Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: You're tuned into the Retirement Planning Pipeline, the show that helps you take control of your financial Future. Whether you're 5 to 10 years from retirement or just getting started, we've got the strategies, tools and experience to help make the most of your nest egg ret. Retirement planning specialist David Pipes is a trusted voice in retirement planning, helping Americans navigate 401 rollovers, income planning, tax strategies and everything in between.
Now let's dive into today's show and start paving the way to your smooth retirement. Alongside retirement specialist David Pipes, here's your host, Jim Tarabakia.
[00:00:51] Speaker C: Hi everybody. Welcome to this week's edition, a brand new episode of the Retirement Planning Pipeline, the show that delivers expert insights, actionable advice and real world financial strategies to help you retire confidently and comfortably. Thank you for making our show a part of your weekend. I'm your host Jim Tarabokia alongside retirement planning specialist David Pipes. David will be joining us in just a moment. Summer Slowdown or Summer Opportunity? How to stay ahead financially and to avoid being checked out this summer season Summer, of course, is the season when your financial plan needs you the most. Coming up on today's show, why financial planning often stalls in the summer. Plus market volatility and insurance checkups most people ignore. That's all on the way, but first, before we get the show started, I want to encourage our listeners to go ahead and schedule your 100% complimentary consultation with retirement planning specialist David Pipes today. It's a free offering just for listening to this show. Our listeners can meet with us to review their own financial situation for your family or for your business. And there's absolutely no obligation. Visit retirementplanningpipeline.com to get started. All right, David, welcome in. Let's kick things off this week with why financial planning often stalls in the summer. Summer is a way of pulling your attention far away from the things that matter the most for your long term financial security. Now, research shows that the warm months trigger a well documented set of psychological and behavioral patterns that lead many people to mentally check out from financial planning. And for those near or in retirement, that pause can carry a very real price tag. A peer reviewed study by Science Direct found that financial procrastinators are significantly less likely to prepare wills, trusts or plan meaningful bequests. And they report measurably lower overall retirement satisfaction across multiple dimensions of financial well being. Now furthermore, according to the Quarterly Journal of Finance Studies and Behavioral Finance confirmed that breaking complex financial tasks into smaller manageable steps is the most effective way and one of the most effective tools for overcoming seasonal financial disengagement. Meaning a simple mid year checklist is a proven behavioral intervention. So David, let's discuss how even a little procrastination if you're a retiree or or near retiree can affect your portfolio, but moreover, affect decisions about really the big things, right? Required minimum distributions, Roth conversions and beneficiary reviews.
[00:03:24] Speaker D: We're excited to, to be on the air this morning and talk to you guys a little bit about some important things that I think that are going to come up a lot right in, in the retirement lifestyle, even if you're getting to that point of retirement or maybe you're just, you know, just maybe got in it. And today is going to be about why you should always be able to monitor and why procrastination sometimes is not just about waiting and sticking your head in the sand, but also not being educated on what needs to be changed. Okay? Because a lot of the times if you're out there and you're looking to retire the brokerage or advisor or whoever's managing money, maybe even yourself, sometimes it becomes too easy to not do anything at all, right? And we say that saying, okay, well, you know, sticking your head in the sand, you know, I call it that. But a lot of people also call it basically just being stagnant, okay? And what that means is, is being complacent with where your money is or how it's being positioned because it's, it's easy, right? It becomes a, let's just say, more freedom lifestyle to where you don't have to, you don't think that you have to worry about your assets. Well, I'm here to tell you that that's going to really affect down the road, okay?
And you know, Jim brought up a couple different ideas about it, but RMDs and maybe Roth conversions and things like that, those are some big tax liabilities that you're gonna have problems with in the future. But let's talk about what it can do now, okay? Let's talk about what happens when the market has volatility, which I'm sure a lot of you out there right now are literally seeing what's going on in the market. And it's pretty crazy. I mean, you've got these major indices that are flying through the roof, okay? And you've got a lot of positions in a lot of corporations that are very, very overvalued. Right? So I mean any, any smart investor or any smart, you know, advisor would, would, you know, be changing these things pretty appropriately. And what I mean by that is, is taking advantage of undervalued positions and not overvalued positions. And sadly, when you're in these market indices, right, Whether you're in the SP 500, whether you're in the NASDAQ, whether you're in, you know, the, the Russell 2000, the Russell One 1000, whatever you're in, okay? These indices have tons of corporations in them that they're actually holding, right? So you've got to realize that you're invested in a lot of corporations. And what this does is it brings diversification to you, but it gives you the, the aspect of, hey, here's where I'm invested, okay? And if the overall indices starts to come down, Right, right. You have that systematic risk. Well, that's where I kind of think in retirement you have to be careful, okay? And why I say that is because the procrastination side of things is, okay, well I'm, you know, as an advisor or as, as a investor, I'm going to invest in these specific assets and I'm going to leave them. You need to be looking at these assets every quarter, okay? I suggest even changing the assets every quarter, okay. The allocations of where you're at, the corporations that you're invested in, these. This could be a super, super important topic when you're in retirement, especially short term aspects, okay? Now when you're the long term aspect for retirement and you're looking at the long term aspect, you don't really care, okay? Being in the SP 500 or maybe the NASDAQ or you know, Dow Jones, that's great. When you're looking more short term, okay. And you're looking at what you have to take out, withdrawals, distributions.
Now you need to start looking at and stop procrastinating on how your assets are placed and where they can be positioned to really analyze risk.
Right? And no one talks about risk management.
And I think that's where what I come and Jim, you know this from my, from my backside. And what I'm really, really specializing in is the mathematics of it, analyzing the probability of, of certain corporations, certain stocks, um, you know, and, and it's not always 100%, obviously, but when I can have a higher probability of different you know, scenarios, I'm going to take those opportunities rather than something with low probability. Right. And I think that's what a lot of advisors don't do is. And for you listeners out there, the one most important thing that I think that people are procrastinating on right now is they're not taking advantage of the high probability that they have. They're just sticking to what is easy. Right. And they're sticking their head in the sand. Okay, we're going to stick with one indices. Right. We're going to stick with one, maybe mutual fund that you have, whether you have a 401k, whether you're in Fidelity, whatever you have, and you're just sticking with that fund.
