How to Take Advantage of Trump’s Tax Cuts Before It’s Too Late

7.12.24: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

7.12.24: 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:
Welcome to retirement. Results. Result drivers. I'm Ford stokes, your chief financial advisor. Got Sam Davis here with us. Who's our senior financial advisor and co-host the show. Say hello to everybody. Sam.

Speaker4:
Welcome to the weekend result drivers, welcome back to retirement results forward I've been excited for this show all week. We've got a great market update with some really important numbers to share, some great information about how you can take advantage of some of Trump's tax cuts before it's possibly too late there. And of course, as always, just lots of important information that you need to hear. And if you can't listen to the whole show, be sure to check out retirement results wherever you listen to podcasts. We've been getting great feedback from our podcast listeners and just really happy to be here this week.

Speaker3:
Yeah, we're excited to be here with everybody. And and we're going to talk about how you can really take advantage of the Trump tax cuts that are supposed to sunset by 2025. Also, I just wanted to address it. We we have, um, not really talked about it since it happened a couple of weeks ago with the Trump versus Biden, you know, the CNN presidential debate. Holy cow. Um, I just don't understand. We'll see what happens, whether Biden's going to remain as the candidate for the Democratic Party. But if you don't think you need to vote with your retirement in mind, I would beg you to reconsider. Please consider voting for Donald J. Trump, who is our 45th president, to make sure he's the 47th president of the United States. Uh, we have got to get back to the United States being, you know, the greatest nation in the world. And and also, we've got to do a great job at hopefully keeping these tax cuts going, because if you think you're, you know, your retirement driven 22% or 24% tax bracket, or even if it's 14 or 10 or 14% if you think it's going to stay that way. With $34.895 trillion in US national debt, according to US debt clock.org today, I would just really beg you to to reconsider. We just really need to get someone who's going to represent our interests and specifically the interest of retirees. And Sam has talked about on this show before, this would be 75 million people turning 65 years old by 2030.

Speaker3:
That is just five and a half short years away. That is something else. We got to make sure we're taking care of our seniors. And if you're a pre-retiree a retiree, you got to take care of yourself. So let's make sure that we're voting for the Republican ticket all the way down the ticket and vote with our own pocketbooks in mind, in our own wallets in mind. Sam and I both got a problem solver each this week. Um, both of them, I think, are going to be pretty eye opening. You're going to want to hear those stories. Also, we've got an inflation demonstration. Why our buying power continues to dwindle and what we can do about it. And we've got a Social Security Cola forecast that's a cost of living forecast that we're going to go through that here pretty quick. And we're going to give you an idea of what you can expect as a Social Security income benefit recipient in a cost of living adjustment this year. Um, when they announce it, it'll start obviously in January of next year. But I just want to make sure that, you know, we've got a good forecast for you. It's down a little bit from last month's forecast. But first, Sam, why don't you go ahead and share this very cogent financial wisdom quote of the week.

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

Speaker6:
This week's quote of the.

Speaker4:
Week comes to us from one of my favorites, Ford, Milton Friedman, and Milton Friedman. The economist once said, higher taxes never reduce the deficit. Governments spend whatever they take in and then whatever they can get away with.

Speaker3:
Amen. And pass the turnips on that. I love Milton Friedman. He was awesome. Um, I actually got to watch him speak on television and things like that. Uh, growing up, when I was younger and, um, I always thought he was just spot on. And, yeah, that does kind of date me a little bit, but also shows how what a nerd I was to cheer you on Milton Friedman when he was given the the government hack and telling him to stop spending. Um, and he was right. And they just kept spending, unfortunately. So. Yeah, I'd just love me some Milton Friedman, I totally agree. So if you think the government is going to be there to take care of you again, I beg you to reconsider. Make sure that you're in control of your own destiny. You're the captain of your own retirement ship, if you will, for you and your spouse. Let's make sure we're taking care of ourselves and, um, doing a great job at protecting and growing those hard earned and hard saved assets. Let's also try to build that tax efficient, fee efficient and market efficient portfolio. And we're going to talk about now this Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are set to expire next year.

