Winning at Life with Gregory Ricks

01:01 - Gregory and James reflect on the life of George H.W. Bush in the wake of his passing.

07:52 - Reforms to retirement planning laws have taken form in a Congressional Committee. Gregory breaks down what changes are on the table, and how they would affect your ability to save for retirement.

25:46 - Susan Roesgen from News With a Twist on WGNO calls in to ask Gregory's thoughts about the returns on her investments this year. Three different investment accounts have had wildly different results.

34:47 - Jeff in Mississippi asks if the cuts in his Social Security benefit from the Windfall Elimination Provision on his federal pension will affect his wife's Social Security spousal benefit after he dies.

41:16 - John in Metairie is past his Full Retirement Age on his Social Security, and lost his job. When should he turn on his benefit, and does he have to go down to a Social Security office in person to start receiving benefits?

51:14 - Macho in Gentilly asks Gregory how he can get the highest Social Security benefit possible. Gregory explains how Full Retirement Age isn't the highest amount, and how you can get some answers on your Social Security statement at SSA.gov.

58:35 - John in Louisiana is having a hard time figuring out how to handle an inherited brokerage account that's to be split between him and his siblings.

1:07:40 - Ed in Metairie asks how his Social Security benefits will be taxed as he continues to work after he starts receiving checks. Gregory spells out the painfully complex rules on how your Social Security benefits will be included on your taxes in different levels.

1:11:14 - Lolita in Metaire owns 4 different residential properties with her husband, but they have nothing saved for retirement. How can they best use proceeds from selling some of those assets to fund their retirement? Gregory correlates this lump sum with their other income streams, and stresses the importance of being conservative with this money.

1:30:39 - Who is the largest land owner in America?

1:33:05 - How should you invest a big lump sum of money for retirement? Paul on St Charles in New Orleans is getting a sizable settlement from a workers comp claim.

1:40:05 - Mary in Baton Rouge asks Gregory how the Homestead Exemption works on her taxes.

1:44:29 - Sherri in Biloxi asks if she has to file an income tax return in retirement if her income is especially low. Gregory asks a few questions, and it turns out her income is held to a much lower standard because she's self employed. It looks like she will probably have to continue filing her income taxes.

1:52:17 - Gregory teaches you how to shop for the right annuity.

1:58:56 - David in Metairie gives some kudos to Gregory for an impressive prediction on the markets that came true, and asks Gregory how information from the bond world can signal changes coming to the stock market.

2:03:40 - Ann in Springfield wants to start saving for her grandson. Gregory reviews a few options including UGMA, a regular savings account, and 529 accounts.

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01:21 - Susan Roesgen from News With a Twist on WGNO calls in to ask Gregory's thoughts about the returns on her investments this year. Three different investment accounts have had wildly different results.

15:45 - How can you get out of a Reverse Mortgage? Mark texts in on the Winning at Life app asking Gregory for advice on how to get his mother-in-law out of her reverse mortgage.

21:42 - What do you do with the 401k from an old job? Gregory shares the story of a couple who is donig a good job managing the investments in an old 401k, but a time will come soon when changes have to be made.

31:30 - What's a good financial tool to use when saving money for the kids? Bret on FB Live asks Gregory's opinion on using ETFs to get some returns on his kids' college fund.

37:08 - Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled have run afoul of SEC laws when they were paid promoters for a crypto currency's Inititial Coin Offering. The crypto currency wasn't even legit, either.

43:45 - Trump gave the market a little boost with some optimism on trade talks with China.

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01:53 - How do you judge if your investments are doing well in a down market? Gregory shares a recent situation where he was helping a client shed some risk and move to safety.

05:30 - Beverly in Slidell asks Gregory how she knows if she's getting the most out of her Social Security options by staying on her husband's record while continuing to work.

09:31 - The Numbers: the market opens down, but jumps when Kudlow hints at progress in trade talks with China is at hand this weekend.

14:36 - Gregory explains why China wouldn't want to give up their favorable trade conditions, even in the face of tariffs and economic troubles on the home front.

26:18 - The S&P is now in the red for the year. The good news is interest rates are on the upswing, so some of the money that was forced to chase yield in stocks is returning to the bond world. Your next portfolio rebalancing should probably include some drastic moves away from risk and into safety, if you aren't there already.

35:31 - Warren in Donaldsonville asks Gregory for suggestions on what he can do with the 401k he left at his old job. Gregory gives Warren a few options, and some guidance on which one is probably the better fit.

41:28 - GM is closing some plants and discontinuing 6 sedans, including the Chevy Volt.

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01:13 - Gregory reviews his guest appearance on the Gallo Show about how pension buyout offers are becoming more frequent, and how to know if the lump sum is enough to take.

12:57 - Gregory Ricks Live was last night. It's the last live event from Gregory Ricks for 2018, and Gregory shares some event ideas for 2019.

