Are you prepared for retirement Poll

Today I'd like to  stare a retirement poll.  Everyone is welcome to participate either through a comment here on the blog
or with a telephone vote #614-264-3864 
or an email financial-services@live.com
I will compile the comments and votes and share them in a blog post

When It Comes To Being Ready For Retirement I feel that I am...
A) Right on Track
B)  I was right on track until 2008-2009
C) May fall short on my income needs
D) Have no idea where to start or who to turn to

Knowing where you are going to  finish at the end of the race requires knowing where you are at the start of the race. Today is the Start of your Retirement Race.  Some of you still have an ultra marathon left, some have a regular marathon left, some have a 5K  race and some of you  only have a 100 meter dash left. Wherever you are in the race today everyone can  use some help or at least a review.

If you were to  retire today how much lifetime income would you  be able to guarantee?

How much money can you spend in your retirement

Most Professional Financial Advisors use a Rule of Thumb called  "The 4% Rule". Rules help clients understand what they  should or should not do. This rule states that if you  want a high probability that your  retirement assets will last as long as you live you should  remove or spend no more than 4% of your assets per year.  This rule applies  to self managed money accounts and  does not apply to Defined Benefits assets.  Recently we have lived through 5 or more years with Low interest rate earnings, High market volatility and we are actually living longer than ever in history. A number of  economists and planners have asked and studied this question. "Does the 4% Rule still apply in todays world?" What a great question! Many financial Advisors now believe that it no longer provides adequate protect of your income for life. They believe that you should limit withdrawals to only 3 % or so if you  want your self managed assets to last for your lifetime.

A recent study that appeared in the Journal of Financial  Planning  has found that up to 18% of people utilizing the 4% Rule will in fact run out of money before they die. That is a terrifying study result! That means that many people will have  to work long and or spend less in their retirement years.

What should a retired boomer, retiree or pre-retiree do.  They can  decide to  work longer and spend less. Those are a couple of good steps. Clearly they should also convert at least some portion of their assets into a Lifetime guaranteed income stream. These products  are only available  from Licensed Life insurance agents with the products  and knowledge needed to meet  these needs.  This is what I have  focused my business on for  over 8 years. Some of  these products can Guarantee a withdrawal rate for  life of 5% or more for your  entire lifetime.  Now compare that to  the 4% Rule or maybe 3-3.5% withdrawal rate with self managed assets.  These products can guarantee you an income 25-66% more than you  can  get from any self managed assets with the same Asset value. Thes products do this with Zero Market Risk. They delivered during 2008-2009 and they  can do the same thing during the next  recession whenever the out of control goverment excess spending creates the next Recession. These products have a role to play in almost everyones retirement strategy.

Seniors and SS benefits before retirement age 65

Seniors and SS benefits before retirement age 65

A recent survey of over 600 seniors shows that many people are planning on accessing their Social security benefits before age 65 to cover routine living expenses, healthcare, mortgages and utilities. This is a serious concern to me because it will reduce the SS benefits paid for the life of the senior. Tapping into SS benefits significantly reduces the amount you receive every month for life. It should only be utilized as a LAST RESORT in an Emergency situation. Several other measures should be evaluated before this drastic action is taken. Several steps we can evaluate include a HUD HECM Reverse Mortgage which improves cash flow by stopping mortgage payments as long as you and or your spouse are able to remain in your home. Another step is to review your existing life insurance policies, or increase income from your current assets.

If your assets are not currently growing by 6-7.2% per year you may be positioning your assets unwisely. If none of your assets are positioned to guarantee you a lifetime income stream you cannot outlive I Must ask Why not?? If you have lost money in the market turbulence of 2008 Let me ask why put up with that? None of the assets I manage for my clients have lost money this year! Let me repeat that NONE of my clients assets under management have suffered a market loss of value!

We can help clients with all of these things. How can we help you?
financial-services@live.com
polarisfinancialservices@gmail.com