Speaker3:
And what it could mean to you as a pre-retiree or a retiree. The expiration of the tax breaks, the Tcja, which is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted by Donald Trump, which includes significant tax breaks, is set to expire after 2025 unless Congress intervenes. Key provisions affecting retirees. Right now, we've got lower federal income tax brackets. The Tcja temporarily reduced the top federal income tax rate from 39.6 to 37% through 2025. You've also got an increased standard deductions. The standard deduction was increased, which simplifies and potentially reduces the tax burden for many retirees. And then number three, you've got higher gift and estate tax exemptions. The exemption amounts for gift and estate taxes were significantly raised, reaching $13.61 million per individual in 2024. This increase allows retirees to transfer more wealth without incurring taxes, but these limits would revert back to previous levels after 2025. Also, Sam, we've got some planning recommendations as well. Um, and it also talking about the importance of early planning. Why don't you go ahead and take the first one for us?

Speaker4:
Yeah. The first thing that we would recommend, depending on your situation, but consider taking larger distributions from your retirement accounts or one of our favorite things to do for do those Roth IRA conversions before those tax breaks expire to benefit from the lower tax rates? I love forward when we do our retire well workshops and lunch and learns, we'll show essentially the last hundred years of income tax rates in the US, and our audience and our viewers. They quickly see that we're in relatively low tax times historically, which presents an opportunity, depending on your situation, to do a Roth conversion and get more money in that tax free bucket, eliminate required minimum distributions from that account, and also pass that on tax free to your beneficiaries. Because with a Roth, the growth and the distributions are tax free and they pass tax free to your beneficiaries. I mean, do you want to leave your loved ones a gift or do you want to leave the IRS a gift at the end of your life? That's an important thing to consider when it comes to estate planning.

Speaker3:
Yeah, it's not even a close race, right? I want to leave money to my to my family. I don't want to leave money to the government. You know, given the uncertainty around whether these provisions will be extended, financial planners emphasize the importance of early and proactive tax planning. When you're doing tax preparation going in advance of April 15th, that's great, and it's important to do that each year. But I encourage you to consider doing tax planning, not just tax preparation. So you're waiting till the last moment could lead to rushed decisions and potentially less optimal financial outcomes. But we're different. We are fiduciaries. We're putting your needs ahead of our own. We want to make sure that you're reducing the tax burden that you have within your retirement accounts. And the best way to do that is take money dollar for dollar from your IRA to your Roth IRA. And also, here's a hint you can pay the taxes on the money that you're going to owe that year, because each year you do a conversion, you owe the taxes. Within that tax year, you can take money out of a savings account, checking account, or an investment account. Use taxable dollars to pay the taxes on tax deferred dollars converting to tax free dollars. That's fantastic. So if you take if you convert $100,000 out of your IRA to your Roth IRA, your IRA reduces 100,000 and your Roth IRA goes up 100 grand. And then you're if you're in a 20% effective tax rate, you're going to pay 20% 20 grand from your savings account, checking account or investment account. Thanks for listening to retirement results. We'll be right back.

Speaker2:
Retirement results. We'll be right back to learn more and schedule your complimentary retirement consultation. Visit Retirement results.com, or call us at (770) 685-1777.

I used to worry a lot. I used to stay out till the break.

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 advisor. I've got Sam Davis, our senior financial advisor and co-host here on the show. And we're going to talk about the inflation demonstration of the week. Sam, go ahead and play that sound.

Speaker2:
I want to know where your hard earned money is going. It's time for an inflation demonstration.

Speaker3:
According to Jackson National, which is a life insurance and annuity company and financial company, the decrease in purchasing power over the last 12 months due to inflation was just 2% for consumers with a financial professional, because obviously people stayed invested and then it's estimated it's over 4% for consumers without a financial professional. So that tells me, hey, wait a second. You know, everybody really needs to consider working with a financial professional so they can stay invested and also get diversified, try to reduce their standard deviation, which is a measurement of risk within the financial markets, within their portfolio. And and also let's try to get fee efficient as well. And what we're seeing is the eroding value of money. Inflation increases the price of goods and services over time, which means each dollar you own buys less than it did in the past. Also same you've got there's a couple more here about what's going on with inflation.

