Reuters’ “A$K Lauren” column tackles a question from a 38‑year‑old in Germany sitting on roughly $300,000 in cash earning 1.9%, afraid of stock‑picking and worried an AI bubble could tank ETFs the way housing did in 2008. Lauren Young tapped 18 advisors for guidance on what to do next.

The article notes that some 401(k)s have begun adding in‑plan annuity options or annuity‑enhanced target‑date funds, but adoption is still limited — roughly $29 billion in these products versus more than $4 trillion in target‑date strategies overall, according to Morningstar. That means most savers who buy annuities still do so after leaving their job, not while they’re contributing.

My comments focus on when turning part of a 401(k) into an annuity can make sense — and when it probably doesn’t.

I told CNBC: “For someone without a pension who is anxious about running out of money, converting part of a 401(k) into a predictable monthly paycheck via an income annuity can be valuable.” In other words, for the right person, guaranteed income can act like a “DIY pension” and reduce the fear of outliving assets.

Investopedia’s piece explains how the newly released 2026 federal income tax brackets will shape retirees’ decisions on withdrawals, Roth conversions, and overall tax planning. With the 2026 brackets now set, the article emphasizes that knowing exactly where your income lands on that table is no longer just a filing-season detail—it’s a planning tool.

My comments focus on how retirees can use those brackets to sequence withdrawals more intelligently. As I note in the article, “The truth is, most retirement income—Social Security, pensions, and RMDs from IRAs and 401(k)s—remains taxable, and the order and timing of withdrawals can have a huge effect on your tax bill.” In other words, if you blindly pull from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s without watching your bracket, you can easily push yourself into a higher rate and give more back to the IRS than necessary.

My main message in the article is to treat early 2026 as your tax-planning “preseason,” not an afterthought. As I put it, “Start early. Run a 2026 pretax projection. Why wait?” That means estimating this year’s income, retirement withdrawals, Social Security, and investment gains now, so you can spot withholding gaps, avoid April surprises, and deliberately use tools like qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) and the temporarily higher SALT cap before new phaseouts bite.

Reuters’ latest piece walks through how the Fed’s third rate cut of 2025 filters through to real life: a bit of breathing room for borrowers, more pressure on savers, and a shifting landscape for bonds and mortgages.

On credit cards, the article notes that average APRs are still punishingly high at 23.96%, even after drifting down from last year’s record. My view, quoted in the story, is blunt: “A quarter‑point cut is a drop in a very expensive bucket. Any relief should be used to accelerate payoff, not justify new balances.” In other words, don’t treat slightly lower interest as permission to spend more; treat it as a small tailwind to get out of debt faster.

For savers and conservative investors, lower rates create a different kind of challenge. Traditional savings accounts continue to yield next to nothing (around 0.6% on average, per Bankrate). In the article I point to tools that can still work in a falling‑rate world, provided you match them to your time horizon.

As I highlight in the piece, “most retirement income—Social Security, pensions, and RMDs from IRAs and 401(k)s—remains taxable, and the order and timing of withdrawals can have a huge effect on your tax bill.” The article explains that distributions from traditional retirement accounts are treated as ordinary income and, if not managed intentionally, can unintentionally bump a retiree into a higher bracket—leading to a larger slice of each dollar lost to taxes.

As I explain in the piece, the IRS classifies gold (even when held through most ETFs) as a collectible for tax purposes, not as a stock. This means that, even if you hold your gold ETF longer than a year, any long-term gains are taxed at a maximum rate of 28%—much higher than the usual top 20% capital gains rate for stocks and bonds. “From a tax standpoint, [gold is] treated as a collectible by the IRS, so long-term gains … are taxed at [a maximum rate of 28%],” I told CNBC. For investors in higher brackets, this can be an expensive surprise.

The IRS has announced the federal income tax brackets for the 2026 tax year, introducing new rates and thresholds for both single filers and married couples. This update sets the landscape for income earned in 2026 and tax returns filed in 2027, with the top marginal rate of 37% applying to single taxpayers earning above $640,601 and married couples above $768,701. The other brackets step down incrementally—from 35% and 32%, down to the 10% baseline rate for lower incomes. While it’s easy to gloss over tax bracket updates, financial planners stress that understanding where you fall on this ladder is crucial not just for retirees, but for every taxpayer making strategic decisions. As I emphasized for IndexBox, “The truth is, most retirement income—Social Security, pensions, and required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs and 401(k)s—remains taxable, and the order and timing of withdrawals can have a huge effect on your tax bill.”

This Daily Upside article examines the rise of model portfolios built around exchange-traded funds (ETFs) among financial advisors, noting that 65% of the $36 trillion allocated to model portfolios is managed in-house by firms themselves. The piece highlights several key benefits — from cost efficiency and easier rebalancing to tax advantages and the ability to serve clients at every stage of life. My commentary for the article centers on the behavioral and operational advantages model portfolios can offer both advisors and their clients. As I explained, “Models encourage consistency, reducing the urge to time the market or chase whatever is hot.” In other words, the structure of model portfolios helps guard against the biggest behavioral pitfalls that derail long-term progress—like panic buying or selling.

MoneyTalksNews recently rounded up financial advisors around the country to highlight the most common—and costly—year-end mistakes retirees make, especially when emotions run high or tax deadlines loom. Among the key missteps: over-gifting to loved ones, rushing into Roth conversions, dabbling in risky assets like crypto, panic-selling investments, missing out on tax-saving deadlines, giving to charity without tax strategy, and forgetting to update beneficiary designations. The article spotlights my perspective on holiday gifting, noting the powerful mix of good cheer and worry-free intentions that can push retirees to give more than they can truly afford—or more than the IRS allows before gift taxes kick in.

