Retirement Planning in a Changing World

9.12.25: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

9.12.25: 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, and author of multiple books on retirement planning. Here's your chief financial adviser? Ford. Stokes.

Speaker3:
And welcome result drivers to retirement results. I'm Ford stokes, your chief financial advisor. I've got Sam Davis here with us on the mic. Say hello to everybody. Sam.

Speaker4:
Welcome to the weekend result drivers. Thanks so much for tuning in to our show this week. Whether you're listening on your favorite podcast app, wherever you get your podcasts or you're listening on the radio in Atlanta, we're so glad you're with us for another week of important information.

Speaker3:
Yeah, so we had something really big happen. Unfortunately, something very tragic that happened on Wednesday. Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah and it sure looks like a professional hit to me. We'll let the authorities come out with that. Um, I also hope that Kash Patel and Dan Bongino and the FBI will do everything they can to find out every single person that touched That assassination attempt or the successful assassination attempt. Charlie Kirk was one of the best I we were fortunate to have Charlie Kirk actually endorse our practice, endorsed me, and also endorse this radio show on Am 920. Answer for two years. What else is interesting about that is that Charlie volunteered one no cost endorsement to the station, and they chose our show. It also helped propel us to be the number one listened to radio show on Am 920. The answer something that I you know, I'll be eternally grateful to Charlie for. Uh, I never got to meet Charlie. I did get to speak with him briefly one time when we were doing the initial, um, endorsement campaign. We did it for two years at the SEC, and Finra started asking lots of questions about it before during the Biden administration. So we just chose not to air those spots anymore. Now, those endorsement campaigns are actually much more loud with new regulation changes.

Speaker3:
So that was good news when we were considering going back to that. And now Charlie Kirk is dead. Um, uh, Charlie, thank you so much for everything you've done for our nation. Our thoughts and prayers are with Erica Kirk and their two beautiful children. Also was struck. I always loved it that Charlie and Erica would turn their kids around and only show the back of their heads because he knew how fleeting fame is and how horrible fame can be, and wanted to protect his children. And so I thought that was amazing. But I went to the legacy site, which is, you know, what they do, you know, for kind you to lay him to rest. And you've got the memorial website for Charlie Kirk. And I was struck by the photo by the life, the energy, the light that Charlie brought to this nation and the creation that he brought just literally out of just being at Harper's College and decided to leave college. And, hey, I'm going to go ahead and start Turning Point USA at 18 years old. My daughters are 18 years old. And that type of leap of faith and being that passionate about the United States of America and about his opportunities is remarkable. I mean, he was he's from a blue state. He's from Illinois. And, you know, for me, I'm just struck by that light being snuffed out by an assassin's bullet.

Speaker3:
But also, we must all carry the torch. We gotta carry the torch for American values, for American virtue and the American family. We've got to carry on. We can't just. And by the way, if whoever's behind that assassination attempt, if it's liberals or Democrats, communists, whoever. You know, international folks, if they think that's going to really silence Republicans and silence the conservative movement, I promise you, we are more resolute today than we were before Charlie was brutally murdered. Our children literally. I just would beg all of our children to go to church, get married in your 20s, have children, keep the birthrate up. In our country. That's one of the biggest advantages we have. Uh, the one child policy in China, which is Communist China. There, they've got ten years left. The average age of a manufacturing worker in China is 59 years old. So they've got like ten years left of this thing. Our children should be working, saving, investing, owning a home, voting Republican, fighting for free speech, fighting for the Second Amendment. You know, just to get the right to own and bear arms, to be giving to charity, protecting our nation's border. And we should be doing all these things and thinking about how Charlie led the way and how he led with his light and with his torch.

Speaker3:
I'm, uh, obviously very moved by this. I, you know, we're dedicating this show to Charlie. We're also thanking Charlie for endorsing this show and endorsing active wealth management as a private wealth management firm years ago. We're not going to play the endorsements or anything like that, but I just want to say thank you to Charlie and his family for for that, because it was a big deal for our firm. But I did want to I want to share three different quotes that he gave. And the first one I'm struck by is on America's future. The future of America depends on whether we defend freedom today. We need to absolutely defend freedom, for sure. And if you look at the other side of that coin, his take on socialism, and he had lots of quotes on socialism, but this one really, really struck me because of its briefness and and how concise it was. Socialism promises equality but delivers misery. That is absolutely 100% true. And for me on capitalism, because this is a financial radio show, capitalism has done more to lift people out of poverty than any other system in human history. Completely agree. Make sure you stay invested. And, Charlie, we're going to miss you. You died literally doing what you love best, which was actually getting out there and interacting with people.

