Questions You Must Be Able To Answer To Have A Successful Retirement

Most retirees have not gotten answers to their most pressing questions about retirement from their current brokers, advisors, employers, or own research.

If you can’t answer basic questions about your retirement, how can you expect to succeed, feel secure, and feel confident you are making the right decisions about your money? You can’t feel good about it. If you can’t answer basic questions about your money, it means your plans for retirement are based on hope and luck. It means you are hoping you will be lucky, and things will work out. Your broker or advisor might seem to know a lot about your portfolio and managing the assets because that is what they mainly talk to you about. Your broker or advisor may say you are diversified, state they have great money managers, let you know you are positioned for good rates of return, tell you if you want less risk they can put a larger percentage of your assets in bonds, and will often confirm you can expect an 8%-10% average annual rate of return. However, when you ask the important questions about your money, they don’t have any answers. Moreover, your broker or advisor has never put your plan in writing. This means your current broker or advisor is comfortable with you basing your plans for retirement on hope and luck. Are you? In our 50+ years of experience, we have found there is certain data (see diagram on following page) you must have to build a secure plan and to be able to stop worrying about your money:

 

Can you answer these questions regarding your own assets and plans for retirement? If you can’t answer these questions, it means your entire plan is based on hope and luck. Are you willing to bet your retirement security and your financial success on hope and luck? I bet you really aren’t, but no one has given you the answers before. If your current advisor has not answered these questions and has not put the answers in writing for you, it may be time to find a new advisor. Make sure you develop a plan that can answer every single one of these questions and make sure those answers are in writing.

1. How much income can you safely take out of your assets for income?

If you are not sure how much income you can take out of your assets, you may not be taking as much as you could because you are worried about running out, or you may be taking too much, and you will run out. Either way, you are not in a good position.

2. How long will your money actually last?

If you don’t know how long your money will really last, you will either take less income than you could, or worse yet, take no income at all because you are worried about running out of money. This means you will do without, and you will continue to worry.

3. Can you guarantee you will never run out of money for as long as you live?

The biggest fear retirees and pre-retirees have is running out of money during their lifetimes, and if you can’t guarantee your income won’t run out, you will continue to feel anxious and fearful about using your money. The key is to learn how to create “Certain Income” from your assets that will never run out, for as long as you live.

4. How can you protect your assets from volatility and losses?

If you lived through 2000-2002 and 2007-2009, you probably are a little, or maybe a lot, worried about volatility and losses. If your assets have a high level of volatility, you can’t take much income out. If you are taking income distributions from your assets and then suffer through volatility and losses, the negative impacts of the volatility and losses are magnified. Fees increase the severity of losses.

5. How much income tax will you pay on your income distributions from your assets?

Retirees and pre-retirees fear big losses and running out of money, but they also are afraid of income taxes. Many retirees believe they will pay a huge amount of income taxes if they use their assets for income, so they don’t use their assets. The fact is that most retirees will not be in a high effective income tax bracket so they should take income from their assets to live the retirement of their dreams.

6. How much will you lose in the next big stock market crash?

With the stock market continuing on its path of all-time highs, most people worry about the next big stock market crash because it’s not if it will happen, it’s when will it happen and how big will it be? If you have no idea how much you could lose, this only increases your anxiety about your money.

7. Is it OK to start spending some of your money?

A large percentage of retirees decide not to use their assets for income when they retire because they are worried about losses, their money running out, income taxes, and not leaving enough for

their beneficiaries. Also, think about it, the only reason you saved all your money while you were working was to be able to use it to create income during retirement. So, if you are afraid to use your money now that you are retired, this is a terrible way to feel about your money because you will not be able to do all the things you planned to do. If you can guarantee your income won’t run out for as long as you live, you can eliminate your fear of running out of money.

8. What are the total fees you are really paying and how can you reduce them?

We believe close to 100% of retirees and pre-retirees are not aware of the true cost of having their assets managed. Most people believe they are paying “about 1%,” but when we perform fee audits as part of a 2nd Opinion About Your Money, we find the average retiree is paying approximately 3.25% in direct and indirect (hidden) fees. This is a shame as the typical retiree with a proper plan may pay less than half of this amount.

9. What’s going to happen if you or your spouse pass away?

It’s a very difficult conversation to have discussing what happens if you or your spouse pass away. What will happen to the survivor? Will your finances continue to be secure? Will your lifestyle have to change? Because these are difficult and emotional topics, you may avoid them. But we promise, not knowing the answers to these questions are far worse than having the conversation. The goal of prudent and proper retirement planning is to develop a plan that can answer all of these questions, because if you can answer all of these questions, you won’t have to worry about your money any longer.

At Peak Financial Freedom Group, we believe it’s important to feel in control of your financial future. Contact us today to schedule an initial conversation so that we can determine the next steps in helping you get the comprehensive written retirement income plan you deserve.

10. Can You Pass On Money To Your Beneficiaries?

We have found most clients we work with want to use their assets to produce a high level of dependable income for as long as they live, helping them to enjoy the wonderful retirement they have always dreamed about. But they also want to make sure they can still leave money, whatever is left, to their beneficiaries, which can include children, grandchildren, other relatives, close friends, and charities. We believe every client needs a Legacy calculation showing what can be potentially left to beneficiaries after we are gone, because it will make the client feel more comfortable spending some of their money if they know they can still leave some money to their loved ones.

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

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).

© 2023 Peak Financial Freedom Group