12.2.22: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

12.2.22: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Producer:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs, and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Producer:
Welcome to the Active Wealth Show with your host Ford Stokes. Ford is a fiduciary and licensed financial advisor who places your needs first. He’ll help you protect and grow your wealth. The Active Wealth Show has grown because activators like you want to activate their retirement planning with sound tax-efficient investing. And now your host, Ford Stokes.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome to The Active Wealth Show Activators. I’m Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. And I’m joined by Sam Davis, our executive producer. And we have got a very special. Show for you today. We are going to talk about how to improve your financial plan in 2023. 2023 is right around the corner. It’s less than a month away. We are going to start solving some problems here today. That’s what we’re going to do. So we want to welcome you to the show. I just want to say, hey, thanks for being an activator. If you’re wondering who an Activator is, it’s somebody who listens to The Active Wealth Show. It’s somebody who. Wants to build a tax efficient fee, efficient and market efficient portfolio. They want to keep that. The whole out of the bottom of their bucket. They don’t want to leak out their hard earned and hard save money with fees and with additional taxes and with market losses. We’re going to help you do that today. Also. If you’re curious about The Active Wealth Show or curious about active wealth, I would encourage you to visit ActiveWealth.com. That’s ActiveWealth.com and click that schedule a consultation button the upper right corner. And I think you’re going to really enjoy meeting with us. Again you’ll get a chance to meet with me directly. We won’t pass you off to another advisor. We do have multiple advisors that work with us, but you will get a chance to speak directly to me. Your host, Ford Stokes. I’m your Chief Financial advisor and I’m your host for the Active Wealth Show. Also, we’ve got our podcast. So this show turns into a podcast magically with the power of Technology and Sam Davis every single week on Active Wealth Show dot com. And Sam, we had a pretty good show last week. We had a well-listened-to show, well-downloaded show, well-Googled and searched show. Tell them what the show was last week.

Andrew Pelosi:
Yeah. So if you missed The Active Wealth Show during the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving week as we all kicked off the holiday season, you missed Herschel Walker on the show. We actually had Herschel Walker on for about 15 minutes, had a great conversation with him. And if you’d like to check out that interview with Herschel on the Active Wealth show, you can just find The Active Wealth Show wherever you listen to podcasts. So no matter if you have an iPhone or an Android, whatever, just search active wealth wherever you listen to podcasts and check out last week’s show.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, you can also visit ActiveWealthShow.com because it’s sitting right there for sure. And you actually get to see the video, which is great. Also, it’s on The Active Wealth Show YouTube channel as well. And we encourage you to reach out to us at ActiveWealth.com again, click that schedule a consultation button the upper right corner or you can just call us at 770 685 1777. Again that number is 770 685 1777 or ActiveWealth.com. All right so here’s the. Here’s the overview for this week’s show. First of all, we’ve got an important reminder Medicare’s annual enrollment period, or IEP, ends on December 7th. Less than one week remains in this year’s enrollment period. Let us know how we can help you with your Medicare needs. We’ll get you in touch with Bonnie Dobbs, with Medicare and other red tape. And she can help take care of you. Also, don’t hesitate to give us a call today and to ask us any questions you may have about Medicare. Or you can call us at 770 685 1777. The overview for This Week show. Here we go. We’re going to have the quote of the week. We’re going to give that to you here just in a few seconds. We’re going to talk about New Year’s resolutions that we can help you keep. What retirees fear most, The cost cutter of the week, How to stop the bleeding in your bonds and important updates for 2023. And now the financial quote of the week.

Producer:
And now for some financial wisdom, it’s time for the Quote of the Week.

Ford Stokes:
You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you. That’s from Dave Ramsey. Again, you must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you. And I agree with that statement. And we want to do everything we can to help protect and grow your hard earned and hard save wealth. And that’s a great financial wisdom, quote, to live by. If you’re in the retirement red zone, meaning you plan to retire in the next five years or if you just retired in the last five years, so about ten years of retirement red zone, We encourage you to give us a call so we can help you strengthen your financial plan. We want to help retirees in the red zone to manage their sequence of returns risk. You can’t afford to lose too much during these years, which means protection and growth is key. Nears resolutions that we can help you keep. This is a big deal. We felt like it was really important to help you get started on the right foot for 2023. And. Number one is want to calculate your net worth. Any changes that you need to make become more obvious after doing this calculation. Start by totaling your assets, take your account, balances, your real estate, anything of value, and subtract your liabilities, mortgages, debts, anything you owe to create a clear picture of your overall net worth. Number two is you want to check up on your retirement accounts. Be sure to take advantage of any contribution matches offered within your employer’s retirement plan. If you’re 50 or older, you can contribute an additional $7,000 per year or $583 a month to an IRA.

