How to Create a Super Personal Pension for Your Retirement

5.11.24: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

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

Speaker1:
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.

Speaker2:
Welcome to Retirement Results, the national radio show and podcast for listeners like you who want to protect and grow their hard earned money. In a world filled with so much uncertainty and financial risk, we seek to cut through the noise and build successful plans for hard working Americans on their road to financial freedom. Retirement results is powered by Active Wealth Management, a team of fiduciary advisors who always place your needs first and now your host. He's a registered social security analyst, member of the Forbes Finance Council, an author of multiple books on retirement planning. Here's your chief financial advisor, Ford Stokes.

Speaker3:
And welcome to the retirement results. I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. I've got Sam Davis here with us as our co-host and senior financial advisor. Say hello to everybody.

Speaker4:
Sam, welcome to the weekend result drivers. Welcome back to retirement results. We're here once again. It's a new week and we've got new information to help you feel more prepared when it comes to planning for retirement, securing that financial future that you've always dreamed of and achieving your financial goals as well. And Ford, we've got some really important information. Today we're going to talk about how you can create a super personal pension, not your ordinary, you know, grandma and grandpa's pension that they got decades ago, some really cool, sophisticated products that we can use to establish a super personal pension. And we're also going to be talking about some things you'll want to avoid as well, such as target date funds. And I'm looking forward to getting into it with the result. Drivers today and Ford, happy to have you back once again to lead the charge. Yeah, we're.

Speaker3:
Excited about it. We're going to talk about also how to really optimize that 401 K. We're talking about downsizing. We're getting a lot of questions about Ford. When should we downsize? What's the right way to downsize? How do we get how do we get in a place where our kids are going to still come visit us? You know, what do we do? And then also, what should I do with that money that is left over once we downsize? Because a lot of people are sitting on million, $2 million houses in the Atlanta area, and they don't necessarily want to have to live in that and also pay the taxes on those houses. So we're going to talk about that in segment four. But we've got a lot to talk about with this super personal pension. You know when you deal with pensions generally there's no cash value at the end of it when you're dealing with an employer. Right, Sam. So you got it where you get an income and then all of a sudden when you pass away or when you and your spouse pass away, the income is no longer there. And whatever the account value goes back to the insurance company that originally insured, it doesn't go back to the company you work for. It goes back to that insurance company because. Those products are. They use Spias single premium immediate annuities to implement those plans. So we're going to dive deep into that today. Um, also we're trying to help protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved wealth here on retirement results. And we are ready to go. Why don't you go ahead and give us the financial wisdom quote of the week, Sam.

Speaker5:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker6:
This week's quote of the week is.

Speaker4:
Brought to us by George Foreman, the renowned boxing champion. And George Foreman once said, the question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income.

Speaker3:
Yeah, I couldn't have said it better. Myself and George Foreman, in my opinion, is like the Babe Ruth of our era. Babe Ruth's invested 50% of his salary for six years in a row into annuities because he did not want to be penniless during retirement. And his agent, he was blowing through a lot of his money. His agent's like, look, we can't do this. We need to get you set up where we're not blowing through this money, because I'm not going to be the agent of the best baseball player who ever lived, and all of a sudden, you're going to be penniless. And I think George Foreman is similar. George Foreman, you know, obviously, the endorser of the George Foreman Grill made millions and millions of dollars doing that. And he's got 12 kids and he needed to make sure he had an income. But I think it's really good coaching for all of us that we really need to figure out what income are we going to retire at. And if you've got questions about what income. You already are retired at or what income rate? You can retire at if you're a pre-retiree. Let's say you're in the that retirement red zone of five years before retirement and five years after. I would encourage to give us a call. We'll give you A41K review. We'll give you that portfolio analysis so you can understand the fees you're paying and the risks you're taking and also the correlation of your assets. And then we'll also give you a financial plan to your 95th birthday at no cost to you with your current plan will also give you one with our recommended plan.

