Sara Zeff Geber

PhD

Senior Advisor, Aging, Childfree Trust®

Sara Zeff Geber, PhD, is an author and keynote speaker. Over the past 10 years, Sara has developed a niche specialty talking about the challenges of “Solo Agers,” people who have no children or who are aging alone with no support from nearby family. She believes Solo Agers have unique needs in later life that warrant greater foresight and a more robust approach to planning.

Sara is the author of Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A Retirement and Aging Roadmap for Single and Childless Adults (Mango Press, 2018) which was selected that year as a “best book on aging well” by the Wall Street Journal.

Also in 2018, Sara was named an “Influencer in Aging” by the editorial team at NextAvenue, a digital journalism publication produced by PBS.

In 2023, Sara was the guest editor of the summer issue of the American Society on Aging’s Generations Journal, an issue which focused entirely on Solo Aging. In addition to her own essay for the Journal issue, Sara recruited 15 additional authors to write about a wide variety of topics important to Solo Agers.

Sara has been a regular contributor to Forbes.com on the topics of aging and retirement for the past six years.

A sought-after speaker at conferences on retirement and aging, Sara is active in the Retirement Coaches Association, American Society on Aging, Sonoma County Section on Aging, and Life Planning Network.

Though married, Sara considers herself a Solo Ager, since she has no children. She lives with her husband and pooch in Santa Rosa, California.

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Podcast

Podcast

Insights Straight to Your Inbox

Tips, freebies, event invites, and more to make your Childfree life even more amazing

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Episode 209: How to Talk About Money With Your Partner

Money is one of the top reasons couples split, and nearly half of us avoid the conversation to keep the peace. Bri Conn, CFP® and Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® get honest, and funny, about how to talk money with your partner, from the credit report date to weekly money dates, and why the fight is almost never really about the dollar amount.

Episode 208: Long-Term Care Planning for Childfree Adults

Most people file long-term care under “deal with it later,” which is exactly the wrong time to start. Jesse Vickey of Long Term What? joins Bri Conn, CFP® to make one of the most avoided money conversations feel clear and even hopeful, from the four ways people pay for care to why your healthy window is the moment to decide your options.

Episode 207: Scary Stories: Tax Mistakes Childfree People Make

The worst tax stories aren’t about criminals, they’re about ordinary people doing what they thought was fine and walking into a trap. Bri Conn, CFP®, Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP®, and Maddy Roche walk through real cautionary tales, from the passport the IRS can revoke to the partner’s rent that counts as income, so you can make intentional Childfree money decisions with your eyes open.

Episode 206: Tax Planning for Childfree People

Most tax advice assumes you’re married with kids, funding a 529, and leaving an inheritance, so following it when you’re Childfree can cost you. Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® and Scott Barnes, CFP®, TPCP®, CLTC break down why the tax code rewards having children and how Childfree people can design their own tax breaks instead, from the landlord advice that falls apart without an heir to the Roth question that changes with your state and your plans to retire abroad.

Episode 205: Guardianship vs. Power of Attorney: Protecting Your Choices as a Solo Ager

The words guardianship and conservatorship usually surface only after a crisis, once the choices have already left your hands. Melissa Holcombe, DSW, LCSW joins Bri Conn, CFP® to explain what these terms really mean, why they are so hard to undo, and how a power of attorney set up ahead of time keeps your medical and financial decisions yours.

Episode 204: The Myth of the Maternal Instinct

Plenty of Childfree people carry a quiet suspicion that they’re missing some piece of wiring everyone else got. Dr. Amy Blackstone went looking for the research to explain what was wrong with her and found there’s no such thing as a maternal instinct. She joins Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® to talk about what the science really says, and why feeling wrong usually means you’re measuring yourself against the wrong population.