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Peak Financial Freedom GroupPeak Financial Freedom Group
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Our Team
  • Services
  • Education
    • Financial Planning Resources
    • Peak Financial Freedom University
  • Media
    • Books
      • Momma’s Secret Recipe
      • The Big Question
      • 100 Shades of Financial Freedom
    • Peak TV
      • Current Season
      • Season 1
    • Radio
    • Videos
    • Blog
    • News
    • Little Danny & Jimmy
  • Events
  • Contact

How Having the Right Advisor Can Boost Your Retirement Plans

Written on June 13, 2022.

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Peak Financial Freedom Group
2520 Douglas Boulevard, Suite 110
Roseville, CA 95661

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DISCLOSURE:

All of the information presented here is provided and intended to be used for general educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a solicitation for you to buy or sell any security or financial product. The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. None of the information presented is intended to give you specific tax, investment, real estate, legal, estate, or financial advice but rather to serve as an educational platform to deliver information. The ideas, thoughts, and strategies presented here are those of the Management Team and provide an insight to our views on Peak Financial Freedom Group, LLC. Some of this material was developed and produced by Peak Financial to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. Every detail in this website is subject to change without notice. Seminar, radio shows, TV productions, book releases, magazine and book promotions are sponsored, promoted and paid for by Peak Financial Freedom Group, LLC.

2nd Opinion Package available to Qualified Retirees and Soon-To-Be-Retirees may include free consultations, a free retirement income plan, risk analysis, and fee analysis. In addition, a comprehensive written retirement income plan may be provided to those who complete the entire process. Qualified Retirees and Soon-To-Be-Retirees must have a minimum of $500,000 of investible assets such as IRA’s, 401K’s from past employers, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, bank accounts, money markets, CD’s, etc., but DOES NOT include real estate, businesses, limited partnerships, 401K/retirement plans that can’t be moved to another plan, and other illiquid type assets.

Past performance is no indication of future performance and such information cannot be relied upon regarding future potential gains. Investing involves risk. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities. Asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining market. Advisors and agents may only conduct business with residents of the states or jurisdictions in which they are properly registered or licensed and not all of the securities, products and services mentioned are available in every state or jurisdiction.

Nothing is directly or indirectly guaranteed by this information. The planning and ideas presented herein are not suitable for all individuals or situations. Hypothetical examples are used to explain concepts and are not indicative of potential results you could receive; past performance is not a guarantee of future results; and results are not indicative of any particular investment or income tax situation; your results will be different and could be lower or higher. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. Peak Financial does not offer tax or legal advice. Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.

Insurance product features and benefits, such as guaranteed lifetime income riders, are subject to contract terms, limitations, fees, and the claims paying ability of the insurance company issuing the contract. The sale or liquidation of any stock, bond, IRA, certificate of deposit, mutual fund, annuity, or other asset to fund the purchase of any other asset including an annuity may have tax consequences, early withdrawal penalties, or other costs and penalties as a result of the sale or liquidation. Different assets can be complex and carry fees, costs, and surrender charges. If you place assets under management with Fiduciary Solutions LLC, we are paid an advisory fee from Fiduciary Solutions LLC and if you purchase an annuity through us, we are paid commissions from an insurance company.

2019(1), 2020(2), 2021(3), 2022(4), 2023 (5) and 2024 (6) Five Star Professional Wealth Manager Award - Dan Ahmad and Jim Files have been nominated for and have won the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Five Star Wealth Manager Awards. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. Once awarded, wealth managers may purchase additional profile ad space or promotional products. Award does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The Five Star award is not indicative of the wealth manager’s future performance. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by Five Star Professional or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by Five Star Professional in the future. Award winners represent an exclusive group of wealth managers who have demonstrated excellence in their field by satisfying 10 objective selection criteria. For additional information on the Five Star award, including a complete list of the 10 objective selection criteria and their research/selection methodology, go to https://fivestarprofessional.com.

