Pension Attention

Knowing how to manage your money and make it last is essential in any financial plan. And while putting cash aside might seem ‘pretty easy,’ there are necessary steps for managing your own (without sabotaging your retirement funds).

Whether your goal is to save for your next trip, buying a new home, or even “just to have cash on hand,” you can still live the life you want today while ensuring your income for tomorrow.  

In this episode, I discuss why financial planning doesn’t have to be ‘all or nothing’ in your budgeting - and how the right strategy protects your portfolio for decades to come. 

Show Highlights Include:

• How the ‘Diderot Effect’ steals from your savings and what you can do to successfully manage cash flow in the future. (1:20)
• How to accurately define your money goals and where the 70/30 rule plays a part in your cash-saving strategies today. (4:25)
• How to avoid ‘tunnel vision’ while saving for the next big thing and still live the life you want (without ignoring any bills or lingering debt in the process). (9:50)
• Why your financial plan is like designing a car and the investments you need for protecting your lifestyle and preserving your income (without facing engine failure down the road). (16:02)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

While many of us find the topic of life insurance one that is ‘complicated and expensive,’ it couldn’t be further from the truth. If you consider what it means for your family, the right life insurance plan helps loved ones in your absence and protects the assets you’ve worked your life for.

Death often comes is unexpected - that’s a fact. But designing a plan that works with your portfolio only makes day-to-day living easier for the people you care about and gives you peace of mind. 

In this episode, I discuss how to overcome the stigmas of life insurance and why you should be using it as a financial tool for your family today. 

Show Highlights Include:

• Plato’s understanding of the human mind and what it means for how our emotions impact the life insurance decisions we make. (1:40)
• What a near-death experience reveals about your life insurance and how to immediately take the financial pressure off your community and family members. (6:08)
• How the LIMRA study strips any stigmas of life insurance being “too expensive” and the three factors that determine what you pay today.  (12:30)
• How risk management helps you chooseplays a role in your life insurance and designning a plan that preserves your assets and protects your family for generations to come. (15:02)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

Planning the retirement you want starts with understanding how your pension plan fits into the ‘big picture.’ And without those overtime hours and biweekly paychecks, how will you protect the money you worked so hard for? Or know you have enough to support and feed your family?

In this episode, I discuss what happens when you move from active duty to retirement, and how a pension plan supports the transition with the most cash flow and the least amount of risk. 

Show Highlights Include:

• The “Project 523” path to protecting your years of dedicated service and preserving your pension now. (3:00)
• How to live a comfortable retirement without penny-pinching or counting vacation hours (no matter what changes in the economymarketplace). (9:00)
• How a pension plan protects your family for the ‘worst-case scenario,’ and why insurance plays a role in safeguardsding your assets for generations to come. (17:40)
• What the Catch-22 author reveals about the ‘traps’ of your pension planning today. (22:00)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

When it comes to growing your wealth and protecting your savings, there are three things every investment plan needs. 

And not only will these things help you in the future, they’ll let you live comfortably right now too. Financial planning shouldn’t affect the life you live today, nor should it drown you in expenses later. 

In this episode, I discuss the wealth-building tactics that contribute to a successful portfolio and the risks you can avoid for a peaceful retirement. 

Show Highlights Include:

• The “Tommy Lasorda” approach to putting together the perfect investment plan today. (3:00)
• How to avoid risky equities and scale your wealth sustainably for a stable retirement. (5:01)
• The investments your plan needs for creating income and growing it exponentially in the near future. (9:42)
•  How to set goals that make your money grow and protect your family’s assets immediately. (11:15)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

Death and taxes aren’t topics to liven up a room.And while these conversations seem hard to have, they ultimately decide how you want your loved ones to receive everything you’ve worked so hard for. 

But the pitfalls of probate can leave your heirs more overwhelmed than supported. Your legacy ends up in the hands of the federal government. And no one wants that. 

In this episode, I discuss how estate planning protects your heirs for generations to come - and why it is essential to your retirement plan for a legacy that lasts.

