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Retirement Talk with Dr. Wade Pfau
Episode 635
Wednesday, 18 March, 2026
💬 Show NotesWade Pfau, author of The Retirement Planning Guidebook and creator of the Retirement Income Style Awareness (RISA®) assessment joins Roger for a wide-ranging conversation on the big questions of retirement income planning. Wade breaks down why the RISA is a better fit for retirement than a traditional risk tolerance questionnaire, how to think about real estate and reverse mortgages as retirement tools, and what the research actually says about annuities — including when to buy, whether to add inflation protection, and how fixed index annuities with living benefits really work. This podcast is a replay of a recent Rock Retirement Club meetup where members were able to join live and ask questions.Outline Of This Episode Of The Retirement Answer Man(00:00) Roger previews the episode and invites listeners to register for Noodle Live — a Saturday morning Zoom on March 28 at livewithroger.comCONVERSATION WITH DR. WADE PFAU(02:00) Roger introduces Wade Pfau, author of The Retirement Planning Guidebook (04:15) RISA vs. risk tolerance questionnaires(10:45) How to use The Retirement Planning Guidebook(12:00) AI in retirement research(14:30) RRC Member Question: How does real estate fit into retirement planning?(17:00) Reverse mortgages as a retirement tool — usage trends, how the HECM line of credit works, upfront cost hurdles, and why adoption remains low(21:30) RRC Member Question: What is an effective marginal tax rate (EMR) and how does it affect Roth conversion strategy? (25:00) Navigating ACA subsidy cliffs before Medicare(28:00) RRC Member Question: Fixed vs. inflation-adjusted annuities(33:00) Annuity timing(37:00) RRC Member Question: Should we explore intentionally breaking the ACA cliff every few years?(48:00) Fixed index annuities with living benefits vs. income annuities(53:00) RRC Member Question: Is there an optimal age window for buying an annuity if it's a "nice to have" rather than a must?(57:00) Interpreting retirement planning softwareSMART SPRINT(59:00) Pick up the latest edition of The Retirement Planning Guidebook. Use it as an approachable reference guide, or read it straight through if you're really into retirement planning.REFERENCESlivewithroger.com — Register for Noodle Live on March 28!The Retirement Planning Guidebook, 3rd Edition — Wade Pfau / retirementresearcher.comTake the RISA® assessment.Submit a Question for Roger.Sign up for The Noodle.