Investment advisory services are offered through Fiduciary Solutions, LLC, a California Registered Investment Advisor. Insurance products and services are offered through PFFG Insurance Agency LLC, a licensed insurance agency (CA Insurance License #0N14013). Peak Financial Freedom Group LLC is a financial planning and umbrella marketing organization, which enables the provision of multiple financial services under one brand. Peak Financial Freedom Group LLC, PFFG Insurance Agency LLC, and Fiduciary Solutions LLC are affiliated entities with common ownership and control. Jim Files is licensed as an investment adviser representative with Fiduciary Solutions LLC (CRD # 1620449) and is a licensed insurance producer with PFFG Insurance Agency LLC (CA Insurance License #0F06511). Dan Ahmad is licensed as an investment adviser representative with Fiduciary Solutions LLC (CRD # 1491561) and is a licensed insurance producer with PFFG Insurance Agency LLC (CA Insurance License #0732913).

© 2025 Peak Financial Freedom Group 

  • Want to know if your retirement is secure? Take the 60-second challenge.  Answer 14 critical questions:
    1. When should I retire, or if I’ve already retired, should I have retired? 

    2. Have I saved enough?   

    3. Can I guarantee my income for life (ensuring I won’t run out of money)?   

    4. How much will I lose in the next stock market crash?   

    5. Can I protect my assets from market volatility and inflation?   

    6. How much income can I safely take out of my assets without running out?   

    7. How long will my money last?   

    8. How will taxes impact my retirement income, meaning how much income tax will I pay when withdrawing income from my assets?   

    9. How can I best fight inflation?   

    10. What is the best age to claim my Social Security benefits?   

    11. After all these years of saving, can I start spending my money now?   

    12. What are the total fees I am paying on my investments, including hidden costs and fees I can’t see on my statements?   

    13. Will my spouse and I be financially secure if one of us passes?  

    14. After I use my assets to create income for a comfortable retirement, can I still leave money to my beneficiaries?

    If you can answer them all and have those answers in writing, you’re ahead of the game. If not, your “plan” is really just hope…and hope is not a strategy. 
  • You’ve be a good even great saver, now what do you need to do for a guaranteed successful retirement?
    Our 60+ years of combined experience has taught us all of our clients were really good savers up to retirement, but before working with our firm, none of them knew how to create a written plan to minimize losses and replace their paychecks with guaranteed lifetime income that would never run out.
  • Your “Magic Number” for savings…
    We have found good savers have accumulated $1,000,000 or more assets for their retirement. The vast majority of the clients we have created written comprehensive retirement income plans for have between $1,000,000 and $20,000,000 in assets. It is our belief if you’ve saved $1,000,000+ for retirement, you’d better have everything about your money in writing, you can’t afford not to.
  • You’re not 40 years old anymore, and you can’t invest like it.
    To succeed in retirement you must learn the two (2) distinct Stages of retirement planning:

    • Stage One (1) is Asset Accumulation. You are working, earning a salary, contributing to your 401(k)/403(b)/457, you can accept volatility and losses, you don’t need the income from your assets for a long time, and have time on your side to recover.

    • Stage Two (2) is Asset Preservation & Income Distribution. If you are retired or within five (5) five years before retirement, you won’t be receiving your paychecks at some point, won’t be saving in your 401(k)/403(b)/457, cannot survive a large loss, need income from your assets now, and no longer have time on your side.

