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Wisdom for Your Wisdom Years

Wisdom for Your Wisdom Years

Written by: Matt Murphy
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 Join Matt Murphy, CFP®, AIF®, and founder of Benetas Wealth, as he breaks down financial strategies, lifestyle hacks, and unconventional insights to help you build a retirement worth living—on your terms, with purpose and passion.2025 Economics Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Finance
Episodes
  • How to Avoid the Retirement Income Snowball

    How to Avoid the Retirement Income Snowball
    Jan 20 2026

    Many smart, sophisticated investors get caught by this trap -- the retirement income snowball tax trap. Like most retirement income problems, the income snowball happens slowly, building over many years. At first things seem fine in retirement. Income is sufficient, taxes are low, but if you have deferred a lot of income in previous decisions -- social security, benefit plans, portoflio RMD's -- then a snowball of income can grow and later, when flexibility is low, can come to dominate the entire retirement plan.

    Delaying social security to age 70 (the maximum age to start claiming SS) makes sense for many reasons. It provides some longevity insurance, similar to an annuity, the benefits are inflation adjusted, survivor benefits increase, and raises your guaranteed income floor for the remainder of your life. However, failing to think about the timing of this deferred income alongside your distributions in large, pre-tax retirement accounts could put you in a snowball situation with high tax bills.

    Matt describes a common scenario he sees in his practice: a married couple filing jointly defers social security benefits to age 70, required minimum distributions (RMD) begin in their mid-70's, and their IRA values are higher than they expected, meaning their RMD's are higher than expected... which ultimately means a large tax bill. Where the snowball really hits hard is when one spouse passes away, and the surviving spouse inherits the deceased IRA's and possibly survivorship benefits as well. This can push the surviving spouse into a higher marginal tax bracket, when they now a single filer. Consequently, an annual income of $100k, for example, which might be fine for a married couple filing jointly, can become burdensome for the single surviving spouse. Unfortunately, by the time this happens, most of the proactive moves that could have been done to prevent the snowball are off the table.

    Matt presents some tools to prevent this scenario, such as Roth 401k conversions and careful planning around IRMAA and Medicare.

    Follow Matt Murphy

    Web: https://www.benetaswealth.com

    Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/jb7SNc

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmurphycfp

    Advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, a Registered Investment Adviser.

    This material is intended for informational/educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or investment product. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation.

    Investments are subject to risk, including the loss of principal. Some investments are not suitable for all investors, and there is no guarantee that any investing goal will be met. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

    All indices are unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly into an index.

    Investments in target-date funds are subject to the risks of their underlying holdings. The year in the fund name refers to the approximate year (the target date) when an investor in the fund would retire and leave the workforce. The fund will gradually shift its emphasis from more aggressive investments to more conservative investments based on its respective target date. The performance of an investment in a target-date fund is not guaranteed at any time, including on or after the target date.
    Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets, and diversification cannot guarantee that any objective or goal will be achieved.

    Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are subject to market volatility, including
    the risks of their underlying investments. They are not individually redeemable from the fund and are bought and sold at the current market price, which may be above or below their net asset value.
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    17 mins
  • How to Get Started Investing: Indexes, Mutual Funds & ETFs, Active vs Passive Investing | Part 3

    How to Get Started Investing: Indexes, Mutual Funds & ETFs, Active vs Passive Investing | Part 3
    Jan 13 2026

    In the third and final installment of the investing miniseries, Matt Murphy and Matt Reynolds discuss the common investment products most investors will use during their lifetime. Matt breaks down the difference between active and passive fund management, and why investors over the past few decades have flocked to passive index funds, which hold a basket of stocks that mirror market indices like the S&P500 and charge very low fees.

    Matt also explains a common trap that robs investors of returns: not staying invested in the market. The old adage is buy low, sell high, and when the markets are volatile and economic outlook is poor, many investors get nervous and sell their stocks... only to watch the market rebound later. Before they know it, the market bounces back to higher levels than before, and to get back in the game they must now buy in at a higher price. Of course, there's no guarantee that the market will bounce back, or when it will bounce back, but in general, attempting to time the market results in substantially lower returns in the long run compared to simply staying invested and following your strategy, with periodic rebalancing to ensure your portfolio matches your risk tolerance.

    As always, patience is the key to successful investing! Armed with some basic knowledge, you can make sound investments for your retirement without complicated strategies or esoteric investment products.

