coordination, earnings limits, tax optimization, and maximize lifetime benefits.
Early Retirement Healthcare Bridge
Navigate healthcare before Medicare: ACA optimization, MAGI strategies, HSA tactics, and cost-saving frameworks.
Roth Conversion Ladder
Master the 5-year rule: step-by-step Roth conversion strategy for early retirement, tax optimization, and penalty-free access.
Sequence of Returns Risk
Defend against market crashes in early retirement: bond tents, cash cushions, variable withdrawals, and portfolio positioning.
Geographic Arbitrage & Tax Optimization
Where you retire matters: state tax strategies, international retirement, cost of living arbitrage worth $300k-$500k.
Level 3: Expert Insights
Research, books, and expert perspectives on retirement planning
Essential Reading
Curated book list with summaries: Wade Pfau, Michael Kitces, William Bernstein, and more.
Key Research Findings
Trinity Study, safe withdrawal research, variable percentage withdrawal studies, and actuarial approaches.
Guaranteed Income: A License to Spend
2024 Blanchett & Finke research: How guaranteed income increases spending by 15-25% and improves retirement quality.
Psychology of Retirement Spending
Why retirees dramatically under-spend and behavioral strategies to overcome spending paralysis and enjoy retirement.
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