And what you don't realize is, is that there's a lot of better opportunities out there that have single opportunities instead of being in the whole adjusted market.
So that's one thing that I think that a lot of you listeners out there need to really pay attention to, and I can help with that. And sitting down, I think, in going over these portfolios and understanding what you're in, educating yourself on how you can take positions of better positions and maximize your growth potential with higher probability is something that not a lot of advisors do. So I would really suggest anybody out there to overlook their portfolio. Maybe if you're fully into ETFs or fully into mutual funds. Right. I would definitely take a look at these. Okay. And then we're not going to mention companies here, but I would really recommend you sitting down, understanding what are the better options rather than being in everything. Right. Obviously, you have a lot more risk being in everything than you do maybe just being in a couple corporations with a higher probability. And that all comes with risk management. Okay. And that all comes with probabilities, aspects, mathematics. So again, if anybody out there, if, if you need help with this and you're like, david, I'm in something, I don't even know what I'm in, or maybe a little too risky, and I want to be more, more conservative or I want to have a higher probability for growth. Okay, give me a call. It's a free consultation. We sit down, we go over what you have. You always are going to have opportunities in the stock market, no matter what time you're in, there's always an opportunity to make money. And that's what I love about the market, is as an advisor, I always have the opportunity to make my client money. Okay, you can give me a call at 850-565-1705. Again, that's 850-565-1705.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: Well, and one thing too, we're going to be talking about seasonal market patterns coming up here, actually in our next segment. But I do want to ask you, breaking down finances and do smaller tasks during the summer, when you're talking about risk management, when you're talking about say ETFs or you're talking about your 401k, whatever, whatever it looks like your financial outlook, breaking down your finances into smaller tasks, how does one go about doing that? Say it doesn't matter if they're in again in their, for Talking about their 401k or ETFs or risk management, how do they go about breaking down those smaller tasks of their finances in the summer? Because again, studies have shown that people throughout the summer, they tend to put their finances and their retirement portfolios aside.
[00:10:23] Speaker D: Well, I think first of all, meeting an advisor, okay, meeting the right advisor and getting a second opinion. I mean, my summer heats up because a lot of the people that are out there, either it's too hot or maybe, you know, the market had a great tear at the beginning of the year. But you start to realize that you're up and maybe you want to take some profits, you want to start reallocating some things.
But I think that, that as an advisor, right, helping someone, taking care of multiple steps of their plan, and I know tasks that you did that you talk about, Jim, for listeners out there, it's, it's really about the steps, right?
Each step is going to lead into the other one. They all affect each other, okay? So whether you're 25 and you're saving money, okay, in, in each step that you're saving money in and how much you're, how much you're saving it in, what you're investing it in, all those are steps, all those are, you know, certain tasks at hand.
And that's what I think the cool thing is, Jim, is, is that an advisor like myself can take that stress and take that off someone's shoulders because I think that people get to get too scared and they procrastinate, but they put their head in the sand because they don't want to think about so many of those tasks they have to do when really all them can be kind of summarized and put together and taken care pretty dang easily.
And you know, it's a weird world because nowadays it's very, very easy for an advisor to just kind of stick their head in the sand, right? And a lot of you listeners out there I mean, no offense to anyone, but a lot of the advisors are doing that. And I, I mean I'm coming across of so many portfolios of just the same thing over and over and over again. And it's like when is this going to change? When it, when do you know the retirees out there or even pre retirees or people that are investing, investors in general, when is it going to change for you? When are you going to say that's enough, it's time to maybe, you know, have an advisor that is going to take advantages for me and opportunities every quarter or every year. Right. Instead of staying in the same dang things every single year over and over in the same model for the same ages and the same, same female or male. Right. Same household. It's just ridiculous. It's just not going to be like that. It never should be like that. So if your listeners out there again, you're worried about this because obviously it's everywhere, you know, it is everywhere.
Please give me a call, sit down with me, see what we can do, see if I can help you out, see if I can look at your portfolio and see if we can maybe make it better and have higher probability on at least making you some money or taking opportunities down the road for you. Okay, so again, that number is 850-565-1705. Again that's 850-565-1705.
[00:13:08] Speaker C: Yeah. Procrastination in personal finance is a well documented and seasonable seasonal behavioral pattern. And studies confirm that individuals with higher procrastination tendencies are significantly less likely to maintain wills, trusts and meaningful retirement plans. So again, if you have any questions, David mentioned the phone number. I'll say it again. 850-565-1705 or you can visit us on the web at retirementplanningpipeline.com and schedule that free. No obligation to consultation. Coming up later, insurance checkups people ignore. But up next summer and the year's most dramatic market swings. The retirement planning pipeline will be right back.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: Visit Retirement planning Pipeline to schedule your free, no obligation complimentary consultation today. The retirement planning pipeline will return in just a moment.
[00:14:02] Speaker E: Retirement should feel secure, not uncertain. If market swings have you feeling uneasy. You've probably heard about annuities, but what aren't they telling you? You deserve the full story. That's why we created a free guide that explains the good, the bad and yes, even the fine print. Inside you'll learn how annuities can create guaranteed lifetime income, what fees and surrender charges may apply how the different types of annuities really work and whether an annuity makes sense for you. It's clear, straightforward information so you can make a confident decision.
[00:14:30] Speaker A: Call Amerilife now.
[00:14:31] Speaker E: To get your free guide to annuities, the good, the bad and the fine print, call 866-554-9546. That's 866-554-9546.
[00:14:42] Speaker B: Silex annuities contain withdrawal charges, interest and bonus recovery and market value adjustments that may apply to withdrawals made during the withdrawal charge period. Cylex annuities are products of the insurance industry and not guaranteed by any bank nor insured by FDA or ncua. NCUSIF Not a deposit not insured by federal government agency. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Restriction supply may only be offered by a licensed agent welcome back to the Retirement Planning Pipeline alongside retirement planning specialist David Pipes, here's your host, Jim Tarabokia.
