5 Retirement Questions LGBTQ+ People Ask Most

TPIR Ep 134 Full Show.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

TPIR Ep 134 Full Show.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker 1:
All right, Matt. So last time we spent the episode talking about why you started take pride in retirement and what drives you as a financial advisor. So as we're wrapping up, it kind of got me thinking. If someone walked into your office tomorrow, what are the questions they would most certainly ask you? And I'm not talking about complicated Wall Street questions, just real life questions. I mean, they wouldn't ask me like, uh, what's the difference between alpha and beta and like, uh, what is the annual percentage yield of no, like, like those are, I mean, maybe sometimes those are questions. No. But honestly, after years of working with LGBTQ plus folks and allies and everybody in between, there are really a handful of questions specifically that I get asked by LGBTQ plus folks that kind of come up again and again. So, you know, some are about retirement, some are about, uh, family, chosen family, and how they fit into the whole picture. Some are about confidence. And so today, why don't we tackle some of those biggest questions?

Speaker 2:
Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the Lgbtq+ community protect and grow their hard earned money. Get set for a show full of education and insights with your host and advisor, Matt McClure. We recognize every family is unique. The goal of the show is to help you achieve financial freedom, so you and your loved ones can have the retirement you've always dreamed of, a retirement you can take pride in. No matter who you are, where you're from, or who you love. So now let's start the show. Here's Matt McClure.

Speaker 1:
Well, hello there once again and welcome to another edition of Take Pride in Retirement. Matt McClure here with you, your host, your advisor, your friend, your pal and your confidant.

Speaker 2:
And I am Josh Rhett Noble, the attache to the advisor, aka co-host, aka Matt's husband.

Speaker 1:
There we go. I didn't get a who've been that time? Oh, well. Well, I thought I know what I was doing it too much. You know, you don't want to do too much. That's true. You don't you don't leave the people with anticipation of whether you're going to do it or wanting to hear that they're waiting for it. Yeah, this is true. This is true. Well, you know, I mean, uh, a big the big burning questions in life, that's one of them. Is Josh going to say who's been, uh, another one is, uh, well, actually five more or what we're going to talk about today, but they're actually retirement related. Some of the biggest questions. It's like if you go to a website and you click on Frequently asked questions, FAQ, uh, this is kind of what the show is going to be like today a little bit. So if you are five years from retirement, or if you're already retired and chances are you've wondered about at least one of these questions. So we'll get to that momentarily. First though, how about you like this video? If you're watching on YouTube and please subscribe.

Speaker 2:
Subscribe.

Speaker 1:
Um, love it. Uh, and so if you do that, it'll really help the numbers. It'll help the channel grow. It'll help us reach more people who deserve a retirement they can take pride in, share the videos, you know, send them around. I would absolutely love that. And I know that. I know that Josh would as well. So you make us both happy. You make two people happy at the same time. Uh, what what in the world is better than that? I mean, really though, no matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, how you identify, or how much money you have, you deserve a retirement you can take pride in. Go to take pride in retirement.com for a free consultation. I'm sure I will mention that many other times throughout the show this time around. All right, so we're going to talk about these big questions here. And a lot of them are ones that, um well they come up quite a bit. So, uh, Mr. Noble, Mr. Noble host, a noble, uh, could you please give us a question number one here?

Speaker 2:
Yeah. So let's start with the biggest one, which is retirement planning. Is it actually different for LGBTQ plus people, or is that just clever marketing to get you to listen and subscribe?

Speaker 1:
Uh, no.

Speaker 2:
Is it different?

Speaker 1:
Yeah. If it were just clever marketing, Um, then I don't know. I have millions of subscribers or something. Uh, but no, and obviously that's not the goal. So it's really, it's, it's so funny because I have gotten this question many, many times, and my answer is always pretty much exactly word for word the same. And that's that, you know, yeah, that LGBTQ plus people do need different retirement planning because by and large, we have different life experiences and different family structures and all of those things. And so the investments themselves are not different, right? Like, I mean, they could be if you have specific concerns about investments of a certain type, or if you want your, you know, ethics to be reflected in your specific investments, that sort of thing, then absolutely, we will go that route and, and only do the investments and investing that you want to do. But in general, a diversified portfolio, still a diversified portfolio. But the life experiences often are the things that are that are different. You know, I mean, marriage equality delayed being able to, uh, get married to the person that you love for many, many years. That not being the law of the land nationwide until 2015. And so that, you know, kind of delay a lot of these marital benefits that people, um, you know, who have always been able to take advantage of those have taken for granted prior to that. So that's one thing. Um, you know, maybe career interruptions, discrimination. I talked pretty much at length about that in the last episode. So if you missed that, go back and listen to my own personal story about that. Um, we've got, as I said, different family structures. There's chosen family, different caregiving responsibilities. Because a lot of the time there are no kids to take care of us in, in our old age. And those experiences really do influence all areas of our lives, really, but retirement planning in particular, In a lot of ways, I think that people don't necessarily realize off the bat.

