Coasting In Retirement with Josh Null

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle talk about stock market rally, the Fed finally taking it's foot off of interest rate increases and more.

Takeaways:

• T-bills and Treasuries are at or below their rates from a month ago, and its appears the bashed-in bond market is finally recovering, or at least, we're aren't hearing about an inverted yield curve at the moment
• When it comes to your retirement accounts, it's not about the next "to the moon" stock with shaky financials, it's not crypto or something very risky that you barely understand, at the end of the day you should be able to look at your statement and recognize the names of many of the companies you see
• the CPI came in low enough at 3.2% increase

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle are going to talk about the different choices that investors are faced with as we wind down 2023.

• The worst-performing sectors during rising rate environments are autos (-1.3% annually), durables (0.1% annually), retail (2.8% annually) and apparel (2.8% annually)
• The ETF that tracks the value of the 20-year Treasury bond has lost 50% of its value since 2020
• Federal Reserve is approaching its "terminal" interest rate and will begin cutting rates soon

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle discuss interest rates and bond yields, and these things relate to the stock market and the overall economy...and the big question of the day, are we headed for a recession?

Takeaways

• Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (which is Google), Amazon, Nvdia, Meta (which is Facebook) and Tesla – have carried most of the water for the overall stock market averages for 2023
• Historical lag of monetary policy on the US economy, saying that it usually takes about 18 months for the full effect of rate hikes to kick in
• during the 1990's the average yield on 10 year treasury was 5.2%

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle discuss what is happening in the bond market and it's broader impact on the likelihood of a recession.

Takeaways

• The bond yield curve has inverted, which is a leading indicator of a coming recession
• Yield is a measure of interest that takes into account a bond's fluctuating value
• Historically, bond money is often referred to as "smart money" when compared to equities

Today your host Josh Null and co-host Jay Stubbs things you need to know about long term care.

• Independent or assisted living facilities often have waiting lists that are months or years long
• Your age is one of the most significant factors to consider when deciding on the timing of a long-term care insurance purchase
• Cashing out an asset-based long-term care plan may trigger a surrender charge. This surrender charge is typically a percentage of the policy's value so if you have a significant amount of coverage, the surrender fee could be on the steep side

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle discuss, should you be managing your own money & the Value of having a financial advisor.

Takeaways

• Fidelity recently advertised low-cost index funds at just 15 bips
• having huge losses in your portfolio can and will have a huge impact on your retirement dreams
• Risk of someone investing for you vs where you are ignoring the VALUE of having an experienced financial professional help you because you were too focused on the cost

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle discuss the IRS Rule 72(t).

Takeaways

• There are 3 IRS life expectancy tables: uniform lifetime, single life and joint & last survivor
• There are 3 basic SEPP distribution methods: Required Minimum Distribution, Fixed Amortization and finally, Fixed Annuitization
• If you modify your SEPP by taking an annual amount that is different from the annual amount that was originally determined, you will be subject to both the 10% tax on the total distributions in that calendar year and a recapture tax that is equal to the total amount of the 10% tax that would have been imposed for the prior years of the SEPP, PLUS interest

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle discuss a concept that gets pushed pretty hard by my industry: the Roth conversion, often somewhat incorrectly referred to as a "back-door" Roth, it's kissing cousin.

Takeaways

• Because the taxes have already been paid on a Roth IRA contribution, the account value grows tax free, and there are no additional income tax due when you start withdrawing
• A back-door Roth conversion differs from a regular Roth conversion in that the funds being moved are after-tax IRA funds to an after-tax Roth IRA account
• The IRS has income limits for Roth IRA contributions. For 2023, the Modified AGI (MAGI) income limits is $153,000 for single filers and $228,000 for married couples filing jointly

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle are going to talk about what we do at Gulf Coast Financial Advisors and what that entails for the clients.

• A focused portfolio that strives for a conservative and growing income stream meant to outpace inflation to help you with the income you need and leave a lasting legacy to your heirs or charities of your choice
• There is a lot to plan for in a sound financial plan. Most will touch on certain aspects of your plan once and never bring it up again. We have seen how much life changes for clients
• When a loved one passes away, it's challenging to deal with everything that must be done. Our team can help you with these transitions. We can even assist in helping you call the utility companies to change billing information, adjust passwords and cancel services that are no longer needed

Today your host Josh and co-host Michelle are going to be talking all about interest rates.

Takeaways:

• Money Market funds – this is a type of mutual fund that invests in highly liquid, near-term instruments. These instruments include cash, cash equivalent securities, and high-credit-rating, debt-based securities with a short-term maturity (think U.S. Treasuries)
• Bank Certificate of Deposits, or CDs - these are a type of savings account typically offered by banks and credit unions
• Treasury Securities, specifically T-bills, T-notes and T-Bonds. I'll be honest with you all. I've taken upteen securities tests at this point in my career and I still get these mixed up, let's start with a basic definition: U.S. Treasuries are issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on behalf of the federal government