The Income Standard Podcast
Not theory. Not generalities. Each episode takes one specific problem — sequence risk, longevity, RMDs, fee drag — and shows you what it costs if you leave it unaddressed. Start with the one that sounds most like your situation.
Season 1 — 2026
You've spent 30 years building a portfolio. The tools, the math, and the risks that apply to the next 30 years are completely different — and nobody told you when to switch. This is where most retirement income plans begin failing.
If you haven't made this transition, your accumulation plan is running your retirement. That's the trap.
Everyone has a number. Almost no one has a floor. Two people with identical net worth can have completely different retirement outcomes — because the structure underneath the money is different. This episode shows you exactly why the number is the wrong question.
Until you know your guaranteed income floor, your retirement number is a guess dressed up as a plan.
Same starting balance. Same average return. One investor finishes with $800K. The other finishes with $250K. The only difference is the order the returns arrived — and whether they had a protected income layer. This episode walks through the exact math.
A $550,000 difference between two identical portfolios — driven entirely by sequence and the presence or absence of an income floor.
Rick wants to know if he's making a mistake taking Social Security at 62. Sandra wants to know if annuities are just commission products. And the question underneath both of them: can I trust the person across the table from me? Real questions. Direct answers.
Filing Social Security at 62 locks in a permanent 30% reduction. If your spouse outlives you, they inherit that decision forever.
For a married couple both 65, there's a 50% chance one of you lives past 90. Most plans are built to 82–85. Nobody wants to plan for 95 because planning for 95 means admitting you might actually be there. This episode reframes longevity as a design problem — not a probability problem.
A plan built to age 85 has a structural failure point. It's not a question of if — only when it runs out of runway.
You approved a 1% AUM fee. You didn't approve the 0.85% expense ratio inside your funds, or the 0.2% platform fee on top of that. Total drag: 2.05%. On a $1M portfolio that's $20,500 per year — silently compounding against you for decades. This episode shows you how to find it.
Fee drag doesn't show up as a line item. It shows up as a smaller balance at age 85 — with no explanation attached.
At 73, the IRS forces you to withdraw from your pre-tax accounts whether you need the money or not. If your IRA is large enough, that RMD can push you into a higher bracket, trigger IRMAA Medicare surcharges, and increase Social Security taxation — all at once. This episode shows you the window that's still open — and how long you have to use it.
The pre-RMD window between your retirement date and age 73 is the most valuable tax planning opportunity most people never use. Every year you wait, it shrinks.
Helen's advisor says she has enough. She doesn't feel it. Frank and his wife have been arguing for three years about whether to plan to 85 or 95. Both questions point to the same structural gap — nobody has shown them a guaranteed income floor. This episode explains why that feeling is correct — and what closes the gap.
The gap between what your advisor showed you and what you feel is real. It's not anxiety. It's the difference between probability and a guarantee.
Heard Enough to Know?
The Income Standard Review measures the exact structural risks each episode covers — against your actual numbers. 45–60 minutes. No cost. No pitch.
Schedule My Income Review — Find My GapNot ready yet? Keep listening. Come back when one of these episodes describes your actual situation — not just an interesting concept.