Episode 76: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.
Speaker1:
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.
Speaker2:
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.
Speaker1:
Hello 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 really do appreciate it always. When you take time to join me here on the show. Uh, it can be a little bit different today because I've got an interview that's going to actually take up most of the show. I'm going to be speaking with a rep from Bank of America about a survey that they have done of workers, um, in the country, across the country. They do this annually. And really what it's about is like how people are feeling about their finances and how people are reacting to their individual reality right now and what we can glean from that. And of course, I'll bring it home for LGBTQ plus folks as well, because all of these issues are so important because everybody's situation is different. And that's what this show is all about, by the way. Go to take pride in Retirement comm. You can learn more about the show more about me. You can see links to all of the different socials. You can got all the different, uh, things going on as far as, uh, the podcast episodes. You can download the audio. You can watch a video like All the things. You can also schedule a free consultation on the website as well.
Speaker1:
There's a little button. It's a handy dandy thing up on the upper right hand part and it says schedule a consultation. So there you go. It's absolutely free of any cost or any obligation if you'd like as well. You can give me a call 855246 9211. (855) 246-9211. Uh, is that number? Um, so yeah. So we're going to get to this interview with, um, a gentleman from Bank of America. Now we're all familiar with higher living costs these days. Right. Um, inflation has been stubborn. It has been persistent. And among that, that being the fact American workers more and more are seeking advice around not only their long term savings and like the impact of the increase in costs and all of that stuff on their long term, but also the short term, like just the day to day stuff. Um, and so they're seeking advice from their employers. A lot of people don't even know that they have workplace benefits that could help them address this kind of thing. So joining me to talk more about that right now is Kai Walker, managing director of workplace benefits research and inclusion transformation at Bank of America. Kai. Thanks so much for being a part of the show today. Thanks so much.
Speaker3:
Matt. Happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker1:
Give us kind of the a bit of the top line here about some of the main findings of the 2025 report. I know a lot of people are feeling some financial anxiety right now. I'm sure that's showing up in the numbers here.
Speaker3:
Absolutely. And what we find, like you said, folks are looking for help both in their short term needs and long term needs around their finances. So think of things such as creating a rainy day fund or an emergency savings account of some sort, uh, controlling and managing debt. So a lot of talk out there around student loan debt, credit card debt and the like. And the other thing is around the continued rise in healthcare costs and how do I keep control of those expenses. And like you said, more and more, because of these needs, employees are turning to their employers for help. Now, there are some good news there. And that is when we speak to employers through our research, over 95% of them say they feel a level of responsibility for the financial well-being of their employees.
Speaker1:
And that has good news. I mean, when when the employee goes to the employer to to find that guidance, are they getting adequate guidance and help from the employer?
Speaker3:
Yeah. And I think it's again, I think it's, uh, we all need to take some personal accountability for seeking that help. But employers stand ready to provide it. So there's probably three things I would mention in terms of action steps that we as employees can take. Number one is just have the general awareness of the benefits that are being offered to you. Oftentimes, we don't know what they are until a need arises. So I would I would say take stock of all the benefits and resource available to you by speaking to your employer. So that's one. Secondly, beyond the benefits, many employers are offering a variety of different financial education tools and resources. So think of webinars seminars in-person meetings. Oftentimes there are you have access to online tools and calculators. So let's say you're looking to set up a household budget. Um, these tools can help you do that and track your progress along the way. And then the last thing I'll mention is in the arena of healthcare, um, again, healthcare cost, as everybody knows, has been have been rising. And many employers, by way of the healthcare benefit provided to you, will offer something called a health savings account or what we call for short HSA and what you can do. These are accounts that would be established in your name. You're the owner of the account and you can make contributions to them. In some cases, the employer makes a contribution as well, but nonetheless the contributions go in tax free. They grow tax free. And if you withdraw monies to use for healthcare expenses, it comes out tax free. So it's a really what we call a triple tax advantage type of savings vehicle that you can use those funds for immediate health care needs, or you can save and invest and use those dollars while you're in retirement to cover those healthcare expenses. So health savings accounts are a great vehicle for everyone to take advantage of to the extent you have access to one.
Speaker1:
Yeah, and speaking of retirement, you know, covering those expenses with an HSA, which is is great. And that, you know, I think a lot of people may think, oh, well, that just has to do with my workplace. But no, as you point out there, it really does stick around. You are the owner of that particular account, so you can take it with you. And so that's one of the advantages. Um, but as far as looking forward into your retirement years, what advice would you give to people just kind of in general to build their retirement savings during their working years? I know that most employers out there Many, if not most anyway, would offer a match. An employer match in. Contributions to 401. I always tell anybody you know if you are not contributing enough to. Max out that match from your employer. You're telling me you don't like free money? And I don't believe that.
