Retirement Planning Education, with Andy Panko

#211 – 8 common tax planning mistakes often made in retirement 02.07.2026 1h 13min

Andy discusses common tax planning mistakes often made in retirement. Additionally, he shares insight on how to attempt to prevent such mistakes, and/or fix them after they've happened The 8 common mistakes are: Not paying enough income tax timely throughout the year, and having underpayment penalties as a resultMissing or not taking the correct amount of Required Minimum Distributions (“RMDs”)Having improper beneficiary designationsNot properly applying Roth account withdrawal rulesNot und...

#210 - Q&A edition...Mega backdoor Roth contributions, nonqualified annuities, exceptions to the IRA early withdrawal penalty, when to hire an advisor, how much is too much to pay for an advisor and MORE! 25.06.2026 1h 9min

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: Are tax return amendments needed if info from a 1099-R was left out but doesn't impact the return's gross or taxable income ( 4:08 )What are the pros and cons of using average cost basis tracking for mutual funds ( 8:36 )Tax implications of nonqualified annuities and surrendering vs annuitizing it ( 13:55 )Is there a more optimized way to pay taxes on in-plan Roth conversions as opposed to having additional taxes withheld from your paycheck ( 23:...

#209 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Mark Ross from the Rock Retirement Club 18.06.2026 1h 27min

Andy and Mark Ross from the Rock Retirement Club talk about Mark's journey in retiring to become an "encorepreneur" by starting a coaching business, and spending more time creating art. They also address some of standard "real person" planning questions such healthcare before Medicare, Social Security claiming, the emotional transition to leaving the corporate world, and more! Links in this episode: Mark's coaching website - https://www.nextthinggroup.com/Mark's Instagram site...

#208 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Adam Grossman talk about analyzing annuities, retiring to a different state, bonds vs bond funds, inflation and MORE! 11.06.2026 1h 41min

Andy and Adam Grossman from Mayport Wealth Management share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about: How to analyze an existing annuity and whether to keep it, exchange it to another annuity or surrender it ( 11:44 )The different things to factor in when considering retiring to a different state ( 23:18 )What to do with your investments regarding concerns about the U.S.'s national debt, potential inflation...

#207 – Roth conversion analysis: more than meets the eye 04.06.2026 1h 18min

Andy discusses the various areas of consideration and analysis that go into deciding whether Roth conversions might potentially be of value. Furthermore, he explains why it's impossible to actually quantify how much tax savings, if any, Roth conversions might potentially create. And what to consider when figuring out how much to convert in any given year Links in this episode: Vanguard's "Break Even Tax Rate" Roth conversion analysis white paper - hereTenon Financial's June 2026 Newsletter/...

#206 - Q&A edition...Social Security spousal benefits, tax withholdings on Social Security, bonds vs bond funds, separating basis out of IRAs and MORE! 28.05.2026 54min

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: Claiming your own Social Security benefit at 62 and then later switching to collecting a spousal benefit after your spouse starts their benefit ( 5:45 )It's said by comedians that there are just a small number of basic jokes and everything else is just a variation. The same could be said about financial planning, where there are just a few core topics, and everything else is a variation on a core topic ( 11:18 )What is meant when it's said the st...

#205 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Daryl 21.05.2026 1h 5min

Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Daryl. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as when he started getting serious about planning for retirement, how he's gotten comfortable spending from his nest egg, what he's doing for health insurance since he's not yet on Medicare and what his claim to fame was with being on television... Links in this episode: Tenon Financial month...

#204 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Brad Flood talk about portfolio withdrawal strategies & sequence of returns risk, financial planning software limitations, balancing optimization and simplicity, and MORE! 14.05.2026 1h 30min

Andy and Brad Flood from Tenon Financial share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about: Portfolio withdrawal strategies for addressing sequence of returns risk ( 10:44 )Using financial planning software and dealing with its limitations ( 26:25 )Thoughts on Medicare surcharges known as IRMAA, and how much they should be factored into tax planning ( 40:25 )Dealing with legacy investments in client's accounts...

#203 – Options for holding cash and cash equivalents 07.05.2026 1h 21min

Andy discusses the different options for holding cash and cash equivalents (i.e. things that are principal protected, offer some amount of interest and are highly liquid and readily accessible) The options are: Physical bills and coinsChecking accountsSavings accountsCertificates of Deposit, or CD'sMoney Market Mutual Funds or Exchanged Traded Funds that invest like Money Market Mutual FundsMulti-Year Guaranteed Annuities, or MYGA's (but hear why he doesn't fully consider them cash equivalent...

#202 – Guest host Mark Rosinski discusses Treasury obligation interest, basis in inherited IRAs, RMD aggregation rules, doubling up contributions to 457 plans, and ways to invest during the Social Security delay period 30.04.2026 1h 10min

Guest host Mark Rosinski, CFP®, CPA, RICP®, from Dunes Financial does a "hot topics" episode where he talks about: US Government obligation interest and what to look for on your consolidated 1099 to make sure you properly reflect the state income tax treatment on your tax return ( 9:06 )Understanding and tracking after-tax "basis" in inherited IRAs ( 20:14 )Required Minimum Distribution ("RMD") aggregation rules ( 25:03 )Potentially doubling up contributions to governmental 457 employer retir...