Speaker4:
Yeah. Another thing to keep in mind, you know, because we hear from a lot of people that they're worried about inflation and just that reduction of their buying power. Um, but it can also kind of decrease your real income because if your income's not keeping up at the same rate as inflation, then effectively your real income is decreasing. So if we had just as an example, let's say we had 5% inflation last year, but you're still working and you only got a 3% raise, well you just lost 2% of ground there decreasing your real income. So that's something to keep in mind as well. And for, you know, for our our clients and prospects, what they're really concerned about is inflation's impact on their retirement. So they want to stay invested. But as you get older you don't want to take on too much risk. So it's important to find that balance where you're staying invested to continue to grow your assets. But you want to remain protected as well.

Speaker3:
Yeah, I mean, it's the impact on your retirement funds and your income is is great. But where it also is really a problem is your impact on the real income from your retirement accounts, like when you're the income portion of your portfolio. We've got to do a great job of making sure that we're not paying too much in fees for the income portion of our portfolio. Consider doing a bond replacement strategy. Um, and if you've got questions about how to implement a bond replacement strategy so you can pay less in advisory and portfolio fees, and also generate a higher level of income than you typically would greater than the typical 4% rule. Then, I would encourage you to reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 again, (770) 685-1777. Sam and I and our team are ready to stand by and help. You better plan for a successful future. All you've got to do is reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 or visit retirement results com forward slash plan. That's retirement results.com/plan and we're happy to help you. It's just a big deal having that retirement income gap analysis done and getting that retirement income plan going So you can start with a positive retirement income surplus and not a negative retirement income gap. Where inflation will make that gap widen is really important. So I would encourage you to reach out to us. We'll get going on your retirement income plan and obviously your overall financial plan. Your 95th birthday, absolutely no cost to you. All you got to do is reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 or visit retirement results.com/plan. Now Sam let's go ahead and tackle the first problem solver I'll let you do this next problem solver. Then after that we're going to talk about the Social Security cost of living forecast. And then I'll share mine in segment three.

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

Speaker4:
Yeah, so we had a prospect this week come into the office and he's excited to work with us. And of course we're never going to share anybody's personal information. So we'll call him Jeff. But Jeff came in. Jeff's a business owner. He's in real estate development. Um, he's got millions saved for retirement, and he's looking to truly diversify. He's he's built his wealth by investing. But he's 61. So as him and his wife, you know, approach retirement, they want to make sure that they're adequately protected. And they came to us say millions.

Speaker3:
He's got 10 million saved up.

Speaker4:
Yeah. This guy this guy has done a great job building his business and saving for retirement. Um, and so he wants to make sure he's, he's protected, you know, as, as we say, you know, to a lot of people who come in, they've done a great job saving, you know, you've won the race. Now we've got to figure out how to get your ducks in a row so you can enjoy the retirement you've worked so hard for. And the reason why Jeff came to us was for some of the insurance solutions that we offer. You know, he's concerned he doesn't want too much money sitting in the bank. You know, at the moment he's got over 100,000 sitting in the bank. And and he knows that he's losing buying power due to inflation there. And, um, he's also concerned because banks only have a 10% reserve requirement. So if he wanted to get that money out, it would be, you know, no simple task. So he came to us. We're looking at a fixed indexed annuity, two different fixed indexed annuities for him. He's really interested in these insurance solutions. The first one is the nationwide Peek ten, which we've talked about before. That one is offering a 20% immediate bonus to the income value of the account, which is fantastic. It's also offering a 330% participation rate in the underlying index. And another reason why Jeff loves this one for it is that there's an 8% simple interest roll up guaranteed each year. He defers withdrawals, and because he's done such a great job saving, he's still got some real estate projects. He doesn't need that income right now, so he'll be able to take advantage of that 8% deferral.