    Stage One (1) and Stage Two (2) are opposite of each other. Retired, or within five (5) years of retirement, you can’t invest the same way you did when you were younger.
  • The Peak Worry-Free Retirement Roadmap – a guide to a safe and secure retirement.
    The Golden Promise introduces The Peak Financial Worry-Free Retirement Roadmap to provide you with documented specific instructions, with complete transparency, to serve as your guide on your path to retirement financial freedom. The Peak Financial Worry-Free Retirement Roadmap is an actual written plan with specific customized instructions to help you succeed.
  • The most important goal of retirement planning…
    Is to help you stop worrying about your money so much, allowing you to focus on living the wonderful retirement you always planned for.
  • Do you know with absolute 100% certainty your retirement future is secure?
    If so, we congratulate you. If not, you need to read this book. The Golden Promise is the vision and the outcome and the Peak Financial Worry-Free Retirement Roadmap is the exclusive journey for your success.
  • True or false, the single most important part of your retirement plan is your budget…
    True. Most consumers and advisors incorrectly believe the most important part of planning for their retirement revolves around their asset statements, that their portfolio is the most important part of planning. At retirement, or planning for retirement, the single most important area of your plan is what we call your “Golden Retirement Budget”, because this process documents how much money you need each month in each budget category. By knowing how much your monthly budget is, we can then work on designing a plan that creates enough net after-tax income to meet and exceed your Golden Retirement Budget.
  • At this point in your life, retired or nearing retirement, you have two (2) options:
    Option #1: Have nothing about your money in writing, continue to do the exact same things with your money you’ve been doing for decades, and hope and pray everything will work out. It is almost a certainty you will continue to worry about your money.

    Option #2: Have everything about your money in a customized comprehensive written retirement income plan. A written plan showing how your money will be invested to minimize large losses, how to create lifetime income to replace your paychecks, manage income taxes and fees. We have found this is the only way to help you stop worrying about your money, you just have never been given a written plan.
  • Always plan for the worst-case scenario…
    You have to ensure your retirement plan works and you never run out of income no matter what happens in the world and the stock market. Since 1929, the stock market has crashed nearly -40% every five (5) years. If you don’t plan for this, and get hit with one (1) or more of these types of losses, your money could easily run out.
  • The chance of you having a written comprehensive retirement income plan is 0%...
    We’ve met with an estimated 4,000 consumers to provide them a free 2nd Opinion about their money. Only three (3) people out of the 4,000 people had an actual written plan. That means 0.075% of the people had a written plan. This means less than 1% of the people had a written plan.
  • Take The 60-Second Retirement Challenge…
    In 60 seconds you will know with certainty if you are 100% set for a successful retirement, or if you need to take steps to ensure your financial security.
  • We have found the single most effective way to stop worrying about your money is…
    Having a comprehensive fully customized written retirement income plan, road-mapping out your financial security plan for the rest of your life. This type of plan will reduce worries, decrease stress, eliminate uncertainties, bring peace of mind, and provide financial security knowing your income will last for as long as you live and you’re protected against large losses.
  • Four (4) rules about verbal plans versus written plans for retirement…
    1. Not in writing: Don’t believe it.

    2. Not in writing: Don’t trust it.

    3. Not in writing: Don’t act on it.

    4. Not in writing: Don’t bet your entire future on it.
  • True or false, the vast majority of financial professionals, people who invest your money, provide comprehensive written retirement income plans…
    False. We have found the overwhelming majority of firms, over 99%, do not build comprehensive written retirement income plans. Peak Financial is one of the few firms we have found that builds comprehensive customized written retirement income plans that include 30 years of income planning, income tax planning, risk planning, fee planning, legacy planning, with complete disclosure and transparency.
  • True or false, you can get the Peak Financial Worry-Free Retirement Roadmap from many sources…
    False. You can only get this time-tested proven step-by-step system from Peak Financial. The Peak Financial Worry-Free Retirement Roadmap is a documented 16-Step process for your retirement success:

    Step 1. Initial Consultation

    Step 2. Introduction Meeting

    Step 3. Roadmap Overview

    Step 4. Data Collection

    Step 5. Income Needs Assessment

    Step 6. Risk Tolerance Analysis

    Step 7. Asset Allocation Plan

    Step 8. Retirement Income Plan

    Step 9. Social Security Optimization

    Step 10. Income Tax Control

    Step 11. Net Monthly Excess Cash Flow

    Step 12. Fee Management

    Step 13. Legacy Analysis

    Step 14. Comprehensive Written Retirement Income Plan

    Step 15. Plan Refinement

    Step 16. Ongoing Plan Support and Accountability
  • True or false, if you have a $10,000 monthly retirement budget, you will have a successful retirement plan if you can create $10,000 of net-after tax income per month…
    False. If your monthly budget is $10,000 and you only bring in $10,000 of net monthly after-tax income, you will still worry every month. We define financial freedom as creating “net excess cash-flow”, which is the amount of money you have left each month after paying your income taxes and after you’ve paid for everything in your budget. So, if your budget is $10,000 per month, we want to create a written retirement income plan that provides you $13,000 or $14,000 or even $15,000 of net after-tax monthly income. This type of plan would create $3,000 or $4,000 or even $5,000 of “net excess cash-flow.
  • True or false, if you’re retired/pre-retired, risk is measured by the amount of growth you want to receive…
    False. At Peak Financial, we define risk as how much you could possibly lose in a market decline and then how much you need to earn simply to recover. Another way to look at risk is to ask yourself right now, at this time in life, would you benefit more from a +50% gain or be hurt more from a -50% loss? To date, 100% of the people we have met with stated they would be hurt more by a -50% loss. Suffering a large loss in retirement significantly increases your chances of running out of money during retirement.
  • The Peak Financial Three-Bucket Retirement Asset Allocation Strategy includes…
    • Bucket 1: Liquid assets – for access, spending, emergencies, and peace of mind.

    • Bucket 2: Growth assets – for long-term opportunities, legacy, and to fight inflation.

    • Bucket 3: Principal protected assets with dependable lifetime income – for lifestyle, longevity, security, and to replace your paychecks.

    This Three-Bucket Strategy allows you to allocate your assets to meet your specific goals with certainty. No more being told to “hang in there,” “ride it out,” “you’re in it for the long run,” or “stay the course.” The Three-Bucket Strategy provides you the control to make your assets act the way you want.
  • True or false, during retirement, focusing on the highest returns will provide you the most success…
    False. Investing for the highest returns will cause you to assume the highest level of risk and potential large principal losses, with significant volatility. If your portfolio has a high degree of volatility and risk, the amount of income you can potentially withdraw safely decreases significantly. If your portfolio has a low degree of volatility and risk, the amount of income you can potentially withdraw safely, without the fear of running out of income, increases dramatically.
  • True or false, the biggest cause of financial anxiety for retirees and pre-retirees is not knowing where their retirement income will come from each month and not understanding how they will replace their paychecks.
    True. Before retirement you go to work, and every two (2) weeks you get paid, like clockwork, you could count on it. But everything changes once retired, because you no longer are going to work and no longer receiving your paychecks. So, the number one (1) goal for your successful retirement has to be to create as much guaranteed lifetime income as possible to replace your paychecks. In retirement you want to get paid like you were still going to work, without having to go to work.
  • True or false, it is always better to defer taking your Social Security benefits until age 70 so you get the highest annual income benefit…
    False. We use a proprietary three (3) test process to determine the best time for you to take your Social Security benefits. In the vast majority of tests we have ran, the analysis show it is usually better to take your Social Security benefits as early as possible as long as you are retired at any age or age 67 or older and still working. Do not take your Social Security benefits until a customized analysis can be ran for you.
  • True or false, in retirement you’ll lose 50% of your gross income to income taxes and other deductions, just like when you were working…
    False. It is true when you were working you probably netted 50% after all your paycheck deductions. This is because when you were working you paid into Social Security, into a retirement plan, into a 401(k), 403(b), 457, and had miscellaneous other deductions. If your gross income was $240,000 per year, which is $20,000 per month, your bet income after al deductions was probably around $10,000. Almost every consumer thinks they will lose -50% of their gross income when they retire unless they do everything they can to REDUCE their income. We think the biggest mistake you can make is to try and minimize your income. We think you should try and maximize your income. Why? Because your average rate for combined federal and state income taxes will most likely be far lower than you thought. Here’s an easy clear-cut hypothetical example:

    Let’s say your retired, bring in $60,000 of joint Social Security income and take out $180,000 per year from your IRA, providing the same $240,000 of gross as when you were working. Assuming you live in California, the high income tax state, you would not be projected to lose -50% of your gross income, you would be projected to only lose -18% of your gross income for federal and state income taxes, allowing you to keep 82% of your gross income as net income. *This calculation was done by a former Enrolled Agent with the IRS for 30 years, a current Accredited Tax Advisor®, a current Certified Financial Planner®, and who acts as a Fiduciary for every one of his advisory clients.

