Wade Pfau: The Risks of Retirement Today
The Long View
The Financial Burdens of Losing a Spouse
This chapter explores the financial challenges that arise when a spouse passes away, focusing on the persistence of fixed expenses and the loss of income sources. It also highlights the significant tax implications associated with becoming a single filer, which can lead to increased financial strain.
Our guest on the podcast today is Wade Pfau. He is professor of retirement income in the Ph.D. in financial and retirement planning program at the American College of Financial Services. He is also co-director of the American College Center for Retirement Income and RICP program director at the American College. Pfau has written several books, including his most recent, Retirement Planning Guidebook. He is a co-editor of the Journal of Personal Finance, and he publishes frequently in a wide variety of academic and practitioner research journals. He hosts the Retirement Researcher blog and is a regular contributor to Advisor Perspectives, MarketWatch, and Forbes. Pfau holds a doctorate in economics and a master's degree from Princeton University and Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Iowa. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Background
Retirement Planning Guidebook: Navigating the Important Decisions for Retirement Success, by Wade Pfau
Wade Pfau books
Wade Pfau blogs posts on Retirement Researcher
Retirement Income Strategies
“Selecting a Personalized Retirement Income Strategy,” by Alejandro Murguia and Wade Pfau, Retirement Management Journal, Dec. 1, 2021.
“Determining Your Retirement Income Style,” by Wade Pfau, financialplanningassocation.org, 2021.
“Two Philosophies for Retirement Income Planning Part One: Probability-Based,” by Wade Pfau, forbes.com, Dec. 18, 2019.
“What Is a Safety-First Retirement Plan?” by Wade Pfau, retirementresearcher.com.
“The RISA Framework: A Systemized Approach to Personalizing Retirement Income Strategies for Clients,” by Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia, kitces.com, April 20, 2022.
Inflation and Other Risk Factors
“Bill Bengen: Revisiting Safe Withdrawal Rates,” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Dec. 14, 2021.
“Inflation, Deflation, Confiscation & Devastation—The Four Horsemen of Risk,” by Wade Pfau, retirementresearcher.com.
“Wade Pfau: TIPS and Annuities Good Bets When Inflation Is High,” by Ginger Szala, thinkadvisor.com, March 31, 2022.
“The Changing Risks of Retirement,” by Wade Pfau, retirementresearcher.com.
“The Four Approaches to Managing Retirement Income Risk,” by Wade Pfau, papers.ssrn.com, Dec. 31, 2019.
“Don’t Panic on Sequence of Returns,” by Amy Arnott, Morningstar.com, May 16, 2022.
Withdrawal Rates
“Wade Pfau: The 4% Rule Is No Longer Safe,” The Long View Podcast, Morningstar.com, April 29, 2020.
“Retiring Soon? Why the Popular 4% Withdrawal Rule May Be a Bad Idea,” by Greg Iacurci, cnbc.com, April 13, 2021.
“What Is the ‘Retirement Spending Smile?’” by Wade Pfau, retirementresearcher.com.
Annuities
“Retirement Income Strategies With Annuities,” by Wade Pfau, retirementreseacher.com.
“Wade Pfau Takes a Balanced Look at a Retirement Product Some Advisors Love to Hate,” by Ed McCarthy, thinkadvisor.com, July 22, 2022.
“David Lau: Taking High Commissions Out of Annuities,” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, June 21, 2022.
“Are Annuities Too Expensive?” by Wade Pfau, linkedin.com, July 2, 2021.
Long-Term Care
“Costs and Incidence of Long-Term Care,” by Wade Pfau, retirementresearcher.com.
“Managing Long-Term Care Spending Risks in Retirement,” by Wade Pfau and Michael Finke, lecp.naifa.org, Jan. 7, 2020.
“Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance Policies,” by Wade Pfau, retirementresearcher.com.
Other
“Laura Carstensen: ‘I’m Suggesting We Change the Way We Work,’” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Sept. 14, 2021.
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