In this sources for retirement episode, John will discuss pensions. He’ll talk about the payout options that are available for you and your spouse. He will also point out some considerations when deciding how to choose among them.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Don’t miss John’s takeaways:* For most retirees, pensions are a key component of their retirement income.* Pensions are offered in lump sums or in monthly payouts, but the latter is more common.* You may face a wide variety of monthly payout options. This may include “life only” / “single life,” “joint survivor 50%,” “joint survivor 100%,” and many others.Plus:* When considering the pension you’re being offered, it’s vital to learn the following:What is the pension’s funding rate? That is, what are the plan’s assets compared to its liabilities? (The pension funds of many organizations are in trouble.)How is the health of your organization? (Knowing this will help you determine whether you take a lump sum or a monthly payment. Taking the lump sum means you take on the investment risk yourself. But if your company is not in good health, it may be worth it.How is your own health / what’s your life expectancy?* When considering how your pension fits into your retirement plan, consider:Your pension income will be taxed as ordinary income.Know your income requirements. How much will your pension cover and how much do you need to get from other sources of retirement income?For more, listen above, and download the guide.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this episode, John discusses Social Security as one of the key sources of retirement benefits and income. He reviews the current state of the system, and what that means for you as your plan for your retirement.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Don’t miss John’s takeaways:* Social Security is important. For the average retiree, their Social Security check may be 33% of their gross income.* How much are you paying in? If you make up to $132,900 annually, 7.65% of your income is going towards Social Security. If self-employed…you can double that. Also, if you make above $132,900 your effective tax rate is lower. That’s because you only pay Social Security tax on the first $132,900.Plus:* Income tax on the benefit: As much as 85% of your benefit is going to be taxed as ordinary income. This is depending upon your income level.* When to take Social Security: Begin by considering your health and your longevity.* Collecting early: If you are willing to take a reduction of about 6.5% per year, you can take Social Security income as early as 62.* Benefits to deferring: If you defer from 67 to 70, you can get an 8.5% increase in benefits per year. Survivor benefits are higher when deferred as well.* Drawbacks to deferring: If you have a high income and expect a large benefit, you are likely to lose if you defer. If you withdraw from your portfolio rather than take your benefit, you lose that cash and its compounding potential. If you don’t need the benefit, go ahead and take it—you can gift it or use it for a vacation.For more, listen above, and download the guide. I get into the nitty gritty of how the benefit is taxed and the payouts for collecting early or deferring. Most importantly, schedule a time to come talk to us. To plan how Social Security fits into your retirement plan, you need information that is not generic, but specific to you.You can also connect with us on social media, or call us at (800) 797-1000.

In this episode, John pushes beyond social security, pensions, and 401Ks. He’ll introduce you to 19 sources of income in retirement. He will cover each source in depth in future episodes.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Don’t miss John’s takeaways:* Having more sources of retirement income gives you redundancies and backups.* Obtaining diverse sources of retirement income gives you protection from market volatility.* Creating more and diverse sources of retirement income gives you greater efficiency in your taxes, now and in the future.* Also, each income stream will have its own way of being taxed, and you can learn how to maximize the tax benefits to you.* Furthermore, having an efficient tax strategy allows you to leave assets to family members, but also gives you the enjoyment of all the hard work you’ve put in!* Finally, we help you craft a plan that allows you to maintain your current lifestyle in retirement.For more, listen above. Download the 19 Sources of Retirement Income Guide, then schedule a time to come talk to us.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

Welcome to the Wealth under Pressure Podcast, in which John Smallwood. In this episode, John talks with Leslie Tayne, a debt solutions lawyer who has recently written Life and Debt: A Fresh Approach to Achieving Financial Wellness. Their discussion ranges from student loans debt to mortgages, credit, budgets, and managing out-of-control debt.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength lies in his ability and commitment to continually improve the level and quality of the financial planning process. His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy that strives to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a continually changing economic environment.Don’t miss these key points on student loans debt:* Debt is not inherently bad—it is a tool that can help you do things you normally wouldn’t be able to do, such as buy a house, buy a car, or go to college.* Before you take out student loans…Understand the full implications of that debt and your future repayments.Look at low-cost options like community college, state school in your home state, or studying out of the country.