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Safe Money Radio with Brad Pistole
Safe Money Radio host Brad Pistole is a nationally recognized Financial Professional who specializes in planning that protects principal from stock market volatility and creates guaranteed lifetime income. Listen here to receive insights from Brad and hear what he has to say regarding retirement income planning.
Episodes
144 episodes
Roth Conversions Explained With The Five-Year Rules
“Convert or not convert?” sounds like a simple yes-or-no question until you run headfirst into the Roth IRA rulebook. We break it down in plain English, starting with the real difference between tax-deferred retirement accounts like traditional...
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Stop Betting Your Retirement On Perfect Timing
The market can drop hard, surge 1,125 points in a day, then whipsaw you again and that’s a nightmare if you’re retiring right as you start taking withdrawals. I talk straight about what I’m seeing at the end of Q1 2026, including a real panic c...
Seven Smart Reasons To DELAY Social Security
Social Security isn’t a “pick a date and hope” decision, it’s a lifetime income lever that can change your retirement and your spouse’s future. We’ve heard all the noise: claim at 62, Social Security is going broke, take it and run. We slow it ...
7 Reasons to Claim Social Security EARLY!
The internet is packed with confident Social Security advice, but a lot of it collapses the moment you apply the real rules. We dig into why the “just claim at 62” message spreads, what parts of it are true, and where it can flat-out mislead yo...
A Clear Guide To Social Security Claiming With Real History And Real Numbers
Social Security is one of the biggest levers in retirement income planning, yet most people still make their claiming decision with a rule of thumb and a half-remembered story from a friend. We wanted to fix that. From our brand new studio, we ...
Maximize Social Security in 2026 with Joseph Jordan
Social Security is not just a government benefit. It’s a lifetime income decision that can define how retirement feels at 75, 85, or 95. We sit down with industry veteran Joseph Jordan to unpack why claiming rules feel confusing, why so many fa...
How To Plan For Parents’ Care And Protect Retirement Income with Heather Schreiber
Your retirement plan can get blindsided by one question you never budgeted for: “What happens if my parent can’t live alone anymore?” We get real about the moment caregiving begins and why it feels like you’re solving ten problems at once: safe...
How Medicare's IRMAA Can Erode Your Social Security Benefit feat. Paul Morrison
IRMAA isn’t a headline; it’s a hidden drain on retirement income that too many people meet for the first time in a letter. We sit down with our friend and IRMAA specialist Paul Morrison to expose how Medicare’s income-related monthly adjustment...
How To Bulletproof A Retirement Income Plan
A plan that looks perfect on paper can fall apart in a single day. We walk through two true stories that start with strong income, low rates, and tidy portfolios—and then get hit by the kind of events that no spreadsheet can predict. A cancer d...
Tax Myths, RMD Rules, And Smarter Retirement Moves for 2026
Tax season doesn’t have to feel like a gut punch. We pull back the curtain on the biggest myths—why a refund is not a win, why the “IRA deduction saves taxes” line is misleading, and how required minimum distributions can hijack your retirement...
From Journalism To Retirement Insights With ThinkAdvisor’s John Manganaro
Ever felt that jolt of panic when you imagine your savings running out too soon? We brought in ThinkAdvisor’s John Manganaro to pull fear out of the shadows and replace it with a plan. John’s journey from late-night policy reporting to leading ...
From Net Worth To Income: A Woman’s Retirement Playbook with Lynn Toomey
What if the safest path to a confident retirement starts with who you are, not how much you’ve saved? We sit down with Lynn Toomey, founder of Her Retirement and the More for Her Collective, to unpack a human-first approach that helps women fee...
Dave Ramsey Says Buy Term; Brad Does The Math And Brings Receipts
Imagine retirement income that ignores market swings while your heirs receive wealth without a tax surprise. That’s the blueprint we unpack as we walk through how permanent life insurance and lifetime annuities can lock in essentials, create ta...
Social Security 2026 Made Simple with Heather Schreiber
A comfortable retirement isn’t built on hope or hot tips; it’s built on coordination. We sit down with Social Security strategist Heather Schreiber to unpack what’s new for 2026, why a 2.8% COLA can feel smaller after Medicare premium hikes, an...
How To Keep The Governments Hands Off Your Retirement
A one-hour package turned into a 19-day odyssey across four states and seven planes—and it’s the perfect lens for understanding what happens when your retirement is ruled by someone else’s playbook. We take that vivid detour and map it onto 401...
The 10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Retire
Most people picture retirement as endless Saturdays, but the real question is what those Saturdays look like and how you’ll pay for them. We take you through the ten questions that shape a confident future: how to define your daily purpose, whe...
How Free Dinners Can Cost Your Future
The steak is free. The advice isn’t. We pull back the curtain on the seminar ecosystem targeting people near retirement with glossy mailers, “nonprofit” classes, and polished scripts that funnel you into preselected products—often before anyone...
Mexican Food, Deer Season, And Your 401(k)!
New year, new stakes—we’re celebrating our 17th year on the air and more than 800 shows with two big announcements: we’ve doubled our office space to expand service in the Ozarks, and we’re launching recurring “Ask Heather” segments with nation...
A Year Of Safe Money: Highlights, Guests, And New Tax Breaks
A year of milestones and momentum meets a simple truth: income is the outcome. We look back at 2025 with gratitude and clarity, sharing what really moved the needle for retirees and pre-retirees—fresh tax opportunities, smarter Social Security ...
Retirement Then And Now: What It Really Takes to Retire in 2026
Prices change, risks evolve, and so do the rules of a secure retirement. We take a time jump from 1971 to 1989, 2001, 2008, and today to uncover what history teaches about building income you can trust. Along the way, Brad shares personal stori...
800th Episode Special featuring Dr. Wade Pfau, Tom Hegna, Ed Slott, Heather Schreiber and Sheryl Moore,
Eight hundred shows in, the mission hasn’t changed: build income you can trust so you can sleep well at night. To celebrate the milestone, we brought together five leaders whose work has shaped modern retirement planning—Tom Hegna on the go‑go,...
Mastering ROTH IRA's for Retirement Success featuring Ed Slott
You don’t build a great retirement by guessing the market’s next swing; you build it by owning your tax future. To mark our 800th show, we sit down with Ed Slott, America’s IRA expert, to map a clear path from tax-deferred uncertainty to tax-fr...
Dr. Riley Moynes - Navigating The Four Phases Of Retirement
The first year after you stop working feels like a dream—then real life shows up. We map the true shape of retirement through four phases: the thrilling vacation year, the unexpected season of loss and being lost, the trial-and-error reset, and...
How To Use QCDs, Plan RMDs, And Win The Roth Game with Sarah Brenner from Ed Slott & Co.
Taxes don’t retire when you do, which is why smart planning now can save you stress and money later. We sit down with attorney and retirement expert Sarah Brenner to unpack the most powerful moves you can make before year-end and the major rule...
Retirement Needs More Than Money: Purpose, Health, Connection, & Growth
What if the biggest risk to your retirement isn’t market volatility, but waking up to a calendar with nothing that matters on it? We dig into the side of planning most people ignore—how to design days that feel purposeful, healthy, and connecte...