    So, if you make the $240,000 in retirement, you will net 82%, which is $196,308 per year which is $16,359 per month after paying all your federal and state income taxes. How does this happen? In retirement, you will no longer be paying into Social Security, no longer be paying into retirement, no longer paying into 401(k), 403(b), 457, and will only be paying federal and state income taxes out of your gross income. In this example, the federal and state income taxes are estimated to be 18% of your total income, leaving you with 82% of net after-tax income. If we build a plan for you, we will include an income tax-analysis to show you what your estimated average federal and state income tax rate will be and what your estimated net monthly after-tax income will be.
  • True or false, a diversified portfolio made up of 60% stock funds and 40% bond funds which is commonly referred to as “the” retirement portfolio, will allow you to minimize losses and create a high level of income that is guaranteed for life…
    False. A 60% stock fund and 40% bond fund portfolio has a significant amount of volatility and potential for principal loss. For example, during the 2008 Financial Crisis this type of portfolio would have had close to a -40% loss, while the S&P 500 Index dropped over -50%. Whether you lose -50% or -40%, a portfolio with that much volatility cannot provide a steady flow of dependable income that is guaranteed to last for as long as you live. If you are taking a high level of income out of these types of assets there is a high probability you could run out of money.
  • True or false, if your goal is to minimize the total taxes that will be paid on your IRA assets, it is always better to defer taking IRA distributions until you are forced to at age 73 with IRA Required Minimum Distributions…
    False. We have found for the majority of clients it is a better overall income tax strategy to take IRA distributions out earlier than age 73, because:

    1. If you defer taking distributions until age 73, you will have more money in your IRA that the government will force you to take required distributions from. A higher IRA balance at age 73 calculates out to higher IRA Required Minimum Distributions for the rest of your life.

    2. If you take out IRA income distributions as early as possible, and spread them out over your entire life, you can create a lower average taxable IRA amount per year for the rest of your life.

    3. If you defer taking IRA distributions, you will have more money in your IRA, and if you pass away and leave money to anyone other than your spouse, the IRA funds have to be completely distributed in no more than ten (10) years. Can you imagine having to take out your entire IRA balance over ten (10) years or less? You want to avoid this.
  • True or false, it is always better to convert IRA accounts to Roth IRA accounts to guarantee less total taxes will be paid on your IRA assets…
    False. We have found it is rarely beneficial to enact a Roth conversion to guarantee you will pay less income taxes on your IRA accounts, because:

    1. You will pay federal and state income taxes on the full amount of the Roth conversion in a single year.

    2. You will be hoping that the income taxes you pay in the future will be significantly higher than current income tax rates.

    3. If you instead created a plan that distributes a more even amount of taxable IRA distributions over your lifetime, the total income tax bill on your IRAs could very well be lower than completing Roth conversions.

