Joseph A. Grutta |
December 19, 2016 |
Annuity Basics
Have you ever asked your financial advisor who they work for? Do they truly represent your best interests or those of the firm they work for? Are they acting on your behalf? Is their advice based on a fiduciary standard or a suitability standard? Do you know the difference? These are very important questions to know the answers to before turning your hard-earned money over to someone to manage on your behalf. For many years, I have encouraged people who are looking for help managing...
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Nick Davis |
November 4, 2016 |
Financial Planning, Fixed Annuities, Income For Life, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Annuities are considered an enormous and confusing topic. If you’ve searched “annuities” on the internet, you know that everyone has something to say about the topic. With the wild stock market swings in recent years, most people are looking for alternatives. As of right now, annuities are the best answer for a lot of people. At the same time, annuities are widely misused, which results in heated conversations about the product. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, everyone wants to grow...
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Abe Abich |
October 18, 2016 |
Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Split Annuity
Many people look for ways to not only create the retirement income they need but also to preserve their principal. Relying on bank savings often falls short, and having your retirement savings exposed to the ups and downs of the market can be nerve-racking. Fortunately, there is a solution that does provide guaranteed tax-advantaged income, tax-deferral, and principal preservation. If you are currently living off of interest from your brokerage account or other investments, then a split annuity could be a strategy for you to consider. A split...
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Jeremy Reif |
June 3, 2016 |
Tax Strategies, Variable Annuities
In the technologically advanced age that we live in, why does every major insurance company have their advisor base-peddling their costly products? There are other options that cost significantly less, have better investment options, more investment options, no surrender penalties, and no trade costs. Then why is it almost never brought up in conversation by financial advisors? These large insurance companies don’t want the consumer to know the direction our industry is heading — fee-based. There are several fee-based annuities available. They have been gaining...
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Jim Heafner |
June 3, 2016 |
Financial Planning, Index Annuities, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
What role do index annuities play in financial planning? Can they provide growth or just income? First, let’s address index annuity growth versus market growth. Since 1995, some of the better index annuities have historically averaged 4 to 5%.1 Many would dismiss this growth, compared to the stock market’s “higher returns.” The disconnect is that we often focus solely on actual market returns, pointing to the S&P or Dow during good market performance periods only, rather than focusing on actual return performance in an investor’s...
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Henry Monahan |
May 18, 2016 |
CDs, Fixed Annuities
A co-worker once told me the CD didn’t stand for certificate of deposit anymore, it stood for certificate of disappointment. For the past 7 years, the United States has been in a historically low interest rate environment. For many retirees, who are accustomed to supplementing their income with their certificate of deposit interest, the lower interest rates made it necessary to look elsewhere for safe income while protecting principal. As of April 22, 2016, the most competitive 5-year CD rates were around 2.1% to 2.2%....
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John Gill |
May 17, 2016 |
Income For Life, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
A mere six years after one of the most devastating recessions (2008) in U.S. history, which destroyed many Americans’ retirement plans, I frequently saw new clients who had forgotten about the losses their portfolios took during the early 2000s. I believe it’s important not to forget what a 20, 30, or 40 percent loss feels like in your portfolio. Why? Because another market loss can easily occur during your retirement years. When you enter retirement and begin withdrawing income to live on and not simply...
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Sam Liang |
April 26, 2016 |
Annuity Basics, Social Security, Your Retirement
The Social Security Administration (SSA) can’t help you with your Social Security benefits. That sounds funny, I know, but they can’t. What I mean is that they can’t help you put a plan in place to maximize your benefits. An article in last year’s Wall Street Journal said it best: “The Social Security isn’t your financial advisor.”1 Everyday, 182,000 people visit an SSA office. They field 445,000 phone calls daily. In 2014, they received 17 million applications just for new and replacement cards. 59 million...
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Sam Liang |
April 18, 2016 |
Retirement Planning, RMDs, Withdrawal Charges, Your Retirement
I know — RMDs don’t actually stand for that. They stand for Required Minimum Distributions. Many over age 70 ½ know what they are — it’s when the IRS requires you to take a withdrawal from your IRA accounts then are taxed on it. RMDs are calculated by dividing the total balance of your IRAs, employer sponsored plans (401k, 403b, etc.), and IRA based plans (SEP, Simple IRA, etc.) at the end of the previous year by the distribution period that correlates with your current...
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Sam Liang |
April 15, 2016 |
Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Math is a funny thing, especially when it comes to averages. Let me show you what I mean. Let’s assume you have $100,000. The first year it gains 10% and the second year it loses 10%. Your average return is 0%, right? We add 10, then subtract 10, then divide by 2 years. That’s an average of 0%. But, you’ve actually lost money in this scenario, and here’s how. Start with $100,000. Say you gain 10% the first year, so now you have $110,000. Then you lose 10% of the...
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