Speaker3:
Um, that you proved me wrong table and all that kind of stuff. Uh, leading the way with Turning Point USA, um, Turning Point Faith, uh, and all the other things that you did. And in this world, it's amazing what Charlie Kirk accomplished in 31 years. He's 20. He was 26 years younger than me. And it's amazing the impact that he had on the United States and even the world. And I'm so glad that he got married. He had in 2021. I'm so glad he he's got two beautiful kids. I am shocked that he is no longer with us. And, uh, the other thing, Sam, is I just want to say, you know, obviously we're depending on people like you. Um, you're very similar to him in, in many respects to me, you're a sharp young man. You've got, you know, a great wife, you've got a great marriage, you're a great guy. And it is really awesome to be able to share retirement results with you. We talked briefly after it happened. Uh, but literally the torch is is yours. We're going to do everything we can us Gen Xers and baby Boomers and all those kind of things. But, you know, your generation and and even Gen Z younger. We need you for sure.

Speaker4:
Yeah. And I think that is one of the things Charlie did best was reach out and connect with that next generation. Um, we were chatting before the show, and there is so much out there that Charlie did from his radio show daily. Uh, that's actually where I first became aware of him when he joined Salem's family of stations. If you're listening on Am 920, the answer you probably remember around 2019, 2020 when he started hitting your airwaves. And it was it was a bit different, uh, to hear that younger voice. Some people didn't like it, but a lot of people grew to really love his message and what he stood for. Um, obviously the the violence is deplorable. Um, grateful that there were no other, uh, deaths, no other injuries. It was very clearly a targeted attack. And, uh, I'm just thinking about his wife, who is now a widow, and his family. Very disappointing. Um, it is it violence against young people especially is just it really put a cloud over the week. I'm someone who tries to not let the news affect me, but to see, uh, that this was very clearly a targeted attack and just such a deliberate act of violence. Very disturbing. So, uh, yeah. And I appreciate you sharing those words, Ford.

Speaker3:
Yeah, for sure. So this show is dedicated to Charlie Kirk. Um, and we're gonna and we're gonna keep on going Ongoing with being with our our our financial radio show here in the next three segments. The title of the show is Are You Ready to Retire? Dedicated to Charlie Kirk and his memory. And also, we're going to help you create a personalized plan that works for you. But again, our thoughts and prayers go out to Erica Kirk and their two children. Charlie Kirk died at at at with an assassin's bullet at the age of 31. We'll be right back.

Speaker2:
Call (770) 685-1777 to schedule your free, no obligation meeting with us today. You're listening to retirement results.

Speaker5:
Okay, I'll do what I want. If I choose, I can take the fall.

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:
Schedule your free no obligation consultation today by visiting retirement Results.com. Now back to the show.

Speaker3:
And welcome back result drivers to retirement results on Fort Stokes chief Financial Advisor. We've got Sam Davis here. With us on the mic is our co host and senior financial advisor. And the title of today's show that's dedicated to Charlie Kirk. The memory of Charlie Kirk is are you ready to retire. And one thing a big part of retirement is Social Security. It's going to be the number one or number two source of income in retirement for most Americans. And I want to kind of give you all an update about what's going on with Social Security Administration and also how we're here to help. So Social Security Administration, the SSA is implementing a significant workforce reduction, with plans to cut up to 7000 jobs by the end of 2025. Of that's this year, folks, which would reduce its staff to approximately 50,000 employees. These cuts are part of the Trump administration's efforts, led by the Department of Government Efficiency, Doge and the tech billionaire Elon Musk, to modernize government agencies and reduce costs. The reductions have already led to layoffs, voluntary buyouts and early retirements. So here's the deal. We're here to help. We are registered social security analyst. I want to share a quick story from my that is in my own family. So my dad is 87 years old. His wife is 71. My stepmother. They got married a long time ago. Um, he's she's 16 years his junior. Um, she's also only 12 years older than me. So we're like an All American family. We've got. I've got four half siblings and a full sister.

Speaker3:
So my dad had six total kids, with two with my mom and four with my stepmother. And my stepmother was a violin teacher. She was an independent business owner. And also she runs ran like one of the largest Suzuki violin schools in Atlanta. But her the taxes she was paying in self-employment tax and all those kind of things weren't the same as if she'd had a W-2 income with an employer matching and things like that. So her income, her Social Security income was actually less for her own Social Security income retirement benefit than what she could get as a spouse. Because my dad was a, you know, a a lawyer, a corporate attorney and all that kind of stuff for a long time and had W-2 income and and matching and everything else. So her actual spousal benefit was higher than her own benefit. The Security administration didn't tell her this, and I didn't learn about it until literally when she turns 70 years old. It also led me immediately to become a registered Social security analyst, because she was missing out on literally over $1,000 a month in Social Security income benefits. That is a remarkable difference. Now, somebody at the Security Administration could have told her that, but they didn't. I'm not saying that Social Security Administration's bad people. I'm just saying they didn't share the information. So there's many of you that have got questions about Social Security also for married couples, divorcees, widowers, widows. There's a lot of different factors with Social Security.

Speaker3:
It's going to be the number one or number two source of retirement income for your retirement. When you take Social Security, when you choose to take Social Security is a big deal. It's a big decision. That's why we've made it one of the pillars of our practice. And we have two registered Social Security analysts on on staff. Myself and Matt McClure. We're two of 24 registered Social Security analysts in the entire state of Georgia. So if you've got questions about Social Security, I would encourage you to pick up the phone and give us a call. (770) 685-1777 again (770) 685-1777. And we'll help you navigate all this. There's over 2000 decision points with Social Security when you're a married couple. Now yes, it is pretty simple. You either turn on the income or you don't. It's an on off switch, but there's a lot of things you can do in the interim in the meantime. So I would encourage you to reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 or visit retirement. Com and click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner and we're happy to help you again. Retirement Results.com. Sometimes, Sam people have a tough time remembering a phone number. We just encourage folks, you know, to reach out to us and and go to retirement. Results.com. The phone numbers there, they can click the schedule a consultation button. They can go to retirement. Com forward slash plan. That's retirement. Com forward slash plan. Put their name email and phone in and we'll call them and get started right away.

Speaker4:
Yeah absolutely. You can listen to all our past episodes of our radio show and podcast there as well. You can also make it over to active. Com and learn more about our practice and what we do. Uh, and learn a little bit more about what private wealth management is all about. And I think that Social Security income is really going to be a cornerstone of your financial plan. That's one of the first places we look is figuring out, figuring out, hey, when's the best time for you and your spouse if you're married, to turn on Social Security, what sort of income can we expect from that? And what's your monthly budget? How much more do we need to fill that retirement income gap? Because Ford, we're about to get into a segment here about why you can't plan for retirement the same way your parents and grandparents did. The landscape is different. People don't have pensions, so you really need to maximize that Social Security and then get to the guarantees where you can with the other aspects of your retirement plan. And that really brings us to the financial wisdom quote of the week.

Speaker6:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker7:
This week's quote of the week.

Speaker4:
Comes to us from Wayne Gerard Trotman. Burying your head in the sand does not make you invisible. It only leads to suffocation. And I feel like a lot of the people we meet with for the first time. Ford. You know, they pull out their statements, they say, hey, I, I know I should have done this ten years ago, but, you know, now I'm ready to retire. You know, you really owe it to yourself to learn as much as you can as soon as you can. Because when time's on your side, you've got a lot more potential, particularly when it comes to potential growth in your portfolio.

Speaker3:
Amen. Uh, you you know, one of the things that Charlie Kirk taught us is, hey, you gotta you gotta actually fight. You've gotta actually fight for your right to for all your rights, your Second Amendment rights, your right to free speech, things like that. Same thing's true with your own personal retirement. You've worked hard to make your money. You've worked hard to save your money. Sometimes it's even harder to save your money than it is to make it. And we strongly encourage and urge people to get started right away. The other thing I'm struck by Sam is we have so many listeners. One thing that you said last week that I thought was really interesting, in one of the breaks in between the show segments was, you know, Ford, I think just about everybody on Am 920. The answer knows who we are and they know about our practice. They know about the show and so many people listen. And it the other thing you said was, it's remarkable how much we're able to help people when they come in. And I if you've been a long time listener but never called our office, I would encourage you to reach out to us and give us a call. Go ahead and visit retirement. Com or call us at (770) 685-1777. And just reach out to us and we're happy to help you. We'll get started on planning for your Social Security planning for sure when you're going to take Social Security and how to maximize your Social Security income. And then also, we're going to do everything we can to give you a portfolio analysis to help you understand the risks you're taking and the fees you're currently paying, and then try to get you on a plan to your 95th birthday.

Speaker3:
That's going to be a successful retirement, that's going to allow you to spend more time with family. We're going to help you build that smart vision for retirement. Like, what are you doing? Who are you with? Where are you living? But even more importantly, how are you going to fund all of that? And we're there to help you do that. So I'd encourage you to reach out to us at (770) 685-1777. Uh, you know, we've only got like, a minute and a half left in this segment. But when we come back, we're going to talk about why you just simply cannot prepare for retirement the same way your parents and grandparents did, just as you talked about right before the financial wisdom quote of the week in this segment, Sam, you're going to be struck by the differences right now between what your parents went through and what you're you're facing, even as a Gen Xer or even as somebody that's a millennial or even headed towards Gen Z for your kids and grandkids. And we're going to we're going to walk you through all that in the next segment. We're so glad you're here with us on this special edition of Retirement Results. We're dedicating this show to the memory of Charlie Kirk. And also, we're trying to answer the question, are you ready to retire?

