Etch Financial

Retirement planning has changed.

Longer retirements. No pension. College costs hitting at the worst possible time. Some clients carrying student loans into their 50s.

Has your retirement plan kept up?

At Etch, we plan for the retirement that actually exists.

Join Ryan and Jason for Retirement Rewritten, a free online educational webinar where we'll introduce the 6 Pillars of Modern Retirement Planning, a new playbook designed for today's retirement reality.

Learn how to build a plan around your income, investments, taxes, healthcare, legacy goals, and college & student loan decisions so you can retire with clarity and confidence.

Registration link is in the comments!

A lot of people think retirement planning is just about investments.

In reality, the families we work with are trying to figure out questions like:

• Can we retire before Medicare?
• Should we take Social Security now or later?
• How much can we safely spend?
• What happens if one spouse passes away?
• Will helping our kids hurt our retirement?

A good retirement plan connects all of those moving pieces together.

Investments matter.

But retirement is bigger than your portfolio.

Federal student loan interest rates (for new loans issued after July 1, 2026) are going up!

The new rates:
- Undergraduate Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans: 6.52%
- Graduate Unsubsidized Loans: 8.07%
- Graduate & Parent PLUS Loans: 9.07%

Keep in mind that federal student loan interest rates are reset annually and are tied to the May auction of the 10-year Treasury note. However, once your loan is disbursed, your loan interest rate is fixed for life.

One thing we’ve noticed with people in their 50s:

They’re not worried about retiring.

They’re worried about retiring… and then realizing they made a mistake.

-Took Social Security too early
-Withdrew from the wrong accounts
-Didn’t plan for taxes
-Helped their kids too much

It’s not fear of retirement.

It’s fear of getting it wrong when it matters most.

Schedule a meeting with us at www.etchfinancial.com/meet and we'll help you avoid those mistakes.

Big student loan news today.

A federal appeals court has officially ordered the end of the SAVE student loan repayment plan.

For the past couple years, SAVE has been tied up in lawsuits and administrative forbearance. Now the court has forced a settlement that permanently shuts the program down.

What this means for borrowers:

• No new enrollment in SAVE
• Forgiveness under SAVE stops
• Borrowers will likely be moved into other repayment options

If you have federal student loans, expect more changes ahead. The repayment system is still being reshaped and there are still a lot of unanswered questions about what comes next.

I wrote a quick breakdown explaining what just happened and what borrowers should be watching for.

Link: https://etchfinancial.com/the-save-plan-is-officially-dead-what-student-loan-borrowers-need-to-know/

Our team is growing! Please welcome Jason Slone, PhD, CCFC to our Wealth Advisor team!

Jason started his career around the same time as Ryan and brings a wealth of retirement planning and college planning knowledge to the team.

Aside from being a Wealth Advisor here at Etch, Jason will also serve as our Head of College Planning for our college-bound family clients.

Welcome, Jason!

It's easy to make mistakes when completing the FAFSA.

Here's the Top 5 mistakes we see families make when completing the FAFSA.

Read: https://etchfinancial.com/the-top-5-mistakes-parents-make-when-completing-the-fafsa/

Need to schedule a meeting? There's no need to wait until 'normal business hours'.

We offer two easy, online options to book a meeting any time of day 24/7/365!

Text 'MEET' to (412) 530-6977 or visit www.etchfinancial.com/meet any time of day!