Episodes

What happens when the career that shaped your schedule, relationships, and identity is suddenly no longer part of your everyday life? Preparing for retirement can mean thinking beyond the financial pieces. In this episode, I continue my conversation with Kelly Ottman, PhD, Professor at Milwaukee School of Engineering and Executive Leadership Coach at Leadership Portals, LLC, about preparing for the personal transition into retirement. We explore how women can rethink identity beyond a job title,...

Retirement can look settled financially and still leave you wondering who you’ll be when your career and title change. How do you prepare for the parts of retirement that don’t show up on a financial statement? In this episode, I sit down with Kelly Ottman, PhD, Professor at Milwaukee School of Engineering and Executive Leadership Coach at Leadership Portals, LLC, to explore her research on how executives experience retirement. We look at why women may enter retirement with broader identities an...

Social Security rules can look straightforward until survivor benefits, retirement ages, taxes, and your personal history start overlapping. Understanding where these rules came from can help you recognize which details deserve a closer look before you file. In this episode, I look back at how Social Security has changed and why that history still affects women making retirement decisions today. I explain why some people have two different full retirement ages, how survivor and divorced-spouse b...

What happens when the life you planned no longer fits the person you’ve become? Retirement planning can create space to reconsider where you live, how you work, and what you want your next chapter to look like. In this episode, I talk with Meg McKeen, Founder and Principal Consultant at Adjunct Advisors LLC, about the personal and financial decisions that reshaped her life. Meg shares how divorce pushed her to understand her finances and become her own advocate, how she eventually left corporate...

Life changes, but the beneficiary forms attached to your retirement accounts, insurance policies, and other assets may still reflect decisions you made years ago. In this episode, I explain why beneficiary reviews should be part of ongoing retirement planning and walk through nine questions that can help you determine whether your current designations still reflect your wishes. I cover primary and contingent beneficiaries, coordinating designations with your estate plan, trusts, minor beneficiar...

Retirement investing can bring many questions, especially when your savings need to support your lifestyle for decades. How do you balance growth, income, taxes, and market uncertainty when planning for life after work? In this episode, I share my recent webinar from the New York Public Library’s Investing A-Z program, in which I discuss seven essential strategies for investing in retirement. I explain how a financial plan should guide investment decisions, why inflation can affect long-term pur...

For women approaching or already in retirement, Social Security decisions can feel harder when tax questions, funding projections, and proposed legislation all appear in the headlines at once. How do you separate information that affects your plan from news that simply deserves your attention? In this episode, I answer a listener’s question about Social Security tax withholding while working at age 70. I explain what it really means when up to 85% of Social Security may be taxable, how withholdi...

If you’re a woman planning for retirement and an annuity has been recommended to you, the hardest part may not be understanding how it works. It may be deciding whether it actually belongs in your retirement plan. Asking better questions can help you understand what you’re considering before you commit. In this episode, I explain how to evaluate whether an annuity fits within your retirement plan. I walk through the questions I want you to ask about the retirement need you’re trying to address, ...

Retirement tax planning can feel confusing, especially when annuities enter the conversation. I’ve found that many people aren’t really asking about the annuity itself. They’re trying to understand what happens to their money, how it’s taxed, and whether an annuity is the right fit for their retirement. In this episode, I continue our annuity series by walking through the tax rules that often create the most confusion. I explain why the source of your money matters, how qualified and non-qualifi...

We’ve learned that many of the most important retirement decisions aren’t only about finances. They’re about family, communication, and preparing for moments that none of us hope will come. In this episode, I speak with Tami Calais, Aging and Change Coach, owner of Calais Senior Consult, and Motivational Interviewing Practitioner, about why families often delay difficult conversations with aging parents until a crisis leaves them with few choices. We discuss how adult children can approach these...

When people hear the word annuity, they often picture a stream of retirement income. While that’s certainly part of the story, there are important decisions that come long before those payments ever begin. How do the different types of annuities work? Which one might fit your retirement goals? And what questions should you answer before comparing products? In this episode, I continue our annuity series by explaining the different types of annuities and how each one is designed to solve a differe...

Annuities often become part of the retirement conversation during major life changes, yet many people still aren’t sure what they actually are or when they make sense. In this episode, I begin a four-part series designed to help you understand annuities before you ever evaluate a specific product. We discuss what an annuity actually is, why insurance companies created them, how they can provide retirement income, and why every decision should begin with your retirement goals rather than product ...