* Only 1% of those who apply to the US government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program or Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program actually receive loan forgiveness.Plus:* If you can’t repay your federal student loans right away, you have options to pay them later (deferment or forbearance) or to repay based on what you can afford (income-sensitive repayment).* If you can’t repay your private student loans right away, they immediately go into default and you could be sued.* Depending on debt (such as credit cards or home equity loans) for living expenses is not tenable in the long-term.* Learning how to budget can help you avoid unnecessary debt:Plan for the once-yearly expenses.Plan for the unexpected.* Also, a debt solution that worked for someone else may not work for you.* Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help!For more, listen above. Then schedule a time to come talk to us and figure out the best course of action for your debt.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this episode, John discusses life insurance over 50. Traditional financial planners will usually say that you no longer need it. John argues that it can enhance your income in retirement—if it’s permanent.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.Don’t miss John’s key points:* Firstly, life insurance helps protect you against major financial losses after the death of your spouse:Loss of their Social Security (https://www.ssa.gov/)Change in pension or loss of pension (if it was life-only)Loss of their employer’s free or subsidized healthcare* Also, your options are term life insurance, universal life insurance, and whole life insurance. Whichever you choose, you need to make sure you eventually have a permanent policy.Plus:* You can use the death benefit of your permanent life insurance to enhance your retirement income. You can take pension maximizations, do a charitable remainder trust, do immediate annuities or annuitization of products.* Lastly, it’s important to take the right steps now that will allow you to make good decisions:Get insurance coachingFind out current rates and how they are assessed.Get a physical and find out what category you’re in: super preferred, preferred, standard, or substandard.Furthermore, life insurance is an important part of any good retirement plan. Also, it will help maximize your retirement income and pass the maximum to your family.Finally, schedule a time to come talk to us. In our Wealth Curve Conversation, we’ll discuss how life insurance can be incorporated into your retirement plan.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this episode, John continues his series on the Wealth Curve Blueprint, with special attention to business owners. This time he discusses the business valuation and how it can help increase the value of your business.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.Don’t miss John’s key points:* Most businesses are not sold for anywhere near their fair market value.* Ultimately, your business is worth what somebody’s willing to pay for it: strategic acquisition, being in the right field at the right time, or a strategic opportunity for a competitor.* It’s vital to understand the value of your business and how you can make it even more valuable.* Don’t assume you know your business’s value.Business Valuation* Our Business Valuation (part of the Wealth Curve Blueprint) takes into account equity value, asset sale, enterprise value, and liquidation value.* We find the key performance indicators that drive your business. We focus on ways to improve the success of those indicators in order to leverage the value of your business.* We’ll also ask: Do you have the right buy-sell agreement? Is your business protected properly? Do you have the right successor in management if something were to happen to you? Answering those questions will help you make better decisions. When you make better decisions, they’re usually followed by more wealth.A regular review and a regular update of your business valuation is such an important part of your financial plan. If you don’t know what your business is worth, how do you know if you’re going in the right direction? How do you know that you’re going to end up where you want to be?For details, listen above. For more information about this or any other aspect of wealth planning, talk to us.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this episode, John discusses two new bills that have been passed in Congress. When the SECURE Act and RESA are reconciled and become law, they will have repercussions for IRA planning.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.Don’t miss these important takeaways:* New legislation will bring both benefits and drawbacks to retirees and beneficiaries of retirement plans. Most notable are changes to IRAs.* The House’s SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement):Changes the stretch (the period of time during which a non-spouse beneficiary receives payouts) from five years to ten.Pushes the age of required minimum distribution (RMD) from 70 ½ to 72.* The Senate’s RESA (Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act)Keeps the stretch limit at five years for non-spouse beneficiaries.Pushes the RMD to 75.And more:* Possible benefit to retirees: If they push the RMD two or five years from the 70 ½, in theory, this creates more money in the qualified plan. Depending on the rules they use to calculate the RMD, that could create a higher RMD at 72 or 75.* Possible drawbacks to non-spouse beneficiaries: They may be required to pull all of the money out over a 10-year period. If there’s more money in the IRA, it could force them into a higher tax bracket. They would pay a significantly higher tax than they’re paying now.We’ll have to wait for the SECURE Act and RESA to be reconciled, which may happen by the end of the calendar year. In the meantime, we need to spend some time reviewing how they could impact IRA planning. We may need to rethink how you should take money out of an IRA, how it comes out, and how your beneficiaries will be impacted.For details, listen above. For more information about this or any other aspect of wealth planning, talk to us.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

