The Ultimate Tax Guide for 2024: How to Build Tax-Free Wealth

4.5.24: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

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

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

Producer:
Welcome to 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.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome to Retirement Results result. Drivers on Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor got Sam Davis here with us on the board. Sam is our senior financial advisor and co-host here on the show. Say hello to everybody.

Sam Davis:
Sam, welcome to the weekend result drivers. Thank you for once again tuning in to Retirement Results here in Atlanta across the southeast and also on our podcast feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Ford. A lot of our listeners aren't able to catch the entire show every single week. So if you're ever missing part of an episode, you can go to Retirement Results.com and find our podcast.

Ford Stokes:
And so what we're going to do today is we're going to talk about important tax reminders. The title of this show is the Ultimate Tax Guide for Pre-retirees and seniors. Plus, we share what American seniors love and regret about retirement. But here are the things we're going to cover on this show. So first of all, we're going to talk about the important tax reminders, what you need to know and what you need to do before you file on this April 15th. Also, retirement tax strategies, how to use the IRS and the tax code to your benefit. We're also going to discuss retirement regrets that Americans have had, and also what American seniors are loving and to some extent, regretting. And also. We're going to tackle this for all the people that have changed jobs recently. What to do if you switched and are expecting a job change? A lot of people are changing jobs right now. We're getting a lot of calls with people that have got old forks or orphaned forks and trying to figure out what to do with it, so we're happy to help you. Tackle that part of it and also try to get you get more efficient, more market efficient and more tax efficient. With that, for one K money with a full for one K review. We'll go through that in detail. We've also got our cost cutter of the week. We're going to play the ever popular right or wrong game. And we've got a pretty interesting this week in history for you Atlanta Braves fans. I think you might have an idea of what I'm talking about. But first, Sam, why don't you go ahead and give the financial wisdom quote of the week.

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

Producer:
This week's quote of the week.

Sam Davis:
Comes to us from Will Rogers, and this is a good one for tax season. Will Rogers once said, the only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets and Ford. I love this one for this week and this year. I know everybody's lamenting what's going on in Washington DC lately. It's tax season. Nobody likes coughing up money to pay the tax, man. But, uh, you know, unfortunately it is true. Death and taxes and and taxes do seem to get quite a bit worse.

Ford Stokes:
No question about it. And they're going to get worse when the Trump tax cuts get sunsetted in 2025. It's just going to happen. So hopefully all of you are who are listening to the sound of my voice are actually voting with your retirement in mind and this year's presidential election in November, please do me a favor and vote for Donald J. Trump for president. He is the Republican nominee, and I cannot imagine four more years with the guy that's in there now. I just can't even imagine it. So please make sure you vote with your retirement in mind also, so we can get this runaway spending, um, under control. The US debt clocks got us at 34.6 trillion now. So let's try to get everything under control because at some point it's going to be it's just going to mean future taxes. And more taxes in the future for you as a retiree or a pre-retiree. One of the biggest concerns that I have as a financial advisor is tax risk that our folks face. And I want to share a little tidbit here. So from 1960 to 1963, during the Kennedy years. The actual current 24% tax bracket was 56%. That is 8% higher than two x of where we are right now.

Ford Stokes:
We repeat that the current 24% bracket was actually 56%, which is 8% higher than two times what the 24% bracket is today. So if you don't think taxes can go up in the future, I would beg you to reconsider and also get a plan and try to get going on a Roth ladder conversion. Potentially consider if you're in your 40s or 50s, consider investing in an index universal life policy, because life insurance and Roth IRAs the only truly tax free investments out there available to Americans. A lot of people think the municipal bonds are tax free, but they're actually not because you interest that is generated from municipal bonds actually contribute to Irma calculations for Medicare surcharges, additional Medicare surcharges. And also they contribute to additional taxation on your Social Security income benefit, which is money you've already paid in to Social Security, which doesn't seem quite fair to me. So what I would encourage you to do instead of investing in munis, I would invest in one. Implementing a Roth ladder conversion or two. Consider, uh, investing in indexed universal life policies. So let's go through some important tax reminders. Sam, for retirees, uh, that they need to file by April 15th. I'll let you take us one by one through these.

