This week, I’m talking about financial document organization. Only the most type A among us have everything all in order, so I’m sharing with you some tips, and quick and easy ways to get your financial life organized. 

Today’s episode is a continuation of your personal financial inventory list that I talked with you about yesterday. If you recall from yesterday, one of the first and easiest steps to take with organizing your financial documents is creating an inventory list. You list all of your accounts and where they are held, so your loved ones and at least 1 trusted contact know where your assets are located. 

Now that you have the list that tells your loved ones where your assets are located, we want to take the next step and help them get in contact with the right people. 

So the next step in this process is creating a list of advisor contacts and their contact info. You’ll want to include your: 

• Accountant
• Attorney(s)
• Financial Advisor
• Insurance Agent
• Bank or banker
• Executor, Trustee, & power of attorney
• Employer/HR contact

And like your asset inventory list, you’ll want to keep your list of contacts updated by setting a reminder about once a year to do this. Your attorney may retire. You may get a new life insurance policy or fire your financial advisor, so you’ll want to make sure to update it once a year or when you make a major change. 

And like your asset inventory list, having a list of contacts that your spouse or loved ones can call will be very comforting and will ease any stress in what is always a difficult time - after a death or disability. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m talking about financial document organization. Only the most type A among us have everything all in order, so I’m sharing with you some tips, and quick and easy ways to get your financial life organized. 

Today, I’m focusing on the single best thing you can do that will give you a quick win on getting your financial life organized. 

And that is...creating a financial inventory list. It doesn't have to be fancy. It can be handwritten or typed up on a spreadsheet. Your personal financial inventory should list all of your financial assets. You’ll want to include: 

• Investment accounts
• 401k or other retirement plan accounts
• Insurance policies & annuities
• Bank accounts 
• College savings accounts
• Physical or special assets (like gold, coins, valuable collectibles, or real estate)
• And if applicable, pension information too

This simple list should include the account type, account owners, the name of the financial institution where the assets are held, & the last few digits of the account numbers. 

Put a copy in a safe place, make sure your spouse knows where this inventory list is stored, and give a copy to one or more of your trusted advisors, like your financial advisor, your CPA, or attorney. Then just set a reminder on your calendar to review it and update it as needed - usually once a year is often enough, or when you make big changes like moving your accounts to a new institution or when you retire and rollover your old 401k to an IRA.

When you're the one handling the finances in your household, and don’t do this, it can create real hardships for your spouse or your kids. I’ve talked to a spouse who didn’t know about an insurance policy death benefit and then found some paperwork in a box several years after the spouse died.

Trust me, the insurance company is not going to come knocking on your door to write you a check for the death benefit, so you’ll want to make sure your spouse and at least one other trusted contact knows where to find all of your assets and accounts and where they are all located. 

This is such a quick win, because it doesn’t even require you to compile all of your statements and all the details of the accounts. We’re just creating something like a table of contents and a list of your accounts, which is easy to do. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

Welcome to a new week and a new theme here on the One Minute Retirement Tip! 

If you died today, how messy would it be for your spouse, your kids, or your executor to sort through your financial life? If this question makes you cringe a little, then this week’s tips are for you, because I’m talking about financial document organization. 

Each day this week I’m going to share with you tips on how you can organize, store, and take inventory of your financial documents. I’m going to give you some quick wins and answer some commonly asked questions - like what you should do with that IRA statement you’re still holding on to from 5 years ago, and the one thing you can do today, which will have the biggest impact on helping you get organized.

Be sure to come back tomorrow where I’m covering one simple, easy thing you can do today that will give you a quick win and that boost of motivation to continue with getting your financial life organized. 

That’s it for today. But before you go...you probably know someone who is close to retirement and could benefit from listening to this podcast. If so, please share this podcast with them and encourage them to check it out by adding it to their flash briefing in Alexa or subscribing wherever they listen to podcasts!

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

It’s Sunday, which means...It’s recap time! This week, I explained few of the more important considerations you’ll want to keep in mind as you decide when to start collecting your social security checks.

Here’s what we covered in each episode this week. 

• The costly mistake too many Americans are making with their social security decisions that could cost you over $400,000
• When you should wait until age 70 to start social security 
• How social security income is taxed
• Addressing concerns over cuts to social security,
• And lastly, special considerations for ex-spouse benefits if you’re divorced

Hopefully after listening to the One Minute Retirement Tip this week, you have a better understanding of some of the key questions that are important for you to answer for yourself before you decide how and when to start collecting social security. 