Speaker3:
That's all going to get 8% every year in guaranteed interest. That's what that roll up means. And that's the nationwide peak ten. And only 1% of financial advisors have access to it. Sam and I both do. Our other advisors do as well. Um, and that's a pretty fantastic situation. Um, and also, he's got you know, he's what's interesting about this, about this gentleman that we're nicknaming Jeff, that's not his real name, is that he really wants to truly diversify. He doesn't want to trust just one thing. And so he wants to diversify from not just the financial markets, but he wants to diversify with insurance products, financial products separately. And he also is looking for that higher financial reserve where he can trust it. And he trusts that it's going to pay him his money back. And, um, and also he can pass on money to his heirs. He's going to take 20% of his, of his assets and put them in these two annuities at $1 million apiece. Really smart play. And it guarantees income, guarantees accumulation. But mainly it also guarantees protection of principal saying why don't you go and share also the second annuity that he's looking to invest in because he's trying to diversify with insurance products, with annuities, fixed indexed annuities. But he's also looking to diversify between two different companies. Yeah.

Speaker4:
So the other solution he's taking a look at is from an insurance company called North American. And they are also an A+ rate. They also have been given an A plus rating similar to nationwide from Am Best and Standard and Poor's. With this North American product, the Charter Plus 14. It's also a fixed indexed annuity which means you get the exposure to the market like gains without having that market like risk. Right. So he gets a 26% immediate bonus with this one, which means at issue, because he's putting $1 million into this, his account value would be worth 1.26 million on day one. So that's a pretty good day there. The underlying index in the North American FIA is averaging 10.84% annual interest. That's over the last ten years, which included a couple down years in 2018 and 2022. So that's still fantastic performance with principal protection. And by the time he turns 75, because this is an accumulation product, that million dollar investment in this FIA is expected to grow to 4.665 million. And and that is just a fantastic result for him. He's going to do a great job with his other investments. He's done a fantastic job building his business. He's still going to stay involved for the next few years until he fully steps into retirement. But these are some solutions that give him and his family peace of mind, and also some guarantees that they can get to for their retirement.

Speaker3:
Yeah. The one thing the reason we wanted to share this, uh, this story is one everybody. It's crazy how many different types of people and different folks from different walks of life are listening to retirement results. I mean, we also want to thank all the result drivers for making us the number one listen to radio show on Am 920. The answer on the weekends. It is a big deal for us and we sincerely appreciate each and every one of you, but you've got people really trying to take a look at serious diversification and diversifying the risk. Um, so we wanted to really share that that story and that problem solver. Thanks for sharing that, Sam. We come back, we've got one more problem solver. We're going to also talk about the Social Security 2025 cost of living adjustment forecast. Right. When we come back for the break. You're listening to retirement results right here on Am 920. The answer?

Speaker2:
Learn more at Retirement results. Com or by calling us today at (770) 685-1777.

That's (770) 685-1777 by walking down the street. Bottom line is what.

Speaker2:
Are you concerned about rising taxes and how they could affect you and your family during retirement? If you have an IRA balance over $400,000, you could save six figures in retirement taxes that you would be paying during a 35 year retirement. Find out how much you could save today by scheduling your no obligation Roth conversion consultation with Ford Stokes of retirement results. Learn more and schedule an appointment at retirement Results.com Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Visit Retirement Results.com for more information.

Speaker1:
Any bonuses mentioned may be subject to additional restrictions and regulations based on the offering annuity company. You may not receive the bonuses if the contract is fully surrendered, or if traditional annuitization payments are taken, and if the policy is partially surrendered, it could result in a partial loss of bonuses. Because these are bonus annuities, they may include higher surrender charges, longer surrender charge periods, lower caps, higher spreads, or other restrictions that are not included in similar annuities that don't offer a bonus feature.

Speaker2:
While Washington's spending keeps growing, your retirement doesn't have to shrink, protect, and grow your hard earned money today by calling us at (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777 to connect with a qualified advisor.

Speaker3:
And welcome back result drivers on Fort Stokes. Your chief financial advisor I've got Sam Davis, our senior financial advisor and co-host here with me. And we're talking about the Social Security 2025 cost of living adjustment forecast, according to the Senior Citizens League. And we got this off an AL.com article, the projected increase in the cost of living adjustment for Social Security recipients in 2025 is projected to be 2.57% now, that's down from last month's previous forecast of 2.66% and previously significant and significantly lower than the 3.2% increase received in 2024. It's also much lower compared to the 8.7% increase seen in the year prior to 2024. Here's the calculation basis. The Cola is calculated based on the Consumer Pricing Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which is CPI w. This index tracks the average price of a basket of goods. Comparing the average prices in the third quarter of the current year with those from the same period of the previous year. Final figures announcement. Well, the final figures for the 2025 cost of living adjustments will be determined based on the average inflation rate during the third quarter of the year July, August and September. The official announcement will be made in October, and the adjustments will be applied to the benefits starting in January 2025. If you're concerned about Social Security, we can help you.

Speaker3:
I'm a registered Social security analyst. I'm one of only 15 here in the state of Georgia, one of only eight in the state of Alabama. We understand that many of you are worried about future cuts to Social Security affecting your retirement. We want to provide you with a Social Security maximization plan, customized with you and your spouse's benefit information. All you've got to do is get us your Social Security XML file. You can also go to RSA. Com forward slash sr. That's rsa.com/sr. And the SR stands for Quick Retirement Report. But if you go to RSA com forward slash SR you can actually just start putting your information in to get started and upload your XML file from Tsa.gov. Tsa.gov and I'll get started running your RSA roadmap, which is a Social Security maximization report for you that gives you all your different options and what when you should take Social Security and what you should be doing about it so you can go there, or you can also just reach out to us at retirement results.com/plan. Or you can call us at (770) 685-1777. Again that number is (770) 685-1777. Let's get started on maximizing your Social Security today. Let's get started on that together. And again that that that website one more time is rsa.com/q RR. That's rsa.com/irr.

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

Speaker3:
The problem solver is I had a couple come in and their names are Darryl and Mary that we're going to give them. And Darryl has been the CEO of a technology firm of an information technology firm for 19 years. It has given the majority of his career he's worked at this company, where they were purchased by a European company, and the European company came in and they said, okay, we're going to we're going to buy you out, we're going to buy everybody's stock. And and you can leave some of it, but we're going to buy a majority of the stock out right now, and then we'll grow from here. So Darryl got $2 million and he you know, he's got only literally only half $1 million in his 401 K. And they have a property they've recently sold for $890,000 they put into an investment account. And they're trying to diversify, but they're also trying to make sure they've got the income that they need, and they're thinking that they're going to need about, you know, $120,000 during retirement. Well, $120,000 of, let's say, give or take 3 to $4 million in total assets. Um, because they're also he's hoping that they're going to continue to do well with the company stock moving forward. And the company eliminated its position six months later. And so he's getting a severance for a year, and he's getting a pay out. And and they're going to take him all the way to, um, Medicare for for his for his Cobra. But one of their biggest concerns was just making enough money.

Speaker3:
They literally wanted to make enough money where this would work. And so they're going to take $700,000 of the kind of the $3 million they've got in assets, and they're going and it's going to be non-qualified money, and they're going to put it in the nationwide pick ten, and they're going to get a 20% immediate bonus. So they're going to make $140,000 into the income account day one. So their income account is going to be worth 840,000. Day one. Then they're looking at generating with their Social security that came in. And they I did an analysis for them. They're making over $55,000 in Social Security. So they got 55 grand. And then they're going to generate literally over $80,000 when they turn on income four years from now from the annuity. And he's going to get paid another year. And they're they're going to draw down, um, an actual checking account for a year. And they're going to get their they're going to make their number. Um, and they'll do the rest of it with a 4% withdrawal. But the reason they did that is, like Ford, we're not the world's greatest savers, that this is a pretty big windfall for us getting $2 million in a single, single day. And we've got another million sitting with the company and company stock. But we we need to make sure that we've got a consistent income, and we want to make sure we can't touch the money. The the only a 10% penalty free withdrawal is fine because we don't really want the access to money because we don't want to take it out.