Ford Stokes:
If you are self employed, get in touch with us about setting up and contributing to a Sep IRA. Number three is update your savings goals. Determine how much you plan to set aside each month for your future. Warren Buffett says don’t save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving. I want to say that one more time. Warren Buffett says don’t save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving. And the number four New Year’s resolution that we can help you keep. Number four is make a plan to pay off your debts, decide how much you can pay towards any loans, debts and mortgage accounts. Consider paying some extra principal towards your mortgage payment each month. By doing so, you’ll earn a risk free return on that money equal to your mortgage interest rate and cut down on the number of years that it will take you to pay off your mortgage. The number one thing I like to get people to do is to pay 13 mortgage payments. Over a 12 month period, you’ll cut down. It’s been proven you’ll cut down your mortgage between 12 and 17 years. That’s a big deal. Number five is rebalance your portfolio. The stock market always has its ups and downs. Some sectors overperform and some sectors underperform. 22 has been a pretty grim situation for most. Sectors, but rebalancing your portfolio to its original or updated asset allocation. You take steps to lock in gains from the sectors with the best returns and purchase shares in the sectors that have lagged behind.

Ford Stokes:
Tip. If you rebalance your portfolio with a broker, they are likely to charge you up to five and one half percent to do this. This is not a fee efficient strategy. We recommend that you work with somebody who has your best interests in mind. Work with a fiduciary. Work for somebody who’s looking to save you money, not lose more of it. This thing is not about wealth transfer from your wealth to some brokers wealth. This is about wealth growth. This is about protecting and growing your hard earned and hard save wealth. The number six New Year’s resolution that we can help you keep is to pay down your credit cards. Don’t carry a big balance on your credit cards with high APRs. No one has ever become rich off airline miles and hotel points. Make it a goal to pay off your balance each month. Also, a credit card should not be your emergency fund. Be sure to have 3 to 6 months of expenses set aside for unforeseen emergencies. And the number seven New Year’s resolution that we can help you keep. Review your credit report. Make sure that you can check your credit report regularly and take steps to repair any negative aspects. There’s no excuse for not reviewing this important information because errors are not uncommon. The number eight New Year’s resolution that we can help you keep is to review your life insurance needs as you move through your career. Your life insurance, disability insurance needs will continue to change. Give some thought as to how much protection you need and consider investing in an IUL if you’re still in your forties or fifties.

Ford Stokes:
These types of policies are one of the only ways you can generate truly tax free retirement income and get market like gains without market risk. Bottom line, you need to get in touch with us so we can help you build and navigate your financial plan. When it comes to something as important as your money, we want to provide you or you and your spouse a one on one opportunity to ask questions about specific situations that you’re facing. Give your money the attention it deserves. You’re likely going to be retired almost as long as you worked, and we’ve got to make sure that money lasts so you don’t outlive your money, that your money can outlive you. We come back from the break, we’re going to talk about what retirees fear most. We’re also going to talk about what it’s like to come in and meet with us with a full, complimentary financial consultation. I think you’re going to like to hear all that stuff. And we’re going to talk about some of the things that have happened. We’re talking about what’s happened in market crashes since 2000. Many of you may not want to relive that. And we’ll also talk about this week’s cost cutter. This week’s retirement cost cutter. Go ahead and come back. Listen to us on the Active Walsh Show. Don’t go anywhere. We’re so glad you’re with us here on AM 920 The Answer. We’ll be right back. Talking about what retirees fear most and our retirement cost cutter for the week.

