How to Retire and See the World

9.29.23: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

9.29.23: 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've got a very special guest host today, an executive producer with us, Mr. Matt McClure, who's also a financial advisor with Active Wealth Management, whose Series 65 License and Life and Health Licensed. Welcome to the show, Mr. Matt McClure.

Producer:
Well, thank you for welcoming me to the show. You know, it's good to be back. It's been it's been a minute, but I always love joining you. And, you know, I don't know how special I am, but, you know, I'm just glad to be here.

Ford Stokes:
That's all I would say. Pretty special. It's great to have you. It was great to have Jim last week. We also got to talk about why you're filling in, where you're filling in, because Sam Davis is in Europe. He is attending the Ryder Cup this weekend on really on on the Friday of this weekend. And we wish him all the best. And he also needs to pull the US through for sure. Yes. And yeah so that's good stuff And we're we're jealous of of Sam and his wife Bailey. Um, wish them well. Stay safe out there in Europe. Sam and Bailey and Matt, can you just talk quickly? I mean, today we're going to talk about protecting your retirement from rising taxes. You just talk a little bit about, you know, our midtown office and you're ahead of that office. And just your thoughts on, you know, serving the folks that are in Midtown and West Midtown in Ansley and all those areas as well. And just any parts of Atlanta, especially if you're working downtown, they can come and see you down in Midtown as well.

Producer:
Yeah, yeah. Come by. Definitely see me. See me in person. We're right here at Colony Square, right. Kind of in the in the heart of Midtown. And yeah, I mean, it's it's a great spot to be in because there's such a diverse community here of people and people from all walks of life who need help with, you know, planning their financial future with with mapping out a roadmap for their retirement that they've always dreamed of. And that can be a reality. Sometimes you need a reality check to make it a reality, but you it can be a reality for you and we can help you along with that. And I absolutely love doing that here in in midtown Atlanta. Like I say, kind of in the in the center of it all for me, it's such a great neighborhood to be in.

Ford Stokes:
That's great. Yeah, it's a that's a neat part of the world, for sure. Um, and we're glad that you could serve our clients down there. And, you know, it's great because at active wealth, we've got our headquarters is now based in Alpharetta. We're right off exit 12 near Halcyon. Then we've got our. You know, our midtown office. And we also have one in Kennesaw and one in Cartersville. And so we're able to serve, you know, a really a great deal of that. Metro Atlanta and north metro Atlanta area. For sure, we're here to help you. Also, we do make house calls, so we will come out to your house if you want to do that. Or we can just meet via Zoom. No problem. All you have to do is visit ActiveWealthShow.com. That's ActiveWealthShow.com and click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner. You can get booked directly into my calendar or mats. So today Mat, we're going to talk about protecting your retirement from rising taxes. A lot of people believe that with over $32 trillion of US national debt, the taxes are likely going to have to go up in the future. And we want to talk about how to combat that and some of the ways to protect your retirement nest egg and your hard earned and hard saved money from the tax man. How to delete the IRS from your retirement accounts. I think that's going to be a good one. You've got a great financial quote of the week for us. We're going to talk about how taxes are likely going to go up in the future. Most people believe that to be true. Also, we're going to have a great right or wrong segment that you and I always love to do together. And then we've got a problem solver this week, which is great, and how we have helped some recent listeners improve their situations.

Producer:
And now wholesome financial wisdom. It's time for the Quote of the Week.

Producer:
We often share quotes from people like, say, you know, a Warren Buffett or somebody who's really big in the financial world. I love it when we share quotes, though, from people in other walks of life and show how these things are applicable not only to their particular profession, but to your financial life as well. So this time around, it comes from Jackie Joyner-Kersee, really legendary American track and field athlete, retired now, of course, but as an Olympian, she won three gold, one silver, two bronze Olympic medals in the heptathlon. And the long jump, I mean, great, great athlete here. So here is what she says, quote, It's better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret. Boy, I love that.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, absolutely. Also, she and Flo-jo had really good nails. I think Flo-jo had better nails. But yeah, it was. That was good stuff. Yeah, we. Well, you know, big fans of the of the Olympians. I used to go to Nashville to watch the Olympics, the Olympics with my grandparents, my dad's parents, and it was always a fan. And then, um, was fortunate enough to work with Speedo Authentic Fitness and was able to be part of the 96 Games and the Sydney Games as well. So it was pretty neat stuff. And so it's all Yeah, I agree. It's listen, one of the best times to start saving is as soon as possible. And also one of the best times to save money is when you have it. So I would encourage you to make sure that you're getting out there to save your money, but also to protect it. And we can help you do that. All you've got to do is reach out to us. At (770) 685-1777. Again, the number is (770) 685-1777.