Speaker3:
We want to be disciplined about it. We want to put some guardrails around our retirement income, and we want to turn on income in 2 to 4 years from here. And I want to start with we want to get started right away. So I would encourage each and everyone to consider that a fixed index annuity, if you're going to take like 20 to 40% of your portfolio and replace it with a fixed indexed annuity, and that's going to generate income from you. There's also benefits to the lack of liquidity. If you feel like you're not the world's greatest, most disciplined saver or the most disciplined investor, and you're and you're over liquidating money, especially in that first five years of retirement or the five years before retirement, that retirement red zone. It is a big deal for you to consider a fixed index annuity to get more disciplined about your saving. You're investing, but also generating the income. And Sam, you've got other clients who've got similar thoughts to this, but just your your thoughts on Darryl and and Mary and just and kind of their their thinking of, hey, you know, we really need to make sure that our retirement income is set and also kind of safe away from us, not just external factors. And we also want to make sure that financial markets don't erode our retirement income portion of our portfolio as well.

Speaker4:
Yeah, I mean, if you're a pre retiree or even a recently retired person out there, um, you could even be somebody who's kind of half and half out still working a little bit, but trying to push towards full time retirement. And if you're one of those people and you recognize that, hey, I need to protect this wealth, I need to protect this savings that I have, that I need to live on for the next 20, 30 years. But I also know that I need to grow it a little bit as well. So I continue to outpace inflation. These insurance products with these highly rated insurance companies are great tools to use. And it's been interesting for, you know, whether or not somebody really has that immediate income need. They've been able to see how insurance can be a fantastic solution and part of their portfolio. But the peaked end has been very popular with our clients for the last year plus, and people continue to come in and see us and see really how it fits into their portfolio. And and I would encourage you to reach out and give us a call and, and take a look at how it could potentially fit in your situation. And I think your eyes will really be open to how this really provides for such a smooth transition from working to retirement. Once you know that your income needs are going to be met.

Speaker3:
There's no doubt we got like 30s left in this segment and we come back from the break. We've got a market update and some numbers worth knowing that you're really going to want to hear right here in segment four. Hang in there with us. You're listening to Retirement Results. Thanks so much for being a result driver. We'll be right back right here on Am 920. The answer?

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to retirement results. Schedule your complimentary financial consultation now at retirement results. Com.

Last night I had the strangest dream.

Speaker1:
Do you want a steady stream of income for retirement? Then it's time to consider annuities. I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amira Life. Gone are the days when most employers offered pensions with guaranteed lifetime payouts to their workers. But what if I told you that you can build your own personal pension? It's possible with an annuity. An annuity is a financial product that provides a series of regular payments to an individual over a specified period of time, often for the rest of their life.

Speaker3:
There are several options for you to consider when choosing an annuity. Be confident in knowing that there is an annuity out there that can meet all of your needs.

Speaker1:
Ford Stokes is founder and president of Active Wealth Management and author of the book annuity 360. There are several different types of annuities, including fixed, variable, and fixed indexed.

Speaker3:
A fixed annuity offers a specific guaranteed interest rate on their contributions to the account. A fixed index annuity is an accumulation based product offered by an insurance company. The growth of your fixed index annuity is dependent on the performance of a chosen stock market index, but your money is not actually invested in this index. This offers you great growth potential and exceptional protection for your investment.

Speaker1:
While each can provide tax deferred growth and a lifetime income stream, variable annuities put your principal at risk in the market.

Speaker3:
If you are currently investing in a variable annuity, your funds could be in serious trouble if the market experienced any downturns.

Speaker1:
With so many possible choices to consider, it's essential you speak to a financial advisor or professional to help you make the best decision for your future. So are you ready to consider an annuity as part of your retirement plan? It's a key question to consider as you approach what should be your golden years with the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amira life? I'm Matt McClure.