Speaker3:
And a strategic raw bladder conversion because you. I'm guessing Sam and I are guessing here on retirement results, on the retirement Results radio show this week that you probably want to delete the IRS from being your partner in retirement. That's probably what you want to do at some point. So let's go ahead and get started on that today. If you've been a long time listener, we we had several long time listeners who were first time callers this past week. Wanted to shout out to Bruce and Patrice, um, out there in Sugarloaf, thanks so much for giving us a call. And. We are super excited to help each and every one of you plan for retirement. All you've got to do is reach out to us at (888) 814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304. Or you can visit retirement results.com/plan. That's retirement results.com/plan. And Sam you've got a really important and interesting event coming up. And you and I will both be there at the Chamber library starting this week. And it's back to back days on the 15th of May, which is a Wednesday, and the 16th of May, which is a Thursday at the Chamblee Library, which is located at 4115 Claremont Road. That's in Chamblee, Georgia, 303 four one. And those events started on the 15th. It starts at 6:30 p.m. and on the 16th it starts at 4 p.m.. Because the library closes a little bit earlier on that day. Um, just talk a little bit about what you're going to share and also what I'm going to share at that retire Well seminar. Yeah.

Speaker4:
We're excited to be putting on a complimentary workshop for all of our listeners through US Retirement Education, a nonprofit that we're affiliated with. And, um, Ford, you're going to be speaking, you know, as our resident registered social security analyst, about how everyone there can maximize their Social Security benefit. I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time on reducing fees and how to delete the IRS from your retirement accounts. Um, we're also going to be talking a little bit about some of the stuff that we're talking about on the show today with target date funds. So if you listen to the rest of the show, you're getting a little bit of a preview as to what we're going to be doing during that workshop at the Chamblee Library. And again, if you'd like to attend, we've got two different workshops. One is Wednesday, May 15th. That one will start at 630 and the other is Thursday, May 16th, and that one will start at 4 p.m.. So we've got one that's a little bit later in the evening, and one that's kind of in that late afternoon time slot. And if you'd like to register, you can just give us a call here in our Atlanta office. We'll pick up the phone and we'll book you for that. And our Atlanta number is (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777. And looking forward to bringing some more important information to the live audience there.

Speaker3:
We've only also we've only got 30 spots for each of those dates based on the room size there at the Chamblee Library. And shout out to, uh, the Chamblee Library and all those great folks there. Um, I would encourage you to go ahead and try to attend this important retirement education event. It's great to work with the US retirement education, and we're putting on our Retire Well Reduced Taxes and Grow Assets seminar. And I think you're really going to like what you learn at this seminar. We're excited to do that. And if you've had questions about Social Security, you've got questions about how to generate retirement income you can never outlive. If you had questions on how to protect and grow your current assets, if you've got questions on how to optimize your portfolio, reduce the expense ratio within your portfolio. If you don't know what an expense ratio is, I would strongly encourage you to call us at (770) 685-1777 to go ahead and sign up for this incredible seminar, because you're going to learn what an expense ratio is. You're going to learn about standard deviation, which is a measurement of risk.

Speaker3:
And that's all within portfolios utilizing exchange traded funds and stocks to implement your portfolio. And how to try to avoid high expense ratio products like mutual funds. All you have to do is reach out to us again at (770) 685-1777, again (770) 685-1777. Also, everybody who attends is going to get a free copy of my book signed. I've already signed all of them. My autographed, all of them. Sam. So we're ready to go with that. Um, uh, that book is annuity 360. Learn all you need to know about annuities, which ones to avoid and which one to purchase for a successful retirement. And we're going to talk more about what's going on with how to generate your own super personal pension right here after the break as well. I think this next segment could be one of the most important segments we've done in a long time. And Sam, I just hope everybody comes out and sees us over there at the Chamberlain Library for that retire well, reduce taxes and grow assets. Seminar.

Speaker4:
Yeah, it should be a good time. I mean, we've been doing the show about five years now, but it's always nice to see your audience's, uh, smiling faces looking back at you. We don't get to see any of our audience when we're here doing the show together, but always happy to be here, bringing you important information. And we're going to get right back to it when we come back. Visit retirement results.com/plan to get started with us today. That's retirement results.com/plan and retirement results will be right back.

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to retirement results. Schedule your complimentary financial consultation now at retirement results. Com or by calling toll free at (888) 814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304.

Speaker1:
Fixed annuities, including multiyear 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.