Show Highlights Include:

• The real reason taxes are renamed and what their confusing wording reveals about your estate planning today. (1:46)
• How the history of the stamp tax lets the government take your legacy from your heirs (and how to protect it from the IRS now). (5:06)
• The documents you need to protect your estate from the federal government and keep loved ones from suffocating in your taxes. (8:25)
• What junk drawers can teach us about estate planning and how this lets you leave a legacy like Rockefeller. (11:33)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

Paying taxes can feel like pulling teeth… And while it seems unbearable, knowing how to get through the process with the least amount of pain is what makes your retirement a breeze. You don’t want taxes eating away at your returns the moment you stop working.

Even if you haven’t thought about your retirement yet, taking control of your finances starts with planning them today. Especially when tomorrow’s tax bracket isn’t promised. 

In today’s episode, I share four tips on planning your most profitable retirement (so you don’t fall victim to surprise taxes later on). 

Show Highlights Include:

• How a retirement plan costs you more in taxes and how to keep more of the money you make today. (4:58)
• The biggest mistake in owning stocks or bonds and how to invest alongside your retirement plan. (8:00)
• Why tax-free, penalty-free withdrawals start with the money you’re spending right now. (10:45)
• How to adjust your current retirement plan for paying less taxes now (while avoiding penalty taxes later). (15:13)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

Would you board a flight that had a 70% probability of safely reaching its destination? How about 90%?

While these are odds we’d avoid if our life was on the line, many people blindly trust their retirement to a financial plan with similar numbers.

In this episode, I discuss why probabilities can destroy your finances, and factors you must consider to plan for retirement on your schedule and your terms.

Show Highlights Include:

• One crucial factor you must take into account in order for your future plans to succeed (5:23)
• The misunderstood third phase of retirement planning and how getting it wrong can destroy everything you’ve spent decades building (9:40)
• How spending your retirement money prevents you from destroying everything you’ve decades building (9:40)
• The “Monte Carlo Analysis” approach to a profitable and sustainable retirement (15:35)
• What your “Distribution Rate” is and How getting your “Distribution Rate”it wrong could have you working until you die (17:00)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

There are many things to consider when looking at a DROP plan. You want the right strategy for peace of mind and a comfortable retirement. But if you don’t have a sustainable strategy, then your financial security goes right down the drain. Who wants that kind of stress after retirement?

Finding a plan that works for you starts with knowing what numbers to nurture. How you spend, save, and earn determines the success and happiness of your retirement.

In this episode, I discuss how the DROP plan revolutionizes your retirement so you can make more money while taking fewer risks. 

Show Highlights Include:

• The lesson of the ‘Fosbury Flop’ and why it relates to building your sustainable retirement plan.  (1:10)
• Why the wrong environment will leave you penniless (even if you’ve worked the same as your successors). (5:11)
• How a customized DROP plan brings more jobs to your city and pays you like an executive. (7:31)
• What studies didn’t tell you about sustainable withdrawal rates - and the secret to how they always keep money in your pockets. (12:48)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

With so many ways to invest your retirement money, many first responders put off making a choice until it’s too late. There’s only so much to go around, and you need to pay your bills too! 

Your deferred compensation plan is one of the biggest benefits available to first responders, so getting your contribution right is key to retiring on your terms.

In this episode, I discuss how to figure out exactly what you should contribute, and why small increases add up to huge amounts over time.

Show Highlights Include:

• The “Ripple Effect” principle that can dramatically improve your retirement lifestyle and how to kickstart it today (3:38)
• How to determine exactly how much you should contribute to your deferred comp plan (8:01)
• Why “Dollar Amount” contributions are stunting the growth of your retirement plan and what you need to do instead (11:29)
• Is the ROTH IRA may not be right for you? How to figure it out today. (12:59)
• A proven method to decrease investment volatility and give you peace of mind when investing (15:30)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

Words like conservative and aggressive are tossed around in the investment world all the time. Same with passive and active. While these ideas seem to make sense when someone is shouting them at you from your television, reality is different.

These terms can mean various things in the context of different retirement portfolios. The most important thing is to understand how they relate to your individual situation.

In today’s episode, I discuss the importance of understanding your investment strategy and how to be absolutely sure your investments are on the right track to take you to your perfect retirement.

Show Highlights Include:

• The profound lesson a jar full of rocks can teach you about time management (1:40)
• Why actively managing your portfolio can destroy your life and finances (4:58)
• How the definition of risk is stifling your portfolio growth and how to know exactly what to invest in (12:36)
• Why a “conservative” investment strategy can tank your retirement fund faster than a weekend in Vegas (14:08)

To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.