Derek J. Delaney - PharmD Financial Planning LLC

Derek J. Delaney - PharmD Financial Planning LLC Welcome to PharmD Financial Planning. I am a flat-fee, fiduciary, and location-independent retirement planner.

My mission is to help my clients give themselves permission to retire. To learn more about PharmD FP, check-out the firms disclosures here 👇
https://pharmdfp.com/disclosures

08/31/2026

Your Social Security check may get a raise next year.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll feel richer.

AARP currently estimates the 2027 Social Security COLA could be around 3.5%.

For someone receiving $3,000 per month, that would mean roughly another $105 per month.

Sounds good, right?

The problem is that the increase is happening because the cost of living is rising too.

Groceries.
Insurance.
Property taxes.
Healthcare.
Travel.

That’s the bigger retirement planning issue.

Retirement could last 25 or 30 years, and the lifestyle you can afford at age 65 may cost a lot more by age 85.

For example, a $100,000 lifestyle today would cost roughly $181,000 in 20 years with 3% inflation.

That’s why retirement planning shouldn’t just answer:

“Do I have enough to retire today?”

It should answer:

“Can my income keep up with my lifestyle for the rest of my life?”

That means coordinating Social Security, investments, taxes, healthcare costs, and your withdrawal strategy.

If you’re within five years of retirement and want to know whether your income plan can keep up with inflation, taxes, and the life you want to live, schedule a Retirement Readiness Call with me today.

08/24/2026

Higher interest rates aren’t necessarily bad news for retirement.

That may sound strange after years of headlines about rising borrowing costs and bond market volatility.

But if you’re approaching retirement, there’s another side to the story.

For a long time, conservative investments paid next to nothing.

That made it difficult for retirees to earn a meaningful return without taking more risk.

Today, higher yields can make cash, CDs, Treasuries, and high-quality bonds much more useful in a retirement plan.

And that matters because one of the biggest risks in retirement isn’t simply that the stock market goes down.

It’s being forced to sell stocks while they’re down just to pay your bills.

A thoughtful retirement income plan can help create different places to pull money from:

• Cash for near-term spending
• Bonds for intermediate needs
• Stocks for long-term growth
• Social Security and pensions for dependable income
• A tax strategy for deciding which accounts to use first

The goal isn’t to perfectly predict where interest rates or the stock market are headed next.

The goal is to build a retirement plan that doesn’t require you to.

If retirement is getting close, don’t just ask:

“Have I saved enough?”

Also ask:

“How will everything I’ve saved actually turn into a paycheck once I stop working?”

That’s where retirement planning gets real.

08/17/2026

A bigger Social Security raise sounds like good news.

But there’s a catch.

Current estimates suggest Social Security benefits could increase by more than 3% in 2027.

Why?

Because things are getting more expensive.

That’s the part of retirement planning people often underestimate.

If your lifestyle costs $100,000 today, at 3% inflation that same lifestyle could cost roughly:

$134,000 in 10 years

$181,000 in 20 years

$243,000 in 30 years

You’re not necessarily living better.

You’re just paying more to live the same life.

That’s why retirement planning shouldn’t start with:

“How much money do I have?”

A better question is:

“How do I turn what I’ve saved into a rising stream of income that can support me for the next 30+ years?”

That means coordinating:

• Social Security

• Investments

• Withdrawal strategy

• Taxes

• Roth conversions

• Medicare costs

Retirement isn’t just about having enough money on Day 1.

It’s about making sure your money can keep up on Day 10,000.

If you’re within five years of retirement and wondering whether your savings can support the retirement you want, that’s exactly the type of question I help people answer.

08/10/2026

What if the Fed gets it wrong?

That’s not a criticism.

It’s a reminder.

Right now, investors are trying to figure out what happens next with interest rates, inflation, employment, and the economy.

Will the Fed cut?

Will rates stay higher for longer?

Could inflation force a different path altogether?

Nobody knows for sure.