Sam Davis:
Yeah. So if you're listening to us this weekend, you've really just got a week to go if you haven't filed your taxes. So step one, a lot of you may have already done this. Gather your documents. Everything you need from your workplace, your w-2s, your 1099, any Social security statements, and just your income related documents. That's what you need to file your taxes. Uh, step two is going to be figure out your filing status. You know, a lot of people will just go right away to married filing jointly. Sometimes head of household makes sense. Uh, if you're an individual, that would be your filing status. Step three is make sure you're maximizing your retirement account contributions. This is a big one, Ford. We're actually helping some people this week and next week, because you can make your contributions for 2023 all the way up until April 15th. So if you want to get started opening a Roth, you've got a week to do that. You can actually do that for 2023 and make the most of your contributions this year. And step four is consider your required minimum distributions. You want to make sure you take those. If you're just turning 73 taking those for the first time, you may have questions. Give us a call. We'll help you with your RMDs. And as always, consult with a tax professional when it comes to your taxes and your financial situation. They can help you take advantage of any available deductions and credits while making sure you're staying compliant with all the tax laws.

Ford Stokes:
Also, let's make sure that you file your taxes on time. There's no reason to pay penalties for filing later than April 15th. If you're concerned about rising taxes, I would encourage you to give us a call at (770) 685-1777. Again, that number is (770) 685-1777. Or you can visit Retirement Results.com and click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner. Also, if you want to see our regular corporate company website you can check out Active wealth.com as well. But just get in touch with us so we can help you build a smart tax plan for you and your family during retirement.

Sam Davis:
And Ford. I want to revisit that point on making those last minute contributions for 2023. A lot of people out there don't have any money in that tax free bucket. You know, you've got a lot of money in your tax deferred bucket, be it with an IRA or your workplace, 401 K, but that's going to be taxed as ordinary income. And the government's making sure that they're not taxing you on the seed. They're taxing you on the much larger harvest there. And if you're interested in building up that money and that tax free bucket, a Roth is a great way to do that. So if you thought you missed out on making those contributions for 2023, you still do have some time. And if you want to get started on 2024, it's the new year, so we can do that as well.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, definitely do that also. I want to make sure you understand this. You can contribute if you got ordinary income and you're working for an employer, you've got W-2 income. You can contribute to your 401 K, but you can also if you don't exceed the limits on your 401 K, you can still also invest into a Roth IRA or an IRA. And so if you're a single filer and you've made less than $138,000 in ordinary income for 2023, you can contribute to a Roth IRA. And if you've made less than $218,000 in ordinary income for 2023 as a married couple filing jointly, you can contribute up to $7,500 if you're over 50 or $6500 if you're under 50, to either the Roth IRA or the IRA, depending on how much money you've contributed to your 41K as well. I would just strongly encourage you to do that. Also want to make sure it's clear management LLC put $7,500 into a Roth IRA and into an IRA. You can only do one or the other. We definitely like putting money into that tax free bucket if we can. And I would encourage you just to go ahead and pick up the phone and give us a call at (770) 685-1777, because we can help you with your Roth contribution planning, as well as your Roth ladder conversion planning. Absolutely no cost to you. We do this all the time. We're here to help you get better at tax planning. Listen, right now, what you're doing, getting ready for April 15th, you're doing tax preparation. We want you to do a lot better job at tax planning for the future, and for the medium firm and the long Terme, not just for this year's tax year.

Sam Davis:
And when we come back on Retirement Results, we're going to share some recent survey results about retirement regrets, some things that retirees are regretting, how America's seniors are feeling, and also what seniors are loving about retirement. There's a lot of good news to share there as well. Thanks for listening to Retirement Results and we'll be right back.

