From solar to oil, today's episode of Money On Tap is all about energy.
Ben, Dan and Seth also discuss college debt, investing in solar energy back in the 80's
and the fluctuating price of oil.
- What is the retirement red zone, and why does it matter? The retirement red zone is the roughly ten-year window covering the five years before and the five years after your retirement date. It matters more than almost any other period because of sequence-of-returns risk: a major market downturn while you’re beginning to withdraw income can permanently damage the plan, even if the market later recovers. Two people who invest identically but retire a few years apart can end up with opposite outcomes based solely on timing. Navigating the red zone means shifting from maximizing gains to mitigating losses — stress-testing the plan, building a cash runway, rebalancing, diversifying, and adding guardrails like buffered ETFs and guaranteed income.