[00:15:12] Speaker C: Welcome back to the Retirement Planning Pipeline. Thank you for making our show a part of your weekend on WCOA News Talk 104.9 with new episodes every Sunday at 10am as we dive back into today's show, reminder if you like the content we're providing, subscribe to the YouTube page YouTube.com and search Retirement Planning Pipeline for weekly video highlights and special content. One final reminder that June is Annuity Awareness Month. And as we come to the end of this month, we do want to tell you that now is a perfect time to learn how annuities may help create reliable income and greater confidence in retirement. If you'd like to explore your options and see whether an annuity fits your retirement strategy, schedule that complimentary consultation today. Visit retirement planningpipeline.com Market volatility doesn't have a summer break. And you know, David, we touched on it a little bit about the market during the summer in the last segment. Summer has a track record of surprising investors with some of the year's most dramatic market swings. Just because you're relaxing on the beach or for those some of you listening, I just realized this, some of you listening, maybe on the podcast side you might be, I don't know, by a lake or something. Maybe you're listening. In Middle America, it does not mean the markets are doing the same. Though summer months have historically been among the most unpredictable periods for investors and for retirees drawing income from their portfolios. And that volatility carries a very real and lasting consequence or consequences. And when you look at the bigger picture, the S P500 has an average return of roughly 3% in May through October right in that window, compared to about 6.3% in the November through April window. A persistent seasonable seasonal gap. So, you know, when we're talking about the market and what is the most effective response to ensure your financial plan has the right proactive structure, that protective structure in place before volatility arrives. Because summer has a well established track record of delivering, David, those unwelcoming surprises to those unprepared portfolios.
[00:17:14] Speaker D: Yeah, I think, I think taking advantage to, and staying active, you know, I, I think that a lot of you listeners out there, you know, and this is a hard one to kind of swallow, is a lot of advisors are just doing the same thing. And I talk about this almost every, every single episode, and I'm coming across it so much so I want to put the awareness out there. But, you know, I'm seeing a lot of the same portfolios, same models on every single person of certain ages. And statistically it just doesn't make any sense, you know, So I think the biggest thing for any of you out there, any investor or any retiree or pre retiree, or maybe you're now you're 40, 45, and you're looking to start to get ready to retire early.
Any type of money that you have in the market obviously is your nest egg or is what you want to invest.
I think that what you need to do personally is make sure that the person working for you is doing the right things at the right times, not necessarily the right thing at one time. Right. So I always say, you know, it's easy to say, oh, I can do this, or, you know, maybe I have a good year, one year, but it's very, very hard to consistently do that. Okay. And what I mean by that is, is that you have to be able to be on top of things as an advisor and you, and for you, the investor, it's pretty easy for the advisor to get that first relationship. Okay?
The hard part is, is continually being able to be active in creating advantages and creating opportunities for your clients and for you listeners out there. I know, I know for a fact that a lot of you are going, going through this stuff, and it saddens me because, you know, you get to some of these times of the year, like Jim said, and volatility starts to increase and you might have maybe, you know, 8, 9, 10%, you know, growth this year, you know, but then all of a sudden, one week could ruin half of that growth. Right? So this is where you have to be active. And you know, I always say I'm working on vacation because as an advisor, I don't have a time, I don't have a day that I can be off. Okay.
In the market, the market's always on. So, Jim, great point. When you said that, you know, I mean, the market doesn't care when you take off. Okay? So for a financial advisor to be like, oh, I'm on vacation for a week, Sorry, I'm. I'm out of the office, call my sec. No, like, that's just not a thing, right? I mean, not for you.
[00:19:35] Speaker C: It does happen, though, with other financial advisors. That's what makes you different.
[00:19:39] Speaker D: Yes, yes. And Jim, that's one of the biggest things out there. And I'm sure a lot of listeners too, you know, they're experiencing this and they're experiencing some. Maybe some advisors are doing too much traveling or, you know, and I always say travel is a good thing for everyone. But when it comes to being active and being on your computer, at least for the first two or three hours in the market you have, I mean, as an advisor, that's, that's a duty. Like, I, I don't see how you can't be. Right. I mean, that is super important.
And, you know, for clients, you know, for you to understand where clients need to be in their portfolios, especially at this time of year, right. To, to double check those things and to make sure that they are in positions that they, they, that that are bigger opportunities and maybe some opportunities that they're already in that they've already gained in. I, I see that a lot, Jim. I see it when, you know, maybe some of you out there have maybe 20, 30% gain, and all of a sudden, you know, it's a short period of time frame, and you could take those gains and invest them somewhere else, and it's just not happening.
And, and I think that's where the compounding rule really, really comes in with mathematically.
And why I think my rule on math versus finance really hits hard because, you know, you can look at finances and you can look at the SB500 for a full year, right? And you can say, okay, well, it gained 20%.
Right? But I mean, you could probably count three to five different times that it hit above 20%, right? So I just, I don't like sticking my head in the sand. I think it just never does anything for the client, okay. And it never does anything for where they're at, especially for clients that maybe want to start taking RMDs out at the end of the year or take income out for trips in December or January. Yeah, right. Having more cash on hand, but using the. What the growth and then in reinvesting the growth into higher probability stocks or maybe a better opportunity. These things clients need, right? Especially in retirement. Especially when you have the money. Elon Musk says it the best, right? I mean, when you have the money, it's easier to make money. Don't let yourself stay in a portfolio that's stagnant, that's in the same dang model for the last two years. You should be changing that model fast and you should be active. And that's where few listeners out there that you don't. And maybe, maybe you need to go look back at your portfolio and look into it and say, okay, well, when's the last time that, you know, 75% of my portfolio was actually switched up, you know, and managed to. And I think a lot of that matters. Everyone wants to just stop. And I always say this easy thing is, you know, do you pay an advisor yearly for just one time?
