Retirement for Me!

[chrishamm37]

You should always have 3 buckets of money to draw from... Tax free which is a Roth account, a traditional IRA and also some sort of muni bonds may be nice too and over funding a VUL isnt a bad idea either

 

[JD AgentMan]

I think SCAGNT83 gave some valuable information. Really you should sit down with someone qualified in retirement planning to get some real answers. Without knowing where you are at now, it is hard to tell you where you need to go. Knowing your goals, family situation, income level, etc....it is virtually impossible to give you sound advice. Roth IRA's are usually a great investment tool for building retirement funds that can be dispersed "tax free" and also not have forced withdrawals at age 72 1/2 like other traditional IRA's. Using an annuity inside that IRA as a funding source may, or may not be a good idea. This again will rely on your goals and risk tolerance. Once argument against this is that you are using a tax deferred vehicle inside another tax deferred vehicle, and annuities due come with fees on top of fees you may already be paying. However, it still might be a good idea for reasons already sited by others. You can easily fund a Roth IRA with low risk investments (bonds, money market funds) and mutual funds. Using some kind of CV based life policy can be a vital portion of your retirement plan as it can create a large portion of the "safety" in your investment strategy with the upside of paying out the tax free death benefit to your family if you fail to reach your full retirement age. In this sense, it would be self completing for your family (assuming you have a wife and/or children). Also, CV life policies can be a useful tool to make tax free withdrawals. Using it in a retirement maximization formula, you can leverage your other retirement accounts with the paid up death benefit and cash values. For example, having a sizable cash value life policy will allow you to be able to draw a larger percentage of income off of your IRA because you have the safety of cash values and death benefit to back fill for your surviving spouse. In essence, you aren't stuck with the old take 4% per year because you are afraid to outlive your money. Having a mix of an annuity can also create a fixed steady income stream for you also, but I wouldn't put all my eggs into that basket. And last but not least, consider protecting all of these assets with some kind of LTC, or LTC rider. Nothing destroys retirement for you and your spouse faster than this.
Talk with someone about these kind of ideas that is qualified to sell insurance and investments. Investment only guys/gals miss the boat on how life insurance products fit into the retirement plan. CFPs and ChFCs should have a grasp on this stuff, but the designations are not manditory if they know what they are doing. Your goals will be a vital piece of information. Retirement isn't a one size fits all.
Hope this helps.

 

[TDFnCali]

I think SCAGNT83 gave some valuable information. Really you should sit down with someone qualified in retirement planning to get some real answers. Without knowing where you are at now, it is hard to tell you where you need to go. Knowing your goals, family situation, income level, etc....it is virtually impossible to give you sound advice. Roth IRA's are usually a great investment tool for building retirement funds that can be dispersed "tax free" and also not have forced withdrawals at age 72 1/2 like other traditional IRA's. Using an annuity inside that IRA as a funding source may, or may not be a good idea. This again will rely on your goals and risk tolerance. Once argument against this is that you are using a tax deferred vehicle inside another tax deferred vehicle, and annuities due come with fees on top of fees you may already be paying. However, it still might be a good idea for reasons already sited by others. You can easily fund a Roth IRA with low risk investments (bonds, money market funds) and mutual funds. Using some kind of CV based life policy can be a vital portion of your retirement plan as it can create a large portion of the "safety" in your investment strategy with the upside of paying out the tax free death benefit to your family if you fail to reach your full retirement age. In this sense, it would be self completing for your family (assuming you have a wife and/or children). Also, CV life policies can be a useful tool to make tax free withdrawals. Using it in a retirement maximization formula, you can leverage your other retirement accounts with the paid up death benefit and cash values. For example, having a sizable cash value life policy will allow you to be able to draw a larger percentage of income off of your IRA because you have the safety of cash values and death benefit to back fill for your surviving spouse. In essence, you aren't stuck with the old take 4% per year because you are afraid to outlive your money. Having a mix of an annuity can also create a fixed steady income stream for you also, but I wouldn't put all my eggs into that basket. And last but not least, consider protecting all of these assets with some kind of LTC, or LTC rider. Nothing destroys retirement for you and your spouse faster than this.
Talk with someone about these kind of ideas that is qualified to sell insurance and investments. Investment only guys/gals miss the boat on how life insurance products fit into the retirement plan. CFPs and ChFCs should have a grasp on this stuff, but the designations are not manditory if they know what they are doing. Your goals will be a vital piece of information. Retirement isn't a one size fits all.
Hope this helps.