Speaker2:
You're listening to retirement results. And now back to the show.

Speaker3:
And welcome back result drivers I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial adviser. Got Sam Davis, our senior financial advisor and co-host here on retirement results here with us. And we're asking some important questions that many of you have been asking us, who have picked up the phone and called us. Um, also want to give a shout out to Brian and Kelly out of Decatur who came into our office. And this week Kelly works with AT&T. She's fantastic. And Brian's a great graphic designer and it was great to see them. They've been long time clients. Just want to give a shout out to Brian and Kelly. And we're getting a lot of questions, Sam, about what's going on with fixed indexed annuities. Why? Why is it a good time to invest in fixed indexed annuities? And, you know, a lot of other different kind of questions. And I wanted you to kind of take these one by one, ask me one by one, and I'm going to go ahead and try to answer these important questions for folks. So if you could go ahead and share the first question to ask about building your own super personal pension and also fixed indexed annuities.

Speaker4:
Yeah, absolutely. This first one really pertains to the times that we're living in now and kind of the economic climate. Why is now one of the best times ever to own a fixed indexed annuity?

Speaker3:
Yeah. So the the best time to buy and to purchase a fixed indexed annuity is literally in the history of annuities is really right around now because. First of all, annuities are regulated by the states. They're not regulated by the. They're not regulated by the federal government, which is really good news because the states have to balance their budgets, whereas the federal government obviously does not. That's why US debt clock is just a runaway freight train with over, you know, $34 trillion in in US national debt. So. When the states are regulating annuities, they require that these annuity companies and insurance companies invest 100% of the money you give them in the ten year US Treasury. Then, and only then, can insurance companies and annuity companies then take interest generated from those ten year US treasuries. And then purchase options, the underlying indices. Traditionally throughout my career, it's been about the US Treasury is kind of yielded 1.4 to 1.8%, and today it's yielding 4.5 4.6% in greater. That's triple of what it's been. And therefore they've got triple the amount of interest dollars that they can use to invest in those options. So therefore they can give you a higher participation rate and how the index performs that generates a really high participation rate and also generates a really high return on a one, 2 or 3 year protection period. All annuities have protection periods where they lock in your principal and your gains during these protection periods.

Speaker3:
And then then the investment of the index options. And the money starts over and you're you can't lose any money from that previous growth part. So let's say you've got a two year protection period. Let's say you got a 20%. Let's say you invest $100,000, you got 100 grand into a fixed indexed annuity. You get $20,000 put into the income account. So you have $120,000 in your income account that you can then start drawing from within a year, 366 days, just one day after 365. And then let's say you also get an 8% guaranteed interest for that first year. So you're at 128% year one. But if that if that index performs, let's say 5% a year for two years, and you've got a 330% participation rate, less a 1% spread fee. That's a 32% growth on your money. So you're taking 120 then because it replaces the 8% growth over two years. And instead of, you know, what would have been 128% of what would have been 28% growth on your money. You're looking at. 52% growth on your money, 20% of the immediate bonus, and then 32% as well. That's in the income account. But the the actual account value is 32% higher than what it was when you invested the premium two years prior. Here's the easy math.

Speaker3:
If it goes up 5% a year for two years, that's 10%. Times 3.2 times. So ten times 3.2 is 32%. Can you imagine getting 32% growth on your money in two years? Without it being at risk in the market. That's what we're facing, and that's what we're seeing right now in the marketplace with some of these products. Sam. And we've got to do a great job at educating people on how to build that super personal pension. And the reason why the word super is in front of personal pension is this most pensions, you don't have cash value left over. You don't have a value left over to pass on to your heirs. You might be able to add your spouse at a 50% income level or 75% income level. What you would have gotten, but you're not going to be able to give them account value. You're definitely not going be able to pass on account value to your kids. But if you get into the right kind of fixed indexed annuity, that also outpaces the withdrawal rate, the interest growth outpaces the withdrawal rate. You're going to get increasing income and you're going to get account value that is staying the same or growing. So you have account value to pass on to your heirs as well. That's what we're talking about with a super personal pension because there's account value left over.

