Est. 2025

Retirement Finance · For Baby Boomers · Plain English

Your retirement questions,
answered in plain English

Social Security, Medicare, withdrawals, and more — guidance built for baby boomers who've earned a confident retirement.

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Free to read  ·  No jargon  ·  No sales pitch  ·  Built for real people

Our mission

Retirement decisions are the most consequential of your life. You deserve guidance that actually helps.

You've spent decades building your savings. Now comes the part nobody prepares you for: turning that pile of money into a livable income — for the rest of your life. When should you claim Social Security? What does Medicare actually cover? How much can you safely spend each year?

The financial industry has made these questions harder than they need to be. Jargon, disclaimers, and product pitches everywhere. Clearway exists to cut through all of that.

Think of us as the knowledgeable friend who happens to understand retirement finance deeply — and has no reason to sell you anything.

"The best time to understand your retirement options is before you've already made every decision."
— The Clearway approach

$182,000

Average lifetime Medicare costs a couple faces in retirement

47%

Of retirees claim Social Security at the wrong time, leaving money on the table

26 years

Average length of retirement for someone who retires at 65 today

What we cover

Every topic that keeps you up at night,
explained without the jargon

Social Security

When to claim, spousal benefits, working while collecting — and how a single year's decision can change your lifetime income by $100,000+.

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Medicare

Parts A, B, C, and D demystified. Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage. Enrollment windows you can't miss. Coverage gaps you need to plan for.

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Withdrawal Strategy

The 4% rule, sequence-of-returns risk, and bucket strategies — explained so you know exactly how much you can safely spend each year without running out.

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RMDs Explained

Required Minimum Distributions from your IRA and 401(k) — when they start, how much you must take, and how to manage the tax impact without a surprise bill.

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Retirement Tax Planning

Roth conversions, IRMAA surcharges, and how your income in retirement determines what you'll pay. Smart moves that keep more money in your pocket.

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Legacy & Estate Basics

Beneficiary designations, inherited IRA rules, and the documents every retiree needs — without the legal gobbledygook that makes most people's eyes glaze over.

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Social Security

The $100,000 Social Security decision most people get wrong

Claiming at 62 versus 70 isn't just about timing — it's about understanding break-even points, spousal benefits, and whether you expect to live into your 80s. We walk through the math without any of the jargon.

Read the full guide
Medicare

Medicare Part B premiums jumped again. Here's what it means for you

IRMAA surcharges, income look-backs, and why the premium you pay depends on what you earned two years ago.

Withdrawal

Is the 4% rule still safe? What 2025 market data tells retirees

The classic safe withdrawal rule was born in 1994. We look at whether it holds up in today's inflation environment — and what alternatives exist.

RMDs

Your first RMD is due at 73. Don't miss this checklist

The IRS penalty for missing an RMD used to be 50%. It's lower now — but still painful. Here's everything you need to know before the deadline.

Tax Planning

Roth conversions: the retirement tax move most people overlook

Converting traditional IRA money to Roth in the years before Medicare can dramatically reduce your taxes in retirement. Here's the plain-English case.

Estate Basics

The one beneficiary mistake that can cost your heirs thousands

Most people set their beneficiary designations once and never revisit them. Divorce, death, and tax law changes can make those old choices very expensive.

The Clearway difference

Written for people, not for algorithms

Most retirement websites are written to rank on Google, satisfy compliance teams, and sell you something. Clearway is written to be genuinely useful to a 65-year-old sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, trying to make sense of decisions that matter.

No dashboards. No sales funnels. No brokerage account pitches. Just clear answers to hard questions.

No jargon, ever

If we can't explain it plainly, we don't publish it. Every piece goes through a "would my neighbor understand this?" test.

Nothing to sell you

We don't sell financial products or take commissions. Our only incentive is to give you accurate, useful information.

Built for your stage of life

We don't cover 401(k) contributions for 35-year-olds. We cover the transition into retirement — and how to make it go right.

Always free to read

Every guide on Clearway is free. We're funded by readers who find the newsletter worth it — not by advertisers with agendas.

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No sales pitch included.

Each week, Clearway picks one retirement question — Social Security timing, Medicare choices, withdrawal math — and answers it completely, in plain English. Join over 12,000 boomers who read it every Tuesday morning.

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