Producer:
Are you concerned about US tax rates being raised by the Biden administration and how that will affect your retirement? Tune in to the Active Wealth Show with Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor, to learn how you can reduce the taxes you pay before and during retirement. The Active Wealth Show Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 11 AM

Producer:
Remember, all of Ford’s listeners receive a free financial consultation just for listening to the show. Visit ActiveWealth.com to learn more and schedule an appointment. Thanks for listening to The Active Wealth Show and subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Ford Stokes:
All right. And welcome back. Activators, The Active Wealth Show on Ford Stokes and chief Financial Advisor, joined by Sam Davis, our executive producer. And I wanted to recap for the good folks, Sam, the New Year’s resolutions that we can help them keep for 2023. Number one was calculate your net worth. Number two was check up on your own retirement accounts, understand what the balances are in them and what your losses likely are for this year. Number three is update your savings goals. Number four is make a plan to pay off your debts. Number five is rebalance your portfolio. Number six is pay down your credit cards. If you got credit cards, get them to zero. Number seven is review your credit report. That will also help your if you pay off your credit cards, that will help your credit rating. Get significantly better. And number eight is review your life insurance needs. And again, the bottom line is we just encourage you to get in touch with us so we can help you build and navigate your financial plan so it can hit on all cylinders and get your money working hard for you. As hard as you work for your money, as hard as you work to save your money. All right, Now let’s go into. What retirees fear most. And by the way, if you want to get. Our list of New Year’s resolutions and we can help you keep. All you’ve got to do is send me an email at Ford at Active Wealth dot com. That’s Ford at active welcome.

Ford Stokes:
And we’ll send you this free report on New Year’s resolutions for 2023 that we can help you keep. Now, here’s what the retirees fear most. And we we did a lot of research on this. And the number one thing is obviously running out of money. It’s even more than their fear of death. And also, how could this happen to hard working Americans? We don’t want hardworking Americans to run out of money. The number one fear that retirees have is Social Security cutbacks. Did you know in 1940 there were 40 workers per retiree? Today, there are only three workers per retiree. This ratio is expected to become 2 to 1 by the year 2050. The number two fear that retirees fear the most are tax increases. Historically, tax rates are lower than they used to be, with increasing national debt and government spending. Many experts believe that taxes will have to go up in the future to meet the nation’s budget requirements. The number three fear the retirees fear the most is inflation. Cost of living adjustments reflect 14.6% inflation over the last two years, and some experts believe the true inflation has been much higher. The number for fear that retirees fear the most is portfolio balances going down too quickly. Secrets of return risk can be devastating to people in the retirement red zone. We’re getting a retirement red zone as people that are within five years of retiring and five years after retirement. So that ten year period from five years before you retire till after your retirement. Number five, the number five fear that retirees fear the most is market crashes.

Ford Stokes:
You may want to consider reducing the risk you are taking with your current portfolio. You might consider a bond replacement strategy and moving some of your money to fixed indexed annuities where there’s 100% financial reserve requirement on the money you give to an annuity company or to a life insurance company that has annuities. Did you know that from 2000 to 2000 to the market, the S&P 500 saw three straight. Did you know that from 2000 to 2002, the S&P 500 saw three straight years of declines. 2000 was 9.1% down 2001, the S&P 500 lost 11.9%. 2002, the S&P 500 lost 22.1%, 2008. The S&P 500 lost 37%. 2018. It lost 4.4% and 2022 year to date, it’s lost 16.9%. The number six fear. The retirees have as health care expenses between prescriptions, common procedures and potential long term care expenses. A couple retiring in 2022 may need to spend upwards of $325,000 on health care in their retirement. And the source of that was the Fidelity Retirement Survey in April of this year. Number seven is having to care for a loved one. That’s another big fear that retirees have. Retirees have to care for a dependent parent or child and will have to deal with additional monthly expenses to look after their family members. There’s over 40 million unpaid care workers and caregivers in the United States today. That’s more than 10%. We’re like 340 million people. You’ve got over 40 million people that are unpaid caregivers or care workers for their loved ones.

Ford Stokes:
That’s not right. That’s unbelievable. So let me recap this. Number one is Social Security cutbacks. Number two was tax increases. The number three fear that retirees fear the most is inflation. The number for fear is portfolio balances going down to quickly. And a lot of people have experienced that this year. The number five is market crashes. And we’ve seen some downturns. Year to date, up 16.9%. That’s actually number three on our list from 2020 22. Number six is health care expenses. You’re looking at you’re staring in the face of $325,000 in potential health care expenditure. For a married couple over the next 30 years during their retirement. Let’s say they’re 65 years old. They’re going to live. One of them is going to live to be at least 95 years old or at least 90. Because it’s a high likelihood if you both live to be age 65, one of you is going to live to be over 90. And. Health care expense is a big deal. It’s a big, expensive expense. You need to have a plan for it. You need to have a good Medicare Part A and Part B, and you also need to have a good Medigap Medicare supplement insurance plan or a medicare Advantage plan. And number seven is having to care for a loved one. So as we said, there’s over 40 million. Unpaid caregivers in the United States right now. It’s not right. It’s that’s that’s a real big problem. You need to have a plan, whether it’s self insuring for long term care or having a plan to use the the equity in the house and sell the house and then move mom into a assisted living place or whatever, It’s going to be like 6 to 9000 a month and you’re going to draw down those assets.

