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A parent’s health can change faster than any market cycle and it can upend your retirement plan just as you’re nearing the finish line. We sit down with Heather Schreiber, a nationally known Social Security and retirement educator, to talk candidly about what it looks like when you become the caregiver while still running a household, supporting kids, and trying to protect your own financial future. The “sandwich generation” is not a buzzword here; it’s real life, complete with late-night calls, tough decisions, and costs that don’t show up in tidy spreadsheets. Heather shares the behind-the-scenes reality of navigating dementia care and assisted living: staffing challenges, communication gaps, and why advocacy becomes a daily job even in a quality facility. We also dig into the financial side of long-term care planning, including the risks of assuming you can self-fund indefinitely, what relying on Medicaid can mean for choice and control, and how a $10,000 to $15,000 monthly care bill can ripple through taxes, cash flow, and a surviving spouse’s security. We connect those caregiving decisions to the retirement planning topics people ask about every day, including Roth conversions, Medicare IRMAA cliffs, and the importance of stress-testing a retirement income plan. Then we wrap with a timely Social Security update: the Social Security Claiming Age Clarity Act and why “retroactive benefits” can quietly reduce lifetime income for the rest of your life. If this conversation hits close to home, share it with a friend who’s caring for a parent, subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes, and leave a review to help more families find the show. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

Bonds were supposed to be the boring, safe part of the plan. Then 2022 happened and a lot of retirees learned the hard way that “nowhere to hide” can be real. We dig into that year, what it exposed about traditional portfolios, and why we think retirement planning has to be built around behavior and peace of mind, not just charts and averages. For the first time on the Ozarks Retirement Show, Brad is joined by his son and business partner, Hunter Pistole. We talk about what Hunter actually does in the “war room” managing stock market and brokerage accounts, why our firm has grown to serve thousands of clients in multiple states, and the guiding idea we hear again and again from families we help: they just want to sleep well at night. We also lay out our three-phase retirement income plan in plain English. First, build an income floor so essentials are covered with dependable cash flow, often through Social Security planning, pensions, and the right kind of annuities. Second, once the basics are protected, you can pursue long-term growth with the market in a way that is easier to stick with. Third, get serious about tax planning, because an IRA dollar and a Roth IRA dollar are not the same when you start taking income, and Medicare IRMAA can turn taxes into a bigger problem than most people expect. If you want a clearer, calmer approach to retirement income planning, listen now, then subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review so more families can find the show. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

Retirement can sneak up on you fast, especially in a post-COVID work world where burnout is real and the pace of change feels nonstop. If you are within five years of retiring, the decisions you make right now can either protect your future or create payments and regrets you carry for decades. We get practical and direct about what to pause before you “pull the trigger,” even when the purchase feels earned. We walk through seven common pre-retirement spending traps: buying a brand new luxury vehicle, taking on a major home remodel you do not truly need, putting vacations and lifestyle on a credit card, and helping adult children in a way that puts your own financial independence at risk. Then we move into the risks people overlook when retirement is close, including speculative investments you do not fully understand, the hidden upkeep of a second home or vacation property, and anything that locks up your money without a clear retirement purpose. Along the way, we tie everything back to what matters most in retirement planning: creating a reliable monthly paycheck. That means coordinating your retirement income plan with Social Security, Medicare awareness, tax planning, and a real decumulation strategy so your savings can last for 20 to 40 years. If you are asking, “Can I retire now?” or “Should I buy this right before I retire?” this conversation gives you a clear framework to pressure test the math. If you found this helpful, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, share it with a friend who is close to retirement, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What purchase are you debating right now, and what would you want a second opinion on? Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

Retirement is not a date on the calendar, it is a handoff from earning a paycheck to creating one. We start with the question we hear constantly right after Labor Day: “Do you think I’m ready to retire?” Then we walk through a practical seven-part checklist that helps you pressure test your plan before you turn in a resignation letter. We dig into full retirement age and the bigger issue behind it: Social Security claiming strategy. “Can I take it?” is easy. “Should I take it?” is where real retirement income planning lives, especially for married couples thinking about survivor benefits, longevity risk, and the long-term impact of filing early versus delaying. From there, we talk about replacing your income in retirement, including how pensions fit for the minority who still have them and how many families try to recreate that dependable monthly income with annuities, investments, and a coordinated withdrawal plan. Healthcare is a major swing factor, so we cover Medicare timing and why retiring before 65 can create expensive gap years. We also hit two unglamorous but decisive factors: being debt-free and keeping enough liquid cash reserves so one roof repair, storm, or hospital bill does not force you to sell investments at the wrong time. Finally, we zoom out to the human side of retirement, because even a perfect spreadsheet can fall apart if you have no plan for your time, your routines, and your sense of purpose. If you want a simple framework to decide whether to retire now or wait, hit play and follow along with the checklist. Subscribe, share this with a friend who is on the fence, and leave a review so more families can find smart retirement planning guidance. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

