How Should an FE Agent Retire?

You're correct, thank you, and that's something I didn't consider. I'm in my 20's and all I really know is that by investing my money, I'm doing better than just holding it in a savings account. I've still got a lot to learn.

No prob, wish I was in the market in my 20s :1cool:
 
Young FE agent here.

Care to give advice on the best way to retire well in the biz?

Maybe an EIUL, S&P 500 IRA, or annuity?

Maybe I should work my tail off and just save my money and sell more Medicare items and build a team?

Thoughts?

You should set up a SEP with an advisor. This is what we did.

There are a couple of advantages
1. Reduces your tax burden now
2. Save for retirement

Start with a SEP and setup an automatic deposit of 200-500 per month (more if you can afford). Def make it automatic or you will be tempted to skip a month he or there.

Get used to doing this then increase the auto and/or start an IUL or Roth IRA.

Getting started early is very important and increasing your contributions as your income increases is even more important
 
Young FE agent here.

Care to give advice on the best way to retire well in the biz?

Maybe an EIUL, S&P 500 IRA, or annuity?

Maybe I should work my tail off and just save my money and sell more Medicare items and build a team?

Thoughts?

I can only speak for what I did. I set up a LLC with a S corp designation. I pay myself a salary as a W2 employee of the LLC. I use quick books to keep track of my expenses and my profit and loss. And I pay myself weekly a salary. I then take a % of my agency profit 2x a year as a distribution. This avoids the "chargeback hell" because I don't over pay myself.

I looked at all the different investments available for a self employed. I chose a individual 401k because the limits are higher and I can contribute as a employee and an employer. The one I chose has a Roth option. I started low 5% and increased it 1% per year until I hit 10%
 
Many new agents are pitched the BS of building your retirement off of "building a team" or "renewals from Med Sups."

Both of these bullhockey pitches are just recruiter noise designed to pull ignorant young bloods in to the trap.

Anyone with any sense sees the flaw in the logic.

Med Sup renewals? Really? Aren't most of the people you are selling those too older than you? Don't you think some of them will die before you do? Don't they just pay renewals for six years? What if you lived seven years after you retire?

Let me explain something to you young grasshopper. Working a book of Medicare is not retirement. It's work. It's fine while you are working. But it ain't retirement. It can supplement the first couple years of retirement. But you better have a better plan.

Downline? Really? Having a downline is retirement? I have a bunch of agents in my downline. I would never in a million years consider that my retirement plan. I get up working and I go to bed working. I work Saturdays and most Sundays. My downline is profitable. But it ain't retirement. It's work. You have to keep all the plates spinning. If I retired and quit working it would all go away real quick. It ain't a retirement plan. Unless you are ignorant.

You should retire just like everyone else retires. Put money back for your retirement every year. Invest it. Or buy annuities. Or stick it in a matteress. But just put it back every year. If you're making six figures plus you should be able to stick $10,000 a year back anyway and still live nice. If you start young that will really accumulate. If you start later you have to stick a lot more back each year. But it's worth it.

Retirement savings should be one of your largest personal expenses. Don't be that guy that has the too expensive car, too big of house, flashy bling but no real money. Nothing beats having real wealth. Everyone with an insurance license can build real wealth. But only if you use your head.

You get rich slow. But you will get there.

Lots of good advice, but c'mon you cant be working all the time! One of the perks of this business is it allows us ample time with family and our other passions in life, right?
 
Lots of good advice, but c'mon you cant be working all the time! One of the perks of this business is it allows us ample time with family and our other passions in life, right?

You don't build what he has built on 30 or even 40 hours a week. If he makes himself accessible to agents they will text him and contact him all hours any day.
 
Lots of good advice, but c'mon you cant be working all the time! One of the perks of this business is it allows us ample time with family and our other passions in life, right?

Then don't try to build a downline unless you are willing to hire people to manage the agents.

Same with P&C, until you can build up large enough to hire staff, you are at the beck and call of your clients to some degree.

That is the beauty of FE. If you are a single agent with no downline, you can disappear for weeks at a time and no one may even know.
 
Then don't try to build a downline unless you are willing to hire people to manage the agents.

Same with P&C, until you can build up large enough to hire staff, you are at the beck and call of your clients to some degree.

That is the beauty of FE. If you are a single agent with no downline, you can disappear for weeks at a time and no one may even know.

You are exactly right. When I was a one man agency I worked hard 5-days per week but my nights and weekends were 100% off.

Once you build up a lot of agents the calls, emails and texts are 24/7 365. There is no defined off time. I appreciate what we have built but it's a totally different kind of work. And it would be no one's idea of retirement.

One of the first things we did when we got rolling was to hire two great employees. One for contracting. And one for agent services. They are both fantastic but in a small business the owners still have to be at the hub of everything or it isn't going to work.

Not complaining but when agents are pitched that this is their retirement plan, I just have to laugh.
 
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