Retirement Ready

By Eric PetersonBusiness News Investing Business News

Retirement Ready episodes

June 27, 2019Retirement Decisions: More Than Just Investments
When it comes to planning for your retirement, there’s a lot more to consider than where to invest. Going beyond the data and numbers, you need to consider these areas of your life and what you want them to look like in retirement.
Show Notes
0:59 Lifestyle
When people come in to meet with Eric and his team, they are often surprised that it’s not just about the data. It’s important to find out what you envision your retirement will look like. Then you need to consider the challenges in retirement.
The number one thing people miss when entering retirement is how much income they need or are able to generate. Income is the key to retirement success.
A lot of people want to work doing something else or volunteer to give back to their community.
4:25 Social Security
Social Security is one of the only guaranteed income sources for most people. Claiming it correctly is critical to your plan.
The spousal benefits for Social Security are worth understanding.
Eric shares a client example of a couple making decisions about Social Security.
The tax strategies are crucial.
6:39 Pensions
The nice thing about a pension is that it pays for the rest of your life. You don’t have control over the asset, however.
If you roll it over in a lump sum, then you have control over it in case something happens. Eric shares a client story to illustrate how he breaks down someone’s pension options.
8:33 Home-related issues
Are you thinking of downsizing? Maybe you would rather travel or don’t want to take care of the maintenance on a home.
Reverse mortgages are a way to supplement income, but there are a lot of nuances.
Think about where you want to live. Maybe you need to get everything in one level so you can “age in place”.
10:12 Health
This is the biggest fear among many of Eric’s clients since healthcare insurance as an individual is hard to find.
You need to think about long-term care or be prepared for a health catastrophe.
Consider what kind of damage a healthcare issue may do to your retirement plan and address that now.
14 min
June 20, 2019Presidential Quotes And The Financial World
Today's Prep:
There are a lot of great quotes from past presidents that also apply in the financial industry. Have you heard all of these? How would you apply them to your financial portfolio?
Full show notes at: https://petersonfg.com/presidential-quotes-and-the-financial-world
Equipping Points:
1:06 “When only one side of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it.” - George Washington
If you watch too much news, then you only get one side of the story from the “Wall Street machine”.
Keep in mind that you might be listening to a marketer.
What’s right for someone else might not be the best fit for your situation. For example, someone with a billion dollars does things differently than someone with half a million.
You have to understand who the message is for, and who it’s coming from, and what they are trying to get you to agree to.
4:08 “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” - JFK
From a financial advisor standpoint, this is what a fiduciary is supposed to think about.
Advisors should be client-focused and asking what is right for the client instead of just doing whatever is going to generate the most revenue.
A lot of people in retirement just want someone who is going to look out for them and their best interests.
6:54 “Think about every problem, every challenge we face. The solution to each starts with education.” - George Bush
Education is the foundation of everything Eric does for clients. The first two meetings of the planning process are designed to help educate you about risk and what a properly designed portfolio looks like.
10 min
June 13, 2019Mailbag: Retention Bonus or Retirement?
As you near the final months or years before taking the plunge into retirement, there are always a few details to work out and questions to ask. Eric answers a few questions from the mailbag about pensions, paying taxes in retirement, and deciding when to walk away from a retention bonus and just retire already.
Check out this episode's show notes: https://petersonfg.com/mailbag-retention-bonus-or-retirement
----more----
Equipping Points:
0:48 Pensions: Lump sum or payout?
You need to look at what the payout of the pension is.
How many years will it take you to break even on the payout?
Eric talks about clients locally who had the option for the pension payout.
Having a guaranteed payoff is comforting, but you don’t have the control of it if something happened to you early.
How many months will it take to get the lump sum back?
4:28 Mailbag: Taxes in retirement
Kathy in Clive says her income will be very different once she retires. What should she do about taxes?
First, pay your taxes.
Right now, your taxes are automatically withheld at your job. In retirement, you can choose if you want your taxes withheld or not.
If you have a pension or Social Security or even IRA distributions, you can choose to have it withheld automatically. Or, you can get the full check and send in the quarterly estimated taxes.
