As we head into National Retirement Planning Week, guest James Nichols joins us to reveal the results of the Voya Financial "Retire Ready Index". The results emphasize that retirement savers need combine knowledge, planning and action to help reach their goals.

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Here are some of the online tools that James mentioned:

• OrangeMoney
• Planning by Age
• How Do you Measure Up

And check out this segment from CBS This Morning, where I discussed retirement planning.

Before James joined us, we fielded a retirement question from John (should he convert his 401 (k) into a Roth?); a beneficiary retirement query from Mike and Gary asked about REITs.

If you are toiling away at your taxes this weekend, here are some Last Minute Tax Filing Resources.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

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Guest Gary Schatsky, a fee-only financial advisor, Chair Emeritus of NAPFA and Annuity Hater, joins the show to discuss why annuities are rarely advisable (Gary says just 5 percent of the time!) He also weighs in on the concept of fiduciary and explains why he believes that working with a fee-only advisor vastly reduces the potential for conflicts of interest.

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Kenny from NY read my recent post, "Spring Cleaning for your Money" and wanted to know how to reduce the taxable income generated from some of his mutual funds. One easy fix: use index funds in taxable accounts and keep managed funds in retirement accounts.

Meanwhile, Terry from MN is sitting pretty in her early retirement, but is not sure whether she should roll over her old 401 (k) into an IRA; and she also needs allocation tips. Poor Michael was unable to max out his retirement contributions and now is starting a fatter tax bill, while Steve asked about beneficiary IRA accounts and Wayne asked for advice about changing careers - from a pilot to a financial planner.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

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The show may be called "Jill on Money", but listeners know that the man without the microphone - Mark - is the center of the action. This weekend, we help the best producer in the world with the asset allocation for his IRA rollover.

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It just so happens that David from Chicago is also seeking allocation advice, especially in light of Vanguard's shift on its target date funds. Here are two sample portfolio allocations to consider:

BALANCED

• 10% Money Market fund
• 30% Bond Index Fund
• 10% International Bond Index
• 30% Total Stock Market Index Fund
• 5% Small Cap Index Fund
• 10% International Stock Index Fund
• 5% Emerging Market Stock Index Fund

GROWTH

• 5% Money Market fund
• 20% Bond Index Fund
• 5% International Bond Index
• 35% Total Stock Market Index Fund
• 10% Small Cap Index Fund
• 15% International Stock Index Fund
• 10% Emerging Market Stock Index Fund

And this is the post about "Why We Are Lousy Investors"

Throughout the show we also discussed some estate questions and some tax issues.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Another week, another announcement of identity theft. This time, it was Premera Health customers, next time, it could be you. Because of the seemingly endless number of incidents, we decided to re-air our interview with nationally recognized expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft, John Ulzheimer.

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Retirement investing can be tricky business, but George from MD is actually in great shape. He has a pension that more than covers his needs,  $100K in an annuity, $80K in his deferred compensation plan and now wants to find a home for an extra $90K that he has in cash. After funding Roth IRAs for him and his wife, we discuss how to allocate the remaining money.

Ron from KY has bounced around a few different brokerage firms and has come to a conclusion: maybe he should manage his own money and pay himself the investment management fee! To help, we came up with an easy-to-implement balanced portfolio:

• 10% Money Market fund
• 30% Bond Index Fund
• 10% International Bond Index
• 30% Total Stock Market Index Fund
• 5% Small Cap Index Fund
• 10% International Stock Index Fund
• 5% Emerging Market Stock Index Fund

Samantha asked at what level could one properly diversify a fixed income portion of a portfolio with individual bonds, while Eileen is selling her vacation home and wants to know how to account for the improvements she has made over the years. In general, you add the cost of improvements to your original cost, but here is a link to the IRS site to help out.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

In honor of the recently-celebrated International Women's Day, guest Jennifer Landon, founder and president of Journey Financial Services, says that there are specific - and distinct - issues that women need to consider when planning for retirement. She urges them to consider "hybrid" retirement and to have contingency plans.

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Shan is just getting started on his financial journey and it is the perfect time for him to take control! Poor Joe was the victim of tax identity fraud. Check out this post, if you want more information about "How to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft" or go to FTC.gov .

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Bruce kicked off the show with a discussion about how to manage his "fun money" account in conjunction with his advisor-directed funds. One idea is to let the pro do what he or she does best and then you can use the secondary account to fill in the asset allocation gaps.

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Cheryl asked about whether her fee for investment advice was reasonable; Wayne is trying to manage his retirement assets after recently getting married and both Sandra and Mike are juggling competing financial goals after the birth of their children.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

As we say goodbye (and good riddance!) to February, there were lots of questions about tax preparation, Required Minimum Distributions and whether or not to use target date funds. Thanks so much to Peter, Mike and Lisa, all of who offered extra information for our listeners!