Speaker 2:
Yeah. So I mean, the numbers may be the same, but the story behind the numbers can be very different.

Speaker 1:
Yeah. Well, and that's the that is the difference between having a sort of a generic like financial plan that you may watch somebody, you may, you may watch some you who on YouTube, who is just, um, you know, giving, you know, spouting off whatever about generalized financial advice. Well, that's generalized and that doesn't have to do with you. It's got to be personalized. Right? This show is targeted toward the LGBTQ plus community allies and everybody, but it is general in nature in the information in that we I don't know you on the other side of the microphone or the other side of the YouTube. So when people reach out and, and contact me for that free consultation, once again, take pride in retirement.com as the website they can get that personalized advice that I'm able to give them because I come at it with empathy. I approach the situation with, you know, trying to understand where you've been, where you are now and where you want to go and make that path possible for you so you can have that retirement you can take pride in. Yeah. And then moving on to this other question, I mean, I know we've heard this from other people and clients are like, we've been together forever. Do we really need estate planning? And, you know, we've talked about, you know, wills and powers of attorney on the show before, but why do you stress this so much? Well, I stress it for everyone, regardless of their orientation or their, um, their, you know, gender identity, whatever.

Speaker 1:
But I really focus on it a lot for the LGBTQ plus community because estate planning people think, oh, well, that's just has to do with whatever happens after I am no longer here. Um, but it's not just about that. It's about protecting each other while you are alive as well, especially for LGBTQ plus folks. And you know, we need healthcare directives. We need financial powers of attorney. You know, uh, the Obergefell decision legalized marriage equality for the entire country. Um, but, you know, I mean, it was, it was a five four vote back then. And now we have a much more conservative Supreme Court. So if that were to come up, a case were to come up again, what would happen? It remains to be seen. And so just have an extra layer provides that extra layer of peace of mind and protection for you and for your spouse especially, and especially for your partner. You know, if you're not married, it's especially important. But those financial powers of attorney, making sure your beneficiary designations are up to date, um, updating any old documents, maybe you were married previously. We have a friend of ours who was married to a woman previously. And, uh, you know, make sure that any old documents that may have may reflect that are updated to reflect your new situation and make sure that people who you trust can actually make decisions for you if necessary.

Speaker 1:
Not someone you may have spent many years with, who you haven't seen in a long time and don't get along with anymore. Um, just make sure everything's up to date. And it's especially important for couples whose documents have not been reviewed in a while, and especially if you haven't reviewed those documents since before marriage equality in 2015. First of all, shame on you. Now I shame no one. Um, but maybe your wishes have changed over time. You know, you need a review of all these things and make sure that it's all up to date and what you want today, not what you wanted ten, 15 years ago. Yeah. I mean, so many people just assume that these conversations can wait. It's very true. I mean, but, you know, you never know. So much of our last episode was on like, you never know what's going to happen basically, and you never know what's going to happen. So there's no time like the present to prepare these things because you don't know what tomorrow brings. And just in case something happens, you'd much rather be prepared in that it's not a it's not a fun thing to think about, but you'd much rather be prepared than not. And, um, one of the things I think we did an episode a while back, uh, the title of it, but kind of the working title was be prepared, not scared.

Speaker 1:
And that's, that's the thing. Like, it takes that worry away and just be prepared for all of these things, no matter what life brings your way. Yeah. All right. Question number three. How do I know if I'm actually ready to retire? So I feel like this is the question almost everyone asks you. Yes. Um, I got I get this question a lot. And like, especially, you know, from folks who are getting into like the, their say mid 50s and on up towards 60, it's like, am I ready? Am I going to actually be able to do this? And most of the time people are focused because when they ask that question and it's a valid question, right? I don't mean that it's not in any stretch of the imagination, but people think it's about kind of that one big number, that some dollar amount that that they may have had in their head for years. This is my goal, and I'm not going to be able to retire until I get there. And they get into their mid to late 50s and they say, oh, I'm still kind of a ways away from that big number that I've been thinking about. But the big number is not what it's about. It's about an income plan, right? And so you've got to have reliable income. You've got to have a good Social Security strategy so that, you know, um, you know, that you've maximized and optimized that decision.

