My Smart Retirement

With thousands of Baby Boomers retiring every year, we’ve worked with this generation quite a bit and have seen the concerns and worries that they have about retirement.

Baby Boomers are looking at a retirement landscape that is quite different than their parents were facing. Many things have changed over the past decade or two and there are far more uncertainties than before.

On this episode of My Smart Retirement, we’re going to dive into the challenges that are facing Baby Boomers today. We see and hear many of the same reasons for lack of confidence about retirement and it’s important to address these so that retirees and pre-retirees understand that solutions exist.

A few of the things we’ll cover today include pensions slowly disappearing, healthcare costs on the rise, and longterm care needs. Each of these can carry a heavy burden for planning and need to be addressed with a comprehensive approach.

And all of these tie into the main reason that Baby Boomers list for why they have concerns about their financial future and that’s the ability to realize a sustainable income throughout retirement. Social Security has been a primary income source for most people but will it be enough to cover your expenses and allow you to live the lifestyle you want?

We’ll discuss that and the other challenges we’re helping people overcome every day. If you have any concerns about your plan, please reach out and let us help you.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

0:56 – Reasons for lack of confidence  

4:47 – Pension worries  

6:27 – Working with an advisor  

9:35 – Healthcare costs

11:05 – Longterm care needs

16:20 – Mailbag question about Social Security

For more, visit us online at http://flemingfinancialservices.com 

It’s never too early to begin planning for your retirement, but that doesn’t mean there’s a long list of items to worry about early in your career. Even without the complexities that come closer to retirement, there are some things you can be reviewing and key decisions to be made.

On this episode of My Smart Retirement, Nancy Fleming will share some stories of past clients that we’ve worked with who were early in the planning process. It’s a time where a lot of people don’t feel the need to have a retirement plan but want to get a better idea of whether they’re on track.

When we sit down with these clients, there are some key areas that often come up during the discussion, like whether you want to pay off your mortgage before retirement. Or how much should you be saving and what amount should be invested to ensure you’re on track? What about the idea to open up a business to help you reach retirement?

These are all important questions and a few of the things we’ll discuss on this show. By laying out real examples, we hope to show you how the process works early on and give you some things to start thinking about.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

0:58 – Background on the clients

4:38 – Evaluating their portfolio

7:43 – Reviewing past trends

9:59 – Wanting to know where you stand

13:33 – Starting Social Security

16:58 – Starting your own business

For more, visit us online at http://flemingfinancialservices.com

The 1970s was a great decade for a lot of things but, financial speaking, there’s a lot that we want to leave in the past.

We seem to be coming to a crossroads in the country as spending continues to rise while taxes remain at low levels. It seems like the pandemic exacerbated the problem even further, and we’ve heard a number of proposals for generating revenue at a Federal level.

On this episode of My Smart Retirement, we’ll look back on that era of bellbottom jeans and disco balls and see what similarities exist with the 2020s. Our country was also dealing with such high inflation that the Federal Reserve forced the economy into a recession to get it under control.

The biggest concerns we’re hearing come relate to rising taxes and Social Security benefits running out. As for the latter, projections say the excess reserve could run dry by 2035 and benefits would be paid out through payroll taxes from there. But there are a number of proposals that are being presented to help solve this issue.

Regardless of whether it happens with the current administration or after, it seems inevitable that taxes will have to increase in many different areas. We’ll get into some of the most likely places where this could happen and discuss a recent report from the Tax Foundation.

Regardless of what happens, you can ensure you’re prepared by doing proper planning. Connect with us or another financial professional and begin taking the necessary steps towards retirement.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

What we discuss on this episode:

0:34 – What’s this topic all about

1:48 – Tax Foundation analysis

2:51 – Creating a donut hole

5:24 – Tax changes

7:16 – Capital gain taxes

8:45 – Benefits get capped, should taxes as well?

10:58 – Going back to the 1970s

13:25 – Inflation

14:10 – Supply and Demand analysis

16:16 – Consumer spending

19:25 – Wrapping up with final thoughts

For additional resources and planning help, visit us online at http://flemingfinancialservices.com 

On this episode of My Smart Retirement, Nancy Fleming explains what a Roth IRA conversion is and whether it may be right for you.

Some employers are offering Roth options as part of their 401k options, so some people already have a Roth. One thing to keep in mind is taxes. You need to think strategically about the possibility of higher taxes and their affect on your retirement assets going forward. Higher taxes could begin in 2022, especially for higher income earners.

This year, 2021, is a key year for determining whether a Roth conversion would be a good idea for your portfolio. The strategy works like this – you transfer some of your assets from a tax-deferred account into a tax-free account.

You can transfer a 401k, SEP, 403b or traditional IRA assets to a Roth IRA and you pay income taxes on whatever asset is transferred. You’re paying taxes on your seed money instead of paying taxes on your harvest.

There are some complex rules around this type of conversion. If you’re converting after the age of 72, you have to take your required minimum distribution first.