Producer:
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Producer:
You're listening to Retirement Results. And now back to the show.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome back to Retirement Results result drivers I'm Ford stokes, your chief financial advisor. Got Sam Davis here. Our senior financial advisor and co host to Retirement Results. And Sam we're talking about retirement regrets right now and how Americans are feeling about retirement. And one of the things I just want to share I kind of want to overstep my bounds here as a financial advisor and really encourage you to kind of build a vision for your retirement. Think about who are you with, what are you doing, where are you living, and also how are you going to fund that retirement. And also we want to help you kind of avoid any regrets. The one thing that I'll say is you're really going to regret the things you didn't do. You may not regret the things that you do. Uh, give you an idea. We're we're going to kind of go bold. Right around Memorial Day weekend and for the week of Memorial Day week, we're going to take our girls over to Lisbon, Portugal, so they can watch Taylor Swift do her thing. And in concert. I'm not necessarily a swiftie, but my girls are. My teenage girls are no surprise there. And it you know, we're going to get them some international travel. That's the first time they've been to Europe. I don't think I'm going to regret it. I think it's expensive, but I'm glad that we're doing this to kind of give them some culture, let them see Portugal and kind of have that kind of fun with the family and have that real life experience and give you an idea to kind of help pay for it. My girls ended up going with another family to 30 A and Rosemary Beach, and we did not go this year on spring break, my wife and I stayed back and and monitored the renovations to our two girls bathrooms.

Ford Stokes:
Um, when and were surprising them when they get back. But we did all that because we wanted to save for one just to kind of better improve our house. But also we wanted to save for that special trip with Lisbon, Portugal. I think you could do. Fewer trips each year when you're a retiree and really plan some really great ones if you want to. A lot of couples that come into our office, they end up working with us and they'll take withdrawals for, say, a Viking River cruise. Um, there's one river cruise that goes through all the Christmas holiday areas in parts of Germany and, and, and other parts of, of Europe and Belgium. And I just thought that was really neat. Um, but you ought to really consider doing special trips as you always wanted to do. We had a great lady that came in, and Connie, shout out to you. Um, she's a long time listener and was the first time caller a couple weeks ago and came in and met with us. And Connie's been to about 40% of the national parks, and she's going to make it out to the other 60%. She's going to start vlogging about it. And I just wanted to say, great job, Connie. I just think that's awesome. And, um, also, she's she's going to be an election monitor for the GOP, Sam, which I thought was super awesome. But Sam, you've got some things that retirees are regretting and let's share those. And let's get quickly into what seniors are loving about retirement, because we always want to stay positive here on Retirement Results.

Sam Davis:
Yeah. So just focusing first on a few of the regrets. These are according to recent survey results reported by Thinkadvisor. And the largest regret of today's retirees is financial. 78% of retirees say they're sorry they didn't save enough money or prioritize their finances early enough. Um, 52%. So just a little more than half regret not having prioritized their health earlier in life. But 82% say they're now making health a top priority. And we see that a lot with people as they enter retirement. Uh, 53% are saying that they're spending more time exercising. So that's that's good that the retirees are are definitely prioritizing their health there. And we were just talking about travel forward. 21% of retirees are disappointed they didn't travel more before retirement when they were younger. So those are just a few of the regrets based on recent results.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, I agree, I think the one thing I would encourage you to do is to get out and walk. The one consistent element, or the one recurring trait that we see that people live to be over 100 years old. Um, Al Roker and Willard Scott, you know, they have that Smuckers segment. Sam, during the today show, the number one thing that each one of them say how they made it to 100 years old is they said they got out and walked and they just walked consistently, starting in their 70s. And they just kept their body moving. So make sure you do that and, you know, stay healthier. My in-laws, they do a great job. They go to doctors appointments probably once every other day and do a great job of making sure they're on top of their health. So that's great. They've lived to be, I think, 81 and 82 years young. Um, way to go, Janice and Herb out there. We really appreciate you all. Love the priests. Always great to have a mother in law, Sam. That really that really cares about you. So that's great. And Sam. We also are going to talk about what seniors are loving about retirement, and that you and I are going to take these one by one, I think. So I'll let you take the first one. Yeah.