15:01 - Gregory reviews his guest appearance on the Gallo Show about if Social Security is going away. Of course it's going to have to look different, but it's highly unlikely it won't be there when you retire.

26:43 - Why not learn to enjoy everyday activities more? Learning more about how to enjoy a fine wine and how it pairs with incredible foods makes things fun.

36:46 - Gregory recently went to a restaurant that is soon to close, and notices he enjoyed the experience more knowing it was his last visit to a great place.

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02:19 - Graham in New Orleans asks Gregory about how to best use life insurance as an investment vehicle.

12:59 - Gregory shares some quick thoughts on the California wildfires.

17:38 - Should you ditch your variable annuity? A client asks Gregory how he could best utilize an old variable annuity with a decent income rider and low cash value.

27:57 - What's good is a prospectus? Almost nobody reads these things. Gregory explains how he used a prospectus to help a client understand his variable annuity.

35:47 - Steve in Houma asks Gregory how long of a surrender period he should consider when getting a fixed annuity.

42:37 - Where is this market heading. Gregory explains how this market is behaving in ways that are unprecedented, as the world's central banks are unwinding a decade of unprecedented financial experiments.

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00:56 - Pat in Belle Chase asks Gregory why her Social Security estimate went down. There's several reasons your benefits estimate could be calculated down, and there's a few things you could check on to make sure there's not a mistake.

12:32 - If your Social Security check is smaller than you expected, it's probably your own fault. Gregory explains how if you understand all of Social Security's moving parts, you'll know where you stand.

23:07 - According to the Life Expectancy Calculator at SSA.gov, Gregory has a longer life expectancy than James based on today's date.

25:15 - Henry in Port Sulphur asks Gregory how a decrease in income the last few years will affect his benefit.

33:08 - Gregory shares the story of how he helped a family situation in understanding Social Security.

35:59 - Since more than half of individual stocks dipped into bear territory, does that mean this is a new bull market?

41:30 - Michael in Gulfport asks Gregory if he can pay back the money he's gotten from Social Security, and reset it like it was never turned on.

48:18 - We get Wes Blanchard to add his take to a recent call: Tom in Metairie asks Gregory's opinion on estate planning for those with no heirs or family at all.

57:00 - Wes Blanchard gives his respone to a recent call: Linda in Covington asks Gregory's thoughts on using a Special Needs Trust to take care of a disabled adult child.

1:07:53 - Vicki from Atlanta wants to protect assets from an heir's ex-spouse.

1:17:20 - Do you have a right to see your parent's will? Wayne in Waco asks Gregory and Wes if he has any options concerning his sister not letting anyone see their recently-deceased father's will.

1:22:40 - Justin in Metairie asks how a divided home ownership is passed through a living trust.

1:27:44 - Graham in New Orleans asks Gregory about how to best use life insurance as an investment vehicle.

1:52:56 - Some poor Chinese bondholders are getting a pig in leiu of payment. I'm not sure that would fly so well here in the States.

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01:18 - Some poor Chinese bondholders are getting a pig in leiu of payment. I'm not sure that would fly so well here in the States.

20:13 - What does it take to be in the top 1%? We break it down by income and net worth.

27:50 - Pat in Belle Chase asks Gregory why her Social Security estimate went down. There's several reasons your benefits estimate could be calculated down, and there's a few things you could check on to make sure there's not a mistake.

40:22 - Rick in Alexandria lived in China for a number of years, and shares his insight on what the economic conditions are like in reference to our earlier story about bond pigs.

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00:56 - What legislative changes are on the table that will affect your money? Social Security is unlikely to see any major changes anytime soon, but the Fiduciary Rule may make its return in some form. Generally, the markets love divided government.

08:10 - How is your inheritance taxed? Roger in Belle Chase is inheriting a sizable portion of a family trust. Gregory guides him on how to determine his tax consequences, and seek out the help of a CPA.

20:15 - Retirement savings are at an all time high according to a report from Fidelity. There's more assets in qualified accounts, especially compared to 10 years ago.

29:24 - Some pension plans come with an extra Social Security offset that kick out a little extra money to cover the gap from retirement until you turn on Social Security. These can be a little tricky, but extremely helpful if you properly correlate it with your other assets.

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00:44 - Gregory welcomes you to Election Night 2018. The results of the midterm elections will most certainly affect your money, but history shows the markets tend to thrive in periods of political gridlock. The 2020 Election season opens tomorrow, and the economy could be the driving force.


07:32 - Millionaires don't wait in line. Gregory explains how you can be more productive by adapting some time-saving behaviors from the ultra-wealthy. Gregory tells the story of a couple who were generating more income in retirement than expected, and were ecstatic about living with some of the extra perks and luxuries of life.

35:48 - The Numbers were generally positive ahead of the election, but Amazon is getting a lot of attention with rumors it will split its new HQ2 location between NY and DC.

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