While retirement planning is critical, it’s also complex. Simply understanding your 401(k) can take plenty of research — and that’s not to mention getting a grasp of all of the other options and accounts at your disposal. Plus, if you want to retire early, some traditional pieces of financial advice might not help you achieve your goals. Fortunately, retirement savings podcasts can help you close those crucial knowledge gaps in an entertaining, educational way.
Whether you want to know how to build a pre-retirement checklist, choose the right investments for your portfolio or properly plan how much you’ll need to retire comfortably, podcasts can give you a range of insights in an easy-to-absorb form. With that in mind, here’s a look at the 10 top retirement savings podcasts for 2022.
Retirement Starts Today Radio
Hosted by fee-only financial adviser Benjamin Brandt, Retirement Starts Today Radio features weekly 30-minute episodes that cover nearly every retirement topic imaginable. Whether you want to learn how to identify scams or deal with rising insurance premiums, there are episodes for you.
Generally, Retirement Starts Today Radio is a solid choice for anyone looking for a conventional path to a typical retirement. Since there are new episodes each week, you can find timely information about new concerns mixed in with traditional topics that can benefit anyone.
If you aren’t sure where to start, the “All Things Social Security With Devin Carroll” episode is an excellent primer on that subject, while “Supporting Loved Ones Without Derailing Your Retirement” is filled with tidbits that are beneficial for listeners at all experience levels.
Retirement Answer Man
If you’re looking for tips about how to save for retirement, Retirement Answer Man could be your ideal podcast. Roger Whitney — the host and a Certified Financial Planner — gives you insights on a range of topics, including traveling after retiring, living without a paycheck and estimating your financial needs before retirement.
Some of the more intriguing episodes focus on surprisingly straightforward questions, including “How should I pay for big-ticket expenses near retirement?” and “Can I count on average returns and inflation for retirement?” However, there are also some niche subjects in the mix, allowing you to get answers to specialized questions that don’t apply to every situation.
Sound Retirement Radio
With the Sound Retirement podcast, you get critical insights from financial professional Jason Parker. The information is current, easy to follow and well-delivered, and it often answers basic questions people have about planning for their upcoming retirement.
If you want to get a feel for the podcast, episodes like “How Much Money Is Enough to Retire?” and “The 7 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid When Preparing for Retirement” are excellent starting points. After that, you can enjoy real retirement stories or insights about current economic conditions and the ways they could affect you.
The Money Guy Show
With longer episodes than some other podcasts on this list, The Money Guy Show often takes deep dives into topics. Plus, cohosts Brian Preston, a Certified Financial Planner and CPA, and Bo Hanson, a Certified Financial Planner and CFA, make the subjects a bit entertaining — all while ensuring the information is accessible to most listeners.
Technically, The Money Guy Show isn’t solely focused on retirement. However, with episodes like “The Truth About the FIRE Movement” and “Secret 401(k) Strategies That No One Talks About,” there’s plenty of retirement-specific information available.
Rogue Retirement Lounge
Rogue Retirement Lounge specifically targets entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals, offering advice to those who may find traditional approaches inaccessible due to the nature of their roles. Host Matt Franklin dives into topics like alternative investments, cash-flowing assets and risk reduction, along with tax and asset protection strategies.
The episode “Always Question Financial Advice From Mainstream Media Sources” is a worthwhile listen, especially if you normally turn to everyday news outlets and similar resources for your research. Just be aware that the host uses a decidedly rough-around-the-edges style, so it may not resonate with everyone.
Retirement Wisdom
With the Retirement Wisdom podcast, you get a slightly different take on retirement planning. This show focuses on what life after retirement is like and how to reinvent yourself once you stop working full-time. While there’s certainly sound financial advice, some of the content is also lifestyle-focused, which provides a solid, well-rounded content mix.
Episodes like “The Emotional Side of Retiring” can help you see retirement beyond the money. “The Four Phases of Retirement” is also intriguing; it’ll show you how retirement is a journey, not a destination.
My Smart Retirement
Hosted by Nancy and Sean Fleming, My Smart Retirement is an outstanding option for anyone seeking practical advice that applies to everyday people. It helps you separate fact from fiction using a tried-and-true approach to counteract random fads and misinformation.
One particularly interesting episode is “Are These Popular Retirement Rules Still Effective?” It dives into standard advice people come across when planning to exit the workforce and is a must-listen if you want a modern take on traditional insights.
401(k) Fridays
Hosted by Rick Unser, 401(k) Fridays is designed for employers, retirement plan sponsors and similar audiences. As a result, those who oversee or administer employer-sponsored retirement plans are going to get the most value from the podcast. Episodes like “401(k) Plan Fees: Benchmarking Determine Value & Reasonableness” and “Recruiting & Workplace Retirement Plans: Does Your 401(k) Help Talent Sign on the Dotted Line?” are worthwhile listens if you’re in the industry — many in the field have this podcast in their weekly rotation.
Renovating Retirement
Hosted by Charlie Jewett, Renovating Retirement aims to rock the boat a bit by focusing on industry tricks and the ways some “experts” operating in the finance sector use skewed information to take advantage of people. Its position isn’t going to resonate with everyone, but the unconventional approach can be enlightening in some cases.
“Not Growing Your Accounts on Purpose” is an intriguing episode. The same goes for “Taxes Are Awesome.” Ultimately, while non-traditional, this podcast is chock full of interesting tidbits that might appeal to you if you appreciate Jewett’s style.
Friends on FIRE
When it comes to the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) Movement, Friends on FIRE is an excellent resource for helpful information. Hosts Mike and Maggie achieved financial independence before age 40, and they use a friendly, accessible approach when sharing information.
If you’re looking for a solid primer, try the “How to get started toward financial freedom” episode. “Why you never have enough time or money and how to fix it” is also worth a listen, as is “Control your lifestyle to find financial freedom.”