Ford Stokes:
You need to have a plan. It’s best to have long term care insurance, and we’re happy to help you do that. So those were the seven things that retirees fear the most. I think all those are realistic fears and we all need to do a better job at planning for that. And if you want to plan, all you’ve got to do is visit ActiveWealth.com, click that, schedule a consultation button the upper right corner, or you can reach out to us. By calling our office at 770 685 1777 again 770 685 1777. What I try to do on this show is I try to have a direct conversation with you. I’m trying to make sure I can educate you on here’s all the things you got to do for your news, New Year’s resolutions, whenever that will go over them again in the final countdown. But also here are the fears that a lot of retirees are facing and it should spark some thoughts. And what I would encourage you to do is reach out to us and go ahead and meet with us. We’re going to ask you to bring in your statements. We’re going to ask you to bring in your Social Security statement. We’re going to be able to run a Social Security maximization report for you.

Ford Stokes:
That’s number one. Number two is we’re going to give you a portfolio analysis of your current portfolio so you can get understand the risk you’re taking and the and the fees you’re paying and the correlation of your assets. So when one of your assets goes down, how much your other assets are going to go down with it. Number three is we’re going to give you a financial plan for your 95th birthday with your current plan that has nothing to do with us. Number four is we’re going to give you a financial plan with our recommended portfolios all the way to your 95th birthday. And number five is we’re going to give you a financial plan, your 95th birthday with our recommended portfolios, plus a Roth ladder conversion plan. And I think you’re really going to like getting that Roth conversion plan because we’re going to give you a plan to really delete the IRS out of being your partner in retirement with your retirement accounts. And we come back, we’re going to talk about the retirement cost cutter for the week. I think you’re really going to like this one. And we’re going to also help you stop the bleeding with your bonds here in 2023 when the calendar turns over. It was The Active Wealth Show right here on AM 920. The answer, come right back and learn about the new retirement cost cutter for the week and how to stop the bleeding with your bonds. There’s The Active Wealth Show right here on AM 920 The Answer.

Producer:
Could a recent IRS change actually save you money on next year’s taxes? I’m Matt McClure with a Retirement dot Radio Network powered by Amerilife. When you think of the Internal Revenue Service, your mind may very well recall the sting of forking over your money to Uncle Sam or the hassle of preparing your taxes. A recent study by the American Action Forum estimated Americans spent more than $190 billion. That’s billion with a B on tax preparation in 2021. Plus, many economists predict the federal government will have to raise taxes in the future to pay off the national debt. But there’s one change the tax man is making for 2023 that could actually mean you’ll owe less in taxes next year.

Andrew Pelosi:
How much you save will be relative to your personal situation. So it’s not going to be the same for every household, but certainly it could have a nice little savings come tax time.

Producer:
Andrew Pelosi with Pelosi Accounting and Consulting, recently told Atlanta News First. The IRS typically makes annual adjustments to income tax brackets, but this year they’re bigger than usual due to, you guessed it, inflation.

Andrew Pelosi:
Some people will see a savings of perhaps 1000 per year during tax time on their tax return. Others might see a little bit more. Certainly the brackets have changed. So the those who are in higher brackets will probably see more savings than those who are in lower brackets. But across the board, everyone’s going to see some kind of savings.

Producer:
In short, all tax brackets are going up by about 7% for 2023. That means you can make more money and be in a lower tax bracket than you would be this year. The standard deduction is also going up to the tune of a $900 increase for single filers and 1800 dollars for married couples filing jointly.

Andrew Pelosi:
I mean, look, it’s beneficial for everyone, right? At the end of the day, we’re all looking to save money and keep more money in our pockets. In a time like this where groceries are more expensive, fuel prices are at record prices, Every little bit helps.