Speaker2:
We'll be back in just a moment to continue helping you navigate your financial journey. Stay tuned for more retirement results.

Speaker8:
There's a story in my eyes. Turn the pages of desire.

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:
Fort 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 indexed 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 Retirement Radio Network powered by Amira life. I'm Matt McClure.

Speaker2:
Visit retirement Results.com. To schedule your free, no obligation consultation today. Now back to the show.

Speaker3:
And welcome back to retirement results. Result drivers I'm Fred Stokes, your chief financial advisor. Got Sam Davis here with us on the mic. He's our senior financial advisor and co-host of the show. And today's show is dedicated to the memory of Charlie Kirk. And also we are talking about are you ready to retire? And this segment, we're going to talk about why you cannot prepare for retirement the same way that your parents and grandparents did. Sam, let's go ahead and go through these one by one.

Speaker4:
Yeah. The first one we want to mention Is a changing retirement age. You know, in the past, most retirees expected to just stop working at 65. I think a lot of people still, even today, kind of think of 65 as that baseline number. But nowadays the retirement age is a lot more flexible. I mean, we've met with plenty of people in their 50s who are getting ready to retire and people who are in their early 70s and still feel like they have a few years left and they still want to keep going. So the most important question is when do you want to retire? And Floyd, I think that's one of the most important questions, particularly with that smart vision that we talk so much about.

Speaker3:
Yeah, it's it is really important. The other thing that I'm going to balance here is I'm struck by what Dave Ramsey says, which is your income is your greatest wealth generator. Also, in my opinion, I think income is one of the greatest ways to transition into retirement. So if you can work like an extra year and a half or two years or an extra year Longer. That doesn't dramatically affect and change your retirement, but can get you ready to live on that fixed income and save a little bit more. I would encourage you to try to do that if you can.

Speaker4:
Next one on our list is longer life expectancy. So even just a generation later, people are living longer. This means your retirement savings has to last longer. You have to have an income plan that's going to be able to support you and your family, all your needs. Uh, healthcare and just basic, you know, nondiscretionary expenses for many more years. So do you have guaranteed income as part of your retirement plan? We'd love to help you with that. We think it's an important thing for everyone to have.

Speaker3:
Yeah. Uh, our own CDC, the center for Disease Control, and it's based in Atlanta, Georgia. They've come out with a report that says if if two people in a married couple live at least to the age of 65, if both of them lived at least at the age of 65, there's more than a 50% chance that one of them's going to live to be over 90 years old. So or years young, if you want to look at it that way. So you've got a real chance to live to be age 90. Generally, it's going to be the female that's going to live that long. What I would encourage everyone to do is to consider that longevity risk and make sure you've got the money that's going to last, but also the plan that's going to last. Consider replacing bonds with fixed index annuities to give you an income you can never outlive. Give you market like gains without market risk, give you immediate bonuses. Give you other things that really can help. Um, I'm struck by, you know, the nationwide pick ten, which is one of the products that we sell and present to clients as a bond alternative. And that product is now offering a 25% immediate bonus. It's offering an 8% guaranteed interest growth every single year you defer withdrawals into the income and benefits account. If you're trying to get more income from your nest egg, the nationwide Pink ten is a great way to do it, so I'd encourage you to reach out to us again. I want to remind everybody only 1% of financial advisors have access to this product, and Sam and I do, and so does Matt and our other advisors as well. Go ahead and reach out to us at retirement. Com and we look forward to getting started right away.

Speaker4:
This next one, to me, Ford is the single biggest reason why you cannot prepare for retirement the same way your parents and grandparents did. And that is a decline in pensions. So in the past, defined benefit plans from employers were much more common. These provided retirees with guaranteed income in retirement. These have become far, far less prevalent, shifting the responsibility for retirement savings onto the individuals. So now instead of a pension plan, everybody's got something similar to a 401 K plan where you have to choose your investments. Uh, often there's an amount that you are vested in and you get vested in the entire amount. The longer you are with that employer, but the burden is on you to manage that, and the burden is really going to be on you in retirement to manage those distributions. If you don't have a solid income plan. Do you really want to be deciding how much income you're going to pull off your accounts based on how the market's doing? I imagine you don't want to be looking at the headlines and watching Fox business and deciding if you can take out that money for that vacation you have coming up. Put a guaranteed income plan into your portfolio, and let a portion of your portfolio help you generate all the income you need to meet your budget.