Sam Davis:
Of course, there's a lot to love about retirement. And number one here is 90% of retirees say they actually enjoy being retired. So that's good to hear that. The large majority of people are happy with their decision. They're happy with that new lifestyle and that they're enjoying retirement. Yeah.

Ford Stokes:
It's not a surprise that they're happy not having a boss. Right? Yeah. So that's great. And then 72% of retirees say they feel younger than their current age, which is really great news I just spent time with. A guy by the name of Dom in Arkansas, and he and his wife are going to be clients of ours and. What he said that made him feel younger was his two grandchildren that live in upstate New York, where he's from, and he's got a three year old granddaughter and a seven year old grandson, and he just spent the past week with his family, um, up in upstate New York. And I just, you know, just want to say that's really neat stuff. And he just said that it really made him feel a whole lot younger.

Sam Davis:
All right. The next one here, 93% of retirees say they can do things they couldn't while they were still working, probably because they have more time now. Maybe a bit more courage to go out there and try some of the things that they haven't done before. And just glad that people out there that are retired are enjoying, you know, and doing the things that they couldn't do when they were younger.

Ford Stokes:
And almost half the retirees survey said that they'd picked up a new hobby. One of the things I love hearing about is when people have picked up a new life skill, whether it's about painting or drawing or playing the drums or picking up a new sport, whether it's pickleball or golf or tennis or or you're going back at it and playing softball. It used to be a baseball player or a softball player. If you're a female and then or if you played softball, you know, in a league. Years and years ago, a lot of people in Atlanta play Alta tennis as retirees. Uh, I'll tell you, the ladies put out the incredible spreads out there. It was pretty nuts to see what came about with playoffs this past winter for mixed the mixed teams. Um, I wasn't on a mixed Alta team this year, but some friends of ours had one in their spread. They made city finals and their spread. They had, like, candelabras and and ice sculptures and all kinds of things. Sam. It was incredible, the food spread. I was just glad I was able to go and support them and eat to my heart's content. So they even had tenderloin sandwiches. It was awesome. But make sure you're trying to pick up that new life skill, because here's one secret I'm going to tell you. It is likely you're going to be retired for almost as long as you worked. And if you can pick up that new life skill, you may not want to retire. I mean, the definition of retire is to withdraw. You may actually want to relaunch in retirement. And so it's something to consider there. But Sam, what's that next thing that seniors are loving about retirement.

Sam Davis:
The next one is 89% of retirees say that it's important to travel in retirement. And I agree with these retirees forward. I'm trying to travel as much as I can with my wife and my family while I'm young, but that's something that I want to continue to do as long as I can. You know, there's a lot of places in this great country to go see that's so awesome to hear that our client is working her way through 40, almost half of all the national parks. That's really cool to hear. Um, and there's a lot of great places in this world to see as well. So get out there and travel. And even if you're getting older, there's a lot of things you can do that are a lot less taxing on your body. Cruises are getting fantastic. There's lots of places that you can see. It's not just the Caribbean anymore. You can go to Alaska all over Europe, so get out there and explore the world.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah. Also, 18% of retirees say they volunteer their time and expertise to organizations or causes that are meaningful to them. I think that's a really good idea as well. Um, that one shout out back to the travel piece. Sam, I, I've given you a compliment on this before on the show, but I'm going to do it again. You were so adept at getting your wife to agree to go to sporting events around your international travel. It is truly remarkable because you you first went to the Ryder Cup in Italy, which is an unbelievable trip. That's incredible. Unfortunately, that the US didn't fare too well, and now you're going to the 2024 Olympics in Paris that we keep seeing promos on NBC for. And you figured out how to get your wife to Paris, but at the same time, you're going to you're going to be able to look at tennis matches and all kinds of things. When you're out there in Paris, at Roland Garros, you're seeing history. I just got to say congratulations on that. I don't know how you pull it off, but you do every single time.