Speaker3:
You are absolutely right. And that's one of the pieces of advice that I would give. So one is start early. The earlier you start, the more ability your money has to compound and grow over the course of time. But even if you're a mid year career employee, never too late to start. So start saving towards retirement using those vehicles available to you from your employer. The other thing we hear from employees is I wish I had saved more. So try to maximize to your very good point. Maximize the contributions that you're making to your plan. And the more you maximize your contributions, you're maximizing that available company match to you. So for example, if your employer is matching at 6% but you're only contributing four, well, in essence, you're leaving 2% of free money on the table, and we wouldn't want you to be doing that. And so try to maximize your contributions, and in turn, you're maximizing the contributions your employer will make on your behalf.
Speaker1:
Yeah, absolutely. And there are some, some hidden costs. I know out there in retirement that people might not really consider all the time. What are some of those that you can highlight for us here?
Speaker3:
Sure. And one of those is the hidden cost or unexpected cost. Um, around, uh, expenses that you will incur while in retirement. And so we asked this question around, what do you think your out-of-pocket expenses are going to be if you're a married couple retiring at the age of 65 and reasonably good health? The answer came back on average, you know, $5,000 a year is what I would expect to spend. Well, in reality, the numbers that we show and others show is well over $400,000 in out-of-pocket expenses during the course of retirement for that same married couple retiring in good health at the age of 65. Five. So there's a huge gap in understanding, and our efforts here are to close that gap in understanding and get you on the way to begin planning for those expenses for healthcare while you're in retirement. And I'll go back to what we were just talking about in terms of those health savings accounts. That's a great vehicle to begin using to save towards those expenses out of pocket in consideration of your retirement goals.
Speaker1:
Yeah, great. Great tool there. All right. Well, Kai, just about time for us to wrap things up here, but anything else that you wanted to touch on that we haven't that comes to mind? Or maybe where folks could go for resources?
Speaker3:
Sure. So certainly talk to your employer. As we've been saying, they're ready and willing to help. But certainly Bank of America offers a number of resources, one of which is called Better Money Habits. Com it's a free resource available to anyone. Better money habits. Com can help you on your financial wellness journey.
Speaker1:
Very good. We'll direct our listeners in that particular direction. Kai Walker, managing director of workplace benefits research and inclusion transformation at Bank of America. Kai, thank you so much for taking some time for me. I really do appreciate it.
Speaker3:
And likewise, mat. Thank you.
Speaker1:
I just want to say to, you know, so many of the things that that Kai just talked about, all of them really are especially important for the LGBTQ plus community. You know, we have our own unique set of challenges. Everyone's situation is different. Obviously, all of our families look different. Family structures are different. It's also individualized. And that's why it's important not only to max out those contributions like we were just talking about not only to, you know, make sure that you are contributing enough to your 401 K, get that employer match all of those things. Having the right legal documents in place is also something I'm not an attorney, but I'm telling you, having legal documents in place, powers of attorney, things like that could be very helpful for LGBTQ plus folks. Given uncertainty of the legal landscape here going forward, especially in the in the short term. But you know all this to say that all of our lives may be different, but one thing that we have in common is that we all want a retirement that we can take pride in. That is why I do this show, and that is why I want my voice out there being heard on these issues and and really spreading the word about what you should be doing, how to plan, how to accumulate and build wealth, going into retirement, and then how to take that and turn that into an income stream that you can outlive.
Speaker1:
And then also how to make sure that you still have enough that is, you know, there for emergencies, there for leaving to your favorite charity or to your loved ones or to whomever you might want to leave it to, making sure that all of your bases are covered. As I said last time around, getting you to and through retirement. That is my goal and I want you to have that retirement you can take pride in. I was just talking to somebody this past week who said, I'm never going to be able to retire, I'm going to be working until I'm dead. And I said, no. I said, you know, we're actually talking about some some financial stuff. And I was like, no. I said, you're actually in a in a good spot for someone who's your age. And, um, you know, you sure? Let's let's buckle down and let's get you saved some some more, uh, in in there. And but we'll create income streams and we'll make sure that you are good to go, not only to retirement, but through it. And this, uh, particular gentleman, a member of the LGBTQ plus community as well. And he said that he was just afraid that because he didn't have, you know, a partner who had some, you know, crazy job and was making a ton of money or anything and, and didn't have necessarily traditional family support systems that he wasn't going to be able to retire.
Speaker1:
And I said, no, I said that we the reason I call my show take Pride in Retirement is just that. I want you to be able to retire and to take pride in that retirement that you have. So if that is your goal in life as well, for you to have that retirement, give me a call 85524692 11 (855) 246-9211 or go to take pride in retirement comm take pride in retirement comm. The consultation is absolutely free of any cost or any obligation. We'll do a deep dive into your finances. We'll show you what you have, what you could have, and where you could go. And if that sounds good to you, just reach out to me. It's very simple to do. Take pride in retirement comm. Once again, it's take pride in retirement comm. That is the website address. Well that is going to do it for this edition of the show. Thank you so much for being a part of things as we go along this this journey toward your retirement, making sure that you can have one and that you can have one that you can take pride in again. That is the goal. And until next time, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you then.
Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to Take Pride in Retirement. Members of the LGBTQ+ community deserve to work with the 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. Comm 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.
Speaker1:
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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