Retirement decisions often happen during life’s most emotional moments. When you’re grieving, retiring, or suddenly making financial choices on your own, how do you know you’re asking the right questions or talking to the right people? In this episode, I share a story from a recent anniversary trip that reminded me why retirement planning is about much more than investments. Through conversations with women facing divorce, widowhood, and retirement, I explain how decisions around Social Security...

Losing a spouse often brings emotional and financial decisions that can affect your future for years to come. What happens when one of the largest assets you inherit is a retirement account? How do you know which choices may affect taxes, healthcare costs, income planning, and retirement flexibility? In this episode, I discuss one of the most important financial decisions many widows face after losing a spouse: what to do with an inherited IRA or retirement account. I explain the unique options ...

Retirement taxes aren’t always as straightforward as they seem. A decision that looks harmless today could create unexpected tax consequences, higher Medicare premiums, or reduced flexibility later. How do income sources, tax brackets, Social Security, and healthcare costs all work together in retirement? What happens when a major life event changes your filing status and reshapes your financial picture? In this episode, I discuss several retirement tax cliffs that can quietly affect retirement ...

Healthcare decisions can become overwhelming quickly once retirement enters the picture, especially when one spouse is nearing Medicare eligibility, and the other is not. What happens if you lose employer coverage earlier than expected? How do you compare COBRA, Medicare, and ACA plans without creating confusion later? In this episode, I walk through the healthcare decisions many couples face before and during retirement. I explain how Medicare enrollment works, why COBRA can create unexpected l...

Retirement brings freedom and flexibility, but it also raises important questions about how and where you want to live as life changes over time. What happens if your current home no longer fits your needs? How do you balance emotional attachment, financial realities, and practical lifestyle decisions while planning for the future? In this episode, I discuss how choosing where to live in retirement should be viewed as an ongoing process rather than a one-time decision. I share real conversations...

Outdated Social Security advice can create costly mistakes, especially when rules have changed, but old strategies are still being shared today. Have you ever heard someone say, “I was told I could do this with Social Security”? What if that advice no longer applies and could affect your retirement income for years to come? In this episode, I explain several Social Security filing strategies that used to work but no longer apply for many women today. I walk through common misunderstandings aroun...

Planning for retirement often raises more questions than answers, especially when income, taxes, and timing all collide. How do working years, Social Security decisions, and required withdrawals shape your financial picture? In this episode, I walk through real questions from a recent Social Security webinar and explain how these decisions connect to your overall retirement plan. I cover how working impacts benefits, what to know about Medicare premiums, and how required minimum distributions ca...

Caregiving often starts quietly, but its impact can quickly reshape careers, finances, and family dynamics. How prepared are you if a health event forces immediate decisions? And who is included in the conversations that matter most? In this episode, I speak with Lina Supnet-Zapata, Chief Executive Officer of Mir Senior Care Management, Inc. & Care Consultants, about the realities families face when caregiving begins without a plan. We explore how women often step into caregiving roles unexpecte...

Your Social Security statement might look simple, but the details behind it can shape your entire retirement plan. Are you only looking at the benefit numbers, or are you missing the bigger picture that could impact your future income? In this episode, I walk through how to properly read your Social Security statement and what it is really telling you beyond just your projected benefits. I explain how eligibility works, what assumptions are built into the estimates, and why your earnings history...

There are moments in life when everything shifts at once: your identity, your roles, and your plans for the future. What happens when the life you expected changes, and you’re left asking what comes next? In this episode, I sit down with Oona Metz, LICSW, CGP, licensed clinical social worker and certified group psychotherapist, to talk about the emotional journey women face during divorce and how it connects to retirement planning. We explore the role of shame in financial decision-making, the p...

Divorce can feel overwhelming, especially when emotions and financial uncertainty collide. How do you make clear decisions when everything feels uncertain? And how can the right guidance help you avoid costly mistakes along the way? In this episode, I sit down with Carolyn Daly, Managing Partner at Cohen Seglias, to talk through how women can approach divorce with clarity and structure. We cover the importance of understanding your assets, avoiding emotional decisions, and working with the right...

Most people think tax season ends when the return is filed, but that may be where the real opportunity begins. What if your tax return could guide smarter financial decisions instead of sitting untouched for a year? In this episode, I explain how your tax return can become a valuable planning tool instead of something you file away. I walk through how to review your return for accuracy, compare it year to year, and identify missed items that could impact your taxes. We also share how understandi...