The moment you retire is supposed to feel like relief, but what happens when the market drops right after you walk away from your paycheck and you realize you’ve never lived through retirement before? We sit down with our client Paul Stowalter, who retired at 59 and a half, to share the honest version of that transition: the excitement, the stress, and the decisions that made the difference once real money and real life showed up. Paul talks about leaving a decades-long career in the food industry and stepping into a working retirement built around two things he loves: running his music store and leading a homeless outreach ministry. We unpack what changes when you’re no longer tied to a rigid schedule, why that freedom can be both energizing and disorienting, and how purpose becomes the real “retirement plan” that keeps you healthy, social, and motivated. On the financial side, we break down sequence of returns risk in plain English and why a negative market early in retirement can create outsized damage if you’re withdrawing at the wrong time. We also talk through practical retirement income planning choices, including using protected strategies for stability, plus the unique challenges of retiring before Medicare at 65 when health insurance costs can hinge on earned income. We wrap with bigger-picture retirement planning issues like Medicare IRMAA and why what you earned two years ago can raise premiums today, along with tax-smart charitable giving concepts that matter later in life. If you’re asking “can I retire” or “what will I do with my time,” this conversation is a grounded place to start. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s close to retiring, and leave a review with your biggest retirement question. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

One forgotten subscription here, a “free” upgrade there, a couple food deliveries every week, and a payment that feels manageable on paper can quietly turn into the reason you’re still working years longer than you planned. We lay out the real retirement math behind the everyday habits that pre-retirees often ignore, and we do it in plain language you can actually act on. We count down the biggest “money leaks” we see: status spending that tries to impress other people, lifestyle inflation that grows right alongside your income, and convenience spending that becomes automatic. We also dig into the hidden price of buying a new car too soon, shopping because something is on sale, and buy now pay later plans that make big purchases feel small until the monthly obligations pile up. Along the way, we talk insurance planning mistakes, why tracking a year of delivery fees can be shocking, and how to pressure-test your budget before you claim you’re ready to retire. Then we hit the hard truth items: subscriptions you do not even remember you have, the compounding damage of credit card interest, and the “plus one” that can dwarf every other financial mistake, divorce, including graying divorce after age 55. You’ll leave with a clear weekly challenge to review your statements and ask one question about every recurring charge: is this helping your retirement goals or stealing from them? Subscribe to the Ozarks Retirement Show, share this with a friend who’s close to retirement, and leave a review so more families can find practical retirement planning guidance. What’s the first expense you’re cutting this week? Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

Your 401(k) feels familiar until the day you realize you might be one rollover away from changing your retirement forever. We walk through the real-world tradeoffs behind 401(k) vs IRA decisions, including why IRAs now hold trillions more than 401(k) plans and why most of that growth comes from rollovers, not direct IRA contributions. If you’re nearing retirement, changing jobs, considering an in-service withdrawal at 59½, or navigating a divorce settlement, this conversation is designed to help you slow down and choose deliberately. We also get blunt about incentives. Not everyone who says “fiduciary” is operating under a true fiduciary standard, and rollover advice is where the conflicts show up fast. We share what to ask for in writing, why employers have fiduciary obligations inside the 401(k), and how sales-driven rollover pitches can lead to higher fees or the wrong product. Along the way, we reference insights from retirement research voices like Dr. David Blanchett and Social Security expert Dr. Jason Fickner to ground the discussion in more than hype. Then we tackle the mistakes that sting later: rolling money into an IRA too early and triggering penalties, missing the Rule of 55 exception, and letting “keeping up with the Joneses” distort your retirement readiness. We compare the 4% rule math to guaranteed lifetime income concepts so you can think in monthly paycheck terms, not just account balances. Subscribe, share this with a friend facing a rollover, and leave a review so more families can plan smarter and live better. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