Speaker3:
Yeah, and to be specific, the portion we're talking about is 20 to 40% of your portfolio. That way, you can generate the income you're going to need in retirement and let the rest of your assets grow aggressively. You can actually be in an aggressive portfolio and minimize or even eliminate the bonds in your portfolio. Again, I don't see a reason why you would continue to invest in bonds. You're better off investing in equities and in ETFs and in fixed index annuities. And truly diversify between equities, ETFs and life insurance products like fixed index annuities. Annuities are insurance against you living too long. The other big stark difference, um, between on the pension decline is that pensions were out there to give you an income for the rest of your life, but then the the insurance companies would, would keep your principal when you do a personal pension, especially with us. And if the growth rate at the indexed growth rate continues to grow more than your withdrawal rate, than your principal will still be there for you to pass on to your heirs as well. So you kind of get the best of both worlds. It's much different than those old traditional, um, pensions that would be like, yeah, we're going to pay you out for the rest of your life. But once that's gone, the money's gone as well. You'd much rather have a personal pension, a personal pension built on a fixed indexed annuity that gets you market like gains without market risk. You'd much rather have that than those old school pensions that where the money just went away when you went away.

Speaker4:
Yeah. And for those folks who are, you know, anywhere close to ten years away from retirement, so maybe somewhere in your 50s and you're listening right now, that nationwide product in particular has some stuff that should be really appealing to you as a saver and an investor for your future in retirement. Ford, you mentioned one of them already, that 25% bonus, and also that that simple interest roll up 8% guaranteed every year. You defer withdrawals when you add that every year after a 25% bonus. What you are creating is a significant personal pension for yourself in retirement. That's probably going to end up being your favorite part of your portfolio once you get to your golden years, because you're going to get your Social Security check each month, and you're also going to get that check from nationwide each month. Or if you go with another carrier, whatever that carrier is, and those those retirees are a lot happier. They know that that income is coming in. They know they can enjoy their lifestyle regardless of what happens in the market. And for some investors, it really frees them up mentally to be more aggressive with that portion of the portfolio that remains in the market.

Speaker3:
Amen. For sure. You know, another one is it's also about income and Social Security challenges. Why don't you share a little bit about that? And let's go ahead and knock that out before the end of the segment.

Speaker4:
Yeah for sure. We got a minute left in this segment. And concerns about Social Security's long term sustainability have certainly increased over the past few years. Social security recipients face somewhere between a 20 and 24% cut. When the trust funds run dry in 2033. That's the Oasi Trust Fund, the Old Age and Survivors insurance trust fund. Ford as a registered social security analyst, you know, this really makes it so much more important for you when you're running those reports and helping people make the best decision about their Social Security, they truly need to maximize their benefits, because we don't know exactly what's going to happen in the early 2030s when the programs trust funds run dry.

Speaker3:
Yeah, we try to just really plan. It's a custom plan for everybody. A lot of people are like, well, that means I just need to take Social Security as soon as possible. Well, that's not necessarily the case because if you wait a little bit longer, you might backfill any potential 21% across the board cut as well. If you've got a higher Social Security income benefit by waiting as well. So you need to kind of weigh those options. When we come back, we're going to talk more about why you cannot prepare for retirement the same way your parents and grandparents did. Come right back. You're listening to retirement results. We'll be right back.

Speaker2:
Retirement results. We'll be back in a moment. But in the meantime, take a moment to schedule your free meeting with us at retirement.com/plan.

Speaker1:
So you know where you are now and where you want to be in retirement. So how do you plan to get there? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amira Life.

Speaker9:
Do you have any other questions for me, counselor?

Speaker1:
There are a lot of questions to ask yourself when you start your retirement plan. Questions like when should I retire? How much money will I need? When should I claim Social Security? What about healthcare costs and taxes in retirement? This complicated puzzle means you're probably going to need some help coming up with a smart retirement plan.

Speaker3:
If you want to retire successfully, you really need to plan early. You know, Inspector, you expect and get prepared. Putting a plan in place now while you're still working is a great idea.

Speaker1:
Ford Stokes is founder and president of Active Wealth Management. Once you find a financial professional you want to work with, they can help you answer all the questions you may have.

Speaker3:
Back to what Warren Buffett said. If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you're going to work until you die. So we need to do everything we can to figure out a way to make money while we're sleeping. We talk about this human capital versus actual capital. When you're young, you have a lot of human capital. You've got a lot of left, a lot of room left, a lot of capital left in your career. Right? But at the same time, a lot of people that are older, let's say you're 65, 70 years old, you don't have a lot of human capital left, but you should have a lot of capital that is making money while you sleep. And if you don't, then you didn't make the right decisions.

