Should Whole Life Insurance Be Part Of Your Retirement Plan (Part 2)?

In this article, we are going to consider what role, if any, whole life insurance might play in your retirement income plan. Although the death benefit is still in view, the focus here is on leveraging the cash-value (investment) component to help fund your retirement income stream. More and more retirement planning professionals are emphasizing … Read more

Should Whole Life Insurance Be Part Of Your Retirement Plan (Part 1)?

A reader recently asked me to take a look at a retirement planning (funding) method using permanent life insurance espoused by Nelson Nash in his book Becoming Your Own Banker. In addition to the life insurance benefit, the author discusses a “be your own bank” approach to funding major life purchases. He also recommends using permanent … Read more

My New Book, “Reimagine Retirement: Planning and Living for the Glory of God,” Has Been Released!

Well, folks, I have great news: as of today, my new book, Reimagine Retirement: Planning and Living for the Glory of God, has been released by B&H Publishing (LifeWay)! It is a project I have been working on for about 18 months, and I am thrilled to announce that it is available to order from LifeWay.com, Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, … Read more

Stock Market Volatility and “The Prudent Man Rule”

In case you haven’t noticed, after a relatively “quiet” first half of 2019, volatility has returned to the financial markets in a big way. The stock market was down about 3 percent just the other day. As I understand it, uneasiness about a trade war with China, a global economic slowdown, and increasing tensions with … Read more

Should I Include Annuities in my Retirement Plan (Part 3)?

In this, the third and final article in this series on annuities, I am going to look at variable annuities. Although sales of fixed index annuities have recently outpaced variable annuities, they remain very popular among new annuity purchasers. Also, since you may be pitched one by your friendly insurance rep or financial advisor, I … Read more

Should I Include Annuities in my Retirement Plan (Part 2)?

In my last article, I looked at immediate fixed-income annuities and discussed whether I might want to include them as a part of my overall retirement income plan. Guaranteed payments for life are their strong suit (helps mitigate “longevity risk”). But, as I noted, one of my major concerns about immediate fixed-income annuities is that … Read more

5 Ways Congress May Make it Easier to Plan for Retirement

As a reader of this blog, you know that we hold to the position that the Bible teaches that it’s good to wisely save and invest for the future, including a time in “retirement” (Prov. 6-11, Prov. 21:20), and also to be “rich toward God” by “storing up treasures in heaven” (Luke 12:21; Matt. 6:19–21). … Read more