You can do everything “right” for decades, max out your 401(k), build a solid IRA, and still hit retirement with a knot in your stomach. The paycheck that’s always been there is about to disappear and suddenly your life savings feels less like freedom and more like a fragile pile you’re afraid to touch. That fear shows up everywhere, from 30-somethings to boomers, and it’s one of the biggest reasons people either overreact to market dips or underspend and leave joy on the table. We talk with personal finance powerhouse Jean Chatzky about The Forever Paycheck and the shift from accumulation to retirement income planning. We dig into why retirees often refuse to spend principal, how the “no more do-overs” reality changes risk, and why classic rules of thumb like the 4% rule can feel shaky when sequence of returns risk, inflation, and interest rates don’t cooperate. Then we get practical: separating needs, wants, and wishes, figuring out real spending (not guesses), and designing an income floor you can count on. We also get specific about guaranteed lifetime income and annuities as tools, not magic. Jean shares how her views evolved, how guarantees can reduce stress for couples and surviving spouses, and why insuring part of your income can free you to invest the rest with a longer time horizon and more flexibility. If you want a retirement strategy built around confidence, clarity, and a paycheck you can’t outlive, this conversation will help. Subscribe for more retirement planning and personal finance conversations, share this with someone who worries about retirement income, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

The name you’ve trusted for years just changed and the reason isn’t marketing. It’s protection. After nearly two decades on the air, we’re retiring the Safe Money Radio name and stepping forward as The Ozarks Retirement Show so listeners can instantly tell who they’re hearing and where to find us online without confusing copycats. We take you back to 2009, when the country was still limping out of the 2008 financial crisis and Safe Money Radio was born as a brand-new idea. I share what it was like starting a financial services business in 2008 with no finance degree, no formal background, and plenty of pressure just to survive. You’ll hear how the show grew from humble beginnings into a national presence, largely because we stayed real, told client stories with care, and focused on clear retirement planning education instead of hype. We also talk candidly about the messy parts: the early days of scripted radio that didn’t sound like me, the criticism around annuities and being labelled “just a salesman,” and what happens when success attracts competitors who copy what works. Then COVID hits, the national network shrinks from dozens of hosts down to one, and the Safe Money Radio name gets sold, leading to a situation where someone else can host a “Safe Money Radio podcast” and claim the spotlight. Nothing changes for you except the name. Same stations, same weekly rhythm, and the same commitment to retirement income planning, market risk clarity, and top-tier guests. If you value straight talk and practical guidance, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find The Ozarks Retirement Show. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

A big tax refund feels like a win, but it can be the clearest sign you played the wrong game all year. Brad sits down with his longtime CPA, Gary Wood, to talk about what actually drives results for retirees and near-retirees: proactive tax planning that lowers your lifetime tax bill, not just a tax return that documents last year. We get practical about the difference between tax preparation and tax planning, why most people only see their CPA when everyone is busiest, and how a year-round planning relationship creates better decisions around income, deductions, and timing. Gary shares how raising four kids changed his perspective on tax deferral and liquidity, and why “life optimization planning” can matter as much as portfolio math, especially if you expect to work part time in retirement. We also unpack the real-world tax issues that show up after you retire: Social Security taxation, Medicare IRMAA, RMDs, and how filing status can shift if you lose a spouse. Then we move into the nuts and bolts: marginal tax brackets, bracket harvesting, and why Roth IRA contributions and Roth conversions can be a smart “now, later, never” strategy when you coordinate them with deductions. We also call out the noise of viral “tax hacks” and explain why small, repeatable moves often beat flashy one-time plays. If you want clearer next steps and fewer surprises, subscribe, share this with a friend who hates tax season, and leave a review with the one tax question you want answered next. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

Retirement decisions get dangerous when they are driven by exhaustion instead of numbers. We start with a simple challenge: can you say, out loud, the exact monthly income you need after your paycheck stops, and can you prove it with a retirement budget you trust? If you cannot, you are not alone, and you are exactly who this conversation is for. We break retirement income planning into three must-answer questions. First, we nail down your baseline monthly expenses so you are not guessing. Second, we separate real income from “if come” by looking at what is contractually guaranteed for life versus what depends on markets, tenants, or timing. Along the way, we unpack why down years like 2022 can crush retirees who are withdrawing from traditional portfolios, and we explain the “quadruple whammy” of taking distributions during losses while still paying fees and taxes. Then we move to the part too many plans skip: risk removal. We talk survivor planning when one spouse dies and a Social Security check goes away, pension elections that can cut income, and the hard truth about healthcare and long-term care costs that can spike fast. These are not abstract risks, they are real stories and real numbers, and they are exactly why guaranteed lifetime income and smart tax planning can bring peace of mind. Subscribe for more practical retirement guidance, share this with someone within three years of retirement, and leave a review so more families can find the show. What is the one “what if” you want your retirement plan to handle? Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