Producer:
Keep in mind, though, that these adjustments are for money you earn next year in 2023, so you won’t actually see the results until you file your taxes in early 2024. So could you benefit from the IRS’s new tax brackets? That’s a key question to consider as you plan your financial future with the Retirement dot Radio Network powered by Amerilife. I’m Matt McClure. Thanks for listening to the Active wealth show. If you like what you’re hearing, make sure to rate our show on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome back, Activators The Active Wealth Show. I’m Ford Stokes or chief financial advisor. We got Sam Davis, our executive producer here with us.

Producer:
Here’s the cost cutter of the week.

Ford Stokes:
Pay off your mortgage completely. Yeah, I know that sounds rich and all that stuff, but you know what? You’ve got the capability to do it. Make sure you’re doing it efficiently. If you want to pay it off over a three year period and and minimize the cost of your paying for it out of your IRA, then go ahead and do that. The happiest people we meet with. On their annual reviews are the ones who have paid off their home. They are the ones that do not have a mortgage payment that eats up one of their two Social Security payments. If you have to pay a monthly mortgage during retirement, it can absorb the entirety of one of two Social Security incomes for married couple or take up almost an entire single person’s monthly Social Security benefit. We strongly recommend all of our prospects and clients pay their mortgage off in a smart way. That said, try to avoid paying off the family home with your IRA money all at one time because we don’t want you to get taxed 37 plus percent on that money. Also, if you’re in state of Georgia, we’ve got a 5.75% audio income tax here. If you’re making over $10,000 because you’ll owe taxes on the money, that’s what’s wrong. Remember, you wouldn’t pay 20% in real estate commission. So you don’t want to have to pay 20% in taxes or more when you pay off your mortgage on your family’s primary resident residence either.

Ford Stokes:
We encourage our clients to use money that’s in their investment accounts or savings accounts. Withdraw cash value from life insurance plans or savings accounts. You can also consider selling art collectibles, extra vehicles, or a separate piece of real estate to raise funds necessary to pay off the family home. Specifically, let’s say you have 50,000 or 100,000 on on your home and you’ve got a couple of cars sitting there that would be worth about 50,000 apiece. And you’ve got, you know, over $75,000 sitting in a savings account. You should probably pay your house off because you really need to avoid. All of those mortgage payments that are going to cost you so much. The tax burden on the sale of these types of investments is minimal or zero. Housing is among the biggest costs retirees face. Eliminating your mortgage removes a sizable monthly bill from your retirement expenses. You’ll still need to pay taxes and maintenance costs for your home and also insurance. But it will significantly reduce the costs. Of your home. When you eliminate that mortgage payment. So I would encourage you to go ahead and take advantage of this coaching and try to pay off your mortgage. So therefore you can eliminate that mortgage payment and really be happier. Sam, let’s talk about how to stop the bleeding with your bonds. And we encourage all of our listeners to consider a bond replacement.

Ford Stokes:
And Sam, let’s go ahead and play chapter 15 from my book, Annuity 360, which the title of that chapter is Bond Replacement with Fixed Indexed Annuities. Chapter 15 Bond replacement with fixed indexed annuities. Big Idea. Historically, bonds have seen volatility when the market is volatile. Fixed indexed annuities are not subject to the same volatility, which makes them a much safer investment. You might have heard a financial advisor talk about replacing your bonds with annuities to protect your wealth and grow your retirement funds. And my firm, Active Wealth Management, we believe this is a smart way to protect your future. Many people have learned that bonds are a safe way to invest your money, but there are some downsides to bonds that should make you think twice. We’ll talk about some reasons why you should consider replacing your bonds with annuities. First, here’s some information on the history of bonds in the United States. Historical bond volatility. The 1900s saw two secular bear and bull markets in US. Fixed income inflation peaked at the end of World War One and World War Two due to increased government spending. The first bull market started after World War One and lasted through World War Two. The US government kept bond yields artificially low until 1951. The long term bond yields were at 1.9% in 1951. They climbed to nearly 15% in 1981. In the 1970s, globalization had a huge impact on bond markets.