Producer:
Come on down as we test your financial knowledge in right or wrong.

Producer:
And of course, if you are a regular listener to the show, you probably know how this goes. But for those of you who might be tuning in for the first time, it's pretty much like a true or false thing. But we want you to play along at home or in the car, wherever you happen to be on this lovely, lovely Atlanta day. So here we go. First statements. I will give it. Ford will tell us if it is right or if it is wrong. Here we go. The Social Security Trust fund, the OAC, as it's known, is estimated to be depleted by 2033, which is one year shorter than the previous projection. Is that right or is that wrong?

Ford Stokes:
That is unfortunately right. And the problem with that is and by the way, the OAC stands for old age Survivors Insurance. So old age Survivor Insurance or OAC, that trust fund will be able to pay 100% of the total scheduled benefits until 2033. But here's what happened in the last year. Last year, they were estimated it was to be depleted by 2034. And then we advanced a year, got more information, spent more money as a government and gave out more benefits. And guess what? They also shortened it a year. So it actually their time horizon got shortened by two years. One because of time, the advancement of time one year later. And then the other is they took the estimate of 2034 and they reduced it to 2033. Again, that's one year earlier than what was reported last year. At that time, the funds reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 77% of scheduled benefits. You're not going to see 100% loss of your Social Security benefits, more than likely, according to the Social Security Administration at Hrsa.gov. But you would see a 23% cut across the board. Of Social Security benefits, and that is a huge problem. Guys, that's ten years from now or less, because we're all you know, we're in September of 2030, 2023. So let's do everything we can to plan for that. Also, I would encourage you to have a plan for when there's an eventual loss of one spouse in the marriage if you're a married couple filing jointly because you're going to lose up to at least 33% of the assets coming into the household from the Social Security Administration.

Producer:
Yeah, not a good not a good thing. And you know, that whole concept of a 23% pay cut, that's not good for anybody. And so not something to look forward to. All right. So that one was right, unfortunately. Time for one more before our first break of the show here for it. And this one is, you really don't have to plan for your retirement income until you retire. Oh, is that one right or is that one wrong?

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, it was a little easier. That one's wrong. Unfortunately, preparation does equal success here. Prepare now and the time to start preparing. Or the best time to start preparing, I should say, is immediately. Retirement planning is about securing a comfortable and fulfilling future by setting achievable financial goals, building a nest egg, managing investments wisely, and accounting for various aspects of retirement life. It empowers individuals to enjoy their golden years with confidence and peace of mind. For sure.

Producer:
That is definitely true. And that's what it's all about peace of mind. And that's what we at Active Wealth Management like to, to provide for people that that peace of mind. I think above anything else, that is why we do what we do at active wealth management is to provide that peace of mind by letting people know they're going to have income that they cannot outlive in their retirement. Yeah, I mean.

Ford Stokes:
Our goal, our goal, Matt, is to protect and grow people's assets and help them build a tax efficient, fee efficient and market efficient portfolio. Yeah.

Producer:
And of course, a lot more talk about that coming up over the rest of the show. Right now, though, time for our first break and we'll be right back with much more. Stick around. Active Wealth Show continues next.

Producer:
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Ford Stokes:
And welcome back to the Active Wealth Show Activators on Fort Stockton Chief Financial Advisor. And we've got Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network and a financial advisor with Active Wealth Management here on the show with us this week. Because Sam Davis and his wife Bailey are in Europe and they are attending the Ryder Cup this weekend to cheer on the US. A And we're super excited to have you, Matt here and we're playing right or wrong and we got going so much that we ran out of time in the first segment. So we've got a couple more right or wrongs here. So go ahead and let's share the next right or wrong.

