This week’s article discusses a type of “retirement plan” that some Americans who have had their retirement savings wiped out by COVID are engaging in, and that plan simply involves moving in with their millennial children. Instead, if you are looking to shore up your retirement savings with products where your principal is protected from market declines, and that can provide you with a guaranteed income you can’t outlive, call us. We’re always here to help. Click Here to Read Full Article

This week’s article helps explain why the “economic gut punch of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt by retirees.” “With the U.S. economy staring at a recession and the stock market having plunged more than 25% from its peak in February, retirees have seen the value of their retirement funds badly eroded and are looking for ways to generate cash for their living expenses.” Call us if you are trying to regain your footing. We may have some ideas that can help in situations like this. We’re always here to help. Click Here to Read Full Article

We speak a lot about annuities and are often asked to describe the type of person who benefits from owning one. In responding, we often say they benefit both “the Builder” and “the Protector”. A Builder can be described as the person nearing retirement, concerned about risk exposure, and someone wanting growth opportunities. A Protector can be described as the person entering retirement, wanting supplemental income, and looking for flexibility. So we ask you, are you a Builder or a Protector? Call us, we’re always here to help explain more about options that will help you fulfill your goals regardless

The approach to retirement is a balancing act between growing and protecting assets. In general, the closer we get to taking retirement income, the more the balance tends to shift toward protecting years of hard-earned dollars. That balance may be more relevant now than ever. Call us if you’d like to discuss what options you have where your principal is protected and your risk is lower. We’re always here to help.

We’re being told the reopening process is being done with “tremendous gusto and vigor,” but have we forgotten how to join in and left our gusto by the wayside? The dictionary tells us that we can do many things with gusto, or hearty enthusiasm, whether it’s playing a game or cheering someone on. Since the 17th century gusto has been helping speakers describe things that are done with vigor and enthusiasm. The doors are opening, slowly but surely. Maybe it’s time to go out and eat a steak with ‘gusto’ and get the flavor of life back again.

I, like most of you, become very discouraged when I look at the number of unemployed workers, especially because I know that the older we are, the less likely we will be rehired. As this week’s article reminds us, “if older workers cannot get rehired, they start to drain their savings sooner than expected and claim Social Security benefits a lot sooner than they wanted. And we know what that means.” “Collecting Social Security at age 62 instead of full retirement age reduces lifelong benefits by over 30%.” There are things you can do to maneuver through the crisis. Call

I read an article this week that I thought to share with you as it expressed something I’ve been reflecting on. The author, connected with Harvard, wrote that “For many people, retirement is a key reward for decades of daily work—a time to relax, explore, and have fun unburdened by the daily grind. For others, though, retirement is a frustrating period marked by declining health and increasing limitations”. In our business we find that one of those increasing limitations can relate to having less income in retirement. Call us if you are concerned about that. We might have some ideas

This week’s article about retiring is written by a psychologist who has researched perception and applied that knowledge to financial situations. The author tells us “By the time most of us reach retirement age, we feel as if we don’t have enough money to live the life we envisioned. Our feelings aren’t wrong.” Before COVID, the reasoning was that “so many of us start to prioritize retirement savings too late in life.” Now, another reason has been added with is that we may have lost enough of our retirement portfolio that even were we planned well, it still isn’t enough.

We can’t control the impact Covid-19 has had on our savings, so maybe it’s time to come up with a plan and move forward. Yahoo finance shows us that the stock market is down 20% to 30% from the beginning of the year. The bond market is flat or down and not offsetting the stock market losses. The yield on the 10-year Treasuries has been below 1% for weeks. If we apply all of this to a typical IRA or other retirement account, most likely the losses are more than 15%. This means that whatever percentage you were planning on