That part confuses me, you know, I mean, you're going to pay an advisor a fee annually, but you. They don't manage it annually. They only manage it one year. And then all of a sudden that model stays the same for five, six years. Wouldn't you just pay upfront?
So I think that a lot of people deserve more. A lot of you investors out there deserve more. You, you, you really deserve the, the aspect of compounding and the aspect of someone, the, the advisor taking advantage of opportunities that you need in the market. And this is something that, you know, you're struggling with or maybe you just looked at, or maybe you want to look at.
Please give me a call. It's pretty dang easy when you come in because the statements don't lie. I mean, they say it themselves, right? So I mean, you bring in a statement and we can literally go line item by line item of what you have and how long you've had it and why certain things should have been changed. Do the math on it. And then, you know, it's pretty dang easy. There's this like a math equation. You know, you have answers to a problem, so you know, you can't go to a problem and not have a solution, right? So, but please, you know, give me a call. You can either ask the question on the phone or you can set up a direct meeting with me in the office. I'm right here, downtown Pensacola.
Give me a call at 850-565-1705 again, that's 850565-1705.
[00:23:36] Speaker C: You mentioned something important in there. And as we have a few minutes approaching towards the end of this segment about people having their portfolio be as strong as it possibly could be for that year in November and December. And while a lot of people take time off, including some financial advisors, during the summer, now, David could be, I'd argue, a good time to not only review your asset allocation but your income sources in the summer if you're a retiree or pre retiree so that your portfolio looks strong in November and December going into the new year.
[00:24:08] Speaker D: Yeah, the income sources always matter. And that's where things get really tricky, you know, and I, I, I'd hate to get nerdy on everyone and you know, if, if you ever come in and you really want to know the numbers, we can go over them, but it's a lot of math and when you take the income out, all the equations get switched up, every single one of them because the role of compounding, the mathematical formula literally flips. It's the inverse. So you know, when you're putting money in and you're, you know, you're buying all the time now you're taking money out. So think about it the opposite way, right? So the rule of compounding works the opposite way too. When you're withdrawing money, especially on a bear market or some volatility in the market. And if you're taking income when the market does have a couple bad days or a couple bad months, it can really, really affect your portfolio.
And I think that's, that's again, the reason why you need to stay active, right. If you have a great month, you know, and you know, you might be able to, let's say there's a couple corporations that don't and you know that their financials and there's a lot of different things that are going good for them on the, on the long term spectrum. And it's a good company to buy at a good value. That's where things change. Just like Warren Buffett said, you know, socks and stocks, right. I mean, I'm going to buy both of them if they're, if they're at a good value, I don't care, right. I'd rather buy them at a good value. And I think that's where a lot of advisors are missing the boat is because obviously it takes a little more time, but you get happier clients and it's a little, you know, you have to have a higher education Which I kind of pride myself on because of the mathematical world, you know, and the things that I kind of do every single day. And the, in the way that I look at things is a lot different, different than the normal advisor. So, again, you know, this is, this is a big problem in the United States. And for anybody, any listener out there, any, any, any retiree, any, any investor in general, if you need help, right? And if you just want to talk to someone and say, hey, here's what I got, here's what I have.
What are the options that, that I have? Like, what's good now, what's good later? What time frame am I at? I want to take income here. Whatever you have, whatever questions you have, please, please call. I'm here to help anyone out in any number that you have. I don't care, you know, what, what the amount of assets that you have. I know a lot of people out there are saying you got to have at least $500,000 to meet me. No, I, I don't do any of that. Okay. I'm here to help anyone that I can and really make an impact on the investor world and the retiree world. So you can give me a call at 850-565-1705.
[00:26:38] Speaker C: And again, building better financial habits today may help create, create greater confidence tomorrow. Cookie cutter wisdom, right? But it still is very prevalent to what we're talking about today. If you'd like help creating a retirement strategy that fits your goals, visit us on the web at retirementplanningpipeline.com or give us a call at 850-565-1705. This is the retirement planning pipeline, helping
[00:27:03] Speaker B: you take control of your financial future. This is the retirement planning pipeline.
[00:27:18] Speaker C: For generations, retirement was seen as the finish line. But for a growing number of Americans, retirement isn't ending careers anymore. It's simply becoming an intermission. I'm Jim Tarabokia for the retirement radio network powered by Amerilife.
According to the center for Retirement Research at Boston College, approximately 39% of working age U.S. households are at risk of facing a lower standard of living in retirement, causing a cascade of unretirees, people returning to the workforce after months or even years away.
For many older Americans, the motivation is. Financial inflation continues pressuring household budgets, with recent studies showing nearly 70% of retirees who return to work, including money, as the primary reason.
CBS News Mark Stressman breaks down some current day key financial retirement figures.
[00:28:08] Speaker A: The national average for one person to live comfortably in retirement, roughly $967,000 in savings. Every retirement scenario is different, but that's
[00:28:18] Speaker D: $74,000 a year for the average American
[00:28:21] Speaker E: worker to live out his retirement.
[00:28:23] Speaker C: But finances only tell part of the story. Many retirees discover they miss the structure, purpose and social connection that work provided. After decades of solving problems, mentoring co workers and mentally engaged full time leisure can feel surprisingly isolating. And unlike previous generations, today's retirees are healthier and more active, well into their 70s and beyond. In other words, the career arc is evolving, with some embracing phased retirement, shifting into part time schedules or consulting roles with former employers. Others are launching entirely new businesses, turning decades of experience into second careers. And remote work has opened doors that barely existed 10 years ago, allowing retirees to work fully flexible hours from virtually anywhere. But if you're someone who still believes in the traditional retirement setup, CBS News Jill Schlesinger says there are rules to abide by.
[00:29:13] Speaker F: Everyone needs a plan. First, figure out when it's best to claim Social Security.
Next, fund an emergency reserve still working. Set aside 6 to 12 months worth of living expenses and keep that reserve
[00:29:27] Speaker D: in a safe, easily accessible interest bearing account.