Producer:
Yeah, two more here. And so number three, in right or wrong, this time around is the only two tax free investments available to American investors are a life insurance and Roth IRAs. Is that right or is that wrong?

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, that's absolutely correct. And. Roth IRAs are tax exempt, which means that qualified distributions are free of taxes and penalties. You'll only be taxed on your contributions. Life insurance proceeds are generally tax free for the beneficiaries, meaning the beneficiaries do not have to pay federal income tax on the death benefit they receive from my life insurance policy. Also, there are no taxes on distributions from life insurance policies because they're made in the forms of loans against the cash value of the life insurance policy and also with the death benefit. It applies to both term and permanent life insurance policies. Many people think municipal bonds are tax free, but in actuality it's really not the case because muni bonds contribute to Medicare surcharges if you've got interest income from municipal bonds. Social Security Administration and Medicare, they use those that interest rate as ways of calculating your Medicare surcharges. So the true definition, Matt, and all the listeners out there of truly tax free investments is there's no taxation on the principal or the gains and it does not contribute to additional taxes on Social Security income benefits or Medicare surcharges.

Producer:
Yeah, there you go. So that that money itself is not taxed when you make a withdrawal or take a loan, anything like that. So if you're taking a loan from the cash value of a life insurance policy, that itself is not taxed and it doesn't cause other taxes and fees and penalties and all of that to go into effect either. So there you go. That's what we mean when we say truly tax free here. All right. So one more. And this one is kind of the key that'll that'll sort of bump us into our next sort of big segment of the show. And it is most people believe that taxes will go up in the future because of the national debt and government spending policies. Right or wrong.

Ford Stokes:
And that's absolutely right. Also, Matt, do me a favor. Can you pull up U.S debt clock if you.

Producer:
Want to have a heart attack? This is the best website to go to.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah.

Producer:
Yeah.

Ford Stokes:
It's really great for core areas. It's not good for long term health. It does add stress for sure. So according to US debt clock.org. I mean we did the we pulled this up about I don't know a month and a half ago. I mean, it was somewhere in the $32 trillion range and don't know where it was. Can't remember. But now it's $33.115 trillion in US national debt. I mean, we are truly a debtor nation. And it makes it difficult. I'll tell you the one thing that a country doesn't want and its retirees don't want is runaway inflation. Malcolm Friedman, the famous economist, said that inflation only comes from one place, and that is. The US government hid inflation in the United States comes from the government. It is based on their spending. It's not the budgets. He said that most budgets come out there, they come out to be balanced and they never they never make it or rarely ever make it. So a lot of people, because of that debt mean there's some economists say, well, we might be able to inflate the debt away. We might be able to do things differently or you might see advancement of technologies from the United States that would really generate a lot more wealth. But. It would also help pay for. You know, this this dad. Unfortunately, there's really no economic models that work without rising, without without raising taxes in the future.

Ford Stokes:
And so bottom line is this is right. And unfortunately. A lot of people believe that taxes are going to go up in the future. And if that's the case, then you need to do everything you can to minimize. The involvement of the IRS in your retirement accounts and throughout your retirement years because you're likely going to be retired 30 plus years, which is almost as long as you worked. And you got to make sure that money lasts. And if you're giving money away every time you take withdrawals from your IRA to the IRS. You're not going to enjoy it at all. So it's going to really negatively impact where you are. And also if you've got negative years in the market that are exacerbated by you having to to give out 20, 30, 40, 50% of the distributions that come from your IRA account, that's an even bigger problem. So let's do everything we can to get more tax efficient with our portfolio. And all you have to do is reach out to us at ActiveWealthShow.com, click that, schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner and here's what we're going to give you. We're going to give you a free financial plan and portfolio analysis to your 95th birthday at our expense.