Sam Davis:
Hey, it's it's fantastic to travel the world, especially with my best friend, my wife Bailey. Um, we're going with two other couples to Paris. It's been a hundred years since Paris last hosted the Olympics, so it should be very exciting. Um, going to see the men's, right? No, I don't even think I was a thought in my grandfather's eye at that point. Right. So, uh, but we're going to get out there and we're going to make some memories.

Ford Stokes:
And we come back for the break. We're going to try to tackle this subject of have you changed jobs recently or have you recently retired? And we're going to talk about what you should do when you switch employers or you retire. Come right back. You're listening to Retirement Results right here on Am 920. The answer.

Producer:
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. That's (770) 685-1777. 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. You're listening to Retirement Results. And now back to the show.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome back result drivers to Retirement Results on Ford Stokes. Your chief financial advisor got Sam Davis here, our senior financial advisor and co-host on the show. And we're talking to people who have changed jobs recently or you've recently retired. And here's what you should do when you switch employers or you just up and retire. Number one is evaluate your retirement savings progress before making any big decisions. Assess your current retirement savings and determine how switching jobs will impact your overall financial goals. Consider factors as pension plans, retirement plan contributions, and employer match programs as well.

Sam Davis:
The next good note here is assess your health care benefits. So examine what your health care opportunities are with your new employer. Make sure that that coverage is going to meet you and your family's needs. Consider any gaps in coverage during that transition. Sometimes people switch jobs right away. Sometimes there's a month or a little bit of time in between. So make sure that you're covered for that period. And these costs can play a big role in a lot of people's job choices. So make sure you've got those health care benefits figured out that those are in line. It's one of the biggest expenses for retirees. Ford. And so we want to make sure that anybody that's getting close to retirement, those pre-retirees out there have their health care benefits figured out.

Ford Stokes:
And the next one is you want to review retirement plans. Specifically if you want to review that orphan for one day, if you get that orphan for one day, chances are you've got limited investment options. You also cannot contribute to that account any longer. So you want to do everything you can to get that money moved over into an IRA that you can control, and you can also contribute to you want to understand the retirement plans that are offered by your potential new employer? I don't recommend rolling your old 4k into a new 4k. You're better off taking control with your IRA. Let us help you manage that. All you've got to do is reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 or visit Retirement Results.com and click that schedule a consultation button the upper right corner. And we're happy to help you get going there. But you want to compare them to your existing plan and determine if the benefits such as vesting schedules and contribution matching, align with your retirement goals and you're making decisions to go work for a new employer. The best way to do this is to get us to do A41K review for you both on your previous orphaned 41K, and then also your new 41K, so we can rebalance it. It's usually about a 300 to $1500 service, but we absolutely do it at no cost to anybody that calls us from Retirement Results on purpose, because we want to help you make an informed financial decision. We're also fiduciaries, so we got to put your needs ahead of our own. We want to make sure that you've got all the information you need. We just want to do everything we can to protect and grow your wealth, but also minimize the fees, the especially the hidden fees you could be paying with 12 b one fees and mutual funds and a share fees and C share fees that are synonymous with mutual funds are usually heavily laden options within A41K plan.

Sam Davis:
And the last note here if you've changed jobs recently or if you're considering switching employers sometime soon, is seek professional advice from some licensed professionals like us. So by consulting with a financial advisor, they can help assess the financial implications of you switching jobs, help navigate some of those challenges, provide some guidance that's personalized and based on you. It's not just a cookie cutter recommendation or cookie cutter plan. It's really based on you and your family's needs and help you make the most informed financial decision. For. That's what I love about what we're able to do. And we help people. We give them so much information on the front end to help them make the best decisions possible for them, because we realize that not everybody is the same. You know, just like snowflakes, no two clients that we see are the same. No two prospects that we see are the same. And we want to make sure that you're getting that customized plan. Yeah.