    4. I will never advise my clients to pay income taxes not just “hoping” they will pay less income taxes in the future. I have a significant amount in tax-deferred IRAs and I have never, and plan on never, converting any of my IRAs to Roth accounts.
  • True or false, as long as your income will never run out for as long as you live, and as long as you are in an acceptable total income tax bracket, you should always take out as much income as possible from your assets…
    True. As long as your income will never run out, and as long as you aren’t getting killed with income taxes, it is our planning philosophy that you should always take out as much income as possible. You need to shift your income mindset and think about how you felt about income when you were ages 40 to 60. During your working years, you wanted to make as much income as possible, you never would have turned down a $50,000 or $100,000 raise to your income back then just so you wouldn’t have to pay income taxes. You would have taken the increased income, paid your income taxes, and had more money to spend or save net of taxes. You need to look at your retirement income plan the exact same way.
  • True or false, if your financial professional tells you that you are “paying about 1% in fees” you can fully trust and believe that you are paying 1% in fees…
    False. Unless you have a document provided by your financial professional that shows all the fees you are paying, both direct (fees you see on your statements) and indirect (fees you don’t see on your statements), you cannot and should not believe what they have stated verbally. Remember, The Golden Promise states “if it’s not in writing, don’t believe it.
  • True or false, if you create a plan that is focused on you and your spouse to protect your assets against large losses and creates a high level of income guaranteed for as long as you both live, you won’t be able to leave money to your beneficiaries with a high level of confidence…
    False. We have found that the more you plan in retirement to safeguard your assets from large losses and create a high level of lifetime income, the higher probability you will leave money to your beneficiaries.
  • High asset management fees can be as devastating as a large stock market loss to you portfolio…
    If you thought you were paying 1% in fees on your $1,000,000 portfolio, but later found out you were actually paying 2%, over the next 20 years you could lose close to -$500,000 in additional fees. If you found out you were actually paying 3%, over the next 20 years you could lose close to -$900,000 in additional fees.
  • The four (4) universal financial “must-haves” retirees and people planning for retirement are…
    1. Save up a large pile of assets by the time they retire.

    2. Create the maximum income they can off their pile of assets without running out and without being in a high income tax bracket.

    3. Have money available in the future for contingencies like emergencies, long-term care, helping their children buy a home, paying for their grandchildren’s college education, or fighting inflation.

    4. While they are taking large amounts of income off their assets, they never want to see their total assets, their net worth, decrease over time. They want to watch the total value of all their assets to stay level or even increase over time, so they can pass on the same amount of the total assets they have when they retired, to their beneficiaries.
  • True or false, it’s OK to give your financial professional your money to invest before you receive a written plan…
    False. This is the whole premise of The Golden Promise, you must have an actual plan in writing in your hand before you ever invest your money.
  • True or false, if you’ve been working with your current financial professional for years and years it’s OK to trust the verbal promises and assurances they have given you, you don’t need anything in writing aout your plans for retirement…
    False. You should never trust any verbal promises or assurances from anyone, everything about your money must be in writing to minimize the chance you will make a mistake.
  • True or false, if you’ve been working with your current financial professional for years and years it’s OK to trust the verbal promises and assurances they have given you, you don’t need anything in writing aout your plans for retirement…
    False. You should never trust any verbal promises or assurances from anyone, everything about your money must be in writing to minimize the chance you will make a mistake.
  • If Peak Financial designs a retirement income plan for you, there is no cost or obligation…
    If you’ve been a good saver and saved $1,000,000 or more, are retired or getting ready to retire, and are looking for an actual plan to maximize your retirement success, we will build you a full customized comprehensive retirement income plan in writing with everything you need to succeed in retirement including:

    • A risk analysis to verify in writing you are not taking too much risk.

    • A fee analysis to verify in writing you are not getting taken advantage of with excessive fees.

    • An income analysis to show how you are going to replace your paychecks throughout retirement.

    • An income tax analysis to verify you will not be paying excessive income taxes in retirement.

    • A budget to show exactly how much you need to have to spend each month.

    • A legacy analysis showing how much money you can potentially leave to your loved ones.

    There is no cost for the planning we do and there is no obligation to do business with our firm. We actually give you the entire plan outlined above for you to review before you become our client.
  • True or false, when Peak Financial gives hands you your draft customized comprehensive retirement income plan, you are 100% committed to becoming their client and you own them planning fees…
    False. When Peak Financial provides you your customized comprehensive retirement income plan, in your planning binder, you are not committed to anything and there is no cost to you whatsoever. You get to take the binder with your complete customized comprehensive retirement income plan home with you to review and analyze. Our entire process is designed to put the least, and preferably no, pressure on you as we take you thought the educational and planning process. We know this sounds too good to be true, but, Peak Financial strictly follow our rules and process because:

    1. We want to show you we care for and respect all our clients.

    2. By not putting pressure on any of our prospective

    clients, we have found that more of them have become happy, lifelong clients.