Ford Stokes:
That's right. It's 100% at our expense. It's about a $1,500 value. And we're going to do it 100% at our expense. All you have to do is an ActiveWealthShow.com that's ActiveWealthShow.com. And click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner. Let me give you the five things, Matt. Let's give them the five things that they're going to get when they meet with us. Number one is they're going to get a portfolio analysis of their current portfolio. They're going to understand the risks they're taking, the fees they're paying and the actual correlation of their assets. Number two, they're going to get a Social Security maximization report. Absolutely. At our expense. It's a really great thing to have because making the decision on when to take Social Security is one of the most important decisions you can make during retirement. You don't want to leave that up to chance. Number three is we're going to give you a financial plan to your 95th birthday with your current plan that has nothing to do with us. You can understand where you stand. Number four is me. A financial plan to your 95th birthday with our recommended portfolios that includes a retirement income. Gap analysis and retirement income plan. And number five is we're going to give you that. Financial plan, your 95th birthday with a retirement income gap analysis that also includes a strategic Roth conversion plan that's going to eliminate.

Ford Stokes:
The IRS from your retirement account once and for all. At some point we would implement like a 5 to 10 year Roth ladder conversion plan. I've got a hint for you to. The best way to implement a Roth ladder conversion is to take one of your IRA, put it into your Roth IRA, but use the money that is sitting in savings or an investment account or in your checking account or the sale of rental property or whatever that looks like. And use that money to pay the taxes on the conversion so that your money that moves from your IRA to your Roth IRA is dollar for dollar. So if you move $100,000 one year from your IRA to your Roth IRA, $100,000 is going to go in your Roth and you let's say you're at a 20% tax bracket, you take $20,000 out of that car fund or out of that savings account or investment account, or you sell rental property. And you then take the proceeds from that and you pay the $20,000 in taxes so that your Roth IRA is growing as much as your IRA just got depleted from the conversion. That makes sense for everybody. And also, Matt, your thoughts on the power of Roth conversion?

Producer:
Yeah, I mean, you know, you're talking about something that can really I mean, this goes to the heart, really, of what we're, you know, kind of the focus of the main part of the show is today is protecting yourself from tax increases in the future. Because, you know, if you are among those who believe that taxes are going up, then if it makes sense for you and a lot of cases it does, in some cases it doesn't implement a Roth conversion and then you're going to really save on taxes in the back end, because if you are putting in money, let's say you're putting in money to a traditional account or to a traditional 401. K or IRA, you're being not taxed on that money up front, but you will be taxed on it on the back end when you make those withdrawals in retirement. Well, if the tax rates are higher, then wouldn't it make more sense to make those withdrawals tax free? So you've already paid the tax on the on the seed rather than on the harvest, Right. When you have planted those seeds back during your your working years and then reap the benefits in the end by taking that money out tax free, I think it makes a whole lot of sense. And it really does, you know, for a lot of for a lot of people here.

Ford Stokes:
No question. Absolutely. I mean, I just really strongly urge people to try to get more tax efficient through Roth IRA conversions and or life insurance, especially if they're under 60 years old. But listen, we got 30s left in this segment. Matt, why don't you share you've got some special guests that we're going to have in segment three. And also we're going to start talking about start planning now because the Trump tax cuts are expiring after 2025. So, Matt, have you got for us as great guests of the Active Wealth Show in our next segment?

Producer:
Well, yeah, we've got some really special guests who I envy quite a bit because of all of their travels. John and Bev are going to join us coming up here in a minute. They are the retirement travelers and they'll be here for segment three of the show talking about their adventures, talking about how they have made that happen. And I'm just I know it's going to be fascinating. So stick around, because we've got more of that coming up on the Active Wealth Show right after this.

Producer:
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Ford Stokes:
Welcome back. Activators. I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. And we've got some very special guests here. We've got John and Bev Martin with the retirement travelers who have got an incredible story that's ongoing and and is so fun. And we're so glad to have John and Bev here with Matt and me on the Active Wealth Show. John and Martin, welcome to the Active Wealth Show.

Bev Martin:
Thank you.

John Martin:
Thanks for having us.