Speaker1:
There are also some retirement costs you may not have considered yet. Long term care. For example, did you know it's not covered by Medicare? What about home renovations? If you decide to stay in your home instead of moving into a facility, your home might need some updates to ensure you're safe and comfortable. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. So do you have a fiduciary, financial advisor, or professional to help you wade through the complicated retirement planning process? That is a key question to consider if you want to make the most of your hard earned money. 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 to Retirement results for segment four. Here on this special edition of Retirement Results, we're dedicating this show 100% to the memory of Charlie Kirk. And we're basically answering the question, are you ready to retire? We're trying to help you with some factors on your are you ready to retire? We've been talking about how you really don't have the same retirement factors that your parents and grandparents have had. In today's world, Sam, let's go ahead and share these last couple.

Speaker4:
Yeah. So the first thing we mentioned was a changing retirement age. A lot of people these days are trying to retire a little earlier, a little later. Uh, in the past, it was more so just right around 65. Uh, folks have a longer life expectancy these days, which is a little good news. Bad news. Obviously, we want you to live as long as possible, make more memories, and spend time with your loved ones. But do you have enough guaranteed income as part of your retirement plan to take you, uh, all the way to your 90s? Or even if you live to be 100 or older? Uh, a decline in pensions is a huge problem. You need to make sure you've got some guaranteed income sources in your retirement plan. We discussed Social Security challenges and how the trust funds are anticipated to run dry sometime in the early 2030s. And the last couple of things we want to mention, these are real headwinds for retirees. Ford. Uh, first is healthcare costs. Just the costs of healthcare. Uh, you know, all those hospital bills that can really stack up. Uh, when you get into your 70s and 80s and also inflation just fighting against inflation constantly, you get cost of living adjustments with Social Security. Year to year. Um, but inflation has just been a killer for folks, particularly over the last five years.

Speaker3:
Yeah. That's why you got to stay invested. We and you can stay invested in other ways. You don't just have to invest just in the market and put all your money at risk. You can do some smart risk things with manage portfolios and investing tactically versus just investing just in a strategic way. Once a year where you rebalance, you can rebalance on a monthly basis with tactical asset allocation, but you can also replace the bonds in your portfolio to do more smart, safe investing by replacing the bonds with fixed index annuities as well. Uh, Sam, let's go ahead and talk about record highs for foreign and those IRA millionaires out there. We've got a lot of them that listen to this show. Let's talk about some of the things we can do to really help people better maximize their hard earned and hard saved wealth. Get it working as hard as they did.

Speaker4:
Yeah, well, with the market up near record highs, it's not surprising that we are seeing record numbers of so-called 401 K millionaires and IRA millionaires. Hopefully some of you are out there listening. You know, you've been a good saver during your working career, and a lot of people have eclipsed that $1 million mark in their 401 K's. Um, just taking a look at some of the numbers. Uh, a 401 K average in the United States is $137,800. That's actually up 8% year over year. Um, we've seen other than the short downturn at the beginning of the year, we've we've seen the markets perform well this year, uh, IRA average is a little bit less than that at 131,000 and a 403 B average just slightly low at 125,000. But all of those average figures are up. Uh, which is a good thing for all of you savers out there.

Speaker3:
Yeah. For sure. I mean, but also, listen, if you've got an old 4k, some orphan four monkeys out there and or and or you've got A41K you've had by working a company for 10 or 20 years, I would encourage you to get that 400 1KX ray, that 4k review just by reaching out to us at retirement results.com. Just go to retirement Results.com and reach out to us. Our phone number's there. Uh, you can also book a consultation in the upper right corner. Or you can just visit retirement Results.com. That's retirement. Com forward slash plan. And we're happy to help you get started right away. Um, what that's going to do is we're going to help you understand the expense ratio within your 401 K or IRA. And we're also going to help you understand the risk you're taking is measured by standard deviation. Standard deviation is a measurement of risk in the financial world. If you don't know what your expense ratio is within your portfolio, or you don't know what the standard deviation is within your portfolio, I'd encourage you to get out there and reach us at retirement Results.com just reach out to us and we'll get started right away in helping you better understand through a thorough portfolio analysis at 41KX ray. And then also we'll help you get on a plan so you can better protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved wealth. We're trying to make your portfolio more tax efficient, more efficient, and more market efficient so you can plan for a successful retirement. And we're also going to help you with that smart vision for retirement. Help you at least fund it. Like, what are you doing? Who are you with? Where are you living? All those things we're going to try to do everything we can to help you fund a great, fun, awesome retirement where you can leave that strong family legacy for you and your family.