    3. People that become our clients are far more willing to give us referrals because they know we will not put any pressure on their friends, colleagues, and family.
  • After you have reviewed your entire plan and had the opportunity to ask all the questions, and address all the concerns, about your plan, you decide if and when you want to implement your plan without pressure or obligation…
    Peak Financial will never ask you to move forward with your plan or ask you to invest in any asset. We leave the decision making up to you. We only move forward to complete a plan if the client asks us to do so. This puts 100% of the planning process in your control and takes away 100% of the pressure you might feel from other firms who do not operate this way.
  • True or false, if a financial professional has helped you accumulate assets for retirement, or if you have done this yourself, the financial professional or you can easily create a retirement income plan that will reduce the chance of a big loss and will guarantee your income will be paid to you for as long as you live…
    False. The tasks, planning, strategies, and expertise of accumulating assets for retirement has nothing to do with creating a secure and successful retirement income plan. When you accumulate assets, you will typically be willing to take a moderate to high amount of principal risk to try and earn a higher rate of return, you don’t need income from your assets, and time is on your side. Those things no longer apply when you are retired or within five (5) years of retirement. We have found that only a small fraction of financial professionals and consumers have the experience, knowledge, and desire to create a retirement income plan to reduce large stock market losses and create guaranteed lifetime income. This is exactly what Peak Financial does.
  • True or false, as you’ve been told countless times, you should always eliminate emotions from make financial decisions…
    False. We think the worst advice anyone can ever give you is to tell you to keep your emotions in check when making financial decisions. At Peak Financial, we find this to be terrible advice because every financial decision you make is emotional such as:

    • Buying a home.

    • Deciding on medical insurance.

    • Going on vacation.

    • Paying for kids and grandkids’ college.

    • Retiring.

    • Creating a budget.

    • Positioning assets to reduce risk and stress.

    • How to replace your paychecks.

    • Setting up a retirement income plan so you don’t have to worry about running out of money.

    At Peak Financial, we encourage you to embrace the fact that every decision you make about your money will be guided by emotions. Because of this fact, our goal is to help you make correct financial decisions that will provide you with the corresponding positive emotional outcomes rather than making mistakes that will hurt you with their corresponding negative emotional outcomes.
  • True or false, after your Peak Financial Worry-Free Retirement Roadmap is completed, you will feel completely different about your money…
    True. The Peak Financial Worry-Free Retirement Roadmap will improve your education and understanding about your money, it will put you back in control of your finances, it will help you to worry a lot less about your money, and it will stir up a bunch of emotions such as:

    • Relief that you now actually have a retirement income plan that is in writing.

    • Pride that you now understand your money better than you have in your entire life.

    • Confidence that you will be financially secure throughout your retirement.

    • Abundance as you have more income than you need to spend each month.

    • Triumph that you’ve succeeded in building enough wealth to guarantee a wonderful, successful retirement.

    • Satisfaction that you can live the retirement lifestyle you had always planned and hoped for.

    • Eagerness to start the phase of your retirement where you aren’t as scared to spend some of your money.

    • Empowerment that you can control your money and never have to “hang in there” and “ride it out” again.

    • Freedom to do as you please—it’s your money, and it’s never going to run out.

    • Optimistic that you have done everything humanly possible to have a successful retirement.

    • Gratitude & Surprise that Peak Financial fulfilled more than what we promised to do for you!
  • True or false, if you are trying to make changes to transition your money into retirement, but you, or your financial professional, keeps doing the same things with your money you’ve done for the last 30 years, you can expect different results…
    False. It is thought Albert Einstein coined the phrase “if you keep doing the same thing over and over again, and you expect different results, this is the definition of insanity”. The big rules for your successful retirement are:

    1. You can’t do the same things with your money in retirement like you did when you were younger and still working.

    2. You must have everything about your money and plans for retirement documented in a customized comprehensive written retirement income plan.