Tomorrow, we are starting a brand new theme: Financial Document Organization. I’ll share with you how you can systematically organize your financial documents and put all of your most important documents all in one place. Having everything organized is critical for your spouse and your family in the event of your death or disability, yet it’s something that very few people do well. I’m going to make this process a whole lot easier for you with next week’s tips. 

And if you haven’t already, be sure to check out my YouTube channel - True North Retirement, where I cover a wide variety of retirement planning topics - everything from RMD mistakes smart retirees don’t make to understanding non-qualified deferred compensation plans.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for listening and I hope you have a blessed Sunday! 

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the “One Minute Retirement Tip”.

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m explaining social security retirement benefits and a few of the more important considerations you’ll want to keep in mind as you decide when to begin collecting your checks.

Today, I’m talking about special social security considerations for those of you who are divorced. 

Did you know you can collect social security benefits from your ex-spouse? 

Here’s how it works: If you were married for 10 years or longer, your ex-spouse is now old enough to receive social security, you’re at least 62, and your social security benefit is lower than theirs, you can collect social security ex-spouse benefits as long as you haven’t re-married. 

Your collection of your ex-spouse's benefit doesn’t impact their benefit, and you don’t even have to talk to your ex-spouse about your decision to start social security.

One thing that I do want to point out is that the rules used to allow ex-spouses to collect divorced spouse’s benefits while letting their own social security benefit grow without tapping into it...those rules have changed. 

If you were born in 1954 or later, social security is going to make you pick one or the other. But, according to SSA.gov, “if the benefit on your ex-spouse's record is higher, you will get an additional amount on your ex-spouse's record so that the combination of benefits equals that higher amount.”

The point here is that if you fit the criteria to collect social security benefits from your ex-spouse, it makes sense to look into the difference in collecting on their benefit vs. yours to see which strategy will maximize your benefit amount. 

That’s it for today, thanks for listening. Tomorrow, we’re going to recap the week and I’m gonna give you a little taste of next week’s theme.

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m explaining social security retirement benefits and a few of the more important considerations you’ll want to keep in mind as you decide when to begin collecting your checks.

Today, I’m talking about one of the most common fears among retirees - cuts to social security. My clients fret about this all the time, and for good reason - if you’re the average American worker, social security makes up about 40% of your income in retirement. With it being such a big source of income for many of us, potential cuts to social security is a big deal and would be catastrophic for many. 

Just like a wasteful and frivolous trust fund baby who has squandered every last dime of their inheritance, the U.S. has done the same thing. The social security trust fund is projected to go broke in just 15 years - in 2035. 

For a variety of reasons, and mostly because it will be so unpopular to address, lawmakers just keep kicking the can down the road, and will keep doing so until social security is in a true crisis and must be addressed. Which looks to be about 15 years away. 

What’s important for retirees or those planning for retirement to realize is that with so many Americans dependent on social security, it’s unlikely that you’ll see cuts to your social security once you start collecting your check. 

However if you’re 35 like me, or even 45 or 55, I think there is more cause for concern about whether or not you’ll have the same social security benefits that many retired Americans are enjoying today. 

In all likelihood, the empty trust fund will be replaced with a combination of tax increases on working Americans and a delay in the age in which you can receive benefits. 

That’s it for today, but before you go...If you haven’t already left a review for the One Minute Retirement Tip, please consider leaving an honest review in Amazon or Apple Podcasts. I read them all, so feel free to leave any feedback or topic suggestions there too. 

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTune: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m explaining social security retirement benefits and a few of the more important considerations you’ll want to keep in mind as you decide when to begin collecting your checks.

Today, I’m talking about how to avoid the social security taxation trap. 

A common question many people ask is: Is social security taxed? 

I hate to break it to you, but yes it is...and it gets taxed at a fairly low income threshold as well. 

Up to 85 percent of your benefits become taxable if your income is more than $34,000 (individual) or $44,000 (couple). 

On top of that, several states also tax your social security benefits! 

Considering you paid into social security your entire working life, it seems more than a little unfair that you also pay taxes on your social security checks in retirement too. 