Welcome to the Wealth Curve Talk Podcast. In this episode, John continues his series on the Wealth Curve Blueprint. This time his focus is on asset protection. He reveals two key tools small business owners need to protect their business and personal assets.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improving the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Don’t miss John’s key points on asset protection:* You are your business’s most important asset. Y so you need to protect your business and your personal assets in the event of your disability.* Further, a business overhead policy pays all of your business’s overhead expenses while you’re disabled. This way, you can keep on your staff and keep things operating at the right level.* Also, you may have unknowingly signed personal guarantees that put your personal assets at risk if your business experiences trouble.* Long-term leases, with elevators, frequently include personal guarantees.* Bank loans often have covenants and restrictions with personal guarantees.And more:* Whether you work alone or with one or more partners or employees, you need a buy-sell agreement.* Also, this document spells out how the owner’s (or owners’) assets and shares are transferred upon their death, disability, or retirement—or according to their activity level.* Lastly, it establishes an appropriate valuation methodology and makes sure it is well funded.For more details on asset protection for business owners, listen above. I’ll go more in-depth into valuation methodology in a future podcast. You can schedule your Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this episode, John continues his series on the Wealth Curve Blueprint, this time focusing on the protections offered by wills and trusts. Properly setting up a will or trust is one of the key components of a successful long-term financial strategy.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength lies in his ability and commitment to continually improve the level and quality of the financial planning process. His macro view approach and dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy that strives to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a continually changing economic environment.Don’t miss John’s takeaways:* The protection that wills and trusts offer is a strategic part of every financial plan.* By 2026 when all of the income tax laws sunset and revert back to pre-Trump tax laws, so does the estate tax. Your will or trust needs to take that into account. You need to review it regularly.Plus:* There is so much that goes into a proper trust:When and how should the money be distributed?Can gifts be made?Also, can I use leveraged gifts?Can I retain control of those assets?What happens if my child inherits my money—but is going through a business problem or a divorce? Is that money protected from estate taxes?* Your strategy depends upon so many factors:Who you areHow much wealth you haveHow much life insurance you haveWhether you’re starting a business, where that business is located, and how you own itLastly, how and where you own your assetsEvery protection in your plan needs to be the best that it possibly can be for who you are. Each one needs to be updated on a regular basis, so that you’ve taken advantage of all of the opportunities that are available in the estate tax law.For details, listen above. To set up a Wealth Curve Conversation and get your Blueprint and Scorecard made, click here.

Welcome to the Wealth Curve Talk Podcast. In this episode, John continues his series on the Wealth Curve Blueprint. Continuing a mini-series on life insurance, he discusses life insurance for spouse (who does not work or who works part-time).John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improving the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Don’t miss John’s key points:* Firstly, spouses who work part-time or who do not work have insurability interest, which should be maximized.* Secondly, consider the value of the unpaid work done by a spouse who spends much of their time raising children. You have to drive them to and from school, oversee homework and music practice. You have to drive them to their after-school activities, preparing meals, keeping the household in order, etc.* Were your family to lose that, you lose all of that labor.* Also, if you try to make up some of that yourself, you lose income and income potential.And more:* Further, making sure that your non-working or part-time working spouse has the maximum amount of coverage based upon your coverage is a fundamental of good planning.* Lastly, it allows you to keep your future obligations: college, paying off debts, weddings, bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs, sweet sixteens, and all the other things that you want to do for your kids.For details, listen above. Of course, it would be a tragedy were something to happen to your spouse. But from a financial perspective, it does not have to be a crisis—if you have good planning.We want to help you with that.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.