Ford Stokes:
New asset classes such as inflation protected securities, asset backed securities, mortgage backed securities, high yield securities and catastrophe bonds were created. Early investors in these new asset classes were compensated for taking on the challenge. The bond market was coming off its greatest bull market coming into the 21st century. Long term bond yields declined from a high of 15% to 7% by the end of the century. The bull market in bonds showed continued strength in the early 21st century. But there is no guarantee with our current market volatility that this will hold. See Chart 15.1 to see the incredible difference of investing in a fixed index annuity versus investing in bonds. Why you should consider replacing your bonds with annuities. The first question you should ask yourself is this Why would you take market risk with your bonds when your bonds can lose their value? If you just look at the history alone, you can see how uncertain the future of bonds is. Inflation and fluctuating interest rates play a big role in bond yield. Interest rate, risk of bonds, bonds and interest rates have an inverse relationship. When interest rates fall, bond prices rise due to the COVID 19 pandemic, investors have moved their money to bonds because they believe it is a safer investment option. However, this has caused bond yields to fall to all time lows. As of May 24th, 2020, the ten year Treasury note was yielding 0.64%, and the 30 year Treasury bond was at 1.27% reinvestment risk of bonds.

Ford Stokes:
This is the likelihood that an investment’s cash flows will earn less in a new security. For example, an investor buys a ten year, $100,000 Treasury note with an interest rate of 6%. They expect it to earn 6000 a year At the end of the term, interest rates are 4%. If the investor buys another ten year note, they will earn 4000 instead of 6000 annually. Consider the possibility that interest rates change over time when deciding to invest in bonds. Systematic market risk. This refers to the risk that is inherent to the market as a whole. It will affect the overall market, not just a particular stock or industry. This can be unpredictable and it is impossible to avoid. Diversification cannot fix this issue. But the correct asset allocation strategy can make a big difference. Unsystematic, market risk, this type of risk is unique to a specific company or industry similar to systematic market risk. It is impossible to know when unsystematic risk will occur. For example, if someone is investing in health care stocks, they may be aware of some major changes coming to the industry. However, there is no way they can know how those changes will affect the market. There are two factors that contribute to company specific risk business risk. There are two types of risk internal and external.

Ford Stokes:
Internal refers to operational efficiency. An external would be similar to the FDA banning a specific drug that the company sells. Financial risk. This relates to the capital structure of a company. A weak capital structure can lead to inconsistent earnings and cash flow that can prevent a company from trading reduced advisory fees. Investors who trade individual stocks may know how much commission they are paying their broker, but individuals who buy bonds often have no idea what type of commission they are paying. Bond dealers collect commission on bonds they sell called markups, but they bundle them into the price that is quoted to the investors. This means you are unaware of how much commission you were actually paying. Standard. Cause estimates of bond markups is 0.85% of the value for corporate bonds and 1.21% for municipal bonds. However, markups can be as high as 5%, up to $50 per bond. Bonds have finite durations. Bonds only provide income for a finite amount of time, unlike an annuity which provides income for life. You must reinvest your money if you want to continue generating interest with bonds. However, reinvesting with a bond can sometimes come at a loss, as we discussed above. Annuities will provide you with an income you can never outlive. I’ve enjoyed that chapter. Chapter 15 Bond replacement Fixed Indexed annuities. Then I would encourage you to visit annuity 360 net that’s annuity 360 dot net to get your free copy of annuity 360 will actually send you a hard copy and they’ll give you a quick download of a of a report as well.

Ford Stokes:
But it’s not the full book, but we’ll send you a free hard copy of the entire book. And then I want to give you the benefits of fixed indexed annuity. So you’ve got 100% principal protection, meaning you can never do worse than 0%. Zero is your hero with fixed indexed annuities. Also, you get market like gains without market risk, you get to participate in the gains of of a market index that is linked to your account. You also get an income that you can never outlive. There there’s also no fees, there’s no portfolio fees and no advisory fees. There can be income rider fees and other fees associated. You can also have fees or a spread and we can talk to that in the last segment. But you also get liquidity if you need it with up to 10% of your money, you can withdraw. Penalty free without any surrender penalty. And you can do that each year. You can also grow your money tax deferred. That’s a very big tax advantage, especially if you want to put in nonqualified money. It was sitting in to in an investment account or in a savings account. And the next is you get some products that also offer 10 to 20% bonuses on your money that you can get an immediate bonus in it.

Ford Stokes:
Some of these are in the income accounts. Some of them are on the total account value as well. Now, they’re going to let you take out that money the next day. And there are surrender penalties involved. But it can be very attractive to all of a sudden. You know, make a 10 to 20% bonus. I mean, if you put in 500,000 and you’ve got a 20% bonus on the income value of an account, that’s 100 grand that might backfill the losses you’ve had this year. That’s a really good idea. So I would encourage you to reach out to us at 770 685 1777 again 770 685 1777. To book your consultation, your free consultation between now and the end of the year. And we come back, we’re going to talk about the new brackets. The new tax brackets for 2023. And we’ve got some this week in history as well. And we’ve also got our final countdown to review all the great stuff we’re talking about during this special edition of The Active Wealth Show. Be sure to come right back to get a good idea on how you can get started on the right path for your retirement plan for 2023 with our New Year’s resolutions recap again, and also how you can address and eliminate any fears you have with retirement. Got a lot of great information for you in segment four.