Speaker4:
Yeah, and if that's something that you're interested in, if you're hearing this, really all that we need to do one of those forward is your latest 401 K or IRA statement. And if it's a 401 K or employer plan, just that list of investment options that are available to you. And right away we can help you become more efficient and market efficient just by running an analysis showing you the fees you're paying inside of there. You know, keep in mind, a lot of people don't know this when you're investing in mutual funds. Sometimes there can be layers of fees in there. If the mutual fund is invested in other mutual funds or index funds. So be aware of that. You want to find out what you're paying in fees, but you also want to make sure that you're being appropriately defensive with your portfolio as well. If you're getting close to retirement, you want to make sure you're thinking about the rule of 100 and try not to time the market too much. You know the reason why, Ford? There's nearly 595,401 K millionaires. Now is about time in the market, not timing the market. They're not moving around investments constantly. They're staying consistent with their plan. And just make sure your your ship is set on the right course. A 400 1KX ray is something that we offer for free to our listeners, and we'd love to help you too.

Speaker3:
We're here to help. Go ahead and reach out to us at Retirement Comm. Sam, also, let's go ahead and help our listeners avoid the number one fear of retirees, which is making sure their money lasts.

Speaker4:
Yeah, you don't want to run out of money in retirement. So step one is start building a retirement plan that's in writing. Just because you have an IRA or a 401 K or some other account, that doesn't mean you have a retirement plan. How do your assets, how do those components of your portfolio align with your smart vision? That what are you doing? Who are you with and how are you going to fund it? That smart vision that we talk about on retirement results almost every week. And you want to take a look at your expenses and your savings. Are you on track to actually meet your budget requirements if you wanted to retire today? Sometimes we meet with people and we find out, find out, hey, you know, based on your budget, you could actually retire sooner than you think. Maybe you're one of those in that situation. We'd love to help you there. Step two is determining a guaranteed income percentage in any income gaps. So after we help you maximize your Social Security, after you work with one of our two registered Social Security analysts in the office, we can find out what income gaps you may have so that you don't have to worry month to month about meeting your expenses, because we like to build plans where that income is coming on a guaranteed basis between Social Security, pensions and any personal or privately funded pensions that you may set up with something like a fixed indexed annuity.

Speaker4:
And step three is just prepare for those financial risks in retirement. Having a written plan and having guaranteed income will cover a lot of that. But we like to meet with people annually, make sure they're on track. You know, it's coming up towards the fall and the end of the year. Uh, the summer is over. So let's pull out those statements. Let's get a 400 1KX ray. Let's start to put together a plan this fall for you and your retirement. So important. The earlier earlier you start, the better. Uh, we meet with so many people where it's. Man, I just wish you would come in 2 or 3 years sooner. We could have helped so much. So we look forward to helping all of you out there listening.

Speaker8:
It's the final countdown.

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

Speaker8:
The final countdown.

Speaker3:
Listen, if you've been a long time listener, if you've never called us, I would encourage you to reach out to us and just visit retirement Results.com. Our phone number is there. You can reach out to us and schedule a consultation by clicking the upper right button. Or you just reach out to us at retirement com forward slash plan. So go ahead and do that. This show is dedicated to the memory of Charlie Kirk. Thank you Charlie, for being that light, that conservative light. Uh, thank you for starting Turning Point USA when you were 18 years old, as a freshman at Harper's College. Uh, and he actually not even finishing college and moving on and becoming that conservative political activist. And thanks for, um, marrying Erica and having two great kids. Uh, you're leaving a great legacy. And our thoughts and prayers are with Erica and and their two kids on this week's show. We try to answer the question, are you ready to retire? We try to help you with by kind of pointing out the differences between your parents and grandparents, retirements versus what's going on today. Uh, we also talked about how to avoid your the number one fear which is running out of money. Um, just in this segment. Sam just did that. We're here to help protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved assets. Also, one quick announcement. We're going to share a different Charlie Kirk quote on every single show for retirement results moving forward, in addition to our financial wisdom quote of the week, because we're going to carry on the torch for Charlie Kirk again. Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk. Uh, and again, our thoughts and prayers are with Erica and their two children. 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 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.

Speaker1:
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 disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV to item four for additional information. I'm speaking with Indira Venkat, the Senior Vice President of Research at AARP. Indira, thank you so much for taking some time for me. Really appreciate it.

Speaker10:
Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Speaker1:
Well, no problem at all. Very important topic that we're talking about here. You know, making sure that those, uh, retirees, pre-retirees, especially in this country, have enough set by so that they don't run out of money in their retirement years. But there's a new survey from AARP that actually finds that a lot of people are worried that that very thing is going to happen, right, that they that they won't have enough to last the rest of their life.