Ford Stokes:
One other thing I want to add here is also, you may write, you may or may not know this, but you don't need to work for the government or one of the few companies that still offer a pension to actually get your own personal pension and protect your assets and create a guaranteed income stream for the rest of your life that you can never outlive. All you got to do is reach out to us at (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777 or visit Retirement Results. Com or you can also visit active wealth.com. Simply just get in touch with this week so we can show you the options for creating your own personal pension. No company plan required. Again, just give us a call at (770) 685-1777 or visit Retirement Results. Com.

Producer:
Ready to save some money? Here's our retirement cost cutter of the week.

Ford Stokes:
Cost cutter of the week. This week is pay off your home mortgage. Listen, a lot of financial advisors will say no, don't pay your mortgage off. Invest the money with me, and and we'll go ahead and take care of you, because the interest rate's better. We'll get you a greater rate of return on the money. I would say, especially with interest rates being so high. Paying your mortgage off is a really good idea. Um, but only a fully paid off home can have significant benefits, especially when heading into retirement. If you own your own home, its value has likely increased since the home was purchased, turning it into a storehouse of wealth. You can also downsize and then take some of that additional money and turn it into a personal pension. By investing those non-qualified assets into a fixed indexed annuity. We're happy to help you do that. But here's why it pays to pay early with no mortgage debt to worry about, the worth of your fully owned home represents 100% equity in that home. Now, granted, you also have taxes you've got to pay on that home each year. Having a fully paid off home significantly reduces your annual expenses by eliminating mortgage payments. Also, a mortgage payment won't eat up one of the two Social Security payments that come into the household.

Ford Stokes:
If a married couple still has a mortgage in retirement, the monthly payment likely. What we've talked about will consume one of the two household Social Security checks. This reduction in monthly expenses can free up a significant amount of money that can be used for investing, travel, health care expenses, etc. downsizing to a smaller, less expensive home can further increase retirement savings, increase retirement income, and also provide additional financial flexibility, but also reduce the property taxes you're going to pay. Because if you downsize from the traditional family home, let's say your home went up to almost $1 million in this market, or let's say $900,000 in this market. But you downsized back down to a 4 or $500,000. You're going to pay probably about 4 or $5000 less in property taxes each year. If you're in Fulton, Forsyth, Cobb, DeKalb counties, obviously, folding in DeKalb counties are going to have higher taxes than, say, Cobb and Forsyth or um, also, one other quick hint if you're over 65 and you no longer have school age children, go ahead and go to the courthouse and get that homestead exemption to reduce the education portion of your property taxes, you're going to be glad you did.

Ford Stokes:
And then lastly, cashing out on a fully owned home can result in a significant gain from the sale, which can be used to pay off other debts or invest in other assets. Listen, when you get retirement, you got to be debt free. You really do. You don't need to be paying people. You also need to have a positive retirement income surplus, not a negative retirement income gap. And what you do with the family home matters and what you do to get debt free matters. And how soon you can get debt free is really important as well. Um, if you need help navigating this change, whether it's, you know, paying your house off or navigating the change from changing jobs or navigating the change when you retire. Feel free to give us a call at (770) 685-1777 again, (770) 685-1777 or visit Retirement Results. Com to book your consultation now. It's customized just for you and we come back from the break. We are going to play right or wrong and we're going to test your own financial knowledge here on Retirement Results. We're going to test the knowledge of our result drivers right here on the show here. Sam. You're listening to Retirement Results on Am 920. The answer.

Producer:
Schedule your complimentary financial consultation now by dialing (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777 to connect with a qualified advisor.

Producer:
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 Amara 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.

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

Producer:
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.

Christine Romans:
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.

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

Christine Romans:
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 a personal pension.

Producer:
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.

Producer:
Are you concerned about rising taxes and how that 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.com for more information. Money questions money answers you're listening to Retirement Results. Missed part of today's show. Retirement Results is available wherever you listen to podcasts and online at Retirement Results. Com.

Ford Stokes:
Welcome back result drivers I'm Ford stokes chief financial advisor. Got Sam Davis, our senior financial advisor and co-host here on the show. And Sam, you've got a really interesting really close to home this week in history.

Producer:
It's this week in history.

Sam Davis:
This Week in History April 8th, 1974. In Atlanta, baseball legend Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run. That home run broke Babe Ruth's 39 year record for career home runs. Aaron went on to hit a major league record 755 career home runs, a record that stood until 2007. So that is a really good one to kick off this week in history.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, no doubt. I was extremely, extremely young, didn't kind of know what was going on back then, but it was really great that Hank hit that home run. And the two gentlemen who were running with him, um, between second and third base, they actually went to my high school. I went to Westminster High School in Atlanta. They were way, way, way older than me. But, um, but it's interesting that two Westminster High School guys made sure, made it, took it upon themselves to make sure they stormed the field and went out there and had and shared the the spotlight with Hank. I thought that was probably a little selfish, but it is kind of cool. A little bit of Atlanta history there. He was so strong and his wrists were so strong. It's amazing what he did without steroids. And I just want to applaud Hank Aaron up there in heaven. And also. To the Aaron family. Uh, it was really cool that they had his number 44 sitting there on the field all season. When we won the World Series in 2021, that was a really big deal. Too bad that he just missed it because I think he died like eight months before. Thanks for giving this city great memories, Hank. And now let's play right or wrong. And we're going to test your financial knowledge here and say, I'm going to let you take these one by one.

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

Sam Davis:
All right, number one, on this week's right or wrong. From a fee perspective, ETFs or exchange traded funds are far superior products compared to mutual funds. Is that right or wrong?

Ford Stokes:
So, listeners, do you think that's right or wrong? Believe it or not, it is right. Etfs are much more efficient. There's no 12 B1 fees and they offer the same level of diversification. Another benefit is that ETFs can be traded within a trading day, while mutual funds must be traded between trading days, meaning that you have more control of buy and sell prices with exchange traded funds.

Sam Davis:
That's a great one to get us started. Number two, if your employer doesn't offer a pension plan, there's no other way for you to create a personal income stream that you can never outlive. Listeners should know this one. But Ford, is that right or wrong?

Ford Stokes:
Think a lot of our listeners here on the Retirement Results show know that that is wrong. Annuities allow anyone to protect and grow their hard earned and hard saved wealth. Establish an income stream that can never outlive. Also, fixed indexed annuities are tied to a stock market index, allowing you to get market like gains without market risk. Your principal is 100% protected, meaning the worst you can do in a year is 0% growth. A lot of people in 2022 would have liked to have only had 0% growth. And now Sam number three.

Sam Davis:
The third one is the only ways to reduce your taxable income and get into a lower tax bracket are deducting your mortgage interests and taking advantage of tax credits. This is a big one for tax season before. Does that right or wrong.

Ford Stokes:
I don't know. It's let's see folks what do you think. Do you think that's that's right or wrong. The answer is actually wrong. Anyone can reduce their taxable income during retirement by taking tax free withdrawals from only two types of tax free investments Roth IRAs and life insurance. If you're interested in generating tax free income during retirement, then I would encourage you to schedule a free consultation with us today just by calling (770) 685-1777 or Visiting Retirement Results.com. It will cost you nothing to find out how much you could save in future taxes.

Sam Davis:
And the last one here on this week's right or Wrong. If you choose to take a lump sum on your pension when you retire, you can receive up to a 20% bonus on your money. Is that right or wrong?