    Follow Matt Murphy

    Web: https://www.benetaswealth.com

    Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/jb7SNc

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmurphycfp

    Advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, a Registered Investment Adviser.

    This material is intended for informational/educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or investment product. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation.

    Investments are subject to risk, including the loss of principal. Some investments are not suitable for all investors, and there is no guarantee that any investing goal will be met. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

    All indices are unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly into an index.

    Investments in target-date funds are subject to the risks of their underlying holdings. The year in the fund name refers to the approximate year (the target date) when an investor in the fund would retire and leave the workforce. The fund will gradually shift its emphasis from more aggressive investments to more conservative investments based on its respective target date. The performance of an investment in a target-date fund is not guaranteed at any time, including on or after the target date.
    Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets, and diversification cannot guarantee that any objective or goal will be achieved.

    Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are subject to market volatility, including
    the risks of their underlying investments. They are not individually redeemable from the fund and are bought and sold at the current market price, which may be above or below their net asset value.
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    34 mins
  • How to Get Started Investing: Risk, Target Date Funds, & Consistency | Part 2

    How to Get Started Investing: Risk, Target Date Funds, & Consistency | Part 2
    Jan 6 2026
    In part 2 of a three-part Q&A series about investing, Matt Murphy and Matt Reynolds discuss the concept of risk in investing and how new investors, young and old, should think about risk. Everyone is familiar with the concept of risk in everyday life (a popular slang term today is FAFO, for instance), and the idea is simiilar in investing. There are many investments you could make, some higher risk and others lower risk. Generally speaking, low risk investments offer very steady, but low, returns. High risk investments, on the other hand, can generate much higher returns, but also have a higher probability of loss. When thinking about risk it's important to understand your time horizon. A young investor in her early 20's can afford to take more risk, because her time horizon is long. She will be investing for 30-40 years, and while the market will go up and down several times during that period, the law of averages applies: she will, on average, make a nice return during that time period if she consistently invests and stays invested. A young investor in this situation would most likely invest mostly (if not entirely) in a diversified portfolio of stocks, like an S&P500 index, which historically has returned about 10% annually on average. An older investor closer to retirement, however, cannot afford the risk of losing a large chunk of the value of their portfolio if the market takes a dive. They need to be certain that the value of their portfolio stays steady, so they can plan on withdrawing from that portfolio to fund their retirement years. This investor will likely be more heavily invested in bonds, treasuries, and other fixed income asssets, which generally have lower returns than stocks, but also fluctuate in value much less. Over their lifetime, a smart investor will regularly rebalance their portfolio to reflect their age, risk tolerance, and proximity to retirement. Matt Murphy also explains the concept of target date funds. These funds are essentially investing on auto-pilot. You put money into a target date fund, and it rebalances your portfolio automatically over time, assuming that you will retire and begin withdrawing from your portfolio at a specified date in the future. Target date funds are useful because they don't require much upkeep or knowledge about investing. However they tend to be more expensive (higher fees) than passively managed index funds, and they rebalance your portfolio based on a fixed timeline which you may not align with as your life changes. If you want to retire earlier than your target date fund assumes you will retire, then your investments will be out of step with your needs. Nevertheless, they can be a great tool for the beginning investor. As Matt emphasizes throughout this mini-series, the most important part of investing is consistency. Showing up every month and investing regularly over years and years, while sticking to your strategy, yields great returns. If you aren't consistent or constantly shift your strategy in reaction to the market, you will more than likely underperform the consistent, patient investor. Slow and steady wins the race! Follow Matt Murphy Web: https://www.benetaswealth.com Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/jb7SNc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmurphycfp Advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, a Registered Investment Adviser. This material is intended for informational/educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or investment product. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation. Investments are subject to risk, including the loss of principal. Some investments are not suitable for all investors, and there is no guarantee that any investing goal will be met. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments in target-date funds are subject to the risks of their underlying holdings. The year in the fund name refers to the approximate year (the target date) when an investor in the fund would retire and leave the workforce. The fund will gradually shift its emphasis from more aggressive investments to more conservative investments based on its respective target date. The performance of an investment in a target-date fund is not guaranteed at any time, including on or after the target date. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets, and diversification cannot guarantee that any objective or goal will be achieved. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are subject to market volatility, including the risks of their underlying investments. They are not individually redeemable from the fund and are bought and sold at the current market price, which may be above or below their net asset value.
    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
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