[00:29:30] Speaker C: The traditional thinking of retirement, stopping work completely at 65 may be beginning to fade. For some Americans, retirement is no longer about stepping away forever. It's about having the freedom to decide what comes next for the Retirement Radio Network. Powered by Amerilife, I'm Jim Tarabokia.
[00:29:48] Speaker B: Planning for retirement doesn't have to be overwhelming. Get expert insights, tools and personalized strategies to secure your Future. Visit retirement retirementplanningpipeline.com today, your retirement, your plan, your peace of mind.
[00:30:05] Speaker C: This is the retirement planning pipeline. If you missed any part of today's program or want to catch up or even listen to previous episodes, go ahead and subscribe and listen to the show and podcast form on Apple, Spotify or whichever platform you enjoy your podcasts. All right, stay with us because coming up, removing emotion from important financial decisions. But right now, as we do each and every week, it's time to unveil this week's Financial Wisdom Quote of the week.
[00:30:31] Speaker B: And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.
[00:30:39] Speaker C: And our financial Wisdom Quote of the week comes to us from American businessman and entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki. And Kiyosaki said, quote, more important than how we achieve financial freedom is the why. Find your reasons why you want to be free and wealthy. And our thanks again to Robert Kiyosaki for providing us with this week's Financial Wisdom quote of the Week. And of course, One more reminder. If you like the content we're providing, subscribe to our YouTube page. Give us some love over there YouTube.com and search retirement planning Pipeline for weekly video highlights and special content. All right, continuing with the show, estate planning reminders before vacation season. The cost of ignoring them can fall on people that you love the most. Summer travel plans typically include hotel reservations, packing lists and activity itineraries. By the way, as a kid I always hated those activity itineraries. We're on vacation, let's just have some fun. But nevertheless, they do exist. But one of the most important, critically important pre vacation tasks consistently get skipped. Confirming that your estate plan is current and accessible before you leave could be the most meaningful thing you do before your next trip. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies and certain bank accounts legally override whatever your will says, making their accuracy one of the most consequential and most commonly overlooked areas of estate planning for retirees. And David, as is with today's shows, today's show theme, those summer months, estate planning also, like a lot of finances, tends to take a back seat.
[00:32:11] Speaker D: Yeah, it does. And you know, I, I'm not a big firm believer in talking about, you know, death and, and what's going to happen when you die. The one main thing important, you know, it's really, really important thing is just make sure that, that your beneficiaries know where your money is. I've got a lot of clients that, you know, that really don't have that set up, you know, and I know some people don't want people to know what they're, all their assets are. They're going to get it anyways when you die. So. Right. Have them educated. You know, that's one big thing that I'm seeing right now is, is that, you know, I've just went through a couple clients that have sons that they don't want to let them know how much money they had. I'm like, listen, your son's going to be in for it when, when you pass. So he's gotta, he's got to have some sort of knowledge, some sort of education and if you want, send them to me. I take care of a lot of clients, kids, a lot of clients, you know, maybe relatives that, you know, that need help too and that want the education. So let's talk more about what's going to happen in the vacation and when you need the money and what vacation and I think that's super important too in retirement is you don't know when you're going to want the money. I think everybody thinks they, they do know, oh, I want the money now. I want the money. No, I mean, you don't have a date. Life doesn't work like that, okay? If you want to go on a vacation in two months, you can't predict the market's going to be up in the next two months. You just, you just can't, right? So if you come to me and you say, david, I want money, you know, okay, well that's, that's, that's great, well, guess what? We got to sell low maybe because, you know, if the market's down or certain stocks are down, you might have to sell low. This is where you have to be active.
And I talk about this all the time because as an advisor, for the client's best interest, knowing your client and talking to them and, and having a relationship with them and knowing what they want to spend it on, what they want to do, that's the most important part, right? Because I mean, those vacations and you know, that's, that's where, that's why you're retired, why you worked your butts off your entire life, is to get to those points. Don't let those ruin, right, your retirement portfolio, okay? And I think a lot of the times that's what's happening, right, is when people get to that point. I've seen so many people spend money and not have it in the right place, right? So now their opportunity cost, so in, in the economical world, we call it opportunity cost, their opportunity cost of not making money is even higher, right? So I think you have to understand, and if you're an investor, you know, use your money to where it's going to best suit you, okay? And if it is long term aspect, great, you know, But a lot of the times when you get to the points where you start to want, you know, people always forget the point of retirement and the point of investing. The point of investing is to be able to use your investments to generate cash flow or generate income or generate accumulation, okay? That accumulation is not to just sit there and look at that. Accumulation is to what is to use, right? So there's got to be some sort of timeline, right, set up for certain assets. And that's where I think when you're investing, and especially for all you, all you investors out there, when you listen to an advisor or when they're pitching you an idea, I think a lot of the times, and you guys can probably nod your head on this, normally it's, we're gonna do this and this is how it works and it's going to accumulate this much and it's, we're going to make this much average amount, this amount, amount, amount of year and we're going to do this and that. And it's like, that's just not how life works. You can't just guess, you know what I mean? You can't just say, oh well, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna guess to the same the next 10 years gonna be just like the last 10 years. I mean, that's just your confidence level is so far down. I mean. Yeah.
[00:35:44] Speaker C: What do you always say too? You do the math, don't guess, have a probability, right?
[00:35:49] Speaker D: Look at corporations, look at, you know, look at price per earning ratios as an advisor. Those are the important things. When we look at certain companies and certain investments, you know, I think a lot of people are hopping on trains right now that could really destroy portfolios. And it's sad because, I mean, you have one bubble pop or you've got one, you know, one bad earnings sheet, you're going to see a lot of those corporations tank in the stock market. And you don't want your portfolio to be in there. Trust me, when that happens. And that's where it's super important when you are in retirement to be able to locate these investments, take your profits off certain waves. No undervalued, no overvalued. Know where your prices are so that you can, you can really take advantage of that growth and capitalize on what you need to do so that maybe if the market falls 20, maybe you, you know, your stock, only, your portfolio only draws five or 10, who knows? I mean, but have the probability aspect on your side. Don't just, you know, if someone told me that I walked across the road and on two different roads and one road had an 80 probability of me getting hanged by a car, the other one had 10. I'm going on the 10 site, right. I mean, so that's how probability works, you know, And I think math, math needs to be used more in the market and used more as an advisor.