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Here was the CBS This Morning segment, where we celebrated America Saves Week and in case you missed it, President Obama dropped the F-Word last week!

Not that one, but he endorsed a Department of Labor proposal, which would require brokers to act in a customer’s best interest—the so-called FIDUCIARY duty—when working with retirement investors. We talk a lot about fiduciaries on the show, so we'll be keeping you posted on what happens next.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

CFP and CPA Michael Goodman, President of Wealthstream Advisors, wants everyone to strive to pay ZERO taxes in retirement. He says that the ability to do "micro" Roth conversions and to utilize  IRA Charitable Rollovers, which allow taxpayers age 70 ½ or older to make tax-free charitable gifts of up to $100,000 per year directly from their Individual Retirement Accounts to eligible charities, including colleges, universities and independent schools, could help many minimize taxes during retirement.

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Michael's appearance was perfect for this show, because Neil, Don, Claudio, Peter, Richard and Warren all asked about retirement accounts. We also fielded questions about Required Minimum Distributions, so once again, here's the FINRA RMD calculator that I mentioned.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Retirement guru Ed Slott returns to the program to offer great advice during the hectic tax prep season: ABC or Always Be Contributing (to retirement!) While he favors a Roth over a traditional IRA, he just wants you to put yourself first in order to navigate this YOYO (You're On Your Own) environment.

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Ed also provided analysis of President Obama's budget and its implications for owners of Roth IRA accounts; potential changes to contribution rules that could allow some taxpayers to make after-tax contributions (aka the "Mega-Backdoor-Roth"); and why we all need to be prepared for stealth tax increases in the future.

For more great information, check out Ed's website: IRAHelp.com.

Chuck from MD and his wife are planning to retire in a few years and wanted a strategy for downsizing; Marie asked about taking her Required Minimum Distribution -- here's the FINRA RMD calculator that I mentioned; and Charles asked whether he should sell a large position in a single stock.

"A Proud Grandmother" inquired about the best graduation gift and Remy is considering the best way to help out parents' in need.

Happy Valentine's Day! To celebrate, here a fun CBS This Morning segment: How to Talk to your Spouse about Money!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Not everyone needs to pay top-dollar for financial advice. Some may be better off paying for a plan, which they execute themselves. Others may want to use services like those offered by our guest Mitch Tuchman (ENCORE BROADCAST!), founder of MarketRiders.com and ReBalance-IRA.com.

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Ross is nearing retirement and thinks that he may need some help managing his $1.5 million nest egg. After interviewing a number of fiduciary advisors (these are the professionals who must put your interests first), he is having a hard time determining which one is best for him. The answer may surprise you.

Bryce and his wife are weighing different options for an upcoming renovation; Marty has an extra $10K (or so he thinks!) to invest; and Judy is wondering how to boost the income on her CD.

If you think that your personal data may have been accessed in the Anthem Health data breach, check out this post: Anthem Data Breach: How to Guard Against Identity Theft.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

While you're picking up the wings, the 6-foot subs and snacks for the big game, we've got some x's and o's for your financial life! In honor of the big game, we started the show with Seahawks' season ticket holder Brian, who snuck a quick call about his Roth IRA before rooting on his team.

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Karen asked about longevity annuities and Gordon needed help on how to manage his TSP. We talked allocation with David and told Joe to check out the IRS withholding calculator so that he can better manage his cash flow and prepare for tax season.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

We always talk about the importance of working with fiduciary advisors, but who's keeping tabs on them? Guest and current FPA President Ed Gjertsen weighs in on the question. He says that the oversight is conducted by a trio of entities: the CFP Board of Standards, the SEC and FINRA. Ed also discussed why he and the FPA remain "fee-neutral".

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Jack from GA needed advice about his future retirement from the military, we discussed in greater detail why revocable trust may not be necessary for most and reviewed new IRA rollover rules for Marilyn.

In case you missed it, last week was the official start of tax season. Here's last week's CTM segment outlining what you need to know about changes to your tax returns and here's how to stick to your New Year's Financial Resolutions.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Oh sure, I wanted to call this episode, "Islanders Shutout Rangers," but this is a financial, not a sports show...and after all, I can only torture Mark so much. After a brief recap of the game, we spoke with Tom (a Bruins fan), who needed help deciding whether or not he should downsize prior to retirement.

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Vicky and John sought guidance on putting cash to work, which allowed me to explain how hard it is to time the market and why even if you are risk averse, you may want to allocate a small percentage of your portfolio to stocks.

