WHAT WE DO
We excel in:
1. Retirement Income Planning
Deciding how much to spend each year in retirement from investments is complicated when both the length of retirement and asset returns are unknown. In fact, there is evidence from studies that without guaranteed income sources, many spend far less in retirement than they could comfortably withdraw from savings. Please see the link for Retirement Planning on the home page.
2. Protecting Families
Helping you fulfill obligations to those you care about most is a responsibility we take very seriously. We help those who: don't want to leave anything to chance for their loved ones if anything should happen to them or they're not around anymore.
3. Employee/er benefits
Many of our small business owners and professional clients a) seek ways to enhance benefits to reward owners and retain key employees, b) need better service with their employee benefits, or c) look for ways to legitimately use their business to improve their personal financial situation.
With a focus on helping clients maximize retirement income, reduce taxes, and protect their families, here are recent examples of ways in which we’ve helped clients recently. Some of the details have been changed slightly to respect the privacy of all involved.
A lady on Zoom from one of my webinars. She's 65-years-old, remarried recently after her first husband died and had chosen not to collect her social security until age 70. I advised her that she might be able to collect her late husband's social security. Knowing the right questions to ask and having knowledgeable resources made all the difference here, which can be measured- almost $100,000 in the next few years.
A client called seeking options for his father-in-law who recently had a major health incident and will need significant care going forward. They know that Medicare and a supplement will not cover these costs. In contrast, both a couple and a single client recently obtained long-term care protection which should cover a significant portion of potential future costs and pay a death benefit to their heirs if the coverage isn’t used during their lifetimes.
A couple was worried about managing their money in their 80’s and beyond. The husband’s father made some poor investment choices in his 90’s and later acknowledged that he probably had not longer been capable of managing his finances alone. This couple had also seen acquaintances become the victims of elder abuse and scam. Having very large financial institutions manage some of their money and pay them a regular income, essentially their own pension plan, made sense for them.
In helping a clients get organized prior to seeing an estate planning attorney, they "discovered" two accounts which they had forgotten about. Some of this money needed to be withdrawn for Required Minimum Distributions and they gifted other money to pay education expenses for a grandchild. They were also very happy to have all of this information accessible in one place.
We examined the tax implications of doing a Roth conversion for a couple, including the optimal amounts. Variables included Federal and State taxes, potential and future rates (including the built in 2026 increase) and IRMAA (sneaky Medicare) premiums
A professional nearing retirement had money sitting in a bank account which was making almost no interest. This is money he will likely never need. We put some of it a life insurance plan to get leverage and tax advantage. The rest went to into an annuity, where he’s not directly invested in the market, where he can’t lose money while participating in market gains.