Ford Stokes:
No, it's our pleasure. So John and Bev, you guys are traveling throughout retirement. You guys retired earlier. John, we were talking before you came on at the break that you came from manufacturing. And what's interesting is the number one profession that we work with are folks from manufacturing. And you guys are in gals are great savers. And I just want to congratulate you on your retirement success, but also just how much fun you guys and gals are having on the retirement trail. It's remarkable. And all of you activators out there want to make sure that I invite you twice. I'm going to do it on the front end of this segment and I'm going to do it on the back end of this segment. Please subscribe to retirement travelers on YouTube. All you got to do is search for retirement travelers on the YouTube and you will actually get. The ability to subscribe to the Retirement Travelers Channel on YouTube. So, John and Bev, tell us how all this got started and how you guys retired and and give us some background on this incredible journey that you guys have embarked on.

John Martin:
Well, I retired at the end of 2019 after a 34 year career, and Bev was a stay at home mom and raised our five kids. And our plan was to, you know, move to Florida, live in a golf community and do some traveling and and enjoy life. And, you know, we had actually had AA4 month trip to Europe planned in early 2020. And guess you know, you know what happened. So after that we we pivoted and I'll tell that story.

Bev Martin:
Yeah we decided to buy an Airstream travel trailer and we headed across the country to see all the national parks. It was something we planned to do later and it turned out to be a blessing because we were able to do it when we were the youngest and being able to see all the national parks and visit every state to the next two years. We made a couple of loops around the country and it was just an incredible experience. And then we took off around the world. Yes.

John Martin:
And then the other thing that happened that really changed our life was while we were doing this Airstream trip, we were in 250ft² and we realized we didn't need a big house. And it really kind of started a you know, started us toward a more minimalist lifestyle. So we ended up after that first lap around the US, We we sold our condo and basically sold everything we had or gave it away to charity and, and decided to travel full time around the world. And we, you know, we travel now with two backpacks and that's literally all we have.

Producer:
Wow. Yeah. I mean, I've heard of people loving to travel in retirement or wanting to travel in retirement. You to take it to the next level, though, I feel like. What are some of the of your favorite destinations places that you've been and seen?

Bev Martin:
Oh man.

John Martin:
We get that all the time. Latvia here is our 80th country and we just recently did a video on our five favorite, you know, destinations. And I would say that the general thing is where there's not a lot a lot of tourists. We you know, everybody seems to go to Rome and London and Paris, but our preference is kind of out of the way. Places like the Faroe Islands and Guatemala and Indonesia and places like.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah. Want to ask about these national parks. I think I saw that you guys had been to at least 51 national parks, and I'd love to know some of your favorite national parks. I'm a bow hunter and so I bow hunted for elk and and some of the national forests like Chabolla and and the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. And those are my favorite places to visit and go. I just love to hear just your thoughts on national parks and where should people go?

Bev Martin:
You know, the national park system in the United States is really one of the crowning glories of the United States. I mean, we all pay our taxes and we pay it into this wonderful system. You know, we don't always think our taxes go to the right places. But with the national parks, it is that's you know, that's especially in retirement, you should go see them. But for us, we really loved Utah's national parks and California's and you know, especially our favorites probably were Zion. Zion. Zion and Bryce are fantastic. You know, Yellowstone, everyone needs to go there. But the California parks were just incredible. Yeah, we were just blown away by that.

John Martin:
We were very surprised by Death Valley. You know, it's it's a it's a beautiful place. It's very hot. We went early in the morning, but it's it's a pretty interesting place as well.

Bev Martin:
We love Acadia, you know, just just so many of them. I mean, there's really there's there are so many wonderful ones. And to see them in a short period of time of two years, you really just helped us get a bearing about what, you know, our own country before we started traveling abroad YouTubing it. So where do you feel very blessed to get to see that? And of course, we haven't been to the national parks in Alaska, so those are still on our list. We saw American Samoa this year. And, you know, so we we, you know, got a few out of the 48 and, you know, the lower 48 that we want to see.

Producer:
I love that. Well, obviously, great, great travels that you all are doing. And and, you know, right now is a difficult time, I think, for a lot of people with inflation. Obviously, it's not just here in the in the states. It's around the world. And so people are dealing with that. How are you dealing with it and what advice would you give to people who want to be travelers in retirement to deal with inflation as well?