Speaker10:
You're absolutely right. Uh, our survey shows that 61% of adults over the age of 50 are worried that they'll not have enough money to tide them through their retirement years. And in fact, 1 in 5 yet to retire have no savings at all. So that is, uh, you know, uh, something that we need to take into account. Uh, and how can we help older adults, uh, get to the goal post that they need to live comfortably?

Speaker1:
Yeah, definitely. So. And what are some of the reasons or your barriers to, uh, having enough savings for a lot of these seniors?

Speaker10:
I would say one definitely is access. And what I mean by access is, uh, that today, many working Americans don't have access to a retirement account through their job. Uh, and that's, you know, among the private sector workforce, that's 57 million, uh, who do not have the option to save. And what we know is, if there is the ability to save through an automatic payroll deduction, people are much more likely to save for retirement. So that's one barrier. The other one, uh, more recently, is also higher prices. And what we are hearing from our survey is that higher prices manifests in several ways. One is just, you know, at the grocery store, uh, gas pump, the everyday expenses. There's also housing costs by way of either higher rents or mortgage that are chipping away at people's ability to save and even bring down their debt.

Speaker1:
Yeah, it is a huge, huge challenge there in that score. And you know, what can we do to help those who are, you know, 50 and older in that age group, especially those who are getting closer and closer to retirement. What can we do to really sort of turn the tide here? And, you know, maybe make the situation a bit better for them as far as retirement savings.

Speaker10:
So depending on, you know, whether you have you're worried about not having enough or not having any at all. I think the important thing is to start. So I just say never too early, never too late to start. Um, the other thing is to create a plan. Our survey shows that among those, um, yet to retire, 94% say it's important to have a plan to know how to manage your money in retirement. Yet only 21% actually have a plan. So I think that is an important first step is to create your goal. You know, get the plan going. Um, have some way where you're accountable for what you've set your goalpost to be. Uh, so whether that means having an accountability buddy, whatever that may be, uh, that intentionality is important of having that mindset, building that muscle until it becomes a habit. If you have access to a 401 or a similar plan at work, I would say take full advantage of it. Now is the time. Uh, don't give a, you know what I call free money, especially if there's if there's the employer match. Try and contribute so that you get the most out of that employer match.

Speaker1:
I would think a lot of people would agree that the their favorite kind of money is free money. So, yeah, do not turn that down at all. And I love what you say there about having a plan because, you know, hope and just crossing your fingers. That is not a plan. You have to sort of put all of, uh, the your sort of resources into action, because long gone are the days where you worked for 40 years and retired and got a pension by from most companies, right? I mean, that's just a very small portion of corporations that actually offer those types of pensions today.

Speaker10:
Yeah, absolutely. So the onus is on the individual to, uh, manage that, uh, and manage that, uh, as early as they possibly can to get started on this journey.

Speaker1:
Absolutely. And, uh, so just about time for us to wrap things up here, Indira, but just wanted to ask if there are any online resources or maybe, uh, some, some places people can go, uh, if they are interested in finding out more.

Speaker10:
Absolutely. Uh, at AARP forward slash tools, there are a number of resources that can help, um, with, you know, individuals who are planning for retirement. One of them is our retirement calculator that helps people to make decisions on when to retire and how much money they'll need to live comfortably. Uh, and AARP is also partnered with the AD Council to create. This is Pre-tirement, and there's a website with it, Pre-time. This is Pre-tirement, where, uh, you know, one can create their own personalized retirement savings action plan.

Speaker1:
Wonderful. Well, Indira Venkat, Senior Vice President of Research with AARP, thank you so much for spending some time with me. Really appreciate it.

Speaker10:
Thank you.

Speaker11:
You are going to see a crack in the bond market. Okay. It is going to happen. And I tell this to my regulators, some of whom are in this room. I'm telling you it's going to happen and you're going to panic. I'm not going to panic.

Speaker3:
Did you hear that? That was Jamie Dimon warning all of us about serious trouble ahead in the bond market. Hi, I'm Ford Stokes, president of active wealth management and host of the Retirement Results radio show. If you're holding bonds in your retirement Portfolio. It's time to rethink your strategy. Our team at Active Wealth can help you replace those bonds, avoid market risk, and still get market like gains without risking your principal. You could get a bonus on your investment. Enjoy gains when the market grows. Generate lifetime income during retirement, all without bond market exposure. Visit active com right now to schedule a free consultation that's active Wealth.com.

Speaker1:
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. 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 annuity 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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