“Knowing how much and where to save your money is essential to leading a financially secure life”. However, “wrapping your head around the multitude of retirement options available” can not only be stressful, but confusing. This week’s article is useful in that it provides three questions that you should be sure your financial professional to help you understand your personal situation. Call us, we are always here to help and will make sure that “you are left with more answers than questions to help you achieve your long-term financial goals”.
BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Sometimes it is important to go back to basics and talk about the meaning of words that are often used when discussing options for getting that lifetime income you need. “Annuitization is one asset management strategy for retirees seeking to secure lifetime income.” If you are looking to obtain guidance in or near retirement and would like to understand how annuitization works so that you can make choices that are best for you, call us. We are here to help.
WHAT IS IT?
The other day a friend told me that sometimes it was easier to explain what something was by telling what it was typically used for. This week’s article does a good job of telling us that “the usual purpose of a deferred annuity is to accumulate value for a retirement income that is typically received as a monthly payment to supplement retirement income from other sources such as Social Security. Income from the annuity value may be taken for life or a selected number of years. This plan is called an annuity both during the period of accumulation of funds and during the pay-out period. Deferred annuities may be either IRA plans or non-IRA plans.” Should this be something that you think would suit your needs, call us. We are always here to help.
ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW WHO YOUR BENEFICIARIES ARE?
This week’s article provides some resources I thought to share with you relating to beneficiary designations on financial assets such as checking, life insurance and retirement accounts. Because “each of these accounts has a named owner and often a beneficiary to receive the proceeds if the owner were to die” it is important when change of life events occur to “ensure that your account ownership and beneficiary designations are in keeping with your wishes”. If you would like us to review your insurance products with you to ensure that they have the designations you would like, please give us a call. We are always here to help.
SUMMER TIME
This week’s article writes about topics on all of our minds right now, summer vacation! Just as you may have been busy this past year planning ahead, saving and budgeting both your time and money for a summer vacation, those same disciplines apply to getting “your retirement savings on track”. We take away three easy ideas from this week’s article: spend less and save more; make use of financial resources; and diversify your portfolio. You might want to consider going “beyond the workforce and consider other options like investing in a fixed indexed annuity. Adding a fixed indexed annuity to your portfolio can help ensure a lifetime stream of income.” Call us if you think this choice might interest you. We’re always here to help.
DO YOU HAVE A DEFINED CONTRIBUTION OR BENEFIT?
This week’s article tells us that the typical U.S. household has few retirement savings, and that most people rely on social security. One of the reasons is the reduction in employers offering any retirement plan, and another is for those that do, there seems to be a shift away from “defined-benefit (DB) toward defined-contribution (DC) plan” What does that mean to the employee trying to plan for retirement income? “In a DB plan, a beneficiary receives a lifetime retirement income based on their years of service and their final salary. By contrast, a DC plan is one in which the beneficiary makes payments into an investment account, and then receives the accumulation, plus the investment income, on retirement.” If you are in a DC plan and think that having a product that guarantees you income for life would benefit you, call us. We can tell you what your options are. We’re always here to help.
GET CONFIDENT
“Imagine trying to take an around-the-globe trip without looking into the details. In essence, that’s what millions of Americans do every day as they ponder retirement. They head out on the journey and hope for the best.” We believe that the best course of action is one that is planned out, planned well, and planned in advance. That task is always daunting when there are uncertainties ahead. Call us, we may have some ideas you haven’t thought about, and we’re always here to help.
EDUCATING
We believe in educating our clients, and appreciate the frustration that can occur when conversations about retirement planning include words that may be new, or difficult to understand. Because of this we thought to give you an extensive glossary of terms that you may hear or read about in the news, along with some easy to understand explanations. We think this will help you to better understand your choices, and to ask questions that are personal to your situation. Call us, we are always here to help.
INFLATION’S IMPACT ON YOUR INCOME
We often talk about retirement in terms of understanding what expenses will be, and then comparing that to sources of income. An additional factor in this equation for retirement that is sometimes forgotten is inflation. This week’s article tells us that “the popular measure of inflation, sometimes called headline inflation—rose by 1.9 percent in May 2017 vs. May 2016, before seasonal adjustment. Core inflation—the overall index minus the effects of price changes for food and energy—rose 1.7 percent for the 12 months ending May 2017. (Most economists prefer a year-over-year time frame and the core—not the “headline”—inflation measure.)” How will this impact on your retirement planning? Call us if you’d like to discuss this and sources of income that may help in your planning. We’re always here to help.
SAVING WHILE PAYING OFF LOANS
Whether we are dealing with personal loans like paying off a home or car, or having discussions with family members about paying student loans, the conversation often circles back to the heart of the problem; finding ways to save money while simultaneously paying off loans. I found this week’s article interesting and thought to share it with you because it provides four suggestions for accomplishing this goal. As you speak with your loved ones about how these strategies might work in your circumstance, give us a call. We are always here to help you navigate the road to better achieving your objectives.