And if you’re retiring in the next few years, your retirement plan shouldn’t depend on getting that prediction right.

A strong retirement plan should be able to handle multiple outcomes.

If rates stay high, cash and fixed-rate assets may remain attractive.

If rates fall, bond prices may benefit.

If inflation stays stubborn, you still need enough long-term growth to protect your purchasing power.

And if markets get volatile?

You should already know where your next several years of retirement income are coming from.

That’s the bigger point.

Retirement planning is not about predicting the future.

It’s about building enough flexibility that you don’t have to.

Because over a 25- or 30-year retirement, something will eventually surprise us.

Probably more than once.

Your plan needs to be ready for that.

If you’re within five years of retirement and wondering whether your current strategy is built for uncertainty, that’s exactly the kind of question worth answering before you retire.

08/03/2026

The Fed stood still.

Your retirement plan shouldn’t.

Last week, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady again.

But the bigger takeaway is that even the experts do not agree on what comes next.

Some are worried about inflation.

Others are looking ahead to possible rate cuts.

Investors are trying to guess which direction the economy will move.

That is a tough game to win consistently.

And fortunately, a good retirement plan should not require you to win it.

Instead of trying to predict the next Fed decision, your plan should answer:

• How much should you keep in cash?

• Where will your income come from during a market decline?

• Should you lock in today’s interest rates?

• Are there tax-planning opportunities right now?

• How much can you comfortably spend if inflation stays elevated?

The goal is not to build a retirement plan that works under one perfect economic forecast.

The goal is to build one that can adjust when the forecast is wrong.

The Fed may change its mind.

The market certainly will.

Your retirement confidence should not have to change with them.

If you are within five years of retirement and want a clearer plan for turning your savings into dependable income, send me a message.

Retire with confidence, not questions.

07/27/2026

This week, the Federal Reserve will meet again to decide what to do with interest rates.

Financial television will analyze every word.

Investors will try to predict the market’s reaction.

And by the next morning, plenty of people will explain why the outcome was “obvious.”

But here’s the question that matters more:

Should one Federal Reserve meeting change your retirement plan?

Probably not.

Interest rates matter.

They affect bond prices, savings yields, mortgage rates, business activity, and the stock market.

But a successful retirement plan should not depend on correctly predicting the Fed’s next move.

It should be built to handle several possible outcomes.

That means:

• Owning a diversified portfolio instead of chasing last year’s winner

• Creating a tax strategy before RMDs, Social Security, and Medicare premiums begin limiting your flexibility

• Building a retirement income plan that can adjust when markets, inflation, or life changes

The goal is not to predict every turn in the economy.

The goal is to build a retirement plan that can survive the turns you did not predict.

This is especially important during the five years before and after retirement.

A strong plan should help answer:

-How much can we comfortably spend?

-Where should our retirement income come from first?

-How much cash should we keep?

-Should we complete Roth conversions?

-When should we claim Social Security?

-What happens if the market falls shortly after we retire?

When those questions have clear answers, the Federal Reserve becomes something you monitor, not something that controls your future.

You do not need a perfect forecast to retire confidently.

You need a plan designed for an imperfect world.

Retire with confidence, not questions.

07/20/2026

When should you claim Social Security?

Unfortunately, retirement does not come with Bob Barker (I know Drew Carey is the host, but my mind still goes to Bob Barker when I think of The Price Is Right) saying:

“Come on down!”

Claiming at 62 can feel tempting, especially when headlines raise concerns about Social Security’s future.

But claiming early means accepting a permanently smaller monthly benefit.

For some people, that is the right decision.

For others, waiting can provide:

• More guaranteed income

• Better protection against living a long life

• A larger survivor benefit for a spouse

• More flexibility when coordinating taxes and retirement withdrawals

The key is to avoid treating Social Security like a game-show guess.

Your claiming decision should account for your health, spouse’s benefits, tax situation, other income sources, investment portfolio, and long-term spending needs.

There is no single “winning” claiming age for everyone.

