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The Simply Retirement Podcast

The Simply Retirement Podcast

By: Eric Blake
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The Simply Retirement Podcast is a top retirement podcast for women, hosted by Certified Financial Planner™ Eric Blake. The show helps women navigate retirement with greater confidence & control, for women planning with a spouse, managing finances independently, or adjusting to major life changes. Unlike many retirement podcasts that focus only on money, The Simply Retirement Podcast explores both the financial and personal sides of retirement. Through practical guidance and conversations with leading retirement voices, listeners gain insight into retirement income planning, Social Security, taxes, investing, Medicare, estate planning, caregiving, widowhood, divorce, & the many decisions that shape life after work. Financial security is only one part of retirement. Making informed decisions, adapting to life’s changes, and creating a future that aligns with your goals are equally important. Visit thesimplyretirementpodcast.com to listen to past episodes and access retirement resources.Copyright © 2023 The Simply Retirement Podcast Economics Personal Finance
Episodes
  • The Hidden Cost of Caregiving and Why Families Need a Plan (Ep. 107)

    The Hidden Cost of Caregiving and Why Families Need a Plan (Ep. 107)
    Jun 3 2026
    Caregiving often starts quietly, but its impact can quickly reshape careers, finances, and family dynamics. How prepared are you if a health event forces immediate decisions? And who is included in the conversations that matter most? In this episode, I speak with Lina Supnet-Zapata, Chief Executive Officer of Mir Senior Care Management, Inc. & Care Consultants, about the realities families face when caregiving begins without a plan. We explore how women often step into caregiving roles unexpectedly, the risks of leaving family members out of financial conversations, and why care planning must be integrated with financial and legal strategies to avoid costly, reactive decisions. Key takeaways: How caregiving responsibilities often surface unexpectedly, forcing women to pause careers and shift priorities quicklyWhy financial conversations should include multiple generations before a crisis occurs or decisions are neededThe difference between transactional advice and relationship-based guidance during emotional life transitionsHow reactive care decisions can lead to higher costs and added stress without a structured care plan in placeWhy collaboration between financial, legal, and care professionals leads to better outcomes for familiesAnd more! Resources: Get Your FREE Simply Retirement Roadmap 2026 Tax and Retirement Planning Cheat Sheet Connect with Eric Blake: www.TheSimplyRetirementPodcast.comJoin the Simply Retirement NewsletterAsk a Question or Suggest a Topic for the PodcastBlake Wealth ManagementYouTube Connect with Lina Supnet-Zapata: 512-615-6116LinkedIn: Lina Supnet-ZapataWebsite: Mir Care ConsultantsWebsite: Aging Life Care Association About our Guest: Lina Supnet Zapata leads a team of Aging Life Care Professionals, care strategists, who step in when complexity, crisis, or long-term planning demands more than surface-level solutions. With over 30 years in healthcare and a decade in hospice leadership, her work sits at the intersection of care, systems, and strategy where real-life decisions meet real-world consequences. Lina’s guidance and leadership at Mir Care Consultants has become a trusted resource for clients, families, and professional partners alike. Lina partners with attorneys, financial professionals, and healthcare systems not only to ensure that every legal, financial, or medical plan can actually be lived out, but to protect all parties involved. Her work plays a critical role in mitigating vertical liability for the professional partners she aligns with, providing the care expertise and documentation that shields clients and collaborators from gaps in oversight, advocacy, and follow-through. When professionals refer to Mir, they refer with confidence — knowing their clients are protected and their own professional integrity is safeguarded. Her role is to bring clarity to chaos, structure to uncertainty, and advocacy to those who need it most. Complex care is not a challenge Lina navigates around it is where she and her team excel. Through Mir, her team delivers: Comprehensive Aging Life Care ManagementGuardianship of Person & EstateBenefit Navigation (Medicaid, SSDI, and beyond)Crisis intervention and long-term care planningSupport for solo agers and complex family systems This work is done ethically, transparently, and without referral bias. Trust is the foundation of everything they do. That trust has been earned and sustained since 2004, built one client, one family, and one professional partnership at a time. Beyond her work at Mir, Lina serves in leadership with the Aging Life Care Association®, helping elevate the standard of aging life care management nationally. She is also a speaker, educator, and collaborator, working to ensure care is not an afterthought, but a central part of every professional conversation. Her work is about building systems of care that hold, over time, across generations, and through every stage of life. Complex care demands expertise, accountability, and trust. That is precisely what Lina Supnet Zapata and Mir Care Consultants deliver and have delivered, without compromise, for over two decades.
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    36 mins
  • Understanding Your Social Security Statement and What It Really Means (Ep. 106)

    Understanding Your Social Security Statement and What It Really Means (Ep. 106)
    May 27 2026

    Your Social Security statement might look simple, but the details behind it can shape your entire retirement plan.