Speaker2:
Miss part of today's show, retirement results is available wherever you listen to podcasts and online at retirement results.com.

Speaker3:
And welcome back result drivers to retirement results. I'm Ford stokes, your chief financial advisor. Got Sam Davis with us is our senior financial advisor and co-host. So. Sam, let's go ahead and share kind of what's going on. Some numbers worth knowing a little bit of a market update here as well. Also again, I would encourage everybody to please consider voting with their retirement in mind. And please consider, uh, you know, voting Republican all the way down the ticket and specifically voting for Donald J. Trump to be your next president as the 47th president of the United States. Um, especially after that really tough performance from Joe Biden in the debate. It's really concerning that he's sitting as the president of the United States right now for me. Um, and it's also a real concern for our country. Um, but anyway, Sam, go ahead and share the numbers.

Speaker2:
Worth knowing your active wealth Wealth market update.

Speaker4:
All right. Forward. The first thing we want to share is some good news on the financial front. You know, we've been doing this show for five years now. And we've gone through markets going up and markets going down, especially during 2020 and Covid. But we've reached some new highs. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indices cleared new thresholds in July. The S&P 500 eclipsed 5500 and the Nasdaq eclipsed 18,000 in the month of July for the first time. Um mega-cap stocks largely driving the move. It's actually interesting if you look at the top components of the S&P 500, how strong those top few companies, the companies like Super Micro Computer and Nvidia, they're really carrying the rest of the index.

Speaker3:
Yeah, it's interesting to me what this says. And I think you've got one more, um, really good. There's like a couple more numbers worth knowing that'll talk to this. But it to me it talks about two, two things. Number one is being diversified is a good idea, especially across indices like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100. Those make a lot of sense to me. Um, also, even the Wilshire 5000 and the Russell 2000, if you want to get, um, some significant opportunities for growth at times. Uh, for me, it's it just says, hey, you need to be diversified. And number two is you need to stay invested. Because if you are one of those people, it's like, you know what? I'm just going to put money in bank CDs in 2020. Then you would have really missed out on a lot. And now that they've all reached, you know, their highs, you could have gone along with them all the way. And so I would encourage you to do the same and stay invested. Uh, that's that's just what I think of when I see this update from Yahoo Finance. You just read.

Speaker4:
Yeah. Another thing I'm taking a look at market performance. The S&P 500 rose nearly 4% in the second quarter alone. Six companies were carrying that index. I mentioned Nvidia also Apple, alphabet better known as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and meta, often referred to as Facebook, producing the biggest gains. That proportion of the index rose 31% from 27.6%. That was the third of the S&P 500. Also taking a look at the sectors that have trailed just three of the benchmark S&P 511 sectors outperformed or outmatched the broader index in the second quarter. Information technology was up 13.6%, communications up 9.1, and utilities up 3.9. About 25% of S&P 500 stock components outperformed the index itself.

Speaker3:
Yeah. So I would say that's a big wow to me. It's really good to be diversified with Spy and to try to invest in overall index. Um, you know and and just try to invest in the overall index and see how those go. I think that's an important one for sure. Again, just diversification and stay invested.

Speaker4:
Yeah. Another very interesting number here for definitely a number worth knowing a total spend of 4.3 trillion. Think of that number 4.3 trillion. That's 18% of the national economy. That is what the US health care system is worth and it is the most expensive in the world.

Speaker3:
Yeah, I would say that the US health system, it's not a shock that our health system is the most expensive in the world because we are really the the wealthiest country in the world, and with per capita and total economy and things like that. But for me, it it just talks to careful for those retirees because health care is going to be one of the largest costs you're going to have during retirement. And you need to be invested. You need to have a plan for it. You need to make sure that your money is growing so you can keep pace with it. Um, also, US health care is the number four economy in the world.

Speaker4:
Related to health care for the United States, ranks 12th in the world in terms of life expectancy. Japan actually ranks highest at 84.5 years, followed by Switzerland and Australia taking the podium in life expectancy.

