Branning Wealth Management, LLC

10/16/2026

Giving $10,000 to charity this year? If you’re 70½ or older with an IRA, how you give may matter as much as how much.

Full episode of Ten Minutes Wealthier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f60VjsAml0I&list=PLM_M2F-8Grx4&index=15

For educational purposes only; not tax advice. Talk with your tax professional about your situation.

10/14/2026

Medicare open enrollment runs October 15 through December 7. 📋

Here’s something many people don’t realize: your Medicare premiums are based on your income from two years ago. A Roth conversion or large withdrawal this year could raise your premiums down the road.

Coverage and income decisions work best when they’re planned together. If you’d like a second set of eyes on yours, we’re here to help. branwealth.com

10/08/2026

You’ve probably seen the headline: Social Security “runs out” in 2032. Here’s what it leaves out. The date marks the end of the retirement trust fund’s reserves, not the end of the program. Even with no action from Congress, incoming payroll taxes are projected to cover about 78% of scheduled benefits.

In this Ten Minutes Wealthier extra, Jason explains what that means for your plan and why fear shouldn’t drive your claiming decision. Watch or listen at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6U6oI0zs9c&list=PLM_M2F-8Grx4&index=14

For educational purposes only. Not individualized advice. Projections are estimates and subject to change.

10/02/2026

Isn't a safety-first approach too conservative?" 🤔

We hear this a lot. When we walk through the math, it might surprise you. Once a bond ladder is sized to your actual income needs, you may end up holding more in stocks than a traditional portfolio. Safety first, not safety only.

Jason and Kristi address some of the questions we have gotten lately from prospective clients.

🎧 Listen to the full episode of 10 Minutes Wealthier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czUr0e7Eupk&list=PLM_M2F-8Grx4&index=13

Hypothetical example for illustration only. Not individualized investment advice.

10/01/2026

When was the last time you actually looked at your paystub?

Not just your take-home pay, but your retirement contributions, taxes, benefits, and where your money is going.

Your paystub can tell you a lot about your overall financial picture - and it only takes a few minutes to review.

Johnson Rhett put together 7 things worth checking on your next paycheck.

Read the full article below.

When was the last time you looked at your paystub? I mean really looked at it. If you're like most working professionals, your routine probably looks something like this: open the PDF (or glance at...

09/30/2026

I know it's hard to believe, but we're heading into the last quarter of the year. 🍂

Before the holidays fill up the calendar, now is a good time to pause and look at a few planning items that often get pushed to the last minute:

🔹 Required minimum distributions, which generally must be taken by December 31
🔹 Medicare open enrollment, which runs October 15 through December 7
🔹 Charitable giving, including gifts of appreciated assets or qualified charitable distributions
🔹 Tax-loss harvesting and a review of capital gains
🔹 Roth conversions, which count toward this year's taxable income only if completed by December 31
🔹 HSA funding, a chance to review your contributions before year-end
🔹 Beneficiary designations, especially if your family changed this year

A few thoughtful decisions now can help you head into the new year feeling organized instead of rushed.

At Branning Wealth Management, we help families work through these questions as part of an ongoing, fee-only planning process, so year-end becomes a checkpoint rather than a scramble.

📅 Let's connect before the season gets busy: branwealth.com

09/24/2026

Cash feels safe. No market swings, no red numbers, no surprises. So why do we still call it risky?

In this clip from our latest Ten Minutes Wealthier episode, Johnson Rhett and Kelly Jennings explain a risk that doesn't show up on a statement but shows up every time you go to the grocery store: inflation. If your cash is earning less than everyday costs are rising, you're losing purchasing power even while your balance stays the same.

It's a good reminder that "safe" and "risk-free" aren't always the same thing, and why we think about risk differently at Branning Wealth Management.

Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peFecjWSq8w&t=10s

Educational content only, not personalized investment advice. Examples are hypothetical. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

09/23/2026

Every year, Wall Street analysts predict where the S&P 500 will end up. Every year, it's worth asking: how often are they right?

Looking back over the past 5 years, the market's actual return has landed completely outside the full range of predictions in 4 out of 5 years, not just missing the average forecast, missing every forecast, high and low.

It's a good reminder that market predictions, even from professionals, aren't something to build a financial plan around. That's why we focus on strategies built for uncertainty, not strategies that depend on guessing right.

Chart credit: Dimensional Fund Advisors. Source: Bloomberg, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Full chart and methodology: https://my.dimensional.com/one-pagers/making-accurate-market-predictions-is-hard

09/22/2026

Market volatility feels different once you're retired (or close to it).

When you're still working, a down market is background noise, you keep contributing, keep investing, and give it time to recover.

But once you start drawing from your portfolio, a down market raises a real question: will I have to sell investments at a loss just to cover my bills this year?

That's not a market problem. That's a planning problem, and it has a planning solution.

In our latest post, Kelly Jennings, breaks down how we build retirement income in layers, so near-term spending is protected while long-term investments get the time they need to recover. It's the same thinking behind our Safety-First approach: the plan is built to handle a down market before one ever happens.

Read it here:

Quick AnswerMarket volatility becomes more significant near retirement because investors typically have less time to recover from major losses while also beginning to rely on portfolio income. The...

09/17/2026

Most people preparing for retirement are doing something. Reading articles. Watching videos. Following the forecasts.

It feels like progress. And it's how someone can spend three years getting more informed without ever getting an answer to the only question that matters — when can I retire, and how much can I spend.

Sam Buchanan's line for it on the newest episode: start planning, stop consuming.

The information is general. Your tax situation isn't. Neither are your goals, or your timeline, or what you actually want the money to do.

branwealth.com/podcast

Educational content only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.