#201 - Q&A edition...A.I. and financial planning, the "withhold and replace" method of paying taxes, step DOWN in basis, TIPS ladders and MORE! 23.04.2026 58min

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: Correction to a previous Q&A episode regarding taxation of lump sum Social Security benefits paid in one year for benefits attributable to the prior year ( 9:54 )His thoughts on artificial intelligence and how it can impact the financial planning industry ( 13:00 )The "withhold and replace" method of paying taxes when doing IRA distributions or conversions and using the indirect 60-day rollover approach to ultimately pay taxes out of your ban...

#200 – 200th episode special edition: my observations about the financial services industry 16.04.2026 1h 6min

Special edition 200th episode where Andy shares some of his observations about the financial services industry from his time working in it: Creating good and consistent content is hard to do and do well ( 9:32 )A lot of content is just clickbait to get your views and/or advertise something to you, and not actually good content ( 13:15 )Personal finance is a lot more personal than it is finance ( 17:40 )The vast majority (all?) of long-term retirement planning is ultimately just a lot of educa...

#199 - "Hot topics" edition...Andy and Jonathan Vance talk about opportunities in the current market environment, 2026 tax updates, questions to ask advisors and MORE! 09.04.2026 1h 35min

Andy and Jonathan Vance from Vance Financial Planning share their thoughts on a handful of current events and "hot topics" relating to retirement planning. Specifically, they talk about: Given current world affairs and their impacts on the markets, should you do anything different with your investments, or are there any other planning opportunities to consider ( 14:20 )Tax updates for 2026, and some recap of tax takeaways for 2025 now that the 2025 tax return season is mostly behind u...

#198 - Whether to take a pension as a lump sum or monthly payments 02.04.2026 1h 5min

Andy discusses the pros and cons of taking a lump sum vs taking monthly payments for your pension, questions to ask yourself to help figure out if it might be better for you to take one vs the other, and other considerations to keep in mind in making the decision Links in this episode: www.ImmediateAnnuities.comwww.PBGC.govTenon Financial's April 2026 newsletter - Whether to take a pension as a lump sum or monthly payments Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning Insights...

#197 - Q&A edition...how often to rebalance, tracking Roth IRA contributions, are RMDs really that bad, paying off mortgages before retirement and MORE! 26.03.2026 1h 10min

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: How often to check your accounts for rebalancing, and how often to check on your bigger picture finances and plan ( 2:32 )What to do with old positions you no longer want in a brokerage account but they all have large unrealized gains ( 16:03 )How Medi-Cal benefits interact with a high deductible health plan and an HSA (spoiler alert...I don't know!) ( 22:20 )Are there any good reasons to leave old/prior employer 401(k) plans where they are ( 25:...

#196 – "Real" person retirement planning chat with Jim Kellerman 19.03.2026 1h 30min

Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. In this episode, Andy talks with Jim Kellerman. They talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as when he started getting serious about planning for retirement, how he now spends his days in retirement, what he's doing for health insurance since he's not yet on Medicare and why he's at the local prison each week... Links in this episode: Puritas tax prep software (including for ...

#195 - Retirement planner chat with Bradley Hilton from Sonas Financial Planning 12.03.2026 1h 59min

Andy chats with fellow retirement planner Bradley Hilton, CFP®, TPCP®, MBA from Sonas Financial Planning. In this episode they talk about a wide array of retirement planning topics such as tax planning, distribution strategies, investing, annuities, long-term care insurance, what consumers often overlook in retirement planning and much more! Links in this episode: Bradley's advisory company website - https://www.sonasfp.com/ or https://www.sonasfinancialplanning.com Tax Foundation summary o...

#194 - Gifting, gift taxes, annual gift exclusion and gift tax returns (IRS Form 709) 05.03.2026 1h 6min

Andy discusses the ins and outs of gifting, the annual gift exclusion, gift splitting, gift taxes, gift tax returns (IRS Form 709) and more! Links in this episode: Tenon Financial's March newsletter/blog about gifting - hereIRS Form 709 - here Tenon Financial monthly e-newsletter - Retirement Planning InsightsFacebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)Retirement Plann...

#193 - Q&A edition...Social Security lump sum for retroactive payments, whether to pay off a mortgage, step-up in basis, gifting without having to file a gift tax return and MORE! 26.02.2026 1h 12min

Listener Q&A where Andy talks about: Income tax treatment of buying bonds in a normal non-qualified brokerage account when you buy or sell bonds in between coupon periods ( 8:37 )When still working, are 50 or older, are maxing out your 401(k) contributions, and are high income and therefore would need to have your catch-up contribution go into your Roth (instead of pre-tax) 401(k), would it be better to skip the catch-up and instead put that money in a normal brokerage account ( 14:...

#192 – "Real" person chat with Kevin Sebesta from the Rock Retirement Club, discussing FIRE...Financial Independence, Retire Early 19.02.2026 1h 17min

Andy chats with a real person (not an advisor) doing their own retirement planning. This week Andy is joined by Kevin Sebesta from the Rock Retirement Club Kevin retired at 43 as part of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) concept. He shares his planning and retirement journey, and discusses more about FIRE including the FIRE community and thoughts everyone (not just FIRE folks) should consider when planning for retirement. Links in this episode: Kevin's blog - ww...