A general rule of thumb in retirement planning says you can spend 4% of your starting portfolio value when you retire, then adjust that amount for inflation each year, and your money will last for at least 30 years. This rule is based on safe withdrawal rate research by Bill Bengen that was published in 1994. His research looked at historical market behaviors and determined that in every 30-year time period through history, this starting withdrawal rate would have made it through the 30 years without running out of money.

In our 2022 year-end commentary, we referenced Daniel Kahneman and told you, “The correct lesson to learn from surprises is that the world is surprising.” It seems appropriate that the first quarter of 2023 was defined by another big surprise - the collapse of two major banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. What might be even more surprising is that despite these collapses and amidst the fear of a broader banking crisis, market returns were generally very positive in the first quarter.

The beginning of a new year is always a great opportunity to step back and think more broadly about the planning issues you should be considering right now. Coming off a challenging year like 2022 with investment losses in almost all asset classes, inflation at record levels, a war in Ukraine, a new retirement tax law, and the upcoming sunset of tax changes just three years away, there is much to discuss.

In today's world, we're surrounded by an ever-increasing amount of information and advice, and it can be overwhelming to decide which advice to follow. As a result, people are turning to new sources of guidance, including artificial intelligence (AI) platforms like Chat GPT. These platforms use advanced algorithms to provide tailored advice and suggestions based on a wide range of data inputs. While AI advice has many benefits, it raises questions about the role of humans in decision-making and the reliability of machine-generated guidance. In this blog post, we'll explore the pros and cons of AI advice compared to human advice and why AI platforms like Chat GPT are becoming so popular right now.

We recently said goodbye to our Portuguese Water Dog, Rio. While we knew this day would eventually come, we hoped we would have more than 8 ½ years with him. We have had many great dogs in our family over the years, but none had the impact Rio did. As I think about all the great times we had with him, it fills me with joy that he touched so many lives in a meaningful way. Rio taught us all many “life lessons,” and I wanted to share a few with you.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year and a half since I wrote about a proposed new retirement savings bill with significant bipartisan support. I mentioned in the article that Congress had its hands full, and it might get pushed off to 2022. However, I didn’t think it would take until late December when it was finally passed as the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023”. Many of the original provisions I discussed in that article made it into the final bill, with some edits and new items. Here’s a summary of the big changes that might impact you.