The goal is not to beat the system.

The goal is to fit Social Security into a retirement-income strategy that helps you spend with confidence and worry less.

Retire with confidence, not questions.

Not sure when you should claim Social Security?

Schedule your free retirement consultation, and I'd be happy to share how I help integrate Social Security claiming decisions within a holistic retirement plan.

07/13/2026

I had a bad round of golf last weekend.

The kind where one bad shot turns into a bad hole, and one bad hole starts affecting the next three.

Golf has a way of reminding you that the perceived best decision now is not always the one that produces the best result overall.

Especially when focus and perspective are limited.

Sometimes you have to play the hole in front of you with the entire round in mind.

Social Security planning works the same way.

Most people ask:

“When should I claim my benefit?”

But for married couples, the better question may be:

“How will this decision affect both of us, especially the spouse who lives longer?”

When one spouse dies, the household generally loses one Social Security check.

That can lead to a meaningful drop in the surviving spouse's monthly income.

This is why delaying the higher earner’s benefit can sometimes make sense, even when a simple break-even calculation suggests claiming earlier.

A larger benefit today may eventually become a larger survivor benefit later.

Of course, delaying is not automatically the right move.

The decision should also consider:

• Health and family longevity

• The spouse’s benefit

• Retirement spending needs

• Taxes on withdrawals

• The assets available to fund the delay

• The surviving spouse’s long-term security

Social Security should not be planned in isolation.

The right strategy may also involve spending from investments earlier, completing Roth conversions, or temporarily drawing from taxable accounts.

The goal is not simply to maximize one Social Security check.

The goal is to create the strongest lifetime retirement-income plan for both spouses.

Much like golf, a decision can look good on one hole and still hurt the overall scorecard.

Good planning means thinking beyond the next shot.

If you are approaching retirement and unsure when to claim Social Security, that decision should be evaluated as part of your complete retirement plan.

If you are within five years of retirement and want help deciding when to claim Social Security, let's chat!

07/06/2026

The World Cup is a good reminder that preparation matters long before the pressure hits.

The teams still playing today did not arrive in the Round of 16 by hoping the match would go their way.

They built a plan, practiced it repeatedly, adjusted along the way, and prepared for the unexpected.

Retirement works much the same way.

For people nearing retirement, the question is rarely just, “Do we have enough money?”

The real questions are:

-How much can we spend without worrying?

-What happens if the market drops early in retirement?

-How do taxes, Social Security, healthcare, and investments all work together?

-Can we retire now, or do we need to keep working because we are afraid to make the wrong call?

A retirement plan should be more than a savings number.

It should be a game plan for turning decades of hard work into dependable income, tax-smart decisions, and the confidence to actually enjoy the years ahead.

The World Cup knockout stage is unforgiving.

Retirement does not have to be.

You get more than one chance to prepare.

06/29/2026

The latest Social Security Trustees Report delivered a headline that should get the attention of anyone nearing retirement:

The trust fund that supports retirement and survivor benefits is now projected to be depleted in 2032. One year sooner than previously expected.

That does not mean Social Security disappears in 2032.

Payroll taxes would still fund a large portion of benefits. But without congressional action, the report projects that only about 78% of scheduled retirement and survivor benefits could be payable at that point.

For people within a few years of retirement, this is not a reason to panic.

It is a reason to plan honestly.

A strong retirement plan should not depend on politicians making the exact right decision at the exact right time.

It should account for uncertainty, whether that is future Social Security benefits, tax rates, inflation, healthcare costs, or market returns.

The goal is not to predict every policy change.

The goal is to create enough flexibility that a policy change does not derail your retirement.

That may mean:

• Building a more conservative Social Security assumption into your plan

• Creating tax flexibility with different account types

• Establishing spending guardrails before retirement begins

• Avoiding the mistake of treating your Social Security estimate as guaranteed income

Retirement planning is not about having perfect answers to every future headline.

It is about being prepared enough that the headlines do not control your decisions.

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