Also, if you get the check, you have to make sure it gets deposited in the new Roth IRA account within 60 days of the distribution or it will not be considered a rollover conversion but a distribution and you’d get a 10% penalty if you’re under 59.5 years old.

Roth conversions are especially helpful if you’re younger. The tax will be less because the asset is smaller, and it gives it all these years to grow.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

1:16 – 2021 a key year

3:38 – Required minimum distribution

4:48 – Deposit your check

7:17 – When you can access the money

9:23 – Gap year

10:55 – Benefit of being younger

12:06 – Living off savings

13:19 – When does it not make sense to convert?

15:35 – What doesn’t make sense to convert?

17:35 – Inheritance planning

19:43 – Leaving IRA to a charity

20:10 – In summary

For additional financial resources, visit us online: http://flemingfinancialservices.com 

Have you ever regretted something you’ve done in your life? We’re all human, and that means we’ve likely wished things would have been done differently at one time or another.

Today, we thought we’d talk about financial statements people would regret. Thankfully, these are things you won’t hear around our office and Nancy Fleming will explain why on this episode of My Smart Retirement.

The first one deals with putting money into a Roth IRA. Doing so over the course of your life isn’t something you’re going to regret. That’s simply not something people say because it’s the key to funding retirement. Delaying gratitude to later in life is how you enjoy the lifestyle of your choosing. Plus, the Roth allows you to enjoy tax-free withdrawals, which is always a great benefit. This goes along with saving in general because you’ll never look back and wish you saved less and spent more.

When you’re thinking about whether life insurance is worth the investment, consider that you’ll never hear someone tell you they felt insulted when their spouse left them a large life insurance payment. Knowing that a loved one is taken care of provides comfort and life insurance helps accomplish this. It might not be for everyone, but no one will be upset they received money because of your careful planning.

The next item we talk about on the show is taxes. We won’t hear people talk about how patriotic they felt paying more in taxes than they had to. Our goal is to help you keep as much of your money as possible and that’s accomplished through tax planning. Then you have the option to use that extra money how you see fit and giving back might be the goal. But let’s make sure you do it on your own terms.

Another statement we’ll touch on is a love for market corrections. Who would ever say 2008 was a lot of fun? Or what about what we saw in the first and second quarter of 2020? While you might not enjoy seeing all that volatility in your retirement accounts, there are different strategies that can eliminate that worry and keep you from getting anxious during the roller coaster ride that the market can be.

We’ll have a few more statements that we’ll share during the episode, and we’re happy to discuss any of these financial planning topics further. Feel free to reach out and set up an meeting and make sure your future is on track.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

1:32 – I really regret putting money into my Roth IRA every year.

3:01 – I should have spent more and saved less over the years.

5:12 – Life insurance payment I got was insulting.

7:11 – It makes me feel patriotic to pay more in taxes than I have to.

10:32 – I love big market corrections.

13:05 – It’s okay that I have hidden fees and don’t know about them.

14:48 – I really like a cookie-cutter approach to planning.

We’re right in the heart of tax season and since it’s top of mind, let’s talk about some of the most common tax obligations you’ll have from investing.

There are many different ways that the IRS will take a cut of your income, but that doesn’t mean investing shouldn’t be a key piece of your planning. The key is knowing what might come with an added tax obligation and how you can take steps to minimize that.

First up are the ones most investors are aware of like dividends, capital gains, and interest. Nancy will explain each of these a bit further on the show and help you understand what considerations you should be making.

Then there are mutual funds. These often carry overlooked tax events because fund managers are buying and selling within the fund. When that happens, it triggers a tax event that gets passed along to the investor. The problem is you likely won’t see the rebalancing as it happens but be aware that it will probably show up at the end of the year.

This is why it’s important to consider tax-deferred vehicles like a 401K. These retirement accounts don’t cause yearly tax obligations so you only have to worry about it when you make withdrawals.

Keep in mind that the nuances of the tax codes will impact everyone differently so don’t take this episode as specific guidance. Seek the assistance of an advisor and a tax professional to help you make investment decisions that give you the best outcome. And remember that taxes aren’t aways a bad thing because it means you made money.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

0:48 – Tax season

2:49 – Dividends

5:13 – Interest

7:12 – Capital gains

10:45 – Ways to lower tax bill

12:14 – Don’t take tax minimization too far

12:54 – Taxes mean you made more money

14:04 – Charitable contributions

For additional resources, visit us online at http://flemingfinancialservices.com 

Where should you invest your money? That’s question is usually near the top of any person’s list when they sit down with an advisor.

The answer, as you might imagine, isn’t straight-forward. At least it shouldn’t be if you’re building a plan that’s tailored to your retirement goals. Every investment vehicle can serve multiple different objectives, and it’s our goal as planners to make sure the investment and the objective line up.