Jennifer had an interesting question about how to treat her rental properties; Rosetta and an anonymous e-mailer had estate questions; Jeff, JD and Mark asked about index funds vs. ETFs vs. Robo-Advisors; Alan asked about scrubbing his credit report of errors; and Vicky asked about ditching whole like policies for her kids.

Here's last week's CTM segment about weak retail sales and the negative impact on stocks.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Forget New Year's resolutions; we're doing New Year REALLOCATIONS! Shane kicked off the conversation with a good problem: What to do with $500K in cash? One easy place to start: A diversified portfolio, that takes into account risk tolerance and time horizon.

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Larry is on the other end of the risk spectrum from Shane, but maybe that's just fine for his situation. Both Carolyn and Jerome asked about how to select a financial advisor.

These questions provided a perfect opportunity for me to explain the different types of advisors and the various ways you can pay for services. For more, you can check out: Protect Against Scams: 10 Questions to Ask Financial Advisors. We also were able to exonerate Brian from his self-described "financial malpractice".

Finally, here's last week's CTM segment about the diving stock and oil markets.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

What better way to celebrate our 200th show -- and the first program of 2015 -- then to have Social Security expert Bill Meyer as our guest! Bill is the founder and Managing Principal of the terrific SS resource, SocialSecuritySolutions.com.

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Bill discusses the Social Security system, how to improve it and then dives into the various strategies available to retirees. With hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake, you can't miss this show!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Retirement expert Mark Miller join the program to explain Social Security basics (which are always confusing!) and to provide an update about what the Affordable Care Act does for retirees who are pre-Medicare age.

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Mark is the editor and publisher of RetirementRevised.com, but as if that were not enough, he is also a journalist and author who writes for Reuters, Morningstar and anywhere else that a retirement guru is needed — that means a lot of places!

We also fielded questions on reverse mortgages, saving money to buy a house and what to do if you think that your advisor has a conflict.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

As you scramble to complete your holiday shopping, listen to the great questions that we field this week. We start with Karen from Iowa, who holds a large nest egg in illiquid investments. We then shift to Karen, who is getting into the holiday spirit by gifting to her children. (Anyone can give up to $14,000 to an individual without worrying about taxation.

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Steve is trying to decide how to manage his rental income and Dennis wanted to know about Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs).

With just days to go before 2015, check out these year-end money moves!

• 8 Year-End Tax-Planning Tips
• 5 Year-End Retirement Tips

Our guest Gary Zimmerman of MaxMyInterest.com explains his cool new service is like “Uber for cash” and how it can help you boost your returns with NO RISK!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

What better way to celebrate my birthday week than to hang with my radio/podcast family! Thanks for all of the warm wishes and the great questions, starting with VJ from CT, who is gearing up to purchase his first house. (Here's the New York Times calculator that I spoke about during the show!) After reviewing details of his financial life, we were able to find the right price tag, without sacrificing other financial obligations.

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Joe is considering whether to move out of a variable annuity and into a portfolio of index and exchange-traded funds. By doing so, he would lose a guarantee of 6 percent return inside the annuity, but he would also likely save $5,000 annually.

What a delight to have my pal Dan Forbes, CFP® join the program. Dan is the owner of Forbes Financial Planning in East Greenwich, RI where he specializes in working with individuals and small businesses. He was named a Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Ambassador in 2011 and you may even recognize him from the Board’s 2014 media campaign in 2014. Dan was my intern back in the day and even then, I knew he was destined for bigger things! We discussed some year-end ideas, what to do about bond investments and why the fiduciary standard is so important. If you would like a copy of Dan’s year-end checklist, send him an e-mail at: dforbes@forbesplanning.com.

Thanks to Jackson, who asked about owning an account as tenants in common, which gave me the chance to draw a distinction between that ownership structure and joint tenants with rights of survivorship.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

The holiday music is back, putting callers into a jolly mood for the first show of December! Thanks to Steve from CA, who asked about whether or not to add a small company stock index to his $825,ooo portfolio. Small stocks are defined as those with market capitalizations (number of shares outstanding, times the stock price) of less than $2 million and while they can be more volatile than larger stocks, over time, investors have been rewarded by owning them.

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Check out this chart from Dimensional Fund Advisors, which shows how lucrative small caps have been over time:

In addition to Steve's allocation question, we also answered investment questions from Alan, Kevin and Diane. Bryan's question about student loans was certainly unique, which "Splashing Around in Debt" was needed a strategy to pay down cheap housing debt as he approaches retirement.

Wade is worried about hyper-inflation, but with oil prices down 30 percent since the summer, it is hard to make the case runaway price increases are coming any time soon.

David was kind of enough to send us more information about Social Security calculators that can be helpful in determining your future benefits. Here is the link: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/anypia/anypia.html

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Have a great Thanksgiving!

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Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio