LGBTQ+ Americans are Seeking Safety with Their Investments

Episode 6: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 6: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Matt McClure:
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.

Announcer:
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.

Matt McClure:
Hello and welcome once again. This is Take Pride in Retirement. I'm Matt McClure, your host, your advisor, and glad to be here. I am so glad to be able to do this show and and just bring to you some, you know, think great and hopefully helpful information each and every time we get together. So that's the goal. The goal, of course, is that you, no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter who you love, you should be able to have the retirement of your dreams, the retirement that you can take pride in. That's the goal. That's the whole point of the show. It's because we as the LGBTQ plus community haven't really had a voice like this historically. And so I decided, hey, I'm going to take it on myself and step in and be that voice for the people who really didn't have a voice to speak up for them and say, look, we need and we deserve a retirement that we can take pride in and money in retirement that we can't outlive. And we're going to go through so much of that today. As we talk about how you can keep your money safe, still get a lot of growth out of it, and think beyond the kind of more traditional methods of doing that, like, you know, a bank CD or a money market account, that kind of thing.

Matt McClure:
Right? So we're going to do that. It's going to be the main focus of the show. First of all, though, I have to thank you again for listening. Look, without you, there is no show, all right? Without our listeners, without people like you who are listening today just really being a part of this. That just listening even. But beyond listening, I want you to do a couple of things. All right. I want you to subscribe to the show on whatever podcast platform you listen to us. And that can be, you know, Apple, Spotify, iHeart, all the biggies, right? We're everywhere. Amazon, audible, all those. Just look for us and you will find us. Take Pride in Retirement is the name of the show of course, and subscribe to us there. Like us? Leave us a review. We would love it. Five stars if you. If you love it, tell a friend or a family member who also might need a lot of this information that we're sharing each and every time we do a show. And we do one every couple of weeks. So that is a positive thing. We're constantly putting out new information, new insights into your retirement and your own personal situation. You can go to the website again. That's TakePrideInRetirement.com. That's TakePrideInRetirement.com. And there comes if you're watching our video across the screen there TakePrideInRetirement.com.

Matt McClure:
You can email me Matt at TakePrideInRetirement.com. You can also call the number no matter where you are in the country it is free of any tolls. That's a toll free number. It's (855) 246-9211. That's 855 246 9211. Love to hear from you and would love to get your feedback on the show and help you out with a free consultation. We'll talk about that coming up as well. Okay, so. The show today. We got a lot to get to. Oh, and by the way, check us out on YouTube as well. Meant to mention that we're also on the socials, Facebook, Instagram, find us and subscribe. Like us. And all of that help us spread the word because this is such an important thing. I feel like that we're doing. If I didn't think that this was an important thing, I wouldn't be doing it right. So, you know, help us. And by us I mean myself and and, you know, all the people who are behind the scenes here. And as a matter of fact, my husband, who does the voiceover for the show in the beginning of the show, write the introduction and the and the outro at the end of the show. He does both of those, and I'm so happy to have his help and support in this, in this venture and in this sort of leap of faith, kind of a kind of a deal that we're doing.

Matt McClure:
And so I would love your support and your help in spreading the word as well. We recently did our official launch for the show, by the way, and thank you all. All for those of you who have reached out, who have said, oh my gosh, you're the information that you give is so great. I'm learning so much. That is amazing and that is the goal. Keep spreading the word. Keep helping us grow, getting more likes, getting more followers and listeners. That's the way that we grow here. And we can spread the word to many, many multitudes of people, LGBTQ people across this great country. So okay, now that I have digressed a bit, the show today, I want to actually start off on a bit of kind of a it's a personal note, but it's a, a personal slash professional note. It is why I host this show and I, you know, it's in the introduction to the show, I start out telling a little bit about it, like when we start the show, I did it again this time around, but I want to go a little bit more in depth on the on the why behind Take Pride in Retirement, why the show is here and why I think it's important for for people of all shapes, sizes, orientations, identities and all of the above. And yeah, you know, we'll talk about that as we kick things off.

Matt McClure:
Then of course, our quote of the week will have a wonderful, inspirational quote from one of the best human beings on the planet. Whom I love. And I know that you all probably, hopefully love as well. We'll go to our smart, safe Alternatives to Bank CDs segment. That is going to be something where it's kind of like the meat of the show, right? We're going to spend a lot of time talking about that today because the turmoil in the markets, the turmoil in the world. And boy, there's a lot of that right now. But that's got people looking for safety and security. And and I think it's very true, especially for the LGBTQ+ community, because historically, like, say, my marriage, for example, hinges on one vote on the Supreme Court, a 5 to 4 decision in Obergefell v Hodges. That's what my marriage hinges on. And that one vote, had it gone a different way, could have been a completely different scenario. Um, you know, we were actually married before Obergefell, but we were married in the state of New York, and then we ended up moving to Florida for a bit where we had no rights and no recognition. And so I think by our very nature, people in our wider LGBTQ+ community, not just, you know, gay people like me or, you know, lesbian couples or people who are non-binary or trans or whomever.

Matt McClure:
I think everybody is historically, by our very nature, looking for some type of security because we don't have it all the time. You know, we don't feel like we have something that's actually tangible or recognized as being just as good as everybody else, because we are we are no worse than anybody. And, you know, we are a community so full of love and acceptance and support. And we need to be, you know, in the business of spreading that message. And we also need to be in the business of making sure that we have security in our lives, in our retirement, in our finances, period. Right. And I have been working very hard over the past little bit to get my financial house more in order. And so that as part of that journey, that's kind of what led me to this. Right. So we'll get more into all of that as we go along as well. And I'm also going to start out, I wanted to mention a little bit of a reminder here. As it's a busy, busy time of the year. You know, between October 15th, which was just a couple of weeks back, and December 7th, which is coming up kind of around the corner, believe it or not, over. It's still over a month away, thankfully. Um, but it's it's coming up here. And so it's the Medicare annual enrollment period.

Matt McClure:
I wanted to encourage you, if you are of Medicare age, if you are 65 and older. And you have a Medicare plan if you have a Medicare advantage plan, a Medicare supplement plan. Re-evaluate those plans every year. Okay. I want to encourage you to do that because if you do, it's likely that you are going to find that you can save some money. Not necessarily every year, but every 2 or 3 years. Like it's like with, you know, car manufacturers, what do they do every couple three years? They come out with a new model. They come out with an overhauled version of the same model, new body style, new this, new that. So Medicare plans are kind of like that. So we want you to really take. Um, take pride in your Medicare as well as your retirement. But it's true, though, you can save money on your Medicare expenses, likely save money on your Medicare expenses if you review each and every year just to make sure. And eventually you're going to find you potentially better situation for you. And if you are a savvy retiree and know that you are if you're retired, you're listening to this show, you got to be savvy, for crying out loud. You do a Medicare coverage check each and every year, just in case you got the opportunity to save a little extra money, go to the website, TakePrideInRetirement.com, or give a call to the number (855) 246-9211.

Matt McClure:
That's 855246 9211. And I'll be glad to help you out. Point you in the right direction with that. We have some great connections to wonderful licensed Medicare agents, Medicare experts who can help you along the way. All right. Okay, so here is this part of the show that I teed up a moment ago. It is why host this show? So if this is your first time listening to Take Pride in Retirement, you heard a little bit about a snippet of why I do the show, but I want to talk for just a minute here about a little bit more than just that little snippet, right? And more about why I'm here, why I do this. I live in in Atlanta, but I do this as a podcast to reach people not only in Atlanta but outside Atlanta. You know, if you're in New York or LA or Miami or somewhere in between Chicago, little small towns in between, you know, if you are in Peoria, no matter where you are, I want to reach you with this information. So that's the number one reason that I'm here for the LGBTQ+ community to educate retirees. Number one and number two, Pre-retirees, which includes all of the rest of us, right? By providing valuable, valuable information and insights and to help you make informed decisions about your financial future.

Matt McClure:
Knowledge is power. But really, applied knowledge is the real power because you can have all the knowledge in the world unless you apply it to your particular situation. That's not power, it's just kind of a waste. Honestly, if you don't make use of the information and the knowledge that you have and that you've been given and that's that's really why the number one reason why I'm here is to to work for our community specifically, like I said at the beginning, because we hadn't had a voice like this talking about these issues, also want to address retirement challenges. That's the number two reason. You know, retirees and pre-retirees really often encounter a bunch of different challenges. And everybody's situation, as I say, all the time, is different. But. Yeah, I want to offer smart strategies and solutions to help navigate whatever comes your way so you can be prepared no matter what. I want to, number three, empower smart financial decision making. And that is why I want to share what I've learned about finances. Share my knowledge, my expertise, and examples of how I'm helping listeners and clients each and every week. That's the bread and the butter of everything. Here are those examples of how I'm able to help people just like you. In a very similar situation to yours. Make a better. Situation out of their own life.

Matt McClure:
Number four. I want to promote financial literacy. I cannot tell you how much I am, like, so passionate about that. Because I wish it was something that I had growing up a lot more in school, at home, and nothing against my parents. Obviously they did the best that they could with that, but in school I kind of learned nothing about finances, and we need better financial literacy, and I want to be part of the solution instead of the problem. And I want to serve as your trusted guide. That's number five. You know, I'm a resource for you for any questions in helping you manage the complexities of preparing for and also thriving in retirement. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter who you love, period. We all deserve a retirement we can be proud of. So I'm just a phone call away or a website message away. Reach out. Get started on your own custom retirement plan. You can give us a call 855246 9211 855246 9211 is the number. You can also email Matt at TakePrideInRetirement.com. That's Matt at TakePrideInRetirement.com. And of course that means the website is TakePrideInRetirement.com. That kind of makes it easy for you to to figure that one out right. Okay. So let's get into the meat of the show shall we? With our quote of the week.

Producer:
And now wholesome financial wisdom, it's time for the quote of the week.

Matt McClure:
And our quote this week. Those words of wisdom come from one of my favorite people ever on the face of the planet. And that person is the one, the only Dolly Parton. Yes, miss Dolly, who needs no introduction and no further explanation as to who she is, because you just say the name Dolly Parton. You know who she is. One of the kindest and most supportive of the LGBTQ+ community in the world. And so Dolly once said this quote, don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. Boy, I love that. I mean, that just says so much in just a few words. And that's what Dolly is so great at. Just saying. The tines in such a short span of time and with such few words used because Dolly is she grew up so simply, you know, in the mountains of Tennessee and really, truly in the backwoods. If you've ever been to her amusement park, Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, you'll know that because you kind of learn there's a museum, there's her old tour bus is there, and all of that. And and there's a lot to learn about her and her life. And if you ever do learn that, you know, you kind of. A gain even more respect for her because she came literally from nothing. But she also can say a lot using almost nothing.

Matt McClure:
And that is a great quote from the one and only Dolly Parton. Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. We've all got to stop living paycheck to paycheck because it happens so often, especially these days after, you know, so much inflation and all of that. It's. It really is disheartening that there is so much and that there are so many people, I should say, who have to live that way. And I think that we as LGBTQ folks are no different than that in that regard. But don't get so busy just making a living paying the bills every month. All of that which is which is important. But don't get so busy doing all of that that you forget to make a life for yourself. You know, I was just talking to somebody the other night who said, you know, I was talking about because I work a few different jobs and gigs and things here or there, and, you know, they were saying, you have to learn how to how to kind of manage it so that. It works for you. You don't work for it. And I thought that was so profound. And that's kind of a different way of looking at what Dali is saying here. So I think that's a great quote, and I hope so because it shows it. All right. And I love Dali.

Matt McClure:
So there we go. And it's my show okay. Anyway, here we go. So I talked about, you know, some smart, safe alternatives to bank CDs as we were opening the show. And, you know, I thought this was a great thing to talk about today because it is a time in our history where people are looking for safety for their money. With a decent reasonable rate of return or more than than decent a reasonable rate of return as well. In the arena of money. And in retirement planning specifically, because that's what we often talk about spend most of our time talking about here is retirement planning. So right now, with all the upheaval on Wall Street, you know, a lot of people really concerned about market downturn over the last, say, three months or so. When I checked, not all that long ago, the S&P 500 was down more than 7% for the year or down not for the year, but down from its peak in July, down about 7%. It had been sort of on this steady climb for a while without a whole lot of volatility. There would be the days and a period of a few days with some volatility there, but then you would see things stabilize again and there was growth in the overall year. Year to date term up until late July. And now since then things have fallen.

Matt McClure:
So that is disconcerting for people. You probably also received your quarterly statement, your third quarter account statements recently. If you've got retirement accounts, investment accounts and like a lot of people, you're concerned about losing your hard earned money to heavy stock market exposure. And so that is why. For LGBTQ+ folks for for people all across the country. No matter what you subscribe to belief wise, no matter who you are or where you come from, who you love, how you identify. It is important to protect a good portion of your retirement savings as you get older, because as you age, you've got less time to make up for any significant losses in the market. It's that simple. The greater the time horizon that you have, the longer that you have to make up for those losses, the more risk you can take. Well, as you get older, that time horizon gets shorter and shorter and shorter. You've got fewer days, years, weeks, and months to make up for any losses in the stock market. And you don't want to be in a situation where you're subject to what we call sequence of returns risk. That's another thing that sounds wonky, but basically what it means is you don't want to retire, and then the bottom fell out of the stock market, or you don't want to be on the cusp of retirement and lose a bunch of money in stocks because you're too heavily invested in stocks, and then be in a really bad way because, well, now, do I even have the money to retire? Can I even afford it? Chances are you couldn't if you were in that situation.

Matt McClure:
If you lost, say, a third of your investments, that is life changing and it could happen at any time. You know, 2008 with the financial crisis, it happened, 2020 with Covid. It happened back in the early 2000, the.com bubble. It happened. So it can happen. Don't think that it cannot. So that's why you've got to have that safety and that protection built in to your retirement plan. I want to do that for you. As someone who is an, you know, an LGBTQ+ person myself, I want to help you out with that. TakePrideInRetirement.com. You can also call 8552469211855246 9211. And I'll give you a free full retirement plan consultation. No cost, no obligation. And we'll do a deep dive and get you a plan working for you. That is the bread and butter of what I love to do. So once you leave the workplace, once you retire, you begin your decumulation phase. It's what I was talking about a second ago, because, you know, you've been working years and years and years, however long you've been working, right, you've been putting money away, you've been contributing to your 401 K, your IRA.

Matt McClure:
If you're a government employee to your TSP, maybe, and hopefully to a Roth IRA or a Roth 401 K, if that's something that your employer offers as an option for you. There are, of course, limits and different rules and regulations that go along with those. But the bottom line is for a Roth account, you pay money into it post-tax now, so you pay money on the seed instead of the harvest. So you're planting that seed, right? And it's going to grow and grow and grow over the years. You're paying the money on the little tiny bag of seed that