Speaker 1:
Um, your investments, your investment portfolio has to be structured for you and your life situation, not somebody else's. And that situation changes over time. Have you checked in on those investments in a while? If you haven't? Hey, maybe that's a good reason to go to take pride in retirement.com. I'll review everything for you. Come up with a plan, right? You also have to think about healthcare. You've got to think about taxes. You've got to think about inflation, which of course, we all think about these days. And having just a written retirement strategy, all of those things are what go into the overall retirement plan. You know, having actually something in writing is the biggest thing I feel like, because confidence comes from having that plan. And if there's ever anything that kind of wild and crazy that happens in life and you're like, oh my God, you sort of feel yourself going to that, that anxious place. Look at that, you know, you've got it right there on, on paper, in front of your face. Look at that plan and remind yourself that you have a plan that is built to withstand the test of time, no matter what happens. All right. So retirement readiness is less about crossing your fingers and hoping for the best and all that. It's just more about knowing your numbers. Yeah. Wing and a prayer or throwing at the wall and seeing what sticks, all that stuff.

Speaker 1:
And and I mean, look, if you have ever found yourself, if you're listening, watching, whatever the case might be, um, and you have found yourself kind of asking any of these questions, um, as we go along here, and I know we've got a couple more, I offer those complimentary consultations for you as a listener of the show. It's 100% free. I don't get any compensation from that at all. I just want to help. I want to help you achieve that retirement goal that you might have. Take pride in retirement.com once again. Take pride in retirement.com is the website. You can go there and directly schedule a consultation and pick a time to talk. Yeah. All right. So question four. What if we don't have kids? Now, I know this is something many Lgbtq+ couples think about. I mean, for us in particular, we're not talking about our fur babies because we have plenty of those. But I don't foresee Sparky, who's almost 16, actually being the financial power of attorney for me. But I don't know, he'll probably outlive all of us. So when you have those questions about like, what if we don't have kids, how does that affect what you give for advice to these people? Yeah, no, it's it does affect you. So yeah, the only kids we have are the four legged kind. And I don't think I mean, jinx is very smart. Um, but I don't think he would be smart enough to figure out things like being an executor of a will or anything like that.

Speaker 1:
Um, legacy planning. Legacy planning could be whiskey the cat. Surely he would know something. Yeah. I mean, come on. Or tipsy the the other cat. Yeah. Or any of the million, you know, strays that come around, but we're too nice. Uh, but, you know, there are a lot of questions that that brings up. Like, if you don't have the two legged kind of kids, um, a lot of LGBTQ plus couples just just don't. And that is just, you know, it's obviously based on a lot of things that we could spend an entire series of episodes on. But it brings up a lot of questions. If you don't have kids, like who does become the executor of your will, for example, and it cannot be your 15 year old dog, um, who is an advocate for your healthcare, who makes those decisions for you? Who has that financial power of attorney who inherits your assets or what, you know, like even if it's not a who, as in a, an actual physical person, maybe it is a what organization inherits those assets because maybe there's a charity that's meant a lot to you. And that's where a lot of this personalization comes in, right? Because it's not one size fits all. It's not a one size fits all conversation. Um, and maybe you want to do some charitable giving later on in life while you're still here, and you can sort of reap the benefits of seeing that money kind of go to a good cause.

Speaker 1:
Um, there's that legacy planning piece. There's also, you know, supporting nieces, nephews, friends, organizations like I talked about to that, um, you know, are situations are all just so, so different. And when you don't have kids, it kind of, it amplifies those questions there because it takes away one of the most common answers to pretty much all of those questions. It's like, oh, the kids, the kids, the kids. But you know, maybe it is the nieces or nephews or the whomever the chosen family, uh, that you, um, you know, want to inherit or to take care of these things. And, you know, when we talk about and we spend a little bit of time talking about this previously, but when you talk about legacy planning, it is not just about what happens when you're alive. It's about what happens when you're still around. And it is, you know, something that is definitely not one size fits all. It's not just passing down money to whomever, it's passing down your values as well. And so that's why I talk about charitable giving a lot with people who are, you know, maybe LGBTQ plus and don't have kids or even don't have a spouse or a partner. Yeah. So legacy isn't determined by whether you have children. No. Absolutely not. I mean, you can leave, you leave a legacy behind regardless.

Speaker 1:
It's just what kind of legacy is that going to be and how financially and asset wise, can you then, you know, direct that and make that, you know, the legacy that you really want to leave and a difference that you want to make in, in other people's lives. Yeah. Question number five. So what's the biggest mistake you see people make? And I know this is this is a difficult sort of unfair question because, I mean, I'm not exactly sure how you'll go about saying the answer to it, but after everything you've seen over the years, what do you feel is the biggest mistake? Um, yeah, it is a little unfair, but I would say procrastination and this is one that I that really hits home with me. You can see if you're watching on YouTube, giant smile on my face. Um, because you know, and I don't, this is something I don't talk about a lot on the show anyway is I have ADHD. And so like, it's very easy for me to focus on doing the thing that I am very invested in doing in that moment and pushing off something else that maybe I don't, you know, not all that interested in or is like busy work or, you know, taking out the trash or whatever. Like, I'll do that tomorrow. I'll do that tomorrow. The annoying things, you know, in life and it's just very easy for me to do.

Speaker 1:
And so I would say procrastination is probably the biggest mistake. It's not necessarily a strictly financial mistake, but wait until next year, for example, like we'll get that. We'll get that handled. Maybe if it's a beneficiary designation or a will or something with the estate planning, we'll wait until next year and do that or I'm going to, you know, retirement is still a lot, several ways away, several years away. Rather, I'm going to, um, just wait until I'm closer to retirement and then I'll get a plan in place or wait until, you know, the markets are settled down because they've been kind of wild and crazy lately. Or until, you know, you get stuff figured out with Social Security or taxes or whatever the case may be, life keeps on moving. We can't stop the clock, you know? And so, you know, unless the battery's run dead, then you just change the batteries. But you got to you got to put the clock back on the right time. Um, but life keeps moving. But your planning, it doesn't have to be perfect. You just need to do it. You need to be consistent about it. And so you got to start somewhere. And so putting off financial planning, putting off a retirement plan and one that's actually built around you and your needs, that is something that I think is probably the biggest thing. There's no time like the present. Like it can never be too early to plan for retirement.

Speaker 1:
Um, but it can definitely be so late that it makes it very, very difficult. Um, and, you know, I mean, it's really, I've think I've told this story before of a guy who we met last year at Pride in Atlanta who said, oh, I'm never going to be able to retire. But literally the look on his face when he actually became a client of mine, and I showed him, this is what your picture could look like if you're invested properly. And, you know, we changed up his investments. And I manage all of that now. And he's got an annuity in place. So he knows he's going to have retirement income later on. All those things. The look on his face was just one of relief, you know. It was very, very cool to see. And so that that is my favorite thing about this job is just making a difference in people's lives and helping them realize they can achieve their goals, you know, no matter what, but don't put it off. So if someone can remember and just take away one thing from today's podcast, what do you hope that that is? Mm. Well, I mean, you know, obviously we've been talking about questions, right? It's a conversation surrounding these frequently asked questions. And retirement planning is not about you as the listener or viewer having all the answers to all the questions. Right? It's not about that.

Speaker 1:
It's about asking those questions to begin with and then getting the right answers. Right. And you don't have to figure all of that out by yourself. That is one of the big reasons I do this is because I felt kind of a, you know, like going it alone a little bit when it comes to like, oh, there are these special considerations for this community. And I'm trying to find resources out there, but I can't really find any. And that's really, as we talked about last episode, that's why I do what I do. One of the big catalysts for starting this show. And so, you know, if you have these questions, if you have other questions as well, write those down. Um, before, you know, if you go to take pride in retirement.com, you know, I would love to come up with a plan that's tailored for you, your chosen family, you know, your personal situation, whatever it might be. But write those questions down beforehand so you know, oh, I've got these questions. This is what I want to ask. This is what I need to get figured out. And that'll make things go a lot more smoothly. And we'll be able to create a retirement that you can take pride in. And we'll do it together. All right. So once again, take pride in retirement.com is the website. All right. Well, as we, uh, as we always say, pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Noble.

Speaker 3:
Pleasure discussing everything with you, Mr. McClure.

Speaker 1:
Uh, just throw me off. That's usually my thing to say first. Just like we always say. Like we always say, which that's not what you always say. I know that's it's the ADHD kicking in. Uh, anyway, thank you. Seriously. Appreciate it. Uh, Mr. Attache and appreciate you listening and or watching the show. Uh, always, always, always say it because we always mean it. And until next time, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you then. Thanks for listening. To Take Pride in Retirement, members of the LGBTQ plus community deserve to work with a fiduciary financial advisor who puts their needs first. To schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Matt McClure and the team at Active Wealth Management, call One one or go online to take pride in retirement.com investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC. Bcm, a registered investment advisor, BCM and Active Wealth Management Incorporated are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM but are offered in sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Matt McClure, an active wealth management are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency.

Speaker 4:
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. 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 disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV two item four, for additional information.

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