    Are you only looking at the benefit numbers, or are you missing the bigger picture that could impact your future income?

    In this episode, I walk through how to properly read your Social Security statement and what it is really telling you beyond just your projected benefits. I explain how eligibility works, what assumptions are built into the estimates, and why your earnings history matters more than most people realize.

    We also cover how missing income years can affect your benefit, how to correct errors, and how continued work can change your outcome.

    Key takeaways:

    • Why your Social Security statement shows more than just benefit estimates and what those details mean
    • How eligibility for retirement, disability, survivor benefits, and Medicare is determined
    • The impact of missing or incorrect earnings history and how it can reduce your future income
    • Why estimates assume continued earnings and how changes in work affect projections
    • How working longer can increase benefits by replacing lower-income years in your record
    • And more!

    Resources:

    • Get Your FREE Simply Retirement Roadmap
    • Social Security Administration Website
    • Ultimate Guide to Women’s Social Security Success

    Connect with Eric Blake:

    • www.TheSimplyRetirementPodcast.com
    • Join the Simply Retirement Newsletter
    • Ask a Question or Suggest a Topic for the Podcast
    • Blake Wealth Management
    • YouTube
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    29 mins
  • Gray Divorce and Retirement: Redefining Your Life and Identity (Ep. 105)

    Gray Divorce and Retirement: Redefining Your Life and Identity (Ep. 105)
    May 20 2026

    There are moments in life when everything shifts at once: your identity, your roles, and your plans for the future.

    What happens when the life you expected changes, and you’re left asking what comes next?

    In this episode, I sit down with Oona Metz, LICSW, CGP, licensed clinical social worker and certified group psychotherapist, to talk about the emotional journey women face during divorce and how it connects to retirement planning. We explore the role of shame in financial decision-making, the power of community through support groups, and how women can begin to rebuild their identity. Oona also shares practical ways to reduce overwhelm, reconnect with purpose, and move forward with clarity.

    Key takeaways:

    • How shame around money can prevent women from asking questions or seeking guidance after divorce
    • Why support groups help women feel less isolated and more connected during life transitions
    • The emotional impact of gray divorce and identity shifts tied to an empty nest and retirement
    • Simple exercises that help women reconnect with purpose, meaning, and personal identity
    • Why asking for help and building a trusted support system is essential during uncertain times
    • And more!

    Resources:

    • Get Your FREE Simply Retirement Roadmap
    • 2026 Tax and Retirement Planning Cheat Sheet
    • Book: Unhitched: The Essential Divorce Guide for Women by Oona Metz

    Connect with Eric Blake:

    • www.TheSimplyRetirementPodcast.com
    • Join the Simply Retirement Newsletter
    • Ask a Question or Suggest a Topic for the Podcast
    • Blake Wealth Management
    • YouTube

    Connect with Oona Metz:

    • LinkedIn: Oona Metz
    • Website: Oona Metz
    • Email: oonametz@oonametz.com

    About our Guest:

    Oona Metz is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, a Certified Group Psychotherapist, and a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. She brings 30 years of experience working with individuals, families, and groups. Her private practice offices are located in Brookline and Arlington, Massachusetts. She is actively involved in numerous committees and boards related to group therapy and is committed to ongoing learning in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

    Her practice focuses on individual adults and group therapy. She specializes in working with women+ who are navigating life transitions. Whether transitioning from college to graduate school or into the workforce, beginning or ending a relationship or job, becoming a parent or adjusting to an empty nest, or coming out to family and friends, she views these experiences as opportunities for reflection, insight, and meaningful change.
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    29 mins
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