Charlie Kirk:
Charlie Kirk here. If you’re concerned about your Investments,then I encourage you to listen to The Active Wealth Show hosted by my good friend Ford Stokes Saturdays at noon And Sundays at 11.

Producer:
Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC. BCM registered investment advisor, not an actual client of active wealth management.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome back. Activators the Active wealth show. We are talking about 2023 tax brackets. The tax percentages are the same. The amounts have gone up. So for. 2023 if you are a single filer. You’ve got to make sure that you are. Trying to stay in the 24% bracket. You want to stay below $182,100. That is the top end of the 24% bracket. And if you’re married, filing jointly, the top end of the 24% bracket is is gone up from $340,100 to 364,200. And that’s big for all you folks that are looking to do Roth conversions, because if you’re married filing jointly, that gives you more room to start doing conversions and still stay at that 24% or lower bracket. We do not recommend doing conversions at 32%. So we want to stay below $364,200. And when you move money from your IRA to your Roth IRA, that is considered ordinary income. So whatever. Let’s say you’re going to convert 100,000. You’re going to convert it 24% or and you’re going to pay 24 grand out of your savings or your investment account or whatever that is, because what you want to do is you want to take taxable money, pay the taxes on your tax deferred money as it moves from tax deferred to tax free.

Ford Stokes:
So we’re moving money from our IRA to our Roth IRA. And we want to move at dollar for dollar. So if we take $100,000, we want to be able to watch 100 grand come out of our IRA and 100 grand go up into our Roth IRA, and we’re going to take money from our car fund or our investment account or our savings account, and we’re going to use that money to pay the taxes on it. And if you’re going to pay 24% in taxes on 100 grand, you’re going to take $24,000 out of your savings or your investment account, and you’re going to pay the taxes on that. And therefore, the 100,000 you’re taking out of your IRA is moving into your Roth IRA. Dollar for dollar. If you’ve got questions on that, if I confused you at all on this Roth conversion hint, then I would encourage you to visit ActiveWealth.com That’s ActiveWealth.com and we’re happy to help you and we’ll implement a Roth ladder conversion for you and help you get going on the right road to deleting the IRS out of being your partner in retirement. We think that’s a really good idea.

Ford Stokes:
By the way, the cost of living adjustment for 2023, in case you’ve been living in under a rock or in a cave somewhere. The Social Security Administration went up 8.7%. That will take effect in February, January or February, depending on who you are. And when you were born and all that stuff will go up 8.7%. This is up from last year’s 5.9% cost of living adjustment. But I want to be clear, the last two years, the Social Security Administration, which is usually lags well behind what the actual rate of inflation is. They have gone up a total of 14.6% over the last two years. That’s a lot of extra money for groceries and a lot of extra money required for gas to travel and things like that. And we want to do everything we can to help protect you, help you. Grow your hard earned in hard save money. And the best way to do that is to just visit us at Active Wealth dot com and click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner. We’ll give you a free Social Security maximization report. It’s like a $200 to $250 value. We’re happy to do it for you. Absolutely free at no cost to you.

Producer:
It’s this week in history.

Ford Stokes:
It’s an interesting one. On this date in history. In 1948, English singer songwriter and television personality Ozzy Osborne was born. He served as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath in the 1970s, and he went on to become a successful solo artist, releasing 12 studio albums. The first seven received multi platinum certifications. And on December 4th, on this date in history, in 1954, the first ever Burger King opened in Miami, Florida. I didn’t know that Same. Did you know that Burger King opened up in Miami?

Producer:
I had no idea that that’s where it started. What’s amazing is that they’ve got almost 19,000 stores in over 100 countries. You know, I’m not someone who goes to Burger King too often, but now I’m going to have my eyes peeled because that is a lot of locations.

Ford Stokes:
It is for sure. I like their burgers. I like the flame broiled burger. I really do. I. Not the biggest fan of their fries, but I’m a big fan of their burgers for sure.

Producer:
Yeah. When I saw this one on the list for this week, I actually called up my mom because I remember she said that when she was a teenager, her first job in Syracuse, New York, was at a Burger King. And it’s it’s changed quite a bit since 1954 when it first started and since the early eighties when she worked there.

Ford Stokes:
No question.

Producer:
Final countdown. So let’s recap what you may have missed. It’s the final countdown.

Ford Stokes:
We talked about really two big things. On this week’s show, we talked about the New Year’s resolutions that we can help you keep in 2023. So let’s quickly recap. The New Year’s resolutions are calculate your net worth. Number one, check up on your retirement accounts. Number two. Number three is update your savings goals. Number four is make a plan to pay off your debts. Number five is rebalance your portfolio. Number six is pay down your credit cards. Number seven is review your credit report. And number eight is review your life insurance needs. Now, here’s the seven. Fears that retirees fear the most. Number one is Social Security cutbacks. A lot of people are predicting that Social Security is going to be cut by 30% starting in 2034. That is something to be concerned with and something to plan so that you can depend on yourself and not the US government. Number two is tax increases is one of the biggest fears because right now historically are our taxes are rates are now some of the lowest they’ve ever been. Number three is inflation. That’s a big fear that people have that they’re experiencing right now with 14.6% inflation, according to the Social Security Administration over the last two years. And it’s likely higher than that. Number four is portfolio balances going down to quickly. Many of our listeners have experienced that this year. Obviously, folks haven’t the portfolio balances haven’t gone down as much, I don’t believe, with folks that are with us, but we have seen a lot of people that are coming in with significant downturns and drawdowns in their accounts, and we encourage you to give us a call so we can help you.

Ford Stokes:
Number five is market crashes. We went over what happened between 2000 to 2002 with three straight years of declines of the S&P 500. And number six was health care expenses. A lot of people are concerned about health care expenses with potential of 325,000 in health care expenditure for a married couple over a 30 to 35 plus year retirement. And then number seven was having to care for a loved one. We talked about, you know, there’s over 40 million unpaid caregivers in the United States right now where people are taking care of their loved ones. And we also gave you the cost cutter The retirement cost cutter of the week was to pay off your mortgage completely. We’re so glad you’ve been with us here in the Active Wealth Show. We hope you learned a lot in this week’s show. We felt like this was a special. Episode of The Active Wealth Show, so we could really get you out on the right foot and also help you avoid some of the fears that a lot of retirees have to get better prepared and have a better nest egg and have a better income plan. And we’re happy to work with you on a retirement consultation so you can make an informed financial decision when you come in and meet with us and you get all five of the things that we give you.

Ford Stokes:
It’s a $500 value. We will give that to you absolutely. At no cost to you. We do that because we’re fiduciaries. We need to put your needs ahead of our own. But again, you’re going to get a Social Security maximization report. You’ll get a retirement income report. And along with a portfolio analysis, we’ll also give you a financial plan for your 95th birthday with your current plan. That has nothing to do with us. We’ll also give you number four is a retirement plan, your 95th birthday with our own portfolio recommended portfolios. And number five is we will give you a financial plan for your 95th birthday with our recommended portfolios. That also includes a Roth ladder conversion plan. So you can delete the IRAs out of being your partner with your retirement accounts. We’re so glad you’re with us and we’re so glad you’ve been listening to us on the Active Wealth Show. Thank you for making us the number one Listen to show on AM 920 The Answer on the weekends. We sincerely appreciate you. And from all of us here at the Active Wealth Show and also at AM 920 the Answer we hope you had a really happy Thanksgiving. We hope you’re enjoying the holidays. Make sure you get out and vote with your wallet and your retirement in mind. And have a great week, everybody.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to the Active Wealth Show. You deserve to work with a private wealth management firm that will strategically work to protect your hard earned assets. To schedule your free consultation, call your Chief Financial Advisor Ford Stokes at 770 685 1777 or visit ActiveWealth.com.

Producer:
Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC. Become a Registered Investment Advisor. BCM and Active Wealth Management are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results.

Producer:
Fixed annuities, including multi-year guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuer. Registered Investment Advisors and Investment Advisor Representatives act as fiduciaries. For all of our investment management clients, we have an obligation to act in the best interests of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest, if any exist. Refer to our firm brochure the ADV two A page four for additional information, any comments regarding safe and secure products and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products. Fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company and are not offered by BWA.

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