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My (Mother’s) Biggest Retirement Mistake: Listening to the Wrong Financial Pro

‘Free’ advice could have cost her thousands in taxes on her Social Security benefits


spinner image Caryl Gobel
Caryl Gobel at Gainey Village in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Cassidy Araiza

Caryl Gobel was excited to retire from her job as a social worker with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Phoenix and start a new career in her mid-70s as a practicing therapist.

“I always wanted to do therapy, but I didn't get to do it at the VA because I worked in the homeless program,” connecting veterans in need with housing, food and medical care, she says. “I got an award from the secretary of the VA for the work I did with veterans and was proud of what I accomplished, but I just didn’t get to follow my dream yet of being a therapist.”

That was in 2021. She was receiving Social Security and a federal pension and anticipating income from her practice, “but in order to make it work [financially], I decided to take $1,000 per month of my savings out, too.”

I knew all this at the time, because Caryl Gobel is my mom. She told me a financial adviser was handling the disposition of her Thrift Savings Plan, the federal government’s version of a 401(k), and arranged for her to draw that $1,000 a month.

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Gregory Reid

What’s Your Biggest Retirement Mistake?

Retirement isn’t just about leaving a job. It's about changing your life — your routine, your budget, your priorities, where you live. It's decision after decision, and you don't always make the right one. Is there something you wish you’d done differently?

AARP Members Edition wants to hear about your retirement regrets. A mistimed exit from the office? A move to the wrong place? A relationship you gave up? Spending too much, or too little? Share your story at retirement@aarp.org and we might feature it in this series.

“Make sure to ask questions about how your withdrawals will affect your Social Security and your overall retirement plan,” I told her. I’ve written about personal finance for 20 years and had three books of the month in The Washington Post. But what do I know? She didn’t ask any questions.

“He didn’t bother me with details, and he didn’t charge me anything,” Mom says — he just rolled over her savings into an individual retirement account (IRA) and set up the monthly distribution. “I thought I only had so much time in the day, and I wanted to spend my time on other things besides listening to how to plan my finances. It’s boring.”

That approach extended to her business. She joined a Phoenix-area practice as an independent contractor “because they handle insurance and billing. I can just focus on therapy.”

“I’m retired,” she adds, recalling her thinking at the time. “I’m supposed to be living my purpose and doing what I want.”

‘Social Security is taxed?’

Three months later, in a swim class at her gym, Mom got to talking about her situation with a fellow swimmer who happened to be an accountant. “Are you planning for Social Security tax?” the woman asked.

“What?” Mom replied. “Social Security is taxed?”

After fretting for a few weeks, she called me, sheepish and anxious. I explained how up to 85 percent of her Social Security benefits could be taxable if her overall income exceeded $34,000. (Up to 50 percent of benefits can be taxed if you’re a single filer and your income is $25,000 to $34,000; below $25,000, Social Security is not taxable.)

The guy who handled her rollover neglected to mention that, depending on her other income, $12,000 a year from savings withdrawals could push her over the threshold and greatly increase her tax bill.

Chastened, she contacted Joi Whitley, a local tax accountant. (She was recommended by a former VA colleague who’d also gone into private therapy practice.) Whitley had Mom set up an S Corp, a business entity that can have tax advantages for a sole proprietor, and helped her claim work expenses on her taxes.

Mom had plenty of those from her first year of working independently — for business creation, continuing education, legal paperwork, travel costs, advertising and more. All that got her income below $34,000 and, all told, saved her $2,500 in taxes.

Whitley still works with Mom and keeps her financial anxiety in check by communicating regularly.

spinner image Caryl Gobel with her laptop
Caryl Gobel is following her retirement dream of working as a therapist.
Cassidy Araiza

“I work with your mom all year, and I send her monthly and quarterly statements. It helps her with knowing how much to put aside for taxes,” Whitley says. “If she's made more than we expected her to make, we discuss opportunities to save on taxes to keep her from going above income levels for higher Social Security taxes, such as spending a little bit more on business meals or networking."

In my mother’s defense, she didn’t have a lot of experience with this stuff. As with many couples of their generation, my late father had handled the family finances.

“I never looked at my bank accounts until after he died,” she says. “I wanted to finally be independent, but I still should have listened to my daughter. It doesn’t make me dependent to learn a little bit from her or my accountant.”

What the pros say

What Mom didn’t understand is that the financial professional she was taking advice from was probably an investment broker, not a financial planner. Brokers handle the buying and selling of investments and earn commissions on those transactions.

To Mom, who wasn’t paying the commissions, this was free help, “but everyone has to get paid somehow,” says Paul Brahim, a managing director at Wealth Enhancement Group and 2025 president of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), a membership organization serving certified financial planners.  “When choosing among financial professionals, ask how they are getting paid, such as commissions from CDs they are recommending.”

Financial planners get paid by charging fees to clients and offer a broader range of services. They can help you set overall retirement goals and strategize to stretch your nest egg and avoid tax surprises.

“While you may be able to get investment advice without a direct charge, creating a financial plan with a full view of your financial picture can take hours,” says Jason Washo, founder and owner of Washo Financial in Scottsdale, Arizona.

You can expect to pay at least $300 for a one-off financial plan, Washo says. For ongoing service, planners “may also charge a percentage of the overall account for management,” typically 1 percent to 3 percent of the balance.

“If I had to do it over again, I would have gone to a financial planner,” Mom says, “but I didn’t know the difference and didn’t want to take the time away from my purpose and activities I enjoy to learn.”

To shop for advisers in your area, try the FPA’s PlannerSearch database or the Let’s Make a Plan tool operated by the CFP Board, which sets the standards for the certified financial planner designation. If you can’t afford to hire a planner, the FPA offers pro bono services such as free financial planning days through its 77 local chapters.

During tax season, the AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide provides free assistance from IRS-certified volunteers for people ages 50 and over with low to moderate incomes.

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