Thx, appreciate the info man!

 

[bruceingram1958]

If you're unsure about your financial decisions (which I think in your case, it is), why not consult a financial advisor? They would really of big help. They can explain to you some options which can be best for you.

 

[scagnt83]

If you're unsure about your financial decisions (which I think in your case, it is), why not consult a financial advisor? They would really of big help. They can explain to you some options which can be best for you.

Probably because he doesnt want to fork out $1500 just so a Financial Advisor can advise him to place his assets with him.

Not to mention that there are multiple financial planners on this forum. So why not find multiple viewpoints?

 

[Justin Bilyj]

If you're unsure about your financial decisions (which I think in your case, it is), why not consult a financial advisor? They would really of big help. They can explain to you some options which can be best for you.

I agree with SCagnt, it seems like FA's only care about one thing

aaaaaaauuuuuummmmmm

 

[Tahoe Ray]

There are planners out there who only charge hourly and do not get paid on AUM (or offer that pricing as an option)...they may be few and far between but you can find them.

All of the Garrett Planning financial advisors (www.garrettplanningnetwork.com)offer hourly-based pricing. You can also check out Fee-Only Financial Advisors Home - NAPFA - The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors) for some options in your area.

Many of these planners offer "starter programs", specifically meant for people in TD's position. Cash flow analysis, basic retirement planning, basic risk management etc. all with different pricing options (complete vs. modular).

I've seen a number of $1500 plans recommending exactly what scagnt83 is referring to, however there are more affordable and unbiased (less biased?) options.

 

[xrac]

There are planners out there who only charge hourly and do not get paid on AUM (or offer that pricing as an option)...they may be few and far between but you can find them.

All of the Garrett Planning financial advisors (www.garrettplanningnetwork.com)offer hourly-based pricing. You can also check out Fee-Only Financial Advisors Home - NAPFA - The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors) for some options in your area.

Many of these planners offer "starter programs", specifically meant for people in TD's position. Cash flow analysis, basic retirement planning, basic risk management etc. all with different pricing options (complete vs. modular).

I've seen a number of $1500 plans recommending exactly what scagnt83 is referring to, however there are more affordable and unbiased (less biased?) options.

Save your money. Invest in some UL or WL and a Roth IRA. Put the Roth into either a FIA that you sell yourself and make the commission on or into a no-load mutual fund family that you like and has good ratings. Don't worry about a plan until you accumulate some money. The problem with plans is they cannot predict the future which can change things over night.

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Save your money. Invest in some UL or WL and a Roth IRA. Put the Roth into either a FIA that you sell yourself and make the commission on or into a no-load mutual fund family that you like and has good ratings. Don't worry about a plan until you accumulate some money. The problem with plans is they cannot predict the future which can change things over night.

You can make that point with anything...don't plan because things may change.

You have to work with the what you have in front of you. At the very least, he should pick up a couple of books on the subject. Blindly dumping money into anything is normally not a recipe for success.

 

[VolAgent]

You can make that point with anything...don't plan because things may change.

You have to work with the what you have in front of you. At the very least, he should pick up a couple of books on the subject. Blindly dumping money into anything is normally not a recipe for success.

Beats the snot out of not putting money into anything.

The primary reason most pre-retirees lack the funds necessary for a comfortable retirement is from lack of saving, not from lack of return.