Ford Stokes:
That is right and that is super exciting. A lot of pensions are offered by companies or spias single premium immediate annuities. They're really good at paying our money back to us, but they're not really good at growing our money because they're not index linked. Whereas a fixed indexed annuity is linked to an underlying market index. What else is great about it right now? And it's the best time ever, in my opinion, to own a fixed indexed annuity or to invest in one here in the last year. Plus, and you may want to get going before Jerome Powell reduces interest rates. The ten year U.S. Treasury is yielding about three times what it has traditionally in my career. Usually it averages around 1.4 to 1.8%. Today, it's averaging between 4.5 and 4.6%. But also fixed indexed annuities can also generate a higher income payout during your 30 plus year retirement, and it goes up generally with most products about 0.1% a year. So if you're struggling to make ends meet by just. Following the 4% rule, and you're taking 4% out of your portfolio each year and you're having to pay taxes on that money, too.

Ford Stokes:
I would encourage you to consider moving the income portion of your portfolio into a fixed indexed annuity with us. We've got access to some really great proprietary products that have got bonuses, as Sam said, upwards of 20, even 25%, and also can give you a it can also give you a healthy participation rate in the performance of the underlying index. We even have a product that's paying a guaranteed 8% roll up each year that you defer withdrawals, so you're getting 8% in interest each year that you defer withdrawals where you don't take withdrawals or you don't annuitize the money. I would encourage you to reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 to learn about some of the exciting products that we have available, both on the accumulation and the income side, with fixed indexed annuities from top carriers like nationwide and Silak, Sentinel Security, Life Fidelity, and Guarantee North American. A lot of these are A+ rated carriers. Some are mutual insurance companies, some are publicly traded insurance companies. We're here to help you kind of sift through all the products so you can get the one that works best for you. It's the.

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

Ford Stokes:
Today. The title of this show was the Ultimate Tax Guide for Pre-retirees and seniors. We try to pack as much as we could into this one hour to help you get prepared for Tax Day on April 15th, and you only got a week to go, folks, so make sure you get everything ready. Don't want any penalties out there, and make sure that hopefully you took your RMDs for 2023 already. And here's some of the things we talked about in today's show. We gave you the important tax reminders. We talked about retirement tax strategies. We also discussed a few of the retirement regrets that some retirees are having. We also talked about all the things that retirees are loving doing during retirement and not having a boss, which is great. And also, we gave some detailed information on what to do if you change jobs. Number one thing is just pick up the phone and give us a call at (770) 685-1777 or visit Retirement Results. Com also, I just want to say if you haven't heard from your advisor lately, we're here to help you and your family with a complimentary consultation. We're going to give you a free portfolio analysis, a free financial plan to your 95th birthday with your current plan, and also one with our recommended plan.

Ford Stokes:
We'll also give you a retirement income gap analysis for review, and we'll give you a Social Security maximization report. Absolutely no cost to you. I'm a registered Social Security analyst. I'm on a 15 in the state of Georgia. Very proud of the fact that we offer Social Security Maximization report and RSA roadmaps here at Active Wealth Management. And on the Retirement Results show, I would encourage you to go ahead and pick up the phone and give us a call to get your own Social Security maximization report and get that RSA roadmap at no cost to you. It's literally a $1,500 value for this full financial planning plus the RSA roadmap. All you got to do is reach out to us at Retirement Results. Com and click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner. And I want everybody to have just a fantastic week. Next week we're going to talk about four unseen icebergs that could sink your retirement. Or give you a step by step guide for investors approaching retirement, and also why it pays to have a plan and how we can help with your retirement plan. Have a great week everybody.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Retirement Results. You deserve to work with an independent team of fiduciary advisors that will strategically work to protect and grow your hard earned assets. To schedule your complimentary financial consultation, call us now at (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777. To connect with a qualified advisor. To learn more about our mission and our team, visit Retirement Results. Com investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, BCM, a registered investment advisor BCM, an active wealth management, are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results. Registered investment advisors and investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosure of any conflicts of interest, if any exist, please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV two, page four, for additional information.

Producer:
Fixed annuities, including multiyear guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short Tum 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. Any bonuses mentioned may be subject to additional restrictions and regulations based on the management LLC management, LLC. 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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