One Stop, Many Questions.
RETIREMENT INCOME STRATEGIES
Will I have enough? Figuring out the best way to make your savings stretch over the next 25 to 30 years can not only be confusing, it can also be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Insurance products like annuities can provide a steady and reliable income stream for the rest of your life, while investment products create opportunities for long-term growth. We can help you incorporate both in a financial strategy designed to put you on the path to the retirement lifestyle you want.
WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Time could be on your side when it comes to investing. Generally, the longer you invest, the more potential your money has to grow. If you are still trying to recover from past losses and you’re looking to get back on track to accumulating wealth, you may want to consider a more aggressive asset allocation with a portion of your money. However, those who’ve lost in the stock market may be a little more wary of approaches that increase their market risks. If that sounds like you, there are more conservative investment options that provide the potential for wealth accumulation. Using these investment options in conjunction with insurance contracts such as annuities can help you design a more conservative retirement strategy. After all, the last thing you may want to do in retirement is lose more ground during another market correction.
ASSET PROTECTION
Don’t put all your (NEST) eggs in one basket. You’ve got plans — a lot of them. Wouldn’t it be more fun to focus on your dreams than constantly worrying about what the market’s doing? Diversifying your retirement assets among a variety of vehicles — including a mix of both insurance products and investments, depending on what is appropriate for your situation — may offer you the best chance of meeting your retirement income goals. Anyone who invests in the market should understand it involves potential risk of principal. So, to provide some security not found in the stock market, you may want to include some insurance products in your financial strategy. These products, such as annuities, can provide supplemental income throughout retirement and help protect your money from declines due to stock market losses.
ANNUITIES
What is an annuity? If you’ve ever worried about outliving your retirement savings, you’re not alone. An annuity is a contract you purchase from an insurance company. For the premium you pay, you receive certain fixed and/or variable interest crediting options able to compound tax deferred until withdrawn. When you are ready to receive income distributions, this vehicle offers a variety of guaranteed payout options - some even for life. Most annuities have provisions that allow you to withdraw a percentage of the value of the contract each year up to a certain limit. With pension offerings on the decline, you may want to consider a fixed income component to your financial strategy. In short, adding an annuity may be an opportunity to help ensure a portion of your retirement income will be guaranteed.
LIFE INSURANCE
Life insurance isn’t for you — it’s for those you leave behind. If helping loved ones maintain a standard of living, and avoid financial hardships after your passing is a priority for you, life insurance products can help. A general rule is that you may want to seek coverage between five and seven times your gross annual income. As far as the various types of policies go, they can generally be placed into one of two categories: term and permanent. Term insurance generally provides coverage for a specified period of time and pays out a specified amount of coverage to your beneficiaries only if you die within that time period. A permanent insurance policy, on the other hand, will stay permanently in effect for the rest of your life, as long as premiums continue to be paid. Term insurance generally provides coverage for a specified period of time and pays out a specified amount of coverage to your beneficiaries only if you die within that time period. A permanent insurance policy, on the other hand, will stay permanently in effect for the rest of your life, as long as premiums continue to be paid.
INVESTMENTS
You worked hard for your assets. Now they can work for you. You worked hard for your assets. Now they can work for you. Inflation, unexpected expenses, once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunities… Predicting the unpredictable is impossible. · Whether it’s Inflation, unexpected expenses, or once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunities – predicting the unpredictable is impossible. Investing involves risk, and there are no ways to guarantee that you won’t lose money, but having a certain portion of your assets in the market gives you the opportunity to build on your existing wealth. Over time, that growth potential could help you offset the effects of inflation and other factors that erode the purchasing power of your assets — assets you may be counting on to see you to and through retirement. From stocks and bonds to mutual funds and retirement accounts, we welcome the opportunity to help you figure out where investment products might fit in your overall financial strategy.
TAX-EFFICIENT STRATEGIES
If taxes rise in the future, will it cut into your retirement savings? If taxes rise in the future, will it cut into your retirement savings? Rising taxes may be a concern for anyone — especially for individuals approaching retirement. Having a solid strategy in place for how you will pay taxes on your retirement income can be an important component to living on a fixed income and avoiding surprises come tax time. Investing in or purchasing a tax-deferred vehicle means your money can compound interest for years, without paying current income taxes, potentially allowing it to earn interest at a faster rate. Tax-deferred vehicles only allow you to defer paying income taxes until the money is withdrawn — presumably during retirement when you may be in a lower tax bracket. However, few financial vehicles avoid taxes altogether. Because tax-deferred vehicles are generally designed to help individuals work toward specific long-term goals, there may be restrictions on when money can be withdrawn without penalty. Early withdrawals may be subject to charges and fees. Withdrawals prior to age 59 ½ may be subject to a 10 percent federal additional tax.
LONG-TERM CARE STRATEGIES
Who will take care of you if you are unable to care for yourself? As the oldest baby boomers begin to wind through their 70's, one of the biggest concerns may not be outliving income, but outliving good health. Considering that you could have to reduce your financial means before Medicaid will pay for long-term care and neither your employer group health insurance nor major medical insurance will cover long-term care, you may want to consider planning ahead for these potential expenses. We can help evaluate your situation and determine what kinds of products could fit into a comprehensive long-term care strategy, one that is suited to your needs and circumstances.
IRA & 401(K) ROLLOVERS
What’s the best way to handle and / or approach old IRAs and 401(k)s? When you change jobs or retire, there are four things you can generally do with the assets in any employer-sponsored retirement plan including, leaving the money where it is, taking the cash and paying income taxes and perhaps additional federal taxes, transferring the money to the new employers plan (if the new plan allows), or rolling the money over into an IRA. Rolling over from one qualified plan to another qualified plan allows your money to continue growing tax-deferred until you receive distributions in retirement. We can help you determine if a rollover is the right move for you.