Speaker4:
Next one. I think we kind of touched on one thing that makes an annuity great. But in your opinion, Ford, what are some other things that make an annuity great, particularly a fixed indexed annuity? And then I definitely have my answer as well.

Speaker3:
Yeah, I want to hear from you as well on this. So number one would be principal protection. You want to protect that income portion of your portfolio. So if you're looking at a traditional 60 over 40 portfolio, 60% stocks and 40% income based product, whether it's bonds or fixed indexed annuities or structured notes or whatever, I would strongly urge you to consider replacing that 40% with fixed indexed annuities so it can be safe, and you can protect the income portion that you're going to need in retirement. So you don't become a burden on your kids. That's one what makes annuities great a fixed indexed annuity. Also, a lot of them are offering up significant income bonuses. I think that's really helpful. Uh, the other thing that's really great about a fixed indexed annuity is they give you 0.1% more in income each year that you age. So you get increasing income even if there's not growth on the account. But the biggest is zero is your hero. You don't lose your principal. Contractually, and that's really helpful, um, especially in these volatile times and what people have seen in 2008, 2018, 2022, even all the way back to 1987 and 2000, there's a lot of retirees that have dealt with those issues as well.

Speaker3:
And I would just strongly urge you to consider taking the income portion of your portfolio and investing it into fixed indexed annuities. Also, the lower fees are really important to, um, you're much lower in fees than a variable annuity. Variable annuities kind of give annuities a bad name, and I would just stay away from variable annuities because there are 3 to 6% in fees. But with a fixed indexed annuity it's like typically 0 to 1% on average. And that's really great. And also you can delete the advisory and portfolio fees from that portion that's invested in fixed indexed annuity, because your financial advisor shouldn't be double dipping when they get paid a commission from the insurance company, they should not be charging you, um, advisory and portfolio fees just on the money that's in a fixed indexed annuity as well. And if they are, give us a call and we can help you. But Sam, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what makes a fixed indexed annuity a great product to own.

Speaker4:
Yeah. Well, a FIA or a fixed indexed annuity is just a great tool to protect a good portion of that money that you've worked so hard for decades to save. I mean, I think of all the different things in our life that we're paying every month and every year for to insure and protect from our homes, our vehicles, health, life insurance, um, I mean, for people will even buy travel insurance for their vacations, but have you protected a percentage of your portfolio? I mean, a lot of people who come in and meet with us, they've got half a million, a million, $2 million saved or more. And to see all of that money at risk in the market when they come in and meet with us, that's a bit of a scary thing. And this is a tool that allows you to protect that portion of it. Never do worse than zero. And as you highlighted in the answer to the first question, some fantastic growth potential as well. And really, that super personal pension, that cash value, that flexibility, that pension from your workplace, they're not giving you too many options. It's kind of a set it up and and then the check's going to come every month as long as you live. But this way you still get that monthly income for life, but a lot more options to go with it.

Speaker3:
Well, also the biggest difference too, if you're just looking at it on an income level, the fixed indexed annuities that we are marketing and sharing with our clients and letting them make the decision on which one they want to own. They increase in income over time, whereas most. Pensions that are offered by employers because there is that income level is flat the entire time. So when you have inflation, those people that have got those flat pensions really do lose purchasing power. And we come back from the break. I'm going to talk a little bit about that super personal pension. And I'm also. I'm going to share a really interesting problem solver when we come back from the break. You listen to retirement results. Come right back. You want to hear this important story.

I'll never be your beast. Burden. My back is broken. But it's a.

Speaker2:
Fixed indexed annuities can help protect your retirement savings against market ups and downs. Nationwide's peak ten can help protect against market risk and provide guaranteed income for life. Peak ten also has an optional rider that offers an immediate 20% bonus based on your principal. Apply to your income benefit base. Dial pound 250 and use the keyword retirement results to connect with a qualified advisor. Now. Indexed or fixed annuities are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to caps, restrictions, fees, and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Any bonuses mentioned may be subject to additional restrictions and regulations based on the offering annuity company. They may include higher surrender charges, longer surrender charge periods or lower caps. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Guarantees and protections referenced within are subject to the claims paying ability of Nationwide life and annuity insurance company nationwide. Peak ten is issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio. Neither nationwide nor its other entities are associated or affiliated with Brookstone Capital Management, LLC. Money questions? Money answers. You're listening. To retirement results.

