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Income planning for retirement can be daunting because there’s a lot to learn and for many people the information is new. Whether you’re just beginning your retirement journey or it’s already underway, you may be skeptical about whether you’ll have enough retirement income to maintain your preferred lifestyle.

There are three major phases in managing retirement income:

  • The accumulation phase
  • The distribution phase
  • The preservation or transfer phase

Preparing for retirement may require a shift in mindset and knowing the difference between retirement savings and retirement income. Prior to retirement, your financial life was dictated by your paycheck. Once you retire, however, you can no longer rely on a paycheck, which means you must find other sources of income. You’ve worked hard to save for retirement and now it’s time to create additional income from what you’ve saved. Although it can be a challenge, it’s also a great opportunity to grow your money beyond what you’ve saved — and that’s usually made easier by enlisting the help of a financial services professional.

We’ll work with you to uncover various opportunities and concerns of each phase. Additionally, we’ll walk you through:

  • Determining how much retirement income you’ll need
  • Estimating how long your current income plan may last
  • Calculating how much additional income you may need
  • Evaluating your additional income sources

Because taxes play a major role in any retirement income planning process, we utilize tax advantaged vehicles to help accomplish your retirement income goals, such as traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, and IRA rollovers.

While the numerous options for your retirement savings may seem overwhelming, all of us at Retirement Solutions Group are here to help you make sense of it all.

We do not provide legal or tax advice and you should consult an attorney or tax advisor for such advice.

Determining your current and future tax liability and developing a strategy that minimizes how much you pay during retirement is one part of building a retirement strategy. Taxes can impact your legacy and the assets you’ll be able to transfer to your heirs and beneficiaries. We recommend taking steps to help ensure that you’re taking advantage of any possible tax minimization strategies to help maintain the retirement you’ve worked hard to build.

Utilizing the skills of certified public accountants can be important to your finances. Such a team can help monitor tax law changes specific to your retirement strategy and provide different tax minimization strategy options.

Retirement Solutions Group does not offer tax planning services.

If you’re like many retirees, your Social Security benefit represents years of savings and hard work and may be the foundation upon which you plan to build and grow your retirement income. Though most Americans have some basic familiarity and knowledge on the topic, far less are able to determine — on their own — the optimal way to file so they can maximize their benefit and carefully integrate it into the rest of their retirement strategy.

At Retirement Solutions Group we help our valued clients develop an understanding of their Social Security benefit, and both educate and inform them on the optimal time to start accepting their benefit. According to the Social Security Administration1, delaying your benefit may potentially increase your benefit amount by as much as 8% per year.

There is a lot to know about Social Security, and it is important for you to be educated so you head into retirement with a strategy on how you will rely on your benefits. Our firm is committed to helping you get the most you can out of your benefit, so you can take one step closer toward the comfortable and enjoyable retirement you’ve been working so hard for!

We have put together an informative brochure that helps answer the following questions:

  • What is your Social Security benefit amount?
  • What are the Social Security benefit filing options to help achieve your maximum lifetime income?
  • Are there different options if you are married?
  • Does earning additional income while you are on Social Security impact the value of your benefit?
  • Do you pay tax on your benefit?

Please contact us to generate a Social Security Maximization Report!

1https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/1943-delay.html

While there is no shortage of things to prepare for in retirement, it’s critical to also address your health needs and concerns by crafting a comprehensive health care strategy. There are various ways to accomplish this, with Medicare being the most important for many Americans. Medicare generally provides health insurance for most people age 65 and older, and others who have received Social Security disability benefits for at least 24 months, have end-stage renal disease or have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). Medicare is similar to Social Security, since it is a federal program that you have paid into throughout your career. Just like Social Security, you want to maximize this benefit in retirement. Medicare is split into four parts:
  • Part A: Hospital insurance – covers the costs of health care at medical facilities. Offers coverage for medically necessary inpatient care at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospices and some home health services.
  • Part B: Medical insurance – covers the costs of health care outside medical facilities. Offers coverage for doctors’ services, hospital outpatient care, mental health and some preventative health care services.
  • Part C: Medicare Advantage (MA) plans – policies you can purchase from certain private insurance carriers that provide the same (or more) coverage as Parts A and B.
  • Part D: Prescription drug coverage offered through private Medicare-approved insurance companies.
  • Medigap/Supplement
Many people with Part A do not pay a premium because they have already paid enough into the system. As with Social Security, a certain portion from each one of your paychecks is deducted to pay for Medicare. When you’ve had Medicare tax withheld from you or your spouse’s pay for at least 40 calendar quarters, then you may be eligible for free Part A coverage. The monthly premium associated with Part B is set according to income level, although most people will pay a standard monthly premium amount and a small yearly deductible. Parts C and D are provided via private insurance companies so the monthly premiums of these policies depend on the extent of their coverage and can vary between companies. Disclosure: We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Social Security Administration or any other government agency. Source: https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs
*We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.

Proper legacy planning and preservation is a cornerstone of any successful retirement plan and helps ensure that your wishes will be respected and your loved ones are taken care of. Legacy Planning is a multifaceted process that can be used for a variety of purposes, from helping to preserve your assets for future use to transferring your wealth.

From the conservation of your assets to the transfer of them, comprehensive legacy planning helps ensure that the management of your assets will be dictated by your wishes throughout your life and may provide a variety of benefits to you and your family. When they are executed and implemented properly, legacy plans may help reduce family disputes and court bureaucracy, provide effective disability planning, appropriately utilize exemptions to minimize estate taxes, and provide certain asset protection benefits to beneficiaries.