John Martin:
Well, you know, we get this question a lot on our YouTube channel about, you know, how much does it cost and where do you go? We have found that there are a lot of places in the world that are much lower cost of living than the US that are very, very interesting with wonderful people and nice things to see. And, you know, last summer we spent three months in the Balkans. Traveling around by train and bus to Romania, Bulgaria, Albania. There are some great places to see at a very reasonable rate. So, you know, yes, it's expensive and Venice and Rome, but there are a lot of places to go visit that you can actually live cheaper than you can in the US.

Bev Martin:
So Colombia is a great example. We love going to Medellin, Colombia. It's called the City of Eternal Spring because it doesn't get over 80 degrees every day of the year and it drops down to maybe 60 at night and it costs about half of what the United States or sometimes even less. Yeah, maybe even a quarter. Yeah.

John Martin:
We like to go down there and we'll get a nice like a salmon, a salmon meal with drinks and dessert you can do for under $30. So easy for both us. So that's that gives you an idea for.

Bev Martin:
You know less than $100 a night. It's in the same time zone as most of the United States. It's easy to get to. It's not the drug capital that it was at one time, and it's just a lovely place to go.

Ford Stokes:
So you actually shared one really interesting fact that I didn't anticipate. I knew you had kids. I didn't realize y'all had five kids.

Bev Martin:
Yeah, we do. How many kids and eight grandchildren?

Ford Stokes:
That's what I was about to ask. And then my question is, how do you how do you deal with being a grandmother and doing all this retirement travel? When do you see the kids and grandkids? How do you all deal with holidays, that kind of stuff?

Bev Martin:
Well, one of the things that a lot of our viewers don't realize is that we go home twice a year, so we go home for 6 to 8 weeks every time and we're able to see our grandkids. When we lived in Florida, we didn't see our grandkids all the time either. So they're really spread out across the country. They don't all live in, you know, our home town that we lived in. So when we go home.

John Martin:
None of them were in Florida. So basically what we've done is we've replaced our our golf community life in Florida with world travel. And we still get our time with our kids. And in fact, all the kids are coming and grandkids to a cruise in Florida at Christmas time. So we're going to all be together. It's going to be nice.

Bev Martin:
We we FaceTime, we text, especially our daughters. They're really good at texting. And we were just just before we came on with you, we were getting pictures of our grandbabies and we sent pictures of some things to our grandkids today. So we were very active doing that. We face time. You know, the kids all, you know, are used to seeing us there. They watch our videos. They try to stay connected.

John Martin:
The other thing we're planning to do is as the grandkids get a little bit older, they're all pretty young now, but we want to show them the world. And, you know, our legacy to our grandkids is that, you know, there's a big world out there and we want to be able to take them and let them experience the world like we have.

Ford Stokes:
I cannot imagine what it's like to be an elementary school grandchild that's got their parents or the retirement travelers. And you get to do, you know, reports, book reports. You get to do presentations on, you know, where all the places your grandparents went.

Bev Martin:
We are pretty sure that since every the average fourth grader boy wants to be a YouTuber when they grow up, that's like the number one profession. So we're pretty sure we're going to be really cool one day when our grandkids get to fourth grade. But we want to bring our kids around the world and, you know, our grandkids around the world. And by the time they graduate from college, we really hope that they will have traveled a big chunk of their summers with us. You know, we don't know if they're going to be writers or they're going to be missionaries or teachers or, you know, we don't know what their their future holds for them. But we do know that exposing them to cultures and, you know, especially people who have a lot less and a lot less than they grew up with and, you know, seeing interacting with people from all over the world, we want them to have that. We want them to have, you know, the idea that people people have a lot to contribute. And, you know, we shouldn't look down on them. We shouldn't look. You know, we we think it dispels a lot of stereotypes. We just we just think the travel does a lot for kids.

John Martin:
Yes. We we were recently on a Mekong River cruise in Laos, and we stopped at a school in a small village. And it was a it was a very poor village. There was no running water and no electricity. But every single school kid that we encountered had a big smile on their face welcomed us. We're happy to see us. And it was just it was it was very touching.

Bev Martin:
You know, we want our grandkids to have that experience of interacting with other children that are so different than them and what they grow up with. We just can't we just we just cannot wait to share that experience with our grandkids.