Your spouse dies and suddenly the questions are nonstop, and some of them are terrifyingly practical: Where are the accounts? What were the passwords? Which check is still coming next month? I sit down with my 79-year-old mom, Peggy Sue Pistole, for a raw, in-person conversation about becoming a widow and learning how to live again after losing her best friend and marriage partner, my dad, Joe “Hilliard” Pistol. We walk through the night he passed, the shock of an unexpected medical emergency, and what happens after the funeral when the paperwork and money decisions hit all at once. We talk about the things families rarely plan for: how long it can take to gain access to a computer and records, how hard it can be to even find a life insurance policy, and why Social Security survivor benefits can still bring a surprise when a deposit gets pulled back after a death. Then we get practical about retirement income planning. We explain why sequence of returns risk matters, why an “income floor” can protect a surviving spouse from panic, and how guaranteed lifetime income from annuities can create steady monthly cash flow through direct deposit even when markets feel uncertain. We also touch on Roth conversion planning and why tax free money can be a lifeline when life happens fast. If you want a retirement plan your family can run without you, listen, take notes, and share this with someone you love. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and tell us what part of your plan you want to simplify next. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

Retirement doesn’t fail because you picked the wrong fund. It fails when your paycheck depends on a market that doesn’t care what year you retired. We sit down with Curtis Cloak, a world-renowned retirement income planner, to unpack his “promise-based income” approach and why certainty comes first when you’re trying to make money last for life. We talk through the idea of building an income floor using contractual sources like Social Security, pensions, and the right kind of guaranteed lifetime income, then using that foundation to pursue growth with the rest. Curtis explains the research-backed target of aiming for roughly 80% of your grossed-up retirement income from promise-based sources, and why the red zone (10 years before and after retirement) is where sequence of returns risk can permanently derail a plan. We also dig into why the old 4% rule may not fit today’s longer lifespans and higher volatility, and why planning closer to a 3% withdrawal rate from risk-based assets can change the odds dramatically. Along the way, we make it practical: the “holding assets hostage” example, the difference between living on assets versus living on income, and why safety does not have to mean “no growth.” Curtis also tells the behind-the-scenes Ken Fisher annuitybunk story that shows how misunderstood annuities can be, especially when people treat 1 out of 42 product types like it represents the whole category. If you care about retirement income planning, guaranteed lifetime income, and building a plan that accounts for fees, taxes, and inflation, this conversation gives you a clear framework to think with. Subscribe so you never miss an episode, share this with a friend who’s near retirement, and leave us a review with your biggest retirement planning question. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

The hardest part of retirement planning isn’t choosing an investment. It’s facing the risk nobody wants to price: the unexpected phone call, the sudden diagnosis, the accident that turns “someday” into “today.” Brad Pistol shares a personal story of loss, then connects it to the real financial chain reaction many families experience when a spouse dies and the plan was built for markets, not real life. We talk through why so many people insure cars, homes, and vacations, yet leave their income underprotected. From there, we unpack the widow’s penalty: how one Social Security check disappears, why taxes can rise when filing status shifts from married to single, and how IRMAA can increase Medicare premiums. If most of your wealth sits in a traditional 401(k) or IRA, withdrawals may become fully taxable at the exact moment the household has less income and less margin for error. We also challenge the “life insurance is always bad” talking point with a more complete fiduciary lens: tax planning, estate planning, beneficiary reviews, decumulation strategy, and building tax-free options like Roth money or properly designed cash value life insurance. Brad explains how tax-free buckets can help retirees avoid selling investments during a market downturn, and why planning before the funeral is the only version that works. If you want a retirement income plan built for real-world shocks, not just spreadsheets, listen now. Then subscribe, share this with someone you love, and leave a review so more families can find the information before they need it. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com

You can feel the electricity of the World Cup from blocks away, but the real shock hits when you start doing the math. After traveling to Dallas for a match at AT&T Stadium, I walked through the crowds, watched the lines in the gift shops, saw the $249 authentic jerseys, and realized something every retirement planner should talk about: “once in a lifetime” spending can quietly become a lifetime financial tradeoff. We break down what a World Cup trip can realistically cost a family of four when you total up tickets, flights, hotels, Ubers, food, and souvenirs. Then we go one step deeper and calculate the opportunity cost using compound interest. What does $10,000 spent today cost a 45-year-old in retirement dollars? What about a 35-year-old or a 25-year-old with decades for compounding to work? This is the kind of retirement planning conversation that turns vague guilt into clear choices. From there, we shift into wealth-building fundamentals: how surprisingly “small” daily savings habits can add up to a million dollars, and why mindset matters more than hype. I also share lessons from Tom Hegna’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, including the three phases of wealth: building, protecting, and distributing, plus the money leaks that derail families over time. We close with a candid warning I learned from being a soccer novice who could still “look like an expert” to outsiders: don’t confuse marketing with competence. If you’re trusting someone with your life savings, do your homework. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s planning retirement, and leave a review so more families can hear the message. Send us Fan Mail To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com