CFP. Author. Inventor. LIMRA Retirement Income Institute. Built GH2 EDGE™, patents pending. Wrote Maximize Your Medicare, and Maximize Your Retirement.
Joined August 2015
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In October 2019, Linda Morales filed for Social Security at 62.
Her advisor said "turn it on to cover the gap."
Her benefit dropped 30% — permanent. By age 87, the cumulative loss is $187,340.
The advisor wasn't dishonest. He just never ran the numbers. 🧵👇(1/8)
amzn.to/4wlMj1G
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I frequently feel under-educated, but this is a new low, or high. At least I can spell both of those.
May 29
Shrey spelling 32 words in 90 seconds to win the Spelling Bee is the new greatest athletic accomplishment of 2026. I don’t even know how he said the letters that fast. Got a “Holy Mackerel” out of
@minakimes
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A recent piece from 24/7 Wall Street discusses a significant decision faced by a 64-year-old single woman with a $1.1 million traditional 401(k) as she considers her bridge to claiming Social Security at age 70. The article effectively highlights various challenges she may encounter.
While the math and bridge concept presented are generally sound, and the awareness of IRMAA is accurate, the article concludes with a checklist of three actionable items for the week. However, this closing is crucial for reasons beyond the author's intention.
The checklist reflects the limitations of the available tools to address the household's actual problem. Each task is isolated, requiring different software, and fails to answer the overarching question posed.
Here are three areas where the article falls short:
- Regulatory regimes operate simultaneously rather than sequentially. The 2026 Roth conversion influences the 2028 IRMAA tier, which in turn affects the 2028 Medicare premium and the 2030 IRMAA tier. Checklists address these in order, but reality requires a simultaneous approach.
- Mortality is personal, not average. The article's break-even age relies on SSA cohort tables. Adjusting the household's longevity perspective by five years can significantly alter the optimal strategy.
- The Required IRR is the critical figure that remains unaddressed. It represents the minimum portfolio return needed for the plan to transition from infeasible to feasible.
For a deeper analysis, including questions to pose to your advisor instead of relying on the checklist, check out the full teardown on Substack.
Read the article: bit.ly/3PL8cXU
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In October 2019, Linda Morales filed for Social Security at 62.
Her advisor said "turn it on to cover the gap."
Her benefit dropped 30% — permanent. By age 87, the cumulative loss is $187,340.
The advisor wasn't dishonest. He just never ran the numbers. 🧵👇(1/8)
amzn.to/4wlMj1G
1
2
146
**7/8**
Story 50 is the most important one.
The Murphys have a pension and Social Security that together exceed their expenses.
The optimizer ran their full grid. Its recommendation: do absolutely nothing.
Sometimes the answer is "stop worrying." But you only know that after you ask.
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**8/8**
*50 Retirement Mistakes That Cost Real Money* — out now on Amazon.
Each story shows the person, the decision, the cost, and the strategy that would have worked.
amzn.to/4wlMj1G
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GH2 EDGE(tm):
Check out my latest article: Retirement Planning, Modernized. linkedin.com/pulse/retiremen… via @LinkedIn
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