This week I thought to refer you to an article that begins with the simple but universal statement “Retirement planning is a multistep process that evolves over time.” The reason we like this statement is because it relates to each of us, regardless of our age. Whether you are at the beginning stages of thinking about your retirement goals and how long you have to meet them, or you are about to begin to withdraw from your savings, planning is needed every step of the way. Call us if you’d like to review your plan, we may have some suggestions you haven’t thought of, or options you are unaware of. We’re always here to help.
CRISIS IN RETIREMENT PLANNING
The Harvard Business Review published an interesting article explaining how when interest rates and stock prices both plummeted, “the value of pension liabilities rose while the value of the assets held to meet them fell.” You don’t need to be a participant in a group plan to experience similar problems, as the same result can occur in individual retirement accounts. This is often a reason why we talk about finding options where the principal is protected, and the product purchased can generate an income that cannot be outlived. Call us if these kinds of options are of interest to you. We are always here to help.
THE SECRET
This week’s article that I thought to share with you is called “The Secret to Generating Lifetime Income.” It states that “one solution to help ensure lifetime income is adding a fixed indexed annuity (FIA) to your retirement portfolio. These products can help balance your portfolio and generate guaranteed income for life.” We certainly don’t keep these products a secret, as they are frequently used by retirees to supplement social security income. Call us, we are happy to explain how they work and to discuss if they might be a good option for you to consider. We’re always here to help.
CAN AN UP MARKET SINK YOUR RETIREMENT?
This week’s article made me think about the old adage “What goes up must come down.” Getting older always seems to involve a race against time, and if you know that you have to live off of your savings in retirement, what do you do if there if there is a decrease in your nest egg when you have run out of time to try to make any losses back? Go back to work? Spend even less than you are now? When things are good it is human nature not to remember the risks, even though they are still there, just not actualized. “Fixed indexed annuities are one of several tools that you can use to limit downside risk. You may want to reassess your strategy to see if you can implement these tools. Investing in retirement or even in the years just before retiring always presents a difficult challenge. On one hand, you need to continue growing your assets so you can fund your lifestyle and fight inflation. On the other hand, you want to avoid significant declines because you may not have time for your investments to rebound. One way to protect against this risk is to use tools that offer upside potential but limit downside risk exposure. For example, fixed indexed annuities give you the ability to earn returns based on market performance without experiencing downside market loss. In a fixed indexed annuity, you earn interest every year. The interest rate is based on the performance of an underlying index, like the S&P 500. If the index performs well, your rate may be higher. If it performs poorly, your rate may be lower. However, these policies always have a guaranteed minimum rate, so you will never lose money even if the index declines in value.” Call us if you want to talk about options that limit your risk exposure. We’re always here to help.
Sometimes it’s Fun
Sometimes it is fun to take a moment and participate in a quiz about retirement. Answering questions and then comparing our responses to others gives us new opportunities to think about the choices we are making, and how we are planning for the future. This week’s article does just that. Can you answer the retirement questions it poses? Call us when you and done to talk about your plans for the future. We are always here to help.
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STRUGGLING TO SAVE
“Why do you think Americans struggle to save for retirement?” This was one of the questions posed to an retirement expert in this week’s article. His response was “If I told you that people spend more time planning their yearly family vacation than they do planning their nearly 20 years of retirement, would that surprise you?” Perhaps one of the reasons this happens is that we just don’t readily know the perfect answer. How do we accomplish this goal that each year seems harder and harder to attain? Call us, we’re here to help and look forward to speaking with you and to discussing with you options you may not have thought about.
BACK TO BASICS
Sometimes it is good to go back to basics. That’s why I thought this week’s article might be of interest to you. It explains the basics about what a Fixed Indexed Annuity is, and says that because of the features explained in the article “the value of your money will never decline for as long as it is in the annuity. But it can increase with a rising index, offering growth potential. Once interest is credited, it can never be lost due to interest rate adjustments or negative market fluctuations, and it may even compound. Indexed annuities offer low risk, guaranteed income and protection for market ups and downs.” It is always a good idea to know what your options are. We look forward to helping you feel good about your retirement savings so please call us. We’re here to help.
RETIREMENT READS
If you’re anything like me, you may not always have time to read an article or book that catches your interest. Because of that, I thought you might like this week’s article as it provides a re-cap of what the author believes are the “5 Best Retirement Reads of 2015”. Take a look and let us know if you have questions on any of the topics covered. We look forward to hearing from you, and we’re always here to help.
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REINFORCEMENT
I thought to refer to you this week’s article as in the past I have, from time to time, referred you to articles from the Society of Actuaries Retirement Committee who studies trends in retirement and life expectancy. This week’s article, written by another organization, refers to those past studies in discussing their response to questions asked regarding interest rates and annuities and “assessing the financial implications of living longer”. I’m happy to send you this article as it reinforces the benefits of some of the options that we can offer you in your retirement planning. Take a look and call us if you have any questions. We’re always here to help.
EDUCATE YOURSELF
We thought this week’s article would be of particular interest to you because “every industry has its own vocabulary, and it’s no different for retirement planning. Understanding this sometimes confusing language is crucial as you begin making financial decisions that will impact your lifestyle once your working years are over.” We know how difficult it is to make decisions involving your retirement money, especially when family and friends always want us to believe that they know more than we do! Use this article to help you take control of those uncomfortable conversations, and call us if you have any questions. We’re always here to help.