Speaker3:
And welcome back result drivers I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. I've got Sam Davis, our senior financial advisor and co-host here with me. And we are talking about why now is really one of the best times to invest in a fixed indexed annuity. And we're going through these questions that we're getting so many questions from people who are calling our office. Again, if you're a long time listener, if you've been listening for a couple of years, go ahead and pick up the phone and give us a call. You can call us at 1-888-814-0304. Again (888) 814-0304 or visit retirement results.com/plan. That's retirement results.com/plan.

Speaker4:
Yeah we mentioned a little bit in segment two. But what is a super personal pension and what makes a pension super.

Speaker3:
Well the best thing that makes a pension super is if the annuity rate and the participation rate and the guaranteed interest rate outpaces the withdrawal rate. You know, sometimes that stuff's not guaranteed. But you do have a really good understanding based on the last ten years of the performance of an individual index, especially a lot of these volatility indexes that are designed to deliver 83 to 85% or more of the time, a positive return during the protection period. Also, most protection periods are between one, 2 or 3 years where they are locking in your principal and your gains, and you're starting over for the next one, 2 or 3 years. A super personal pension. I'm going to boil it down to this. Your interest rate, the illustrated interest rate is outpacing the withdrawal rate throughout the life of the annuity. So therefore there will be account value left over at the end of that annuity. We think that's a really good thing. And we think that's really super.

Speaker6:
What do you look for.

Speaker4:
In an annuity. And what should the listeners out there be looking for when they're considering an annuity to create that super personal pension. Yeah.

Speaker3:
So there's there's several things to look for because again, an annuity is a contractual agreement between you and the annuity company. First thing I look for is illustrated rate I want to see what's the interest rate based on the last ten years the performance of the annuity. And I want to make sure that's outpacing my withdrawal rate. So I'm going to have account value left over. That's number one. Number two is I want to make sure that that the fees on that annuity are in that range of 1% or less, because I don't want to pay crazy amounts of fees like what come with a variable annuity, which is 3 to 6%. I want to stay away from the variable annuity. I want to invest in a fixed indexed annuity. So that's another big one. Number three is I want to consider hey am I going to get increasing income. So am I getting paid 0.1% a year each year that I age. And if that's the case then yeah, I'm going to I'm going to be interested in that annuity because I'm trying to outpace my income needs and make sure I've got a positive income surplus, not a negative income gap during retirement. And then lastly, I'm going to look for whether I want to do a bonus or not. And what's the size of that bonus, especially if I'm trying to do a rollover or a 1035 tax free exchange from one annuity to another. I want to get that bonus that will help make up the difference so that my income account isn't drawn down. There's a lot of products out there that are offering 20 and 25 plus percent in bonuses that go into the income account, and then the account value grows as the index grows over time. So those are big things that I look for.

Speaker4:
In the last question which annuities are great right now and why?

Speaker3:
Well, you've got a lot of different products, but some of the best products that are offered by mutual insurance companies where the policyholders or the shareholders, and they don't have to necessarily make that next fiscal quarter. They seem to be offering the best returns, best rate of returns, best income, payout percentages, and best bonuses that we've seen. Nationwide has a product called the nationwide Peek ten. It is a two year protection period product. They're offering a 20% immediate bonus. They're offering 8% simple interest guaranteed on your money each year that you defer and wait on taking withdrawals. And they also are offering a 330% participation rate in the index with a 1% spread fee. So it's a 3.2 x net of. However, the index does over each two year period, and then another one designed for accumulation that we really like. It's offered by Sentinel Security Life and they've got the accumulation Protector plus. And it's the app is what we call it. And that product is amazing because they it's the first product I've seen, Sam, where they allow you to lock in your participation rate for ten years for the life of the product. A lot of these products, you can only lock in for that first protection period, whether it's one, 2 or 3 years.

