Did you know crossing an income line by just $1 in retirement could cost you and your spouse thousands of dollars every year?
In this episode 60 of the Ideas by Mike™, Mike Milligan, CFP sits down with Mark Annese, IRMAACP™, a technologist, data analyst, and creator of the IRMAA Certified Planner designation (now merged with the National Social Security Association).
Mark Annese explains how the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) acts as a hidden tax surcharge on Medicare Part B and Part D premiums—and why most retirees don’t realize they’ve triggered it until it’s too late.
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment below!
Do you have any financial inquiries wanting to get answered?
Leave us an email – contact@mikemilligancfp.com
Call/Text Mike Milligan to help you out – 757-909-7151 Visit our website at: www.1oakfinancial.com Read our blogs to learn more insights: 1.oak Financial Blogs page
Episode 60 of Ideas by Mike™ with Mark Annese, IRMAACP™ is also available on YouTube!
In this latest episode of Ideas by Mike™, our guest speaker, Erika Wasserman shares a deep-frame work and explains the history why retirement as an emotional and subconscious journey, drawing in listeners searching for deeper understanding. It then unpacks Erica’s key insights with concrete examples, tools, and frameworks—highlighting tangible benefits and outcomes.
Erica Wasserman, a renowned financial therapist, reveals how childhood stories, cultural beliefs, and subconscious patterns shape your money decisions today—and how recognizing these stories can transform your retirement journey. Erica guides us through how to identify and reframe these deep-rooted beliefs, so they serve your future—not sabotage it.
You’ll discover the surprising power of renaming your retirement accounts to boost motivation, learn simple exercises to connect with your retirement vision, and understand why emotional readiness is equally vital as financial planning.
With practical tools like conversation cards and a step-by-step framework, Erica shows how even the toughest talks—about money, aging parents, or transitioning roles—can be approached with confidence and clarity.
This episode breaks down the common money myths that keep couples silent, explores the critical conversations for harmony, and shares how to create a flexible, meaningful retirement—what Erica calls Phase Three—where passion, purpose, and financial security blend seamlessly.
If you or your clients are approaching retirement or questioning their money mindset, this is your essential guide to navigating it with emotional intelligence and purpose.
Perfect for financial advisors, couples preparing for retirement, or anyone ready to make their money story work for them—not against them.
Don’t let subconscious scripts define your future; learn to tell a new, empowering story today.
________________________________________
About Our Guest:
Erika Wasserman is CEO of Your Financial Therapist, which she founded in 2019. As a Certified Financial Therapist CFT™, a sought-after certification held by only 100 people in the world, she combines her education in finance and international economics with her passion for helping others, empowering individuals, couples, and companies to reshape the way they think about money.
Do you have any financial inquiries wanting to get answered?
Leave us an email – contact@mikemilligancfp.com
Or Call/Text Mike Milligan to help you out – 757-909-7151
Stop focusing only on the spreadsheet and start designing a life that matters. Join Mike Milligan, CFP® and design sociologist Dr. Gary David as they explore the human side of retirement, from navigating the “identity cliff” to the sociology of meaningful moments.
Learn how to transition from a job title to a purposeful new chapter, bridge the communication gap with your spouse about legacy and money, and create “storyable” experiences that last a lifetime. Whether you are a pre-retiree or already in your next phase, discover why retirement is a sociology project, not just a financial one.
Watch it on YouTube and don’t forget to subscribe for more!
About our Guest:
About our Guest: Dr. Gary David is a professor of sociology and experience design at Bentley University, where he has taught for over 25 years. He holds a PhD in sociology from Wayne State University and specializes in the intersection of how humans relate to one another and the art of designing meaningful experiences.
As a design sociologist, keynote speaker, and host of the Experience by Design podcast, Dr. David studies how individuals build connection, belonging, and meaning, particularly during major life transitions like retirement.
His professional background also includes judging international customer experience awards and applying his expertise in conversational analysis and linguistics to help people navigate the complex human elements of work, identity, and personal relationships.