Producer:
I love that. Well, John and Bev Martin, retirement travelers, you can. Find them on their YouTube channel. Just search for retirement travelers on YouTube. We're just at a time in our segment here together today. But boy, I love hearing about your travels and we hope that you'll come back sometime and talk to us again. Yeah.

John Martin:
Thanks for having us and good luck to you.

Ford Stokes:
Thanks, guys. Good luck. John and Bob, have fun out there.

Bev Martin:
Okay. Thanks.

Producer:
We'll continue with more of the Active Wealth Show after this.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome back Activators the active well show on Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. We've got a special executive producer and guest with us today and co-host today, I should say, with Mr. Matt McClure, who's also a financial advisor with active wealth Management. Matt, that was a really interesting interview with John and Bev Martin with the Retirement Travelers. And again, I would encourage everybody to visit YouTube and subscribe to their YouTube channel. Retirement travelers. And it just it's just neat to show what other people are doing throughout retirement. And and we are going to share 1 or 2 problem solvers talks about how we're solving problems for people as well. Just your thoughts on that interview and and how unique and different those those two are.

Producer:
I mean, how cool are they? Like, I aspire to be like one tenth that cool and that worldly, you know, having seen so much and and been so many places. That's just that's fantastic. And I love the fact that they, you know, sort of had this this kind of went with the flow in their retirement when they said, oh, we're going to travel the world, but there's a pandemic. So we got to we got to refocus here and did the traveling that they could when they could and made it made it all work. And they're kind of living the dream, you know.

Ford Stokes:
I mean, going from, you know, a 3 to 5000 square foot home, more than likely to 250 to a 250 foot square foot. Airstream for 18 months. Yeah. Mean that'll that'll test your marriage. Mean that'll that'll test your retirement I'll tell you that it's very true. Yeah. So just congratulations to them. Um, you could tell that, you know, it's. It was, it was also an important interview for them because they want to grow their YouTube channel. And it's just really smart. I mean, I just think it's really smart. I think they're going to blow up. I mean, there are over like 67 or 61,000 YouTube subscribers. So I mean, congrats to them. So, Matt, let's go ahead and jump into the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the tcja that are going to expire in 2025 at the end of 2025. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Tcja, commonly known as the Trump tax cuts, are set to expire after 2025. Retirees who typically rely on fixed incomes experience a relatively minor impact. When the Tcja was first introduced because it did not affect the taxation of Social Security and investment income. But all seniors will soon need to reevaluate their financial plans and tax strategies as standard deductions, estate tax deductions and charitable contribution deductions return to pre tcja levels on January 1st, 2026.

Ford Stokes:
The expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tcja have significant implications for both retirees and pre-retirees in several areas. Also, Matt, this is a really good time for us to go ahead and announce that we have the ability to. We're working with a group that's got licensed attorneys in the state of Georgia and also throughout in 49 states actually. And we can provide lower cost wills and lower cost trusts with a free consultation. All you have to do is call us at seven, 706851777. Again (770) 685-1777. And I think you're really going to like what you have to hear on wills and trusts. And if you've been putting off estate planning, we've got the best and most cost effective way to do that in the state of Georgia and also throughout 49 of the 50 states. They don't work in Louisiana. So we can't help folks in Louisiana, but we can help everybody else. If you've got a question about a will or a trust or your estate or your legacy planning, I would encourage you to reach out to us. Active Wlwt.com. Click that, schedule a consultation button, the upper right corner, and we're happy to help you. Now, why don't you quickly go through the elements of the Tcja and let's talk through those?

Producer:
Yeah. So, I mean, it's you know, as you were saying, the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tcja can really have big implications for retirees and pre-retirees. Some of those areas include, you know, tax rates and deductions, the rates going to go back up to those higher levels from pre tax Cuts and Jobs Act days. The standard deductions may decrease as well, and that would affect the amount that you can claim if you just claim that that standard deduction resulting in a higher taxable income period. Also, one.

Ford Stokes:
Interesting thing is like the Tcja allows a business to depreciate equipment investment in the first year. Also building investment, all that kind of stuff. That's also why you saw companies like BlackRock go into the residential real estate market because they road depreciate the home right away. And that would that significantly changed the tax situation for that investment company. So that's going to be one of the biggest changes you're going to see. And if you're a business owner and you've got questions, we'd love to help you. All you have to do is give us a call at (770) 685-1777 because there's tax preparation and tax planning. And everybody that can hear my voice right here on Am 920 the answer I would encourage you to fortify your tax planning strategy as much as you're working on your tax preparation year over year.