Speaker3:
And if you want to lock in this high participation rate with these high interest rates, with the ten year US Treasury for ten years, especially for those of you that are in their in your 50s or 60s, that's a really good idea. And, you know, they're a highly rated carrier as well. Their triple B plus or or better. And I would strongly encourage you to consider one of those two products. I think those are the two best that we've seen out there. There are other products that might have a higher payout percentage, but as far as having cash value left over, growing your money, protecting your money and generating an income, those two products are really strong. The second one from Sentinel Security Life, that is an accumulation product, not really income driven, but if you've got questions about that or encourage you to visit retirement results. Com slash plan, put your information in, we'll reach out to you and we'll set you up with illustrations. You can kick the tires on these really great fixed indexed annuity products. Go ahead and reach out to us at retirement results. Com slash plan or give us a call at 1-888-814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304 for your own complimentary retirement income consultation.

Speaker4:
Okay, Ford. And one of our listeners favorite segments is when we bring some real world examples, we change the names and some of the information, of course, to protect the identities of the clients and prospects. But here is our problem solver for this week.

Speaker2:
It's time for this week's Problem Solver.

Speaker3:
It's some really nice ladies call me. They had listened to us on the podcast. And his three sisters. They live in Florida. Um, but they their mom was originally out of New York, and they've got a trust. A family trust with the father passed away. There's $8.533 million in the trust with the mom, who's 91 years young. And unfortunately, she's gone to hospice and they're trying to get her affairs in order. And they've got three sisters. The sister is the trustee over. She's got power of attorney and all that stuff over. The trust and also for the for the mom. And there's trustees that they were they're working with a northeastern based company that's kind of a a wirehouse and trust company. And it was shocking to see how much that company is charging in fees. They were charging 1.32% in advisory and portfolio fees. They were charging more money for admin fees, and they were also charging another 1.25% to act as the trustee over the trust, over the $8.5 million trust. And when we show them all the fees that they were paying, they could not believe it. They were. They were just blown away. And as a fiduciary, I just had to at least get on the phone with them and the wirehouse and we went through all the fees and then they're going to make their decision.

Speaker3:
I think they're going to go with us because we're a fraction of what they're paying. But the other thing that was really scary was they had 84.4% of the mom's assets were invested into stocks. And and and also mutual funds, and the expense ratio was well over 1%. In addition. And so it was just everywhere you turn, there was real concerns, whether it's too much risk. They'd lost 28% and 2022 and it came back some. But it hasn't come back all the way because they're invested in dividend stocks so they can get some income. And it was just a huge concern for me that you're seeing people being taken advantage of and, you know, so high, so much in fees. It was just unbelievable per quarter what they were paying in fees. But also the risk they were taking. So they now understand the fees they're paying and the risks they were taking, as measured by standard deviation, which was significant. And they understood the correlation of their assets because they were in large cap stocks. And the mom who's in hospice and doesn't really know. Much anymore. And she's got dementia. You know, she has no idea. And these three sisters are all in their mid 60s, were super concerned because they've got 12 grandkids.

Speaker3:
They got to they got to protect as well. And so I would say you really need to inspect what you expect with your portfolio. And if you're with a large wirehouse you really need to understand what the fees you're paying. What's the expense ratio within your portfolio, what are the advisory fees you're paying, what are the portfolio fees? And if you have a trust and you don't know what you're paying in fees for that NC to be a trustee over the trust, I would encourage you to reach out to us at (888) 814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304 or visit retirement results.com/plan. That's retirement results. Com slash plan because you really can get more tax efficient, fee efficient and market efficient with your portfolio, even if you've got $8.5 million for three people. Plus, what will be three people and and then also for 12 grandkids. So it's a total of 15 people we're trying to take care of plus spouses. You've got to make sure that you don't have a lot of holes in that bucket leaking important money out of the trust. So that's our problem solver. It was a trust today, but everybody can learn from it. Let's get more fee efficient at least with our portfolio.

Speaker4:
All right. And when we come back we're going to give you a 401 K checklist. We found that a lot of our listeners are just setting it and forgetting it when it comes to their 401 K. And we want to help you improve that important asset, because a lot of people have a lot of their hard earned savings in there. So come right back. We'll give you our 401 K checklist. You're listening to retirement results.

Speaker1:
Do you like this show? Let us know by leaving a rating on our Spotify show page.