Speaker3:
I would just say watch, diet and exercise. Um, I'm personally, I have eliminated Coca-Cola's again from my diet, and that is helping me lose weight. Um, I'm also trying to stay active, playing golf a lot and walking. Um, one thing is, you know, all those folks that are on the today show with the Smucker's segment, uh, who lived to be over 100 years old. They all say that they started walking in their 50s and 60s and they walked every day. And that was the one big thing. So I would say, make sure that you walk. Um, we've got a couple more things that we're going to talk about on next week's deal, but let's go ahead and share our final countdown. It's the final.

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

Speaker3:
The final So in today's show, we had an inflation demonstration talking about how, you know, purchasing power is eroding. But one of the things you can do to reduce, um, the erosion of your purchasing power is actually get a financial advisor. Uh, we also gave the update that we're at $3.895 trillion in US national debt. We also talked about a potential 2.57% cost of living adjustment from Social Security. Sam had a great problem solver and I provided a problem solver as well. And I'm going to leave you with the financial wisdom quote of the week. Higher taxes never reduced the deficit. Government spend whatever they take in and then whatever they can get away with. According to Milton Friedman, Sam reads that quote, thought that was really helpful. And then also we made sure that, hey, you've got a chance to take advantage of the Trump tax cuts. Let's do everything we can to try to start that Roth ladder conversion this year, in 2024 and in 2025. As the Trump tax cuts look to sunset in January of 2025, we're going to talk more about how to invest in a smart financial plan for you and your spouse next week on retirement results. Thanks so much for listening to us, and thanks for making us the number one listened to radio show right here on Am 920. The answer on the weekends. We sincerely appreciate you. 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, 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. 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, exists. Please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV Two-a, page four for additional information. At Active Wealth Management, we know you've worked hard for your money and you've worked even harder to save it. When it comes to wealth management and planning for retirement, Ford Stokes of Retirement Results is passionate about helping people protect and grow their wealth while educating them on all their options so they can choose what's right for them. Visit retirement Results.com to schedule your no obligation consultation today. It's a $1,500 value provided at no cost to you. Book yours now at retirement Results.com.

Speaker1:
When it comes to retirement planning, focus more on income than building a big nest egg. I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network, powered by Amira Life. It may sound counterintuitive, but that big nest egg number you probably have in your head means a lot less than the income you'll have each month in retirement.

Speaker7:
The math has all changed here, but the bottom line is time is your superpower. Save as much as you can.

Speaker1:
Nbc news senior business correspondent Christine Romans recently said on the Today Show that you should not just rely on Social Security in your retirement years.

Speaker7:
Social security alone is not likely to support you in the manner to which you're accustomed, right? You want to wait as long as possible to get that maybe 70. If you wait till you're 70 to collect Social Security, you'll get the biggest check.

Speaker1:
And she says, contribute to your retirement accounts early and often.

Speaker7:
So this is from fidelity. They say at age 30 you should have one time your salary in a retirement account when you're 30. So think about what your salary is at age 30, and that's how much you should have in your entire retirement account. By 50 it should be six. This is where I start to freak out, because I know a lot of people can't and don't do this by age 67, it should be ten times.

Speaker1:
A personal pension. Using a fixed indexed annuity is also a great option for many pre-retirees and retirees to consider. It offers protection from market volatility and a guaranteed stream of income that will last the rest of your life, no matter how long you live. Having a big nest egg may sound nice, but focusing more on income will set you up for success in your golden years. So, do you know where your paychecks and play checks will come from each month when you leave the workforce? That's a key question to consider as you plan for what's ahead with the Retirement Radio Network. Powered by Amira Life. I'm Matt McClure. Any bonuses mentioned may be subject to additional restrictions and regulations based on the offering annuity company. You may not receive the bonuses if the contract is fully surrendered, or if traditional annuitization payments are taken, and if the policy is partially surrendered, it could result in a partial loss of bonuses. Because these are bonus annuities, they may include higher surrender charges, longer surrender charge periods, lower caps, higher spreads, or other restrictions that are not included in similar annuities that don't offer a bonus feature.

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