I'm a long-term optimist on America, despite our flaws. That doesn't mean that we can't or won't face some hard times in the future.

Instead of asking if annuities are good or bad, let's ask a better question: What problem are you trying to solve for in retirement? Welcome back to the channel. My name is Michael H. Baker, and for almost two decades, I've been helping people prepare and plan for their retirement years. One topic that constantly comes up is annuities, because we have thousands of baby boomers right now barreling into their retirement years, and annuities are a very popular product marketed s

Most investors ask the wrong question once a crisis hits, and that question alone can oftentimes cost them more than the crisis itself. Military conflict with Iran has spiked market volatility and left many investors flooding financial media sites to find out what they should do next. Within a brief time, this question started spreading everywhere: "What should I do with my portfolio?" I want to challenge that question today because I think it's the wrong question. And the ri

IRMAA Article Discussion is in this Video... Topic #2 I read a lot of financial articles every week. In fact, part of my job as an advisor is to understand what type of content is being put out there, what's going on in the marketplace, and what the media is talking about so that I'm able to be a guide and maybe a calming voice if necessary when clients and prospects come into the office and they have questions about things they're seeing or reading. There are people out ther

Ben Shapiro just said something about retirement in America that got a lot of people very angry, and this is something that a lot of financial advisors don't often talk about. Let's check it out.

The Social Security Administration just announced a 2.8% cost of living adjustment for 2026, but here is what they're not telling you.

Lots of people say that you should delay your Social Security as long as possible, possibly even deferring all the way to age 70. But for millions of Americans, that could be terrible advice. In fact, there are some very real reasons why claiming as early as age 62 may make sense.

Those last five years could make or break your retirement plan, and many people get them wrong. In this post, I'll explain why the last five years prior to retirement could possibly be more important than any other time period when it comes to retirement income planning.

Goldman Sachs just published "The New Economics of Retirement." I'll give you some highlights.

Even smart, successful couples can make retirement planning mistakes — especially when life is busy and retirement still feels like it is years away.