Speaker2:
Like what you're hearing. Subscribe to the podcast and listen to retirement results anytime, anywhere.

Speaker4:
And welcome back to Retirement results. Result drivers I'm Sam Davis, your co-host and senior financial advisor. I'm here with Ford Stokes, our chief financial adviser and resident social security analyst. And before the break, Ford was giving us our problem solver for the week. If you missed that segment, you can check us out wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you did miss it, I would encourage you to go back and give that a listen and and maybe even give it another listen. If you've been with us the whole show, because Ford, I think that's a really important thing for people to understand. You know, there's so many things that we discuss that are really not too complicated. It's just things that people don't know about. And I think if people have questions, they should definitely reach out and give us a call.

Speaker3:
Yeah. It's just so important for people to understand the fees they're paying and the risks they're taking and the correlation of their assets. I mean, some people feel like, well, you know, I my account grows almost every year, 2022. It did not grow. It was a lot of people will say, you know, it really had a bad year in 2022. And they're almost embarrassed to talk to their advisor about, hey, what am I paying in fees? What's my expense ratio? And if you want a second opinion, I would encourage you to reach out to us at retirement results. Comm slash plan. That's retirement results. Comm slash plan. So, Sam, go ahead. Let's talk about how people can build a better retirement with our own 401 K checklist. And again, let's remind everybody that we really can give you a free 41K review at no cost to you. All you've got to do is reach out to us at retirement results. Com slash plan.

Speaker4:
Yeah. And I highly recommend anybody listening to jot down our number or visit the website sometime after the show whenever you you're done driving because so many people aren't getting help when it comes to their 401 K or other workplace retirement plans. So if you have a 457 or a 403 B, this checklist pertains to you as well. Just most of us out there have 401 k's. And step one is keep an eye on your investments. One thing that is pretty nice, about 401 K's is a lot of employers offer a free match and if they do, you should contribute at least up to that level to take advantage of the full benefit. Typically there's a multi year vesting schedule with that sort of money, but as long as you write it out, that is a 100% return as they match your contributions. So you want to take advantage of that. And don't be tempted to stop contributing when you have a down market or a recession. These are actually times when prices are lower and you get the potential to realize future gains, because the way you set up your contributions with a 401 K, you're putting that money in every two weeks, your dollar cost averaging. So as the market goes up and down, you're going to be paying less per share over time than you would if you just dumped everything all at once and you were trying to time the market. And if you want to discover how your portfolio has performed so far this year, reach out to us at retirement results. Com slash plan. You'll see our phone number there. You can give us a call and we'll show you exactly how your portfolio has performed over the past few years. And there have been some bumps in the road for, to say the least, just in the last 4 or 5 years, no question.

Speaker3:
And also remember, you can get 100% growth on when you get that employer match. So take advantage of that 100% growth on your money when they match the money you're putting in. Yeah. Step two is you want to check for target date funds. We want to avoid those target date funds as much as we can. Don't be fooled into thinking these funds are right for you. Just because you're planning to retire at a certain age, your situation is not the same as everyone else who is planning to retire around 2025, 2030, 2035, etc. target date funds have increased bond exposure that can lead to lack of performance and higher fees. Just look at how these funds have performed over the last five years. It's for time. We're going to move on quickly. But I got to tell you, it's interesting that the 2050 fund has lost less money and performed better than the 2025 fund, because the bonds have performed so poorly over the last three years. The 60 over 40 portfolio had its worst year in 41 years in 2022. So let's get out of those target date funds. We can help you optimize your 41K based on what investment options you have available. All you've got to do is reach out to us at retirement Results. Com slash plan, and we'll get started on helping you rebalance and reallocate your 401 K plan. And Sam, what's step number three for making a better retirement with folks four one KS yeah.

Speaker4:
Step three is watch out for fees here at Active Wealth Management and Retirement Results. We want to help people delete fees as much as. Possible. We once your hard earned and hard saved money working for you, not going out to pay someone else and line someone else's pockets. A lot of investors assume fee structures are more or less the same. Um, if they're even thinking about fees at all. So keep an eye on those 401 K fees. Take a look, see which investments have a better efficiency ratio and work based plan. Administrators will issue you a prospectus, and if you have trouble accessing your latest statements through your 401 K, you can reach out to us, give us a call, we'll help you with that. We do this sort of thing every single week.

