December 10, 2013 12:10 pm
Published by alexhouse
The stock market has been on a bull run for the last few months. Many 401k plans have gone up in value because of the exposure to stock investments within the plan. If your 401k plan account value has risen anywhere near the 20% range like the overall market did – you may want to consider what happens next. If you believe the stock market is not volatile and is going to continue to go straight up no matter what our nation’s economy does then...
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December 9, 2013 10:18 am
Published by alexhouse
Which equity indexed annuity is the best? Which annuity is the best for you? Often individuals become overwhelmed by the amount of choices available when learning about, and selecting the best annuity for their purpose. I believe those who are over 50 should have a majority of their retirement assets in safe, protected and guaranteed retirement planning vehicles. The key investment piece is the Equity Index Annuity. Equity Index Annuities may be referred to as fixed index, index, or hybrid. Equity index annuities are NOT...
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December 6, 2013 9:24 am
Published by alexhouse
Some annuities, specifically indexed annuities, have a surrender charge that ranges from 3-15 years. So if you are not terminally ill, require nursing care for more than 90 days, and want to withdraw more than 10% from your annuity there will probably be some monetary consequences to go along with your withdraw. Some surrender charges are defined and won’t change; others fluctuate via their Market Value Adjustment. So what is a Market Value Adjustment (MVA)? Essentially a Market Value Adjustment is the insurance company’s way...
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December 5, 2013 9:10 am
Published by alexhouse
Question: I need an additional income stream for me and my wife and am looking at a Single Premium Immediate Annuity as a possible solution. How do I figure out the return? What is the true value? Fred from San Antonio, Texas Answer: Thanks for the question Fred. This is a topic that is becoming more and more prominent of an issue as baby boomers retire and need more guaranteed income. As a short history lesson, Immediate Annuities (also called – Single Premium Immediate Annuities)...
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December 4, 2013 10:40 pm
Published by alexhouse
Not sure what the 60/40/4 rule is? My guess is you probably do know. If you’ve worked with a financial advisor to help you plan for retirement or read any number of financial publications or googled ‘retirement strategies’ then you’ve seen some form of this rule of thumb for a secure stream of retirement income. Basically, if you have 60% of your retirement funds in stocks, 40% in Bonds and withdraw 4% per year then historically your retirement nest egg should last as long as...
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December 4, 2013 7:46 am
Published by alexhouse
The number of older Americans age 65 and older living in the United States by the year 2020 is projected to be 54 million. This is an increase of 54 percent from year 2000’s population of 35 million. It is no secret that the growth in older persons, members of the “Baby Boomer” generation (born 1946-1964), will place a greater demand on health care services than any other generation before and probably afterwards. This includes the need for care provided in the home or a...
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December 3, 2013 4:12 pm
Published by alexhouse
I am often annoyed at the articles and interviews that position women in a very ugly light when it comes to money. We are often depicted as dumb, flighty, air-headed and out of control. If you were to “Google” books about women and money, there are numerous ones in the marketplace to “help us” get a grip on what we need to do in our financial life. Some of them are very helpful, some are not. But, on the flip side of things, if you...
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December 3, 2013 7:00 am
Published by alexhouse
In regard to “GUARANTEED INCOME RIDERS”*, the explanations of how they work fall into the “Goldilocks Syndrome”. In some cases, not nearly enough information, in others, much too much! Some authors feel the need to explain “actuarial reasoning”, others, do what typically inexperienced advisors do, “tell clients what they want to hear”. Too hot, too cold….. not “just right”! I am going to try to do just that, tell it like “Goldilocks” would! The reason these riders were created was to enable clients to have...
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December 2, 2013 4:04 pm
Published by alexhouse
Written By: Rick Rockwell, Dow Rockwell, LLC, San Rafael and Mill Valley, California The first “Black Friday” was September 24, 1869 and had nothing to do with holiday shopping or Thanksgiving. During the Reconstruction Era immediately after the American Civil War, the United States Government established a plan for the re-integration of the rebellious southern states into the Union. Part of the plan included the issue of massive public debt to finance rebuilding efforts. In 1862, as part of the government’s inflationary policies, paper money...
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December 1, 2013 10:44 pm
Published by alexhouse
A very common question that I get from people who have never put money into an annuity or aren’t that familiar with them is “How do I get the money from my current account, into the annuity?” So here are the 3 most common ways that people fund a new annuity contract Write a check Do an account transfer Transfer an old annuity into a new one Write a Check This is the easiest way to fund an annuity. Maybe you had a bank CD...
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