In the piece, I share with CNBC that there’s more to the Roth-versus-traditional debate than tax rates alone. I always remind clients that tax diversification — having a mix of pretax (traditional) and after-tax (Roth) accounts — provides “options and flexibility when it’s time to withdraw.” Even if you think your tax rate will be higher in the future, having both types of savings lets you strategize withdrawals to keep your total tax bill low, regardless of what future tax law looks like. As I put it: “Young investors, in particular, should strongly consider Roth accounts when they have the luxury of time on their side. Tax-free growth over decades can be a powerful engine for wealth building — and tax-free withdrawals in retirement provide certainty no matter how Congress tinkers with tax rates in the years ahead.”

As I told the Herald, "Inflation is the silent pickpocket of our financial lives." Simply put, a dollar saved today won’t buy what it does now in 20 or 30 years unless your portfolio grows faster than rising costs. With average savings accounts yielding just 0.62% (Bankrate)—and some large banks offering a meager 0.01%—while the Consumer Price Index currently sits at 2.9%, that gap means you're slowly (and often invisibly) falling behind.

The article explains that not all inflation pain is shared equally. Some states like California and New Jersey are being hit especially hard, and a weakening U.S. dollar plus new import tariffs are pushing prices even higher. Highlighting my perspective, the article quotes: "Inflation is the silent pickpocket of our financial lives. If your savings are sitting in a zero-interest account while the price of everyday goods and services is climbing, you're quietly losing ground with every passing month." In other words, sitting still means falling behind.

Unlike stocks, cryptocurrencies have no underlying asset, don’t produce dividends, and see wild price swings. While nearly half of Gen Z investors now own crypto, I tell clients it should never exceed 5% of your investment portfolio. Crypto’s place is as a speculative side bet, not a foundation for building real financial security. In short, even when the gamble works, the story shouldn’t be “jump in with both feet.” As I put it, holding a small amount for fun is fine if you can stomach the rollercoaster, but true financial confidence comes from broad diversification and investments that actually put your money to work. No windfall replaces a solid, well-built plan that lets you sleep at night.

This is more than just headline worry: while average savings accounts yield a paltry 0.62% (with many big banks offering far less), the latest Consumer Price Index clocks in at 2.9%. That gap, even in a modest inflation year, quietly erodes nest eggs protected only by “keeping cash safe.” The article details how essentials like shelter, food, energy, and even used cars are among the costs rising fastest right now. Factors like regional price spikes, a weakening U.S. dollar, and new tariffs are adding pressure for households, especially in states like California, New Jersey, and Hawai‘i. As I’ve seen with many clients, “everyone is feeling the pressure of rising costs”—and ignoring inflation just piles up trouble for later.

As I shared with Kiplinger, the pace of life (and markets) means we all take the occasional rough swing—sometimes with lasting repercussions. But the good news? Many retirement mistakes actually come with an “undo” option—if you know where to look, are willing to act, and keep your bearings as things shift. "Retirement do-overs are more common and valuable than many realize. Life and markets change fast, but the good news is that there are real ways retirees and pre-retirees can hit the 'reset' button, sidestep major mistakes or tweak their plans in light of new information... There's no rule against changing your withdrawal rate as life and markets evolve; annual do-overs are just smart planning. These designations [beneficiaries] can be updated nearly any time. And doing so ensures assets actually go to the right people, avoiding the heartbreak of a hard-to-undo slip."

The recent AARP article “How to Inflation-Proof Your Nest Egg” spotlights this challenge, and more importantly, lays out a toolkit to help your portfolio hold its own—both now and decades from now. As I shared with AARP for the piece, the starting point is simple but non-negotiable: recognize that inflation isn’t an abstract line in the news ticker. Over a long retirement, even “normal” inflation can halve your purchasing power—doubling your expenses in as little as 24–30 years, if you don’t plan and adjust. So, what should you actually do? 

As I cautioned in my comments, the real-world risk profile of VOO (and the S&P 500 itself) has changed in recent years. Investors may be lulled by the idea of diversification, but the top 36% of the index is now dominated by just a handful of tech giants—the Magnificent Seven. “Your ‘diversified’ index is far more exposed to the fates of Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia than it appears.” That means even passively managed ETFs like VOO are increasingly concentrated in the outcomes of just a few companies, especially as big bets on artificial intelligence and technology fuel both gains and the risk of abrupt reversals.

I shared my perspective for the piece: one of the most powerful things pre-retirees can do is “test drive” their future plans. As I told Investopedia, “If a client is still working, I suggest they ‘test’ their retirement lifestyle: try volunteering, join new groups, travel for a month, or take a sabbatical if possible. It’s better to discover what needs adjusting before making the leap.” This proactive approach helps uncover what truly brings meaning—and highlights what might need tweaking—before retirement is set in stone. In my experience, the retirees who stay happiest are those entering this new chapter with clear intentions, rich social ties, and “a willingness to reinvent themselves as circumstances change.”

As I emphasized to ThinkAdvisor, this isn’t just an S&P 500 index issue—so-called “value” indexes and even many ETFs marketed as diversified often sneak in allocations to the Magnificent 7 (like Apple), leaving investors much more exposed than they realize. That’s why I strongly advocate for a true portfolio x-ray—not just stacking up ETFs or broad funds, but actually peeking under the hood to see where the real risk lies