Motley Fool Money – Personal Finance Edition
Episode: "Should You Retire Sooner, and Is Your Fund Winning?"
Date: August 16, 2025
Host: Robert Brokamp
Guest: Wes Moss, Financial Advisor & Author

Episode Overview

This weekend edition of Motley Fool Money explores two core personal finance topics:

1. What makes for a fulfilling and happy retirement, with a focus on “super activities” and the case for retiring sooner.
2. How to evaluate whether your actively managed mutual fund or ETF is “winning” and how to benchmark its performance.

Robert Brokamp is joined by Wes Moss, CFP and author of What the Happiest Retirees Know, discussing Moss's research on the habits and mindsets of the happiest retirees. The episode also covers recent finance news—IRS turmoil, credit card debt, and Social Security—and closes with actionable advice on fund evaluation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Recent Money News (00:00–05:29)

• IRS Leadership Turmoil:

  • President Trump fired IRS Commissioner Billy Long, the seventh IRS head this year.
  • Staff reductions (1 in 4 employees have left/been let go) will likely delay IRS response times and reduce audit frequency.
  • Quote: “The IRS collected $5.1 trillion in 2024 taxes, but estimates that there is another 700 billion that goes uncollected.” (A, 02:03)
  • IRS official contact for audits is always via mail, not email/text—be wary of scams.

• Credit Card Debt Concerns:

  • Peter Mallouk: “Credit card debt is the silent killer. Over 12% of balances are 90 plus days delinquent, near the highest level in 14 years, with interest rates north of 21%. Nothing destroys wealth faster.” (A quoting Mallouk, 03:02)
  • Average credit card interest rate has jumped from under 15% (3.5 years ago) to 21.2% today.
  • Advice: Avoid carrying balances, seek out better rates if possible.

• Social Security’s 90th Birthday:

  • Signed into law August 14, 1935; now provides an average benefit of $1,975/month.
  • For many seniors, it’s the main or only source of retirement income.
  • Tools recommended for claiming strategies:
    • Free: OpenSocialSecurity.com; T. Rowe Price Social Security Optimizer
    • Paid: maximize my socialsecurity.com ($49)

The Value of "Super Activities" in Retirement (06:17–12:37)

• Core Pursuits & Super Activities:

  • Moss: “Core pursuits are essentially hobbies on steroids.” (C, 06:29)
  • Coined as “super activities”—high-engagement hobbies or activities.
  • Happy retirees spend about 280 more hours per year on core pursuits than unhappy ones (~40% more, or several weeks’ worth).
  • Key Insight: The number and time spent on super activities directly correlates with reported happiness in retirement.

• The Social Factor:

  • “Many of those activities… are social. If I look at those categories … seven of the nine … that bring the most happiness when it comes to retirement had something to do with socialization.” (C, 08:59)
  • Socializing isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a main driver of happiness for retirees.
  • Moss categorized responses manually due to complexity and nuance, highlighting social themes throughout.

• Physical Activity & Happiness:

  • Slight but meaningful difference: happier retirees get in about 15 minutes more activity per day (biking, yoga, golf, hiking, etc.).
  • “There is something about that that tips people even further into the happy category versus the unhappy group. So yes, it works. It matters. But it’s not as big of an uplift as people might think.” (C, 11:34)

Should You Retire Sooner? (12:37–16:30)

• Trend Toward Earlier Retirement:

  • Host raises conventional wisdom: “You shouldn't put off retirement. You don't know how long you're going to live…”
  • Moss advocates decisively for retiring as soon as financially feasible: “Without question, yes. More than ever.” (C, 13:03)
  • Personal anecdote about the audiobook Outlive illustrates life’s unpredictability; better to enjoy retirement while you’re able.

• Happiness “Alpha” & Retirement:

  • Moss introduces the idea of a “happiness alpha”: the bump in happiness simply from acknowledging you’re retired, regardless of other factors.
  • Quote: “There is a massive jump. Just getting to the point where you say, yes, I no longer have to work. I’m retired in Happiness in America. Just getting into that new mode of now. I’m done.” (C, 14:08)
  • Social context: Most people don’t love their jobs, so shifting out of work itself is a happiness booster.
  • Notable moment: “Work on a human level ranks really, really low on the things that we would love that we want to do. If it were totally up to us, it ranks just above being sick in bed.” (C, 15:55) [Laughs from host]

Overcoming Retirement Anxiety: The 4%+ Rule (16:30–18:44)

• The Challenge: Fear of Outliving Money

  • Even those with enough resources are often anxious about spending their savings.

• How to Overcome:

  • Moss’s prescription: “You've got to put it in black and white or black and white in color is fine. It’s got to be written down… seeing it on paper… taking into account inflation, expected rate of return, amount of spending…” (C, 17:10)
  • Tools: Conservative planning, withdrawal strategies (like the “4%+ rule”), and working with an advisor can dispel anxiety and boost confidence about retirement readiness.
  • Planning and education are crucial for peace of mind.

How to Know If Your Fund Is Winning (19:14–end)

• Active vs. Passive Fund Performance:

  • Only 33% of actively managed funds beat index peers over the last year; just 21% have done so over the past decade.
  • Lower-fee active funds have higher odds of outperformance.
  • Advice: “I’m not saying you shouldn’t own actively managed funds. I own several myself. But you should check their performance once a year or so… line up the performance of your fund with that of an index fund that is in the same category.” (A, 19:37)
  • If your active fund isn’t beating its benchmark over 5–10 years, consider switching.

• Employer-Sponsored Plan Caveats:

  • If limited by 401(k) fund choices, speak up—plan administrators should offer low-cost, competitive options.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Core pursuits are essentially hobbies on steroids.” —Wes Moss (06:29)
• “Happy retirees spend about 280 hours a year more than the unhappy group…that is extraordinarily important.” —Wes Moss (07:45)
• “Seven of the nine [core pursuits] had something to do with socialization.” —Wes Moss (08:59)
• “Without question, yes. More than ever [people should retire sooner].” —Wes Moss (13:03)
• “Work…ranks just above being sick in bed.” —Wes Moss (15:55)
• “Planning takes away so much of the anxiety as long as you have enough resources to make it work.” —Wes Moss (18:33)
• “Only 33% of actively managed funds beat a passively managed peer.” —Robert Brokamp (19:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Weekly Money News: IRS, credit card rates, and Social Security stats
• 05:59 – Wes Moss interview begins: Non-financial keys to a fulfilling retirement
• 06:29 – Core pursuits and “super activities”
• 08:59 – Social ties as the secret sauce for retiree happiness
• 11:21 – The effects of physical activity on retiree happiness
• 12:37 – Should you retire sooner? Arguments for and insight on happiness boost
• 16:30 – Financial anxiety in retirement and how to overcome it with planning
• 19:14 – Is your actively managed fund really “winning”? Benchmarks & advice

Summary Takeaways

• Social and “Super” Activities are paramount to retiree happiness—especially those that are social.
• Physical activity does help—not dramatically, but measurably.
• Retiring sooner, if you can afford it, almost universally boosts happiness.
• Planning, not guesswork, dispels retirement spending anxiety.
• Actively managed funds rarely beat their benchmarks—review your holdings regularly and use low-cost options wherever possible.

This episode provides a lively, research-backed guide for anyone planning retirement or reviewing investment performance, with actionable advice and the warm, conversational tone Motley Fool Money is known for.