In retirement you have more tax control than you’ve had in the past.
7:46 Retention bonus or retiring?
James in Grimes has been frustrated and stressed with his job, but he receives a sizable retention bonus along with stock options each year. When can he walk away without feeling bad about it?
The job probably provides this bonus because they know it is grinding.
If you went through a planning process, you could determine whether or not you could retire today.
If you know you can retire, it may make going to work more palatable or give you the feeling of control.
Life’s too short to work somewhere that you don’t like.
Sometimes if you modify your lifestyle or take a part-time job you can retire and do what you want to do.
13 min
June 06, 2019Handling What You Can’t Control in Retirement
Some things are just out of your hands. In retirement planning there are a lot of things completely out of your control, but if you re-frame your thinking, there is actually something you can do about them. Eric talks through these four areas where you have an opportunity to prepare for the unpredictable.
Full show notes: https://petersonfg.com/handling-what-you-cant-control-in-retirement
----more----
Equipping Points:
1:08 The Market
You can’t control the whims of the market, but you can control how exposed you are to certain risks.
There are two sides to the debate, however. If you don’t have risk, then you won’t have the same kind of returns from the market.
Allocation comes in during retirement planning to give you an appropriate amount of risk.
2:34 How Long You Live
Staying healthy helps, but you can’t know how long you will live.
You want money for the remainder of your life and to be covered through retirement.
Sometimes something will happen that you can’t predict.
Average life expectancy is going up.
4:29 Taxes
We can control how much of our wealth we leave in places where money will be taxed.
Money goes in three buckets: taxable, tax-free, and tax deferred.
You don’t know exactly what you will pay on tax deferred money because the laws may change.
Eric illustrates the different tax brackets.
7:08 Social Security
We can’t control whether the payout will drop or go away, but we can control how heavily we rely on it in our plan.
If your plan works without Social Security, it will work with it.
You want to have assets accumulate and an income strategy where you do not have to rely on Social Security, just in case it goes through some changes.
Today's Takeaway:
[spp-tweet tweet="You can’t control what’s happening in the market, but you can control how much it impacts your plan by how much you have exposed to stock market risk. - Eric Peterson"]
11 min
May 30, 2019 Wishful Thinking In Retirement Planning
Is your head in the clouds when it comes to retirement? Here are three common phrases people say when it comes to retirement planning. Eric shares whether these mentalities are wishful thinking.
Check out the full show notes for this episode and relevant links at: https://petersonfg.com/wishful-thinking-in-retirement-planning/
13 min
May 23, 2019 Underrated Or Overrated?
We’re playing a game to determine what’s underrated and overrated when it comes to a few topics in the financial world (and even a few outside of financial planning). Let us know what you think.
Check out the full show notes for this episode and relevant links at: https://petersonfg.com/underrated-or-overrated/
13 min
May 16, 2019 Lazy Money
Do you have money sitting around without a purpose? We’ll explain the dangers of lazy money, why people have it, and how you can put it to work! Make your money work for you as you plan for retirement.
Check out the full show notes for this episode and relevant links at: https://petersonfg.com/lazy-money/
13 min
May 09, 2019 Delayed Gratification In Retirement Planning
Sometimes, it’s hard to make financial sacrifices when the reward seems so far away. However, delayed gratification can be extremely beneficial when it comes to your finances. Eric talks about four situations when people may be tempted to choose instant gratification over a better long-term pay out.
Check out the full show notes for this episode and relevant links at: https://petersonfg.com/delayed-gratification-in-retirement-planning/
15 min
May 02, 2019 If Retirement Were Like A Game Show
Everyone loves a good game show, whether it's The Price Is Right, Jeopardy, or Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? It's fun to play along, but remember, they're just a game. Today we'll talk about game shows and how they relate to your retirement planning process. Ready to play?
Check out the full show notes for this episode and relevant links at: https://petersonfg.com/if-retirement-were-like-a-game-show/
10 min
April 25, 2019 Financial “Jerseys” and What They Say About Your Plan
On game day, it’s fun to wear your jersey and show some team spirit. What you might not realize are the three ways your financial planning process is similar to a jersey. Consider the names, numbers, and symbols on a jersey. How might they be similar to the names, numbers, and symbols on your financial statements?
Check out the full show notes for this episode and relevant links at: https://petersonfg.com/financial-jerseys-and-what-they-say-about-your-plan/
15 min