On this episode of My Smart Retirement, we’ll talk about why this can be difficult for many to do on their own. When you think about all of the information that’s available and the avalanche of opinions we hear everyday, it’s easy to see how many get distracted with what’s most important.

As we go through the show, we’ll try to help you understand what approach you should take to investing. One of the first things to realize is that where your are in life has a significant impact on where you need to invest. Different ages bring different goals and philosophies. Three basic things to consider are when you want to retire, how much do you want to live on, and what are you trying to accomplish. Those things are always going to dictate how and where you’re want to invest.

The other goal is to make sure your informed with everything that’s out there. We can’t cover that in one podcast, but we can point out some of the reasons why investments have different goals and why a solid financial plan can put you in things that fit multiple objectives.  getting that from an unbiased advisor will give you the best results.

Your best bet for finding that information is going to be from an unbiased source so make sure you work with the right people to build your financial plan.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

0:30 – Different investment goals   

2:29 – Social persuasion

4:19 – Client story

6:12 – Optimism on the future

8:47 – New ideas aren’t necessarily better

11:19 – Pension buyouts

14:18 – Get an unbiased opinion

For more financial resources, visit us online: http://flemingfinancialservices.com 

If you talk to anyone working in the financial planning business, they’ll tell you that healthcare costs are one of the most significant you’ll face in retirement. Not only are these costs rising every year, but many people just are doing the proper planning for what could be a major expense down the road.

Once it comes time to decide on health insurance coverage after working, most people will turn to Medicare. The problem, however, is that Medicare can be very confusing. There isn’t always a lot of information available or its tedious to try and track down the answers you’re looking for.

We got a question recently about this topic and it made a lot of sense to go ahead and tackle this subject on the podcast. It’s not easy to just give a quick answer to the keys things you need to know about Medicare so we’ll do all that on this episode of My Smart Retirement. Nancy will talk about differences between Part A and Part B, prescriptions, when to sign up, and much more.

If you know someone that is looking for more information on Medicare, please pass this show along. We want as many people to know what they need to know.

We’ll also spend a few minutes at the start of the show talking about the recent relief package and stimulus bill. Will this latest injection of money into our economy solve the problems created by COVID? Find out how Nancy feels about the news on the show.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

What we discuss on this episode:

0:45 – Unemployment

3:44 – Interest Rates  

8:40 – Question on Medicare  

10:55 – Applying for Medicare  

12:42 – Once you stop working  

13:39 – Cobra  

For more information and additional financial resources, visit us online: http://flemingfinancialservices.com 

Next time you’re cleaning out the house, what do you think you’ll find in the junk drawer? You know the one we’re talking about. We all have one where things go to be forgotten.

The same thing happens in financial planning. There are certain products that don’t need your frequent attention on those items always end up becoming an afterthought. But what if you took the time to dig through those files and determined whether each investment was still useful?

That’s what we’re going to help you with on this episode of My Smart Retirement. Sean and Nancy will talk about the most common planning items and investments that end up in a person’s financial junk drawer and why they might not be as useful as they once were.

Think about things like a will or trust you put together much earlier in life. Or what about that old life insurance policy you bought years ago. Are you still getting what you want out of these things? If not, it might make a lot of sense to repurpose that money into something that will be worth your time or attention.

It’s part of the process when we work with clients to constantly be evaluating and assessing everything in your portfolio to make sure it aligns with your goals and your needs. Hopefully this episode will give you some things to talk about with your advisor next time you meet.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

0:58 – Social Security

1:54 – Will or Trust

3:20 – US Savings Bonds  

4:04 – Old Life Insurance Policies

5:28 – Speculative Land Purchase  

7:04 – The most successful investors

For additional financial resources, visit us online: https://www.flemingfinancialservices.com/ 

For many people, the dream of becoming wealthy seems out of reach. Maybe it’s because you don’t feel like you earn enough or maybe it’s because you come from a modest background.

Whatever the reason, it’s important to realize that wealthy people often have one common trait: they are great savers. Reaching a level of wealth that provides you with security and financial freedom doesn’t require an exorbitant paycheck. Instead, it relies on following a process and delaying your gratification.

On this episode of My Smart Retirement, Sean and Nancy will share the habits that they’ve found successful people routinely follow. These might not be groundbreaking but they do require diligence and consistency. By sticking to a plan, you’re able to reach your goals over time and achieve the financial security that a large nest egg can provide.

These are the only habits that wealthy people possess, but these are ones that everyone can  apply to their own life. Ultimately, we all have to be prudent with our efforts to save for retirement and we do that by putting ourselves in the best position possible. Hopefully this episode will help you do just that.

Check out the full episode or use the timestamps below to hear a specific segment.

What we discuss on this episode:

0:32 – What brings about wealth?

2:19 – Never buy a new car

5:42 – Do not buy houses they can’t afford

8:33 – Credit Cards

11:17 – Stay prudent

For more, visit us online: http://flemingfinancialservices.com