A list of the most generous people in America came out recently and it’s no surprise that the list included some of the world’s wealthiest people. The article got us thinking about charitable donations and how they fit into a retirement plan.

For some some people, giving is a high priority while others give what they can. What you do with your money will always be your decision, but we want to make sure you have the ability to give to causes close to your heart if you choose. We hear a lot of people say that they would like to give more but need to grow their income and savings before doing so, but this can often be solved with a clear plan.

On this episode of Money Wisdom, Joel will talk about this topic, which has always been important to him. His father made it his life’s work to help people in poor countries through donating his money and his time, and that’s something Joel has always carried with him.

The plan for this show is to share stories of clients and their charitable donations. It’s not so much about how much but rather how those goals were incorporated into our retirement conversation. There have been many times where we were able to make people comfortable with giving away money because they knew their financial future was secure. Then there’s the other side of it where we’ve worked with people that were not balancing their portfolio so we had to slow down how much they were giving away so they didn’t run out of money.

That’s the goal for this episode and we’re always glad when someone wants to talk about donating.

Mailbag Questions

The second half of the show will take questions from our listeners, which you can always submit through our website. We love these questions because they tackle three critical topics: forced to retire early, taxes in retirement, and retirement income.

So the first asks about a scenario we are seeing a lot. An employee is given the option to retire early and take a severance plus a pension buyout or they can continue working for another five years or so and get their full pension. In this case, we’re glad to see this person has the option because that’s not the case for everyone.

The second question is a great example of how planning ahead can save you money. This listener will be retiring this year (congratulations!) and has a nice chunk of vacation time and sick pay that will be included in their final check. Now they need to decide whether to take that payment this calendar year or wait one more month to retire when taxes could be lower. It’s a situation that needs some more info and Joel will do his best to answer.

The final question asks about selling your home when you move into a new one. This person has the option to sell and invest the money or keep it and generate rental income in retirement. Which of these will benefit the retiree more?

It’s another packed episode of the podcast so let’s get started. Check out the timestamps below to skip around to different topics. Thanks for listening!

[0:34] – In the News: Forbes released the list of the most charitable billionaires. Charity has always been close to Joel’s heart.

[2:55] – What does generosity look like for our clients? What kind of giving do we see?

[5:12] – Here’s the story of a client that we worked with to build a plan to included setting up a family foundation.

[6:27] – Joel explains donor-advised funds.  

[7:17] – We’ve had situations where we had to help clients pull back on their giving because the money might run out.  

[9:15] – There are times where you have to build a plan for someone before they actually realize they have enough to give.

[10:45] – Mailbag question #1: I’m 60 and I’ve been given two options at work. Keep working for 5-6 years and retire with a pension or retire now, take a severance package and a pension buyout.    

[12:27] – Mailbag question #2: I’m retiring at the end of this year with 18 weeks of vacation and sick leave that I’ll get paid for. If my last paycheck in December, all of that will go towards taxes next year. Should I wait a month to retire so the payout comes next year?

[14:07] – Mailbag question #3: We’re currently building our dream home and will move in in the next year or so. Should we sell the house and invest the cash or keep it as a rental for retirement income?