There are many strategies and tools that can be utilized to help safeguard your wealth and make sure it is effectively transferred. A variety of legal documents, such as wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney and advanced medical documents, are beneficial to the legacy planning process.

Legacy planning requires a coordinated and comprehensive approach that our firm is uniquely positioned to provide. We can help outfit your legacy plan with the insurance products it needs to protect you and your family.
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Although some people view life insurance as a way to replace lost income or pay off debt after a loved one passes, it also offers other potential benefits that may make it a valuable tool to help accomplish different financial goals in retirement.

First, life insurance may provide some degree of comfort for the policyholder (the insured) because their loved ones (the beneficiaries) will receive a death benefit when they pass away. Additionally, life insurance can be a tool for small business owners to help protect their business if something should happen to them.

In addition to a death benefit, life insurance is one of a few products that may help you reduce or avoid certain taxes. Some of these benefits may include:

Death benefits

  • Policy death benefits may be income tax-free
  • Some life insurance policies may allow the death benefit to accelerate before the insured’s death due to terminal or chronic illness, and that benefit may be income-tax free

Tax-free exchanges

  • The insured may exchange their existing life insurance policy for a new policy and the gains on the original contract may be tax free
  • The insured may exchange their existing life insurance policy for an annuity and the gains on the original contract may be tax free

Policy cash values

  • Cash values may grow tax-deferred during the insured’s lifetime
  • Income from cash value, when properly structured, may not be subject to income taxes

We’re able to shop dozens of insurance carriers to find rates and products that fit your specific needs and goals. That means we’re not relegated to simply one line of products or one brand name like a captive agent. In addition, we offer complimentary reviews on your existing life insurance contracts.

Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.  Policy loans and withdrawals will reduce available cash values and death benefits and may cause the policy to lapse or affect any guarantees against lapse.  Additional premium payments may be required to keep the policy in force.  In the event of a lapse, outstanding policy loans in excess of unrecovered cost basis will be subject to ordinary income tax.  Withdrawals are generally income tax-fee, unless the withdrawal amount exceeds the amount of premium paid.  Policy loans are not usually subject to income tax unless the policy is classified as a modified endowment contract (MEC) under IRC Section 7702A.  However, withdrawals or partial surrenders from a non-MEC policy are subject to income tax to the extent that the amount distributed exceeds the owner’s cost basis in the policy.  Tax laws are subject to change.  Clients should consult their tax professional.  Keep in mind that most life insurance policies require health underwriting and, in some cases, financial underwriting

Long-term care refers to medical and support services for those who have difficulty in executing routine daily functions, or those individuals with prolonged or degenerative illnesses, cognitive disorders, old age and or other conditions. Nursing homes are probably what come to mind first when discussing long-term care, but long-term care can also include assisted-living facilities, continuing-care retirement communities and home healthcare, among others. 

One reason long-term care planning warrants more consideration today than in decades past is because we’re living longer lives. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, most people turning age 65 can expect to use some form of long-term care during their lives. Not having a plan can mean that costs fall on younger family members, causing a financial strain; or on a retired spouse, leading him or her to potentially deplete their own retirement savings. 

As the baby boomer generation ages and the demand for long-term care increases, new methods of paying for long-term care have surfaced. In addition, individuals may look for assistance from life insurance and annuity policies that may include features that provide enhanced benefits if the policy owner becomes impaired (subject to certain requirements).

Since dramatic changes in our health can surface quickly and without much warning, it can be beneficial to have a plan to be able to fund long-term care, should you need it at any point in your retirement. We are here to help you prepare for a long and comfortable retirement. 

Annuities are long-term insurance products generally designed for retirement income. Additional benefit riders may come included in the policy or may only be available at an additional cost. The type of benefits provided depend on the insurance carrier and the specific type of policy that is purchased. Life insurance may require health underwriting and, in some instances, financial underwriting. 

1https://acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/who-needs-care

Investment management at your service. 

Our main objective is helping you accomplish your evolving investment aspirations and goals in today’s complex investment marketplace. The recommendations you receive are tailored to you and factor your risk tolerance, desired returns, time frame, and income specifications.

The benefit of asset maximization

Asset allocation is a management process that combines various asset classes (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and more) into a portfolio. Asset maximization is a related strategy that layers in additional considerations, including lifetime after-tax income and the tax implications of generational wealth.  Our confidence in this process, combined with our objective-driven management, make us a fit for those investing for retirement income. We’re also adept at focusing your assets to create a source of retirement income with moderate volatility and appropriate growth goals.

Asset maximization with a fiduciary

Advisors who are fiduciaries have an obligation to utilize products that are in your best interest. Therefore, we develop your personalized asset allocation model based on individual risk tolerance, objectives and financial needs. Using a disciplined investment philosophy and rigorous risk management, we focus on creating a portfolio to meet your individual goals.

Diversification and asset allocation does not assure or guarantee better performance and cannot eliminate the risk of investment loss. Before investing, you should carefully read the applicable volatility disclosure for each of the underlying funds, which can be found in the current prospectus.

It wasn’t that long ago that managing your financial lives meant keeping track of dozens – if not hundreds – of documents like trusts, wills, powers of attorney, insurance policies, and more. They were squirreled away in drawers, boxes, grocery bags and who knows where else. But thankfully, Generational Vault – your virtual safety deposit box – allows you to upload important documents and view your financial information. Generational Vault provides you with:
  • A snapshot of your financial picture;
  • Detailed records of your assets;
  • Important financial reports and dynamic charts;
  • And much more!
Generational Vault helps to ensure that all of your important information will be safe, secure and accessible anytime, anywhere. Contact us today to discuss how Generational Vault can help you organize and safeguard the most important financial documents in your life.