In this latest episode of Ideas by Mike™, Dr. Ives Machiz, PhD, CFP®, a fee-only pioneer, shares lessons from 4 careers on retiring into purpose. Learn how coaching and financial education build self-sufficiency & reduce anxiety.
Join Ideas by Mike™ host Mike Milligan, CFP® & Dr. Ives Machiz, PhD, CFP®, a clinical assistant professor and financial planning pioneer, shares the wisdom gained from his extraordinary four-part career: founding a fee-only firm in the 1980s, teaching high school, navigating a family business exit, and earning a PhD.
They both tackled and discusses the emotional nature of retirement and business transitions, the core lessons of self-sufficiency from coaching basketball, the relationship between financial education and health, and the advisor’s critical role in building client trust to mitigate financial anxiety.
This episode offers essential retirement advice for pre-retirees seeking to leap from working to living a one-of-a-kind life.
Key Takeaways:
Objective Advice Requires Total Alignment: True fiduciary planning centers entirely on the individual’s specific long-term goals rather than a high-pressure push for a specific item, commission, or asset product.
Master the Fundamentals First: Successful retirement planning is built on basic, non-glamorous behaviors: consistent long-term saving, clear spending budgets, and maintaining discipline through fluctuating financial environments.
Transitions Are Emotional First: Selling a business, leaving a job, or entering retirement forces individuals into an identity vacuum. You must establish a clear plan for your lifestyle and purpose before executing the final financial liquidation.
The Inherent Value of a Third-Party Fiduciary: Much like medical professionals who refuse to treat their own families, everyday investors need neutral professionals to remove toxic emotion from highly personal wealth decisions.
About our Guest:
Dr. Ives Machiz, PhD, CFP® earned his doctorate in Personal Financial Planning from Kansas State University. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the personal Financial Planning program at Arizona State University. (Source link)
Ever faced a mountain and thought, “I can’t do this?” This episode serves as a way to combat this thought.
As the calendar turns to 2025, Mike Milligan recounts an incredible journey to Peru’s Rainbow Mountain and draws parallels to the journey of retirement planning. Learn how each individual step, supported by a trusted guide, can lead you to breathtaking highs in your financial life.
Mike shares the importance of personalized financial planning, exploring the value of having an experienced guide in crafting your unique financial path. With stories of breathtaking adventures and overcoming limits, he ties these experiences back to helping you achieve the retirement of your dreams.
Key discussion points include:
The significance of taking small, consistent steps in retirement planning (10:00)
Understanding how personalized plans can lead to unique financial experiences (14:59)
Get to know the team behind Ideas By Mike™ and how they contribute to crafting individualized plans (16:30)
The power of asking “What makes you one of a kind?” in developing a personal financial strategy (19:00)
With the right financial plan, it’s entirely possible to keep those “paychecks” coming, even after you stop working.
This week on Ideas by Mike™, Mike Milligan, CFP®, dives into the second critical element of the Ideas by Mike™ one-of-a-kind financial planning process, retirement income. Highlighting personal experiences and historical insights, Mike unveils actionable steps to help secure your financial future without fear of running out of money.
Mike discusses:
The first step of his one-page financial plans, tax planning, and how retirement income planning builds off of that
Different methods to help you obtain consistent retirement income
Historical insights into the evolution of pensions and retirement systems
Innovative tools such as income forecasters that the Ideas by Mike™ team uses to alleviate financial fears for retirees
Did you know that over 56% of Americans now feel they pay more than their fair share in taxes?
This frustration is only growing.
So, let’s dive into how you can approach tax planning to keep more of your hard-earned money!
Join Mike Milligan, CFP®, as he unpacks the history of taxes in the United States, the impact of tax planning on your financial future, and practical steps to take control of your tax liabilities. Follow along to hear about the partnership Ideas by Mike™ has to help you navigate your tax situation and how their holistic approach could help you reach your retirement goals.
Mike discusses:
The historical context of tax rates in the United States and their current implications
How tax planning is the foundation of all real financial planning
The top 3 frustrations surrounding tax obligations
How their partnership with Holistiplan provides clients with comprehensive, personalized tax planning strategies