So it’s important to consider how social security will be taxed in your situation, so you don’t overestimate your NET income from social security in retirement. If you don’t consider the taxes, and plan on more income then you’ll actually end up having, it could be a big oops surprise in retirement and may force you to cut your spending in retirement to make up the difference. 

So when you’re figuring out how much after-tax income you’ll need to live comfortably in retirement, you’ll want to consider how all of your income sources will be taxed, and remember that social security is taxed as well when your income exceeds certain thresholds. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

---------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m explaining social security retirement benefits and a few of the more important considerations you’ll want to keep in mind as you decide when to begin collecting your checks.

Today, I’m talking about whether or not it’s a good idea to wait as long as possible to start collecting social security. 

If you’re in good health and you expect to live into your mid-70s or longer, you’ll most likely want to consider waiting as long as possible to start social security. 

Why? Most Americans should plan to live into their 80s, which means that taking social security somewhere between age 67-70 makes the most sense. 

As I discussed in yesterday’s tip, the difference in lifetime income between starting social security as early as possible at 62 vs. waiting until age 70 was nearly $600,000 for the client I told you about yesterday. 

If you’re going to hold off on starting social security, this naturally leads to an important question: where do you draw income from instead if you’re going to retire before you start those social security checks? 

The clients I told you about yesterday won’t start social security for close to 10 years AFTER they retire, so we’re going to take higher withdrawals from their portfolio to fill the gap, and then lower those withdrawals once social security starts. This strategy makes sense for a lot of people, as long as those higher withdrawals in the early years are sustainable and won’t drain your investment portfolio. You’ll want to run the numbers for yourself to see if that pencils out. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

This week, I’m explaining social security retirement benefits and a few of the more important considerations you’ll want to keep in mind as you decide when to begin collecting your checks. 

Today, I’m talking about one of the most costly mistakes people make with their social security decision. 

Recently, I met with a husband and wife couple. This couple have been clients for many years and they are retiring next Spring! I’m so excited for them to retire, and they are excited to start a new chapter in their lives. 

When we met, we had a planning discussion and made some important decisions about retirement. One of those decisions was about when they would start taking social security. They are retiring in their early 60s and they just assumed that they would start social security as early as possible, at age 62. 

It wasn’t until we ran the numbers that they realized that this would be a massive mistake. 

If they live to their life expectancy, they would collect nearly $400,000 less over their lifetime in social security benefits if they collect at age 62 compared to waiting until their full retirement age. 

If they wait until age 70, that difference in lifetime income jumps to nearly $600,000! 

Here’s the point: In nearly every circumstance, unless you have no other choice, no investments to provide income and fill the gap while you wait, or you are in poor health and don’t expect to live past your early to mid-70s, taking social security as early as possible is usually a mistake! 

It’s important that you understand not just the current differences in income - but also the cumulative lifetime income differences of starting social security at different ages. 

To make this easier for you, I have a special treat if you’re listening today: Send me your social security monthly benefit amount at your full retirement age, and I’ll run the numbers for you! I’ll show you the impact of taking social security at different ages, so you can make a smart social security decision! 

I normally charge for this type of analysis, but for listeners of the One Minute Retirement Tip, it’s free. no strings attached. 

Just send an email with your full retirement age monthly benefit amount to [email protected].

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast

Welcome to a new week and a new theme here on the One Minute Retirement Tip! 

This week I’m talking about social security! This is a pretty big topic, so I’m going to focus on helping you understand the most important things you’ll want to think about as you make your social security decision. 

Most people underestimate the importance of this decision, and too many people mistakenly decide to start drawing social security when they retire, but when you’re potentially going to collect over $1 million dollars from social security over your lifetime,so this decision should not be taken lightly. It should be a carefully planned decision that considers a number of factors. 

Stick around because this week I’ll share with you: 

• The social security mistake that could cost you over $400,000
• The trap of social security taxation
• How to plan for potential cuts to social security
• The special benefit that exists for people who are divorced
• And why you may want to wait until you’re 70 to start social security

I’m bringing insight from over a decade of guiding clients on their social security decisions to you this week, and I’m so glad you’re here with me!

That’s it for today. But before you go...you probably know someone who is close to retirement and could benefit from listening to this podcast. If so, please share this podcast with them and encourage them to check it out by adding it to their flash briefing in Alexa or subscribing wherever they listen to podcasts!

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

----------

>>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast