You have probably heard the old expression, “things ain’t like they used to be.” It is pretty obvious to most that today we are living in a different time. Things are a lot different then they used to be in many ways. One of the big ways things are different is in the area of planning for retirement. In the past you could work for a company your entire career, have a pension, health benefits, and be confident that Social Security would be there. My Grandpa Clair worked his entire career at General Motors and retired with financial security. Things are different for many people in the work place these days. Because of negative economic conditions, many workers who were relying on their 401k’s saw the balances severely damaged by the stock market collapse in the early 2000’s and again in 2008. Additionally, many companies have downsized to leave workers out of work mid-career.
Because we are living in a different time, it is vitally important that you take control of your situation and try to become as self-reliant as possible. It is unlikely that the government, your employer or anyone else is going to “bail you out.” By utilizing The Retirement Guys 4 Strategies For a Successful Retirement, you can put yourself in a position for a much higher probability for success so that you can experience the retirement that you have in mind, whether it is sitting on the couch or getting our there and focusing your energy on what is near and dear to your heart.
While it may be true that “things ain’t like they used to be,” we must realize that things in the past weren’t always rosy. We remember happy positive things, but the fact is that our parents and grandparents struggled with some of the same challenges we face. Things like making a living, putting food on the table and taking care of our families. It may be that my Grandpa Clair had the advantage of career-long security by working for one company his entire career, but he had to get that job to begin with and he had to show up everyday and punch the time clock and do his work. His generation also faced dealing with a World War that interrupted and seriously interfered with a potentially successful career. We now have a somewhat different set of challenges to face in our time. What I (Mark) have realized is that we can learn important things from those who have come before us to help us become successful in our endeavors. Our parents and grandparents have set the example for us to follow of hard work, discipline, integrity, perseverance and sacrifice. They told us to, “do the right thing,” “be a leader” and “work hard.” Applying these lessons learned and combining it with today’s new technology and certain “action steps” will go a long way to helping us achieve our goals.
Action steps that can be taken are what we call the “4 Strategies For a Successful Retirement.”
1. Implement the Independent Income System
Making sure each of your accounts is designed for a specific purpose. Don’t just throw all of your money into an investment and hope that it does well. Take into consideration what the purpose is for each of your accounts, time frames, appropriate levels of risk, need for income, need for growth and protecting what you have.
- TakingControl Of Your Future IRA Tax Liability
Take action before the tax rates and the laws change. If you have reached retirement you now need to know the most efficient way to take retirement account money out. Do you know the rules? Things like Required Minimum Distributions, Roth Conversions, Re-characterization, etc., are critical rules to understand. Formulate plan for the new “distribution phase” of your life.
- Use the Tax Laws to Increase Your Children and Grandchildren’s Inheritance
Creating a multi-generational stretch-out plan. The rules changed a few years ago allowing a non-spouse beneficiary to “stretch out” paying the taxes over and individuals life expectancy. This can prevent the tax ticking time bomb from exploding in your heirs’ faces that may cause them to have to pay income taxes on all the money in your retirement account at once. This may mean hundreds of thousands of dollars lost in unneeded payments to the IRS.
- ProtectYour Assets From the High Cost ofLong Term Care Expenses
The biggest fear that many retirees have is their life savings being wiped out by the high cost of long-term care. By using the concepts of Leveraging and Arbitrage (we call it Levertrage) learn how you may be able to create dollars to pay for long term care without ever buying traditional long-term care insurance. This could help protect your assets for you or your spouse should one of you need care. The last thing you want is very little money left to live out the later part of your life.
You know what to do. Take action! Apply these principles. As always, we wish you the best.