Producer:
Yeah, definitely so. And as you were, you were sort of alluding to to this a moment ago with, you know, estate planning and things like that. Estate taxes could go up as the estate tax exemption may decrease and that could affect the ability to transfer wealth tax free to your heirs also. So you got to have a plan for that. And of course, obviously we can help you with that. Go to ActiveWealthShow.com for more and to schedule that free consultation. Charitable contributions. The incentive for charitable giving may be influenced by changes in deductions that that people can take there and then also, you know financial planning, budgeting, budgeting, spending, investment and income strategies, a lot of different ways that this is going to have an effect on people's taxes, not only the rates themselves, but on those deductions and other aspects of life. So yeah, mean a lot to consider as a lot of people believe that taxes will go up. We've got that that sort of drop dead date of January 1st to 2026 when we know that taxes are going to go up unless something changes in law between now and then.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah. Made in the last big element is Social Security and other benefits. A shift in tax rates could indirectly impact the taxation of Social Security benefits and other retirement benefits, influencing the overall retirement income for retirees. And I want to make sure we're doing everything we can to maximize the income and also the overall nest egg for our activators. And again, if you're wondering, you're an activator is we've talked about a lot on the show. It's somebody who wants to build a tax efficient, efficient and market efficient portfolio. And that's somebody who listens to the Active Wealth Show. And we appreciate you and thanks again for making us the number one listen to radio show on Am 920. The answer on the weekends.

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

Producer:
You know, recently helped this particular listener sort of, you know, change her financial situation for the better. This was a female listener who I know gave you a call there Forward and she's a marketing executive, recently reached out because if she's concerned about her assets looking to retire in ten years and the recent volatility in the market really has her scared about how much she's going to have to live on in her golden years. So what was kind of at least one big part of the solution for her?

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, what's interesting is more and more people are reaching out to us that are younger and younger because all this volatility in the market, all this social unrest, all the stuff that's going on with the Biden administration, everything else, it's really worrying people all the way into their 40s and 50s and. And so this person called me, you know, to protect the innocent will will change her name to Susan. So Susan called us and she was looking to figure something out. And what she did was she's like, I want to get more tax efficient or get more fee efficient or get more market efficient. So she's putting $2,000 away into her index universal life policy that she got when she was 50 years old. With me, she's now 53 and she's on pace to generate from $2,000 a month for ten years for 240 grand. She's on pace to generate $42,414, according to the internal illustration recently. A year in tax free income. And if you're looking to get to tax free income, like we talked about at the beginning of this show, you could do that through Roth IRAs or life insurance or both. And I would encourage you to reach out to us for a more tax efficient plan with the active wealth management team. All you got to do is call us at (770) 685-1777. She's also implementing, you know, tactical asset allocation and strategic asset allocation within her portfolio. And she's also got a fixed indexed annuity that she's leaving alone until she's 65 and she's 53 now. It's going to continue to grow and grow, and she's going to be able to more than take care of her income during retirement and also do that tax deferred and tax free for tax efficient growth and income. It's the.

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

Ford Stokes:
So we talked to John about Martin, the retirement travelers. Go ahead and subscribe to their YouTube channel. We also went through how to protect your assets and your retirement from rising taxes. We we also visited US debt clock and show there's over $33 trillion worth of US national debt. So it's likely that taxes are going to go up in the future. A lot of people feel that way. Let's do everything we can to try to get our money into Roth IRAs and life insurance or a little bit of both if we can. Let's do that as much tax efficiently as possible. And Matt was fantastic to have you on the show and we really appreciate you.

Producer:
Thank you. Ford I'm glad to be here Any time I get to fill in for Sam. And I enjoy being with you. We'll look forward to doing it again, hopefully sometime soon.

Ford Stokes:
Sounds good. 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, Fort Stokes at (770) 685-1777 or visit ActiveWealthShow.com.

Producer:
Investment Advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC BCM 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.

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