Every year, thousands of retirees pay an extra penalty to the IRS — and almost none of them see it coming.

What catches them off guard isn't a penalty for owing too much. You can do everything right — claim Social Security at the right age, run picture-perfect Roth conversions, manage your withdrawals down to the dollar — and still get a letter from the IRS charging you extra.

I reworked a framework from an article by Sheryl Rowling at Morningstar into four clean, completely legal ways to avoid getting tax penalties.

After that, we've got a listener question: A retiree writes in and says, "I don't want to think about money. My plan is tested, I have enough — so what's a simple checklist I can use to stay on track?"

And to close the show, our Retire To Something segment where Clif traded his to-do list for a garden plot — and found community, leadership, and a whole lot of homegrown vegetables in the process.

Resource:
Article by Sheryl Rowling at Morningstar: 5 Ways to Avoid Tax Penalties

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

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Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

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Americans don't feel great about the economy. Consumer Sentiment just hit the lowest reading in roughly 75 years.

Ben Carlson over at A Wealth of Common Sense dug into why that might be, and what it means for those of us trying to enjoy a retirement when it always feels like the second shoe is about to drop.

In our Listener Question segment, we hear from someone who is sitting on 50x their annual spending - and they can't get their spouse to spend it.

Wrapping up the episode we hear from Karen in our "Retire To Something" segment. She's thru-hiking thousands of miles and loving it.

Resource:

• Article by Ben Carlson of A Wealth of Common Sense: The Lowest Consumer Sentiment EVER

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!
Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart

There's a decision your surviving spouse is going to make about your IRA, after you're already gone, that can either cut short or stretch out how long your kids get to keep that money growing — and most people don't even realize the choice is being made. We're going to zero in on one option in particular, one that sounds a little crazy on its face: turning down an inheritance on purpose.

In our Listener Question segment: A listener wrote in about a family farm, a couple of brothers he'd rather not be in business with, and whether saying "no thank you" to his own share is the way to keep the peace in the family.

And then to close things out, we'll head over to our Retire To Something segment where Shawn figured out how to check just about every box that matters.

Resource:
Article by Denise Appleby at Morningstar: The IRA Decision That Affects Your Kids

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!
Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart