Before the Money Runs Out: Financial Moves Caregivers Often Miss

TPIR Ep 139 Full Show.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

TPIR Ep 139 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:
You know, when people talk about like the best LGBTQ plus places to retire, they often think about things like or even the lists that that name them. They talk about the sunshine, the restaurants, the nightlife, the pride parades, you know, um, so like Palm Springs, Palm Springs certainly demands some consideration there and has for a long time. But, you know, choosing where to retire involves a lot more than that, uh, much more than finding just the biggest pride festival or parade. You got to consider a lot of other things taxes, health care, legal considerations, of course, and whether the place is still going to work for you as you get older, right? Because visiting somewhere that's fabulous for like a long weekend, that's not the same as living there for the next 25 years. Exactly. And so today we're going to talk about the part of planning that nobody really discusses when thinking about LGBTQ plus people choosing a retirement destination.

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:
Hello there 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 Retinoblas, the attache to the advisor, aka co-host, aka Matt. Husband.

Speaker 1:
Husband. Uh, thank you so much for being a part of the show. Really do appreciate it. Head on over to take pride in retirement.com to schedule a free consultation. If anything, that we talk about here on the show, you know, piques your interest and all of that. And today, we're not giving you. I'm just telling you it's a strange way to start a show. I'm going to tell you what we're not doing. We're not giving you another list of the ten best places for gay retirement or whatever. Instead, we're going to talk about the different aspects that you should consider, kind of the framework that you should take into account as you evaluate any place that you may be considering. And you know, the best destination isn't one that necessarily looks great on paper or in a travel brochure or that kind of thing. It's the one where your lifestyle, your finances, the whole like legal landscape, health care, um, all of those things, your long term needs can all come together. And it's, I think it's very appropriate that we're talking about destinations and, um, maybe not in our case, at least not yet relocate relocation. But travel at least we just got back not long ago from a trip to London. And boy, that was awesome.

Speaker 2:
Hopefully you've been to London.

Speaker 1:
Hopefully. I ate, I feel like my weight in in fish and chips and so, um, it was wonderful.

Speaker 2:
Every restaurant, fish and chips, fish and chips, fish and chips.

Speaker 1:
But, you know, I would get there and I'd be like, I'm gonna get something different. And then I would see fish and chips on the menu and I'm just like, oh my God, I have to. So I sort of can tell you where, you know, leave a comment or something. If you want to know where the best fish and chips are in London. I'll give you a hint. The neighborhood is Soho, but I will tell you the real place if you leave a comment or send a message. All right. So that's that's how I'm gonna do that. Um, but as I mentioned, take pride in retirement.com. That's the place to go. Consultation. Absolutely free. As Josh always says, I am and I always try to be the adviser. Who cares? So if you have any questions, concerns, comments about your own financial situation, maybe you've got questions about where you might end up retiring one day. Location wise, maybe we can sit down and, you know, find out what makes sense for you from a financial standpoint. Um, okay, so let's start out here with kind of the things that you need to consider when you are thinking about where you're going to locate when you retire.

Speaker 2:
Yes. So picture it an ordinary Tuesday, right? So where should someone begin if they're considering several, many places, several, many places to retire?

Speaker 1:
Well, I mean, it is, it's it's like picture an ordinary day, like a Tuesday, for example. Uh, and maybe not necessarily a Tuesday in Sicily in 1912, like Sophia Petrillo or something. Um, but you want to start with like the life that you want day in and day out. Not a city that you saw on somebody else's list, right? So that city may be great for them or for somebody else, but it might not be the perfect situation for you. And so you want to, you know, actually take into consideration the things that you will do, how you will spend your time, who you're going to spend your time with. Are they going to enjoy that? Uh, you know, location as well. How are you going to get around? It was one of the things in London. I'm like, uh, we could we both have said we can totally, we could totally live here. So we know that we would both, um, enjoy London because we've been a few times now together, but we also know how we would get around because we took the tube, we took the bus. We took, uh, what an Uber a couple of different places. But, um, I kind of preferred the bus actually, because it was one of those red double deckers. You know, I thought the view was great from the top. Top level?

Speaker 2:
Yeah. You could see things and not all of the tube cars were actually air conditioned. So I felt like the bus had more airflow because it was above ground. But I mean, both of them were super easy. They were very convenient. And, um, London's just made for traveling that way. Sort of like New York. You know, New York's finally gotten up to like the standards of, you know, scanning your phone or your card and going directly through.

Speaker 1:
So yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And, and the same thing in London there, it's like, it's super easy to use transit, whether you're on a bus or a train or, you know, the, the underground or whatever. Um, and, you know, I mentioned the Soho neighborhood. Um, it's sort of like the, you know, kind of like big gay neighborhood, predominantly gay LGBTQ neighborhood in the city. And so do you want. Is that something that you want? Do you want this large, visible Lgbtq+ presence or, you know, would a smaller, welcoming community be more your speed? Would that be enough for you? How important are things like getting around, you know, walkability, uh, entertainment. We saw some great shows. Shout out to Jinx Monsoon. He did an awesome freaking job in oh Mary, when we were there. Such a funny show and I see why it won, you know, a million and a half Tonys. Um, but just a great, great show. And so how important are those things, outdoor activities and the like. And could you still comfortably live there? You know, if you eventually stop driving the transit in London? Great. Again, like places like New York, great mass transit as well. So it's like, could you, when you age and you're no longer able to drive, could you still get around? Would it be okay for you in your situation?

Speaker 2:
Right. And I mean, a place could be wonderful for like, you know, five days or we were wet in London for seven, I think. But, uh, but without being where you want to, you know, buy groceries or see a doctor or sit in traffic, those are the things you have to consider.

Speaker 1:
Yeah, it really is. You know, if it's possible, you know, if you're going to go somewhere and, you know, not even necessarily talking internationally here, we keep bringing up London because we've been there very recently. We also bring up New York because we lived there together for ten years. Um, but, you know, if possible, maybe rent before buying. If you're planning on buying somewhere, maybe rent, try it out for a little bit. That way you're not, you know, on a 30 year mortgage or whatever and really tied down to it before, you know, for sure visit during like the, the least appealing season for that destination. So during the, during monsoon season to pun intended because I just mentioned jinx. Um, and, you know, maybe try living there as a resident, not just visiting as a tourist and see if it really does fit with you, your lifestyle, what you do and want to do each and every day.

Speaker 2:
Yeah. Well, now let's look beneath the rainbow flags, right? I mean, we love do we love seeing those rainbow flags? If a city has an LGBTQ plus business and are a big pride celebration, I mean, you feel like that tells you that they're welcoming, right?

Speaker 1:
Yeah, it does tell us something about that place. If there's that visible presence, you know. Um, but social acceptance is one thing. Legal protection is another. And this is especially true in, you know, when you talk about going to different states in some, um, you know, parts of the country or different countries around the world, like we, you know, live in Georgia now. And we can tell you that like Midtown Atlanta, very different than a very rural part of, say, East Georgia or something like that. You know, like those are places in the same state, but two completely different, uh, forms of like legal protections and things like that. Because there's like, you know, city of Atlanta has its laws and wherever small county community in East Georgia has its laws as well. So things can be very, very different. Um, research not only the state, but the city, the county, all of those things. Because as I said, those protections can be very different. Look at the laws, not only involving things like, you know, employment or whatever, but healthcare, housing, public accommodations, property, inheritance, all of those aspects. You know, I am not a lawyer, but I would say, do that, research yourself and make sure that you understand what you're getting yourself into.

Speaker 1:
If you want to reach out. Take pride in retirement.com is the place to go. I can connect you with someone who can help you sort it out and be like, oh, this is what this law means. That's what that law means there. And consider how same sex couples are treated, whether the, you know, local health care and senior living providers are affirming to LGBTQ plus folks, a lot of the time it can be the case. Sometimes it's not. And also, you know, transgender retirees, um, this is something that I spoke about one of the very first episodes of the show with a great guest, Gabrielle Claiborne, who was on back then. And you can go back and watch that interview in its entirety if you would like. Um, and it's, it's, as I said, one of the very early episodes of the show but we talked about how transgender retirees need to pay particular attention to whether appropriate and affirming healthcare is realistically available in any given location, especially somewhere that you're going to spend maybe 25 years plus of your life.

Speaker 2:
Yeah. So I mean, it's like, you know, just because you feel welcomed at like a drag brunch, it doesn't necessarily tell you what will happen when you need medical care or legal protection.

Speaker 1:
Yeah. Like you go, go down the street from the drag brunch to the long term care facility or the, um, you know, uh, quick care even like whatever. And it could be a different situation. So you've got to make sure and, and laws change as well. So you got to make sure that you have the most up to date information, speak with an attorney. As I said, in that particular location, who knows the ins and the outs and make sure that you can make those estate planning decisions that are appropriate for you and your situation and in that location.

Speaker 2:
Yeah. So let's talk about calculating the real cost. So I mean, don't most retirement rankings already compare that cost of living or.

Speaker 1:
No they do. Um, but like, you know, the average retiree may live very differently from you. So it's like, if you want to, you know, think about your own situation, you may be, you know, above average from a spending standpoint or below average from an income standpoint, whatever the case may be. Right? A state with no income tax, like there are those, um, where we talk about like Florida, for example, there's no income tax there, obviously for LGBTQ plus folks right now especially, there are a lot of different considerations when thinking about retiring in Florida. But having no income tax doesn't automatically mean that it's inexpensive there. I mean, you know, you went to University of Miami in Miami, not a cheap place. Um, especially you get into like the fancy neighborhoods like Coral Gables and stuff like that. Um, you pay more through property taxes and sales taxes and insurance and housing. Other other things. Um, so compare the tax situation of, you know, your retirement income and social security, then factor in those property taxes, your insurance premiums, even your utilities could be more expensive in certain areas. Transportation, health care, you've got to take it all into account, not just simply look at, oh, this place has no income tax.

Speaker 1:
So I'm going to get by much better there. Um, include also, you know, if you're moving away from your chosen family, your, your blood relation, family, your friends, those types of things, you got to factor in travel going to see those people, especially if you're considering moving across the country or like we've been talking about a little bit here overseas, um, and think about future costs as well in home assistance, assisted living, long term care. Um, I think that's one of those things that really gets gets overlooked a lot of the time, and maybe even look at creating, say, two budgets, right? Like a lifestyle budget that you expect during kind of those active retirement years, and then one for later in life, one on down the line where your healthcare is going to increase and, and long term care and your support needs are going to change and that kind of thing. Because like I say, the cheapest place today may not still be the cheapest place on down the road.

Speaker 2:
Yeah, I think this is important coming up to about make healthcare part of the decision. So I mean, what should retirees investigate beyond whether there's a hospital nearby, you know?

Speaker 1:
Well, you know, we can attest to the importance, of course, of having a hospital nearby, um, having appropriate health insurance as well. Um, because, you know, obviously you, uh, luckily we did have a hospital nearby when you had your kidney stone, um, which was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved. Uh, but we did not have the proper health insurance at the time, so we had one out of the out of the two. Um, but and that's and it's a consideration, right? Like you want to be close to health care, you want to be close to a hospital, but you also want to look at the quality of those hospitals, the accessibility of them. Um, you want to look at pharmacies, you want to look at specialists, you want to make sure that there are LGBTQ plus affirming providers. You don't want to feel like you're sitting in, in a seat across from someone who is judging each and every time you go in, um, to, you know, be, uh, just taken care of as, as part of your everyday health. Right? Um, this is especially important for retirees too. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, those plans can change if you move outside of a service area.

Speaker 1:
So if you move especially to a different state, those plans can change big time. So you want to make sure that you're not doing yourself a disservice by getting a plan elsewhere. That is not the best plan for you. Original Medicare, Medigap or Medicare supplement as it's called prescription coverage. Veterans benefits. Retiree health benefits. They each work differently depending on where you're located. So those are all things that you've got to make sure that you take into consideration. And if you're retiring early. So and I use that term kind of in air quotes here. If you're retiring early, so before age 65, you need to make sure how you're going to get health insurance. Maintain that until you turn 65, enter, then Medicare eligible. Don't wait until after that move and then be surprised by, you know, a health insurance situation or a health care situation and say, oh, well, my doctors are not in network and all these things. You don't want that kind of thing to catch you by surprise. There are some good surprises that can come in life. That would not be one of them.

Speaker 2:
Exactly. So let's talk about planning for both partners and of course, the survivor. So what does one planning issue couples often overlook in these situations?

Speaker 1:
Well that's a great question because, you know, planning for a survivor situation is not something that is a pleasant conversation, right? People plan for the life that they want to live and they want to live it together. And asking, you know, whether either person could live comfortably alone isn't really part of the conversation because it's an uncomfortable conversation to have. Right. But it's an important one. So like when one spouse dies, one Social Security check usually goes away. It's the smaller of the two, but you're still losing that income. The survivor gets to keep the larger check. Um, but the household Sold expenses, especially things like either rent or mortgage, all that stuff that's not going down right. So you got to pay the same bills with less money, essentially. And so you get a plan for that. Um, the survivor may also, you know, lose the person potentially who drove or who handled the finances or who maintained the home, did all the, the, the busy work, the DIY stuff around the house provided connections to the community. Those are all things to take into consideration as well. How are you going to survive mentally, emotionally without that other person as well as financially? And then you've got to ask yourself whether each partner would have adequate income without the other. And I'm talking about income. I'm also talking about transportation, health care, friends and family support systems around them, all those different kinds of things.

Speaker 1:
And, you know, when you're looking at at, um, you know, thinking about retiring and thinking about moving to another place. Potentially you want to take into consideration and review your beneficiary designations. So important to do that, and you can do that on things like your life insurance policy or a, you know, a retirement account, like a 401 K IRA, those kind of thing. You want to also take a long, hard look at your healthcare, financial powers of attorney as well. Make sure that you have those in place. Again, take pride in retirement.com is the place to go. Reach out to me and I can get you in touch with someone who can actually make sure that you have the correct documents that need to be in place. As far as those powers of attorney, things like property ownership need to be reviewed, social security, pensions, survivor benefits for both of those long term care arrangements. There are so many different aspects of this that need to be considered, and you need to take it into consideration not only for yourself, not only for both of you, but for whomever the survivor might be because it's very rare that if you're in a couple situation that both of you, you know, get hit by a bus at the same time, for example.

Speaker 2:
Right? So just each person is always choosing a place where they may someday have to live independently by themselves.

Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah, 100%. And, you know, it's not the happiest thing to discuss, like I said, but it's a loving thing. It's an act of love to plan for it because you don't know what the future holds. You don't know which one of you may be the survivor. And you want to make sure that that other person, if it's if it's the other person in the relationship that they're taken care of. And so it's very, very important to have that discussion as uncomfortable as it might be.

Speaker 2:
Yeah, let's, let's talk about the destination of it all. But so like, how do we compare all of this without ending up with a thousand browser tabs and just a complete decision paralysis?

Speaker 1:
I laugh because I sit here looking at my, my Google Chrome and I'm like.

Speaker 2:
I can't stand it, ladies and gentlemen, and those in between. Matt has so many open tabs on his computer, it gives me anxiety. I can't look at it. Uh, I.

Speaker 1:
Am. This is it's it's a visual form of my ADHD. Just all the tabs and I'm like, ooh, squirrel. You know, it just, they, they really distract me and grab my attention and, oh, here's an Amazon tab that's open. Let me go buy something. Um, but no, uh, the thing that you want to do to sort of sift through back to the, the topic at hand here, um, all these different destinations that could be possibilities, um, and sort of distill it down, maybe create a scorecard. I think that's a good idea. You know, rate each different destination based on pros and cons and the factors that matter most important to you. And again, those are things like LGBTQ plus community that's there, that's present, the legal protections afforded to you in that location, housing, taxes, insurance, the total cost, not just that, you know, does this state have an income tax or not? That's one consideration, but not the only one. Health care and Medicare compatibility, are those things going to change where you are now to where you are going supposedly or perhaps going? Proximity to family. Chosen family. Friends. Other. Support. Transportation. The ability to age where you'll be living. Long term care options. Overall quality of life for both partners in a relationship situation. And you know, not every category might deserve equal weight. You got to determine what's most important to you and then maybe weigh one of those categories higher, like health care, maybe higher or, you know, amount of days with sunshine, maybe higher for you, that kind of thing.

Speaker 1:
But you've got to decide which ones are like the non-negotiables, right? Rate those the highest or at least weight those accordingly. And you know, then maybe where you're willing to compromise, maybe weight those a little bit lighter in the discussion. And so I just want to wrap up by saying this, you know, it's not one size fits all, like every aspect of retirement. You know, the best Lgbtq+ retirement destination is not necessarily that city, like we said, with the biggest pride parade or pride celebration, the warmest winters or the lowest tax rate that you might, you know, see us put out there. It's the place where you can live your life from an affordability standpoint, from a safety standpoint, from a health care standpoint, transportation, all of those things where you feel supported, where you are with the person you love, and you both love that place, and you can continue living there with dignity as you age. That is really the most important thing. Enjoy the scenery, enjoy the lifestyle that that's there, but investigate the other things before you take that leap. The legal. The financial foundation underneath it all before, you know, calling up the moving company or scheduling the truck to come by and pick up all your stuff online.

Speaker 2:
Right. And before Palm Springs.

Speaker 3:
Or London.

Speaker 2:
Begins forwarding your emails and all your I mean, your mails, your.

Speaker 1:
Snail mail.

Speaker 2:
Your snail these days, it packages mails, you know, before that happens.

Speaker 1:
Oh, yes. Don't, uh, don't do that. Um, because, you know, you never know where it might end up these days as crazy as things are with the postal service, etc.. But, um, if moving is seriously part of your retirement vision, I can help you kind of explore how it would affect you financially, you know, see if something does fit into your budget. We can look at cost of living, we can look at wages and taxes and all those things, social security, health care, and work that all into your overall plan. Like this is the dream. How do we get there? Let's make it happen. Take pride in retirement.com. You can go there, schedule a complimentary consultation. No matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, how you identify, how much money you have, or where you choose to call home. You deserve a retirement that you can take pride in. Well, Mr. Attache, pleasure doing business with you.

Speaker 3:
Pleasure, Mr. McClure.

Speaker 1:
Appreciate it. As always. And as always, I appreciate you watching and or listening to the show. Uh, really, uh, couldn't be here without you. So really appreciate that as well. Like subscribe, share the show. And, um, yeah, just keep, uh, keep on keeping on here so we can keep on keeping on. Until next time. Take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you then.

Speaker 2:
Thanks for listening. To Take Pride in Retirement, members of the Lgbtq+ 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 (855) 246-9211 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 and Active Wealth Management are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency.

Speaker 1:
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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