Speaker3:
That's right. And also step four is just remember it's your money. Take time to take control of your own retirement savings. Is your employer or your advisor really helping you with your investments, or do they want you just to set it and forget it? That's usually what happens with 401 K's. Also remember with old four one K's, you can't contribute any more money to that plan and we want to do everything we can to help you grow those hard earned and hard saved assets. Also, remember, you've got limited investment options with those orphaned four one K's from former employers.

Speaker4:
And that is our 401 K checklist. If you'd like us to help you work through that for your 401 K or any other retirement savings account or savings plan, reach out to retirement results. Comm slash plan. That's retirement results. Comm slash plan or give us a call. You'll find the phone number at that website. And just one more time forward because we've got a few minutes left in this week's show. Want to let people know our Atlanta area listeners can attend a free seminar next week. We've got two. One is on Wednesday, May 15th. That one is at 630. And Thursday, May 16th at 4 p.m. both of those are going to be held at the Chamblee Public Library. That's at 4115 Claremont Road in Chamblee. And if you'd like to get more information or register, give us a call here in our Atlanta office, the number is (770) 685-1777.

Speaker3:
It's a good one hour investment of your time, and I would encourage you to reach out to us to learn a lot about Social Security, learn a lot about how you can protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved assets, and also how to generate important retirement income and how to build that super personal pension. We're going to help you do that here with active wealth management. And obviously the Retirement Results radio and television show now are super excited to be airing our television show in Huntsville in Columbus as well. It's the final.

Speaker2:
Countdown. So let's recap what you may have missed. It's the final countdown. The final countdown.

Speaker3:
So on today's show, we talked about how to secure your retirement with a super personal pension. We also answered important listener questions about fixed indexed annuities that have come in over the last two weeks. Sam also shared an important great quote from George Foreman. Of George Foreman Grills and obviously the famous boxer who said, the question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income. And so I think that is a really good focus area for all of us to consider. And then we also went through our 401 K checklist. And Sam, can you quickly review the 41K checklist again for everybody so they can get more efficient with their four one k's? Yeah.

Speaker4:
Step one keep an eye on your investments. If your employer offers a free match, make sure you're contributing as much as you need to so you take advantage of that full match. Step two is check for target date funds. If you have target date funds in your 400, one K or any other sort of retirement or investment account, give us a call so we can help you replace those with something that is much more suitable and fee efficient. Step three is watch out for fees. Delete fees wherever possible. We can absolutely help you do that. And step four is it's your money. Take control. Don't just set it and forget it. It's a lot of money that people have saved up in their 401 s and retirement accounts. Make sure it's working for you. 1 or 2% difference can be a lot for people forward. So step four is it's your money. Take control. Yeah.

Speaker3:
And so remember if you have questions and you want to get help from us, absolutely no cost to you because we're fiduciaries. We're here to put your needs ahead of our own. Just reach out to us at retirement results. Comm slash plan. That's retirement results. Comm slash plan. Or you can give us a call at 1-888-814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304. Remember, when you're seeking information about retirement, if you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly. Be as aggressive as you can to get as much information as you can. And on this show, we talked about how important it was for you to understand the fees you're paying with our problem solver. Let's make sure that you least understand the expense ratio, your advisory fees, your portfolio fees you're paying, and the risk you're taking with your portfolio, and specifically the fees that are being paid to your advisor each and every month, and also the expense ratio that's being paid to your mutual fund companies each and every month as well. Come right back. Next week, we're going to talk more about how to build a smart financial plan and a smart retirement plan for your retirement future, right here on retirement results. Have a great week, everybody.

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to retirement results. You deserve to work with an independent team of fiduciary advisors that will strategically work to protect and grow your hard earned assets. To schedule your complimentary financial consultation, call us now at (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777. To connect with a qualified advisor. To learn more about our mission and our team, visit retirement Results.com Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC, BCM, a registered investment advisor. Bcm, an 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. 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 interest of our clients and to make full disclosure of any conflicts of interest, if any exist, please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV Two.a, page four, for additional information.

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