[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.101″ background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
Happy June! Yay, no more school zones for a while.\u00a0Watch out for more kids on the road though.<\/p>\n
So, this month I thought I would focus on one of the most important aspects of retirement; outliving your assets. I know, for most of us, this hits a nerve. We\u00a0work our entire lives and hopefully try to put away\u00a0money for retirement. But, is it enough? Just as important is not losing what\u00a0we\u2019ve saved to market downturns. If you\u2019re in your 30s and the market crashes like it did in 02 and 07, well, okay. You have time to rebuild. If you\u2019re 65 years\u00a0young, we have a problem. Some people say it\u2019s ok, the market always comes back. Well, yes. But, did you know that if we have a 50% decline in the market (your investments, 401(k), IRA, etc.) we would need a 100% rate of return to\u00a0fully repair the damage? It\u2019s simple math but people sometimes don\u2019t make the\u00a0connection. There\u2019s also the big one that none of us want to think about, but as a\u00a0planner, I don\u2019t have that luxury. The loss of a spouse, including their pension\u00a0and or social security income, can be devastating. We have strategies to help with all of these events, but we have to plan before they happen.<\/p>\n
If we have losses or just run flat when we\u2019re earning an income, I don\u2019t like it but\u00a0I can still pay the bills and eat. If I\u2019m taking money from my investments to live,\u00a0that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n
Like a lot of folks, you may want to downsize. If you\u2019re lucky, you\u2019ll have some\u00a0equity in your home to cover the cost of the move. Maybe even some left over to\u00a0invest and take income from. I\u2019m talking to you, California. Healthcare surprises\u00a0can pop up too. If you\u2019re stuck in under-value bonds, you\u2019re going to lose money\u00a0selling to cover an unforeseen expense like big dental problems, that one\u00a0expensive drug, or cancer treatments. There are other things out of our control\u00a0like car repairs, major appliances, or God forbid, a new roof!<\/p>\n
If you turned 65 and were planning on retiring in 2007 to 2008 and lost almost\u00a0half of your retirement nest egg, what would you do? Keep working? Maybe.\u00a0What if you retired already? Now what?<\/p>\n
So, what we used to do is adjust the portfolio to bonds. As we got closer to\u00a0retirement, we would, over time, shift assets from equities (stocks) to debt\u00a0(bonds). This doesn\u2019t work in today\u2019s economy. Rates on bonds and CDs are too\u00a0low. As rates go up, the bonds lose their value. Most brokers understand this. The\u00a0problem is that most brokers don\u2019t know what to do and are usually constrained\u00a0by the firms that they work for. I often see portfolios of seniors that are heavily\u00a0weighted in mutual funds, still adhering to the old way\u00a0of allocating assets. The good news for the broker and firm is that they get big fees\u00a0and usually sell the company-branded products. That\u2019s conversely the bad news for\u00a0the client.<\/p>\n
What if there was a company that was independent of a big wirehouse brokerage\u00a0firm? What if this company\u2019s primary mission was to assist folks over 65? They\u00a0would have to be in a position to be experts on the specific issues that face seniors.\u00a0They would certainly have to have a large portion of the portfolio in guaranteed and\u00a0insured vehicles. They would have to keep fees as low as possible or even no fees,\u00a0and have an emphasis on greater income-type offerings, right? The answer is yes.\u00a0American Retirement Advisors was founded on these very principals. We will even\u00a0go the extra mile and, with hundreds of companies at our disposal, we can try to\u00a0save you money on coverage to cover the majority of the unforeseen expenses that\u00a0come up over time.<\/p>\n
Call any time. Let us see just how much we can help you have a\u00a0smooth, financially certain retirement.<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"