And you know, obviously a lot of the advisors don't, don't get math degrees. So I'm a lot different on that end, but that's how I take that approach. And I think what it really does is in retirement, it analyzes the risk and it makes the risk, it makes it a lot more confident for the client and for myself. For the client, right. Splitting assets aside, allocating certain ways. Right. Because then My client can be confident going into retirement or investing knowing, hey, everything's assessed in the risk platform. Everything is, is analyzed the right way through math, and they actually have a solution and not just a guessing game. Okay? So if this, this is definitely something out there that a lot of people need to understand, I don't want to go too far into it because it's a lot of material. But, you know, look at your portfolio. The, the bottom line is, is that you need to have more people look at your portfolio, understand where you're at, what you're in, right? What equities you're in, how much, how much percentages do you have in your bond market, your fixed income, and what your goals are for that money. Don't let, don't let that break it, right? Don't let that hurt where you're, you know, maybe your gross side comes in and you hurt the growth side, or maybe you're, you know, I see a lot of that, too. I see a lot of times where clients are really getting hit on the gross side because maybe they're a lot of their, their money's put in fixed income and they're not realizing it. So then the market has a great, great turn. You don't get that capitalized growth, right?
And, or maybe sometimes, you know, you're too much in the, you know, the accumulation side. You want to be less risky, right? And you want to say, hey, I want this fixed percentage. But that, of course, that comes with client goals alone.
So really, education, you know, and for all you listeners out there, get, get help. I mean, I'm here, I'm, I'm here to help anyone out, any questions you have. But it's super, super important to understand these things and to really set it up for you and to have the highest opportunities for you every single, really day, every single quarter, every single year. It should be tailored towards your goals and needs. And I say that every single episode. So again, that number, if you want to give me a call, guys, is 850-565-1705. Again, that's 850-565-1705.
[00:39:26] Speaker C: Yeah, don't leave for summer without making your estate plan ready to protect the people that you love. So again, David mentioned the phone number, and again, visit us on the web as well. Visit retirement planningpipeline.com to schedule your complimentary consultation, and let us help you review what you have and fill in the gaps before your summer goes away.
All right, coming up next, insurance checkups. Most people ignore you're Listening to the Retirement Planning Pipeline. We're back after this.
[00:39:54] Speaker B: Your retirement questions deserve real answers. Call 850-565-1705 to schedule your free no obligation consultation today.
[00:40:09] Speaker A: Do you want a steady stream of income for retirement? Then it's time to consider annuities I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amerilife. Gone are the days when most employers offered pensions with guaranteed lifetime payouts to their workers.
But what if I told you that you can build your own personal pension? It's possible with an annuity. An annuity is a financial product that provides a series of regular payments to an individual over a specified period of time, often for the rest of their life.
[00:40:39] Speaker G: There are several options for you to consider when choosing an annuity. Be confident in knowing that there is an annuity out there that can meet all of your needs.
[00:40:47] Speaker A: Ford Stokes is founder and President of Active Wealth Management and author of the book Annuity360. There are several different types of annuities including fixed, variable and fixed indexed.
[00:40:57] Speaker G: A fixed annuity offers a specific guaranteed interest rate on their contributions to the account. A fixed indexed annuity is an accumulation based product offered by an insurance company. The growth of your fixed index annuity is dependent on the performance of a chosen stock market index, but your money is not actually invested in this index. This offers you great growth potential and exceptional protection for your investment.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: While each can provide tax deferred growth and a lifetime income stream, variable annuities put your principal at risk in the market.
[00:41:29] Speaker G: If you are currently investing in a variable annuity, you your funds could be in serious trouble if the market experience any downturns.
[00:41:36] Speaker A: With so many possible choices to consider, it's essential you speak to a financial advisor or professional to help you make the best decision for your future.
So are you ready to consider an annuity as part of your retirement plan? It's a key question to consider as you approach what should be your golden years with the Retirement Radio Network powered by AmericanLife. I'm Matt McClure. Fixed annuities, including multi year guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to risk restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuer.
[00:42:11] Speaker B: Missed part of Today's show? The Retirement Planning Pipeline is available wherever you get your podcasts and@retirement planningpipeline.com welcome
[00:42:21] Speaker C: back inside the Retirement Planning Pipeline, the show that delivers expert insights, actionable advice and real world Financial services strategies to help you retire confidently and comfortably. Jim Taraboki here alongside retirement planning specialist David Pipes. Thank you for making our show a part of your weekend on whichever platform of your choosing. All right, final segment of today's show. Insurance checkups. Most people ignore your insurance coverage is a living layer of your financial plan and summer is the ideal time for a mid year review. Most people think about their insurance coverage once a year at renewal and summer is the season when those reviews are most likely to be postponed indefinitely. A mid year insurance checkup is one of the most straightforward and highest return steps that you can take to protect your financial plan that you've spent decades building overall. So when we're talking about David financial plans and, and the insurance checkups, we have to emphasize a midyear insurance review because it's very, very necessary and oftentimes it gets overlooked when coordinating those financial portfolios.
[00:43:28] Speaker D: Yeah. And they in and I say this every single seminar that I have, every single appointment that I have, your health insurance is one of the biggest things that needs to be looked at, okay? And including life insurance too. If you're, you know, if you're getting a little bit older and you know, and you want to, you want to maximize on, on what you can get for life insurance. We've got all the companies in, in the country, but what I think is super important is, is that how they affect each other, okay? So the, on the health side, you've got to realize that these insurance corporations are making billions and billions of dollars, okay? You've got to make sure that you're protecting yourself and, and getting the right coverage for the least expensive side. I mean, I, I, I've seen so many clients paying a fortune for health insurance. If this is something that you've got problems with. My secretary here is, is licensed in the, in the health world. If you're under 65 years old, then you know, you're, you're, maybe you're retiring or you're retired and you're worried about your health coverage, which a lot of you are, and I'm sure a lot of you are like looking at each other and nodding your heads. That's a problem. And, and we can help with that. Okay.
A lot of the times too, the income levels you're at, your capital gains, your investments, your, you know, your, your qualified distributions, all that stuff's going to affect how much your health premium is going to be. So believe it or not, the finance and health world are very, very intertwined. And that's why I've you know, I've got my secretary license and I'm, I'm really want her to help. Every single one of my clients, they, they need help. Obviously, if you have group coverage and you know, you're on your group plan, okay, that's great. You know, with people that are retiring and going, you know, that don't have healthcare coverage or they need to get on cobra, don't do all that, you can get a lot of lot cheaper insurance, okay? For the same. Same insurance, really better insurance for cheaper coverage. Make sure that you have a broker, make sure that that person is really helping you out. Because that's what I mean. My clients alone probably, I would say 60 to 70% of them need health help. They need, hey, how do I, you know, minimalize on my expenses that are going in there? And same with life insurance coverage. There's a lot of people, Jim, that pay a lot of money for life insurance. A lot of money. And some of that, a lot of it doesn't need to be spent doing the numbers on the board. Understanding what you're putting in and what you're getting out, that's analyzing that part is what a lot of people have questions about. So again, if you're out there and you have questions about health coverage, if you under 65 or over 65, whether it's in the Medicare world or you're in the ACA world, which is under 65, we can help with that. Give us a call. Okay? We can literally give you any plan that's marketed in your zip code, because it is by zip code. And that way you can see what options you have. Okay. And understand how that affects you and what premiums you're paying. Obviously, you want to pay the cheapest ones for the same coverage, so make sure you're there on that. But also life insurance, if you have life insurance and you don't know if you could. Should keep paying or not, or maybe it's, you know, you've been paying forever and you've got a bunch in there and you're paying. A lot of people are paying too much because you've already got the cash value in there.
So terms are a little bit different. Right?
[00:46:30] Speaker B: Terms.
[00:46:30] Speaker D: You shop and you can make sure that you're. That you're paying pretty cheap on it, which is pretty easy for us. We can help you with that. But a lot of the time it's the, it's the whole life insurance. It's the iuls. How much cash value do you have in there and how much insurance Are you paying for. Right. So we look at the math. Are you paying enough? I mean, what does that add up to? I met a guy the other day, and he was paying for like $400,000 life insurance, but in a matter of 10 years, he was going to pay like 200 grand. And I'm like, well, that 200 grand could grow to 400 grand by just investing it and doubling.
So you've got to understand where you're at in that phase. Right. Of that life insurance phase. Now, a lot of people are overpaying for both life insurance and health insurance. If you have questions about either of those, again, my secretary, I've got a team here that are licensed in that. Please come by. If you don't need financial help and you need health and life, it's totally fine. We're here to help any, any way we can. It's a free consultation, you know, no obligation at all. Come in.
Call us on this number at 850-565-1705. Again, that's 850-565-1705.
[00:47:39] Speaker C: Okay, you mentioned a couple of things there, from health insurance to life insurance. Are there any more insurance policies that are sort of second tier behind those two that need to be reviewed during the summer and that you need to get a head start on?
[00:47:57] Speaker D: If you consider annuities as insurance, which I don't, I think it's a financial investment.
It's just given by the insurance company. Annuities should always be reviewed in general, if you have an annuity out there, period. I know it's Annuity Awareness Month. If you have an annuity. Anybody out there, if you're listening at all, anyone. If you have a, an annuity, again, you need to meet me. You need to call me. At least look over it. I would say probably 95% of the people that I meet that have an annuity, I can put them in something better, okay? And, and that's just, that's just a rule out there. I mean, you know, annuities are so oversold right now. A lot of people hate them. There's, there's good ones out there, but a lot of people hate them because a lot of them are sold the wrong ways, okay? And they really are. So again, if you have an annuity. Anybody in on this podcast listening next week, next. Next month, whatever it is, if you have an annuity, please call this number. Sit down with me. It's a free consultation. We can go over it. But that's one thing I think, Jim, that we need to really do is going over, you know, the people that have those, those older annuities or maybe they got it two or three years ago and they need help now. So again, if you have an annuity, okay, maybe you just got one or maybe a couple years ago you got one, please come in, sit down with us. We can go over that and see if really, if it's even good for you.
A lot of the times they're really not okay. And you can get put in a better one or change out and get out of it. A lot of people have that, that concept of, well, I can't get out of an annuity or I'm stuck for this long. It's not how they work, okay? And there's ways that you can get out. There's ways that me as a financial advisor that I can help you get out of those and put you in a better position that you are in now. So again, if you have an annuity, please call us. Please call me 850-565-1705. Again, that's 850-565-1705.
[00:49:48] Speaker C: You know, it's funny too, because last week we talked all about annuities and we talked about some good ones, some bad ones. And there are people out there that are in some really bad ones and they may struggle to, or maybe not think, at least think that they can't get out of those at all. But David can certainly help you with that. And again, give us a call at 850-565-1705. Visit us on the web at retirement planningpipeline.com schedule that free no obligation consultation. And again, don't let your finances just go by the wayside during the summer months here. If you want a strong portfolio in November and December at the end of 2026, now is the time during the summer to get that checkup. So again, visit retirement planningpipeline.com and again, don't let your finances slip away as those as quick as summer is going to go by here within the next nine weeks. Again, visit us on the web. Retirement planningpipeline.com Call us at 850-565-1705. Thanks for listening to the Retirement Planning Pipeline. Have a great week, everybody.
[00:50:53] Speaker B: Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the Retirement Plan Planning Pipeline, the show that helps you take control of your financial future. Whether you are five to 10 years from retirement or just getting started, retirement planning specialist David Pipes has the strategies, tools and experience to help you make the most of your nest egg. Take control of your financial future and get started today by visiting retirementplanningpipeline.com and if you missed any part of today's show or want to catch up on past episodes, be sure to subscribe to the retirement planning pipeline wherever you get your podcasts.
Not affiliated with the United States Government, Amerilife agents do not offer tax, legal or investment advice. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. These opinions are are not intended as investment advice, nor do they predict future performance of any product. All information provided is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of any statement. This information is intended to be educational in nature and does not provide a guarantee or specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Amerilife assumes no responsibility or liability for the content of this message. The information contained herein is provided on an as is basis with no guarantees of completeness and accuracy, usefulness, timeliness, or the results obtained from the use of this information. Charles David Pipes and Steven Zarek are individually licensed and appointed agents. Learn more@retirement planningpipeline.com I'm Matt McClure with
[00:52:25] Speaker E: the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amerilife. Well, there are new Medicaid work requirements set to go into effect next year and some experts are warning that that could disrupt cancer treatment and cost patients coverage.
Here to talk more about that is Dr. Julie Graylow, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of the association for Clinical Oncology. Dr. Graylow, thanks so much for joining me. Really nice to talk to you again.
[00:52:52] Speaker F: Thanks for having me Matt.
[00:52:54] Speaker E: Talk first of all, if you will, about these Medicaid work requirements.
As far as I understand it, starting in January of 2027, as I mentioned, that adults ages 19 to 64 are going to be required to work or participate in qualifying community engagement activities at least 80 hours a month to maintain Medicaid coverage. Talk about that and its potential impact.
[00:53:21] Speaker F: With the 80 hours a week there are exemptions that you can do and there have been exemptions in place for a while. Work exemptions. They're now moving them to not just once a year that you have to prove that you really can't work, but twice a year. So twice as many opportunities for administrative snafus, paperwork, not getting in, but also in addition to just proving that you have a diagnosis that would qualify you like cancer, you have to the states are obligated to prove back to the federal government again that there recording why the person can't work, what is the actual issue? Prove that just because they have a cancer diagnosis and they're on chemo, what is it that's preventing them from being able to do this? 80 hours a week of work.
Sorry, 80 hours a month of work.
And so you can't just self report anymore that you have cancer. You're obligated to demonstrate what it is preventing you from work. And now also new, your health care team has to submit and document and prove that's another burden on the care providers. It's taking away time from caring for patients with cancer.
[00:54:39] Speaker E: Wow. Yeah. It sounds like there are just a lot of hoops to jump through. And I mean, that is if I'm understanding. I mean that is kind of the crux of why it could really negatively impact cancer patients, especially those who are in, as you say, like, you know, active treatment, undergoing chemo, undergoing, you know, maybe radiation or whatever other immunotherapy, whatever other treatments they, they have to undergo.
Just making them and their care teams jump through all these hoops could really have a big negative impact.
[00:55:13] Speaker F: We're viewing this as being potentially life threatening for people with cancer. Any gap in their coverage could result in treatment delays or if they don't delay the treatment out of pocket expenses because they weren't covered during a chemo cycle, that could result in worse survival outcomes. You know, and not because they aren't eligible for this waiver, this exemption for the work requirements, but because the paperwork hasn't been processed correctly.
[00:55:46] Speaker E: Yeah. And right. As you were saying, is there even just administrative errors and all of this can lead to folks losing their coverage, even just temporarily, let's say someone even, even if it just is for a short period of time, however long that might be. What kind of an impact could that have when a Medicaid covered individual loses that coverage, even just for a temporary time period?
[00:56:13] Speaker F: Well, if they know they've lost the coverage, they're going to delay their treatment. They're not going to maybe pick up their next prescript.
And that right there, those gaps can really impact the curability of the cancer.
We know that Medicaid covers about 1 in 5 adults under the age of 65 who are newly diagnosed with cancer. And also Medicaid covers about 2 million individuals who have a history of a diagnosis of cancer. This is a lot of Americans.
[00:56:46] Speaker E: Yeah. It's not something that's just a very isolated thing. I think people maybe in the general population who are not impacted or covered by Medicaid might think that, oh well, this is just, you know, how many people could it possibly affect? And as you say there, you know, millions.
Are there ways to rectify this and make this situation not as burdensome and potentially as you say, life threatening for these patients?
[00:57:15] Speaker F: Well, our recommendation is to encourage states and each state is going to implement this differently. But to encourage states to accept what's already in the electronic medical record, the billing that's already going to Medicaid that proves the diagnosis and what treatment patients are on. Don't make us reinvent the wheel, fill out paperwork, fax things, whatever the requirements could be. Just accept that in the medical record. We already have documentation of a diagnosis of cancer. We already have know and we're billing for the treatment. Accept that as proof both on behalf of the patient and on behalf of the care providers that you know, this is already known. And don't force additional paperwork, additional time and expenses, things that could get lost in the mail or just because a patient is so tired they forgot to submit something on time.
[00:58:20] Speaker E: Now just about time for us to wrap things up here, Dr. Gralow. But if folks who are listening want to learn more about this issue and about how they can potentially make a difference here, where could they go to
[00:58:34] Speaker F: find out more information, Our website has some additional information. It's ASCO.org Medicaid that's a S C O.org/Medicaid. And again, I'll re emphasize this is a state by state issue, how each state is going to implement it. It's now at the state level. The guidance comes from the federal government but the states will decide how they're going to implement it. So also, you know, look at what your own state is doing. We have some of that information on our website and contact your lawmakers.
[00:59:08] Speaker A: Very good.
[00:59:08] Speaker E: Well, Dr. Julie Graylow is chief Medical officer and Executive Vice president of the association for Clinical clinical oncology or ASCO. Dr. Graylow, thank you so much for taking some time for me and talking about this really important topic.
[00:59:20] Speaker F: Really appreciate it and thanks for spreading
[00:59:22] Speaker E: the word with the retirement radio network powered by AmericanLife. I'm Matt McClure.
[00:59:28] Speaker C: Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and AmeriLife are separate companies but are affiliated through common ownership insurance. Products and services are not offered through BCM but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Registered investment advisors and investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosure of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure the ADV2A, item 4 for additional information.
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