When you change jobs or retire, there are four things you can generally do with the assets in any employer-sponsored retirement plan:

• Leave the money where it is
• Take the cash (and pay income taxes and perhaps a 10% additional federal tax if you are younger than age 59½ )
• Transfer the money to another employer plan (if the new plan allows)
• Roll the money over into an IRA

Transfering over from one qualified plan to another 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.

If you determine to cash out of an IRA, we can help you find suitable vehicles to help you reach your retirement income goals.

Retirement income plans are not just for the wealthy.  As retirement nears, the traditional strategy has been to move growth-seeking products to more conservative, fixed-income products.  This may have worked fine back when retirement was only expected to last five to 10 years.

These days, however, people are living longer.  Thanks to new prescription drugs and medical technology, it’s not unusual for someone retiring at age 65 to live to age 90 or longer.  You may need to plan for your nest egg to potentially last 25 to 30 years.

One drawback to a longer life is the greater possibility of outliving your savings – creating all the more reason to develop a retirement income plan designed to last a longer lifetime.

We can help you design a guaranteed* retirement income strategy, which incorporates insurance and annuity vehicles to create opportunities for long-term growth, as well as guaranteed income throughout your retirement.

*Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing company and may be subject to restrictions, limitations or early withdrawal fees. Annuities are not FDIC insured.

Because the market does not provide security, you may want your financial strategies to include some secured income products. For example, annuities, which are insurance products with guarantees, can provide a source of supplemental income throughout your retirement.

Twenty-first century asset protection calls for more than just strategic asset allocation. Product allocation—buying instruments that can protect your monies from market declines throughout retirement—can be an effective means of protecting assets.

Diversifying your retirement assets among a variety of vehicles—both through insurance products and investments, depending on what is appropriate for your situation—may offer you the best chance of meeting your retirement income goals throughout your lifespan.

*Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

Estate planning is simply determining (while you’re still alive) where your assets should go after you die.  Without a properly structured estate plan, your wishes may not be fulfilled, and your loved ones could be hurt both emotionally and financially.

While the concept is simple, the vehicles, planning, and implementation process can be rather complex.  Because of the estate tax laws and emerging vehicles that help you protect and transfer your assets effectively, it’s important to work with experienced estate planning professionals who stay current in this field and advise clients on a day-to-day basis.

Life insurance isn’t for those who have died—it’s for those who are left behind. When shopping for life insurance, consider needs such as replacing income so your family can maintain its standard of living, as well as paying for your funeral and estate costs. 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 beneficiary only if you die within that time period. In a level premium term policy, you pay the same amount of premium from the first day of the policy until the term ends.

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.

As the oldest baby boomers begin to wind through their 70s, one of the biggest concerns may not be outliving income, but outliving good health.

At-home care services average $20 per hour, and assisted living facility costs average $3,628 per month.¹ Does your retirement income strategy account for this kind of possibility? Would you be prepared for twice that amount as a married couple?

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 if purchasing a stand alone Long-Term care insurance policy or rider, may be the right move to help you feel confident in your financial future.

¹ Genworth Financial. April 2016. “Genworth 2016 Cost of Care Survey.”  Accessed Aug. 31, 2016.

How much you receive from Social Security depends on YOU!

Can you receive as much as $100,000 in additional SS Benefits by making the right moves at the right time?  Yes, and those higher benefits can be free of income tax if designed properly!

Using software analysis, we can examine hundreds of possible combinations, including 81 possible age combinations across nine possible election strategies and find the one option that offers the highest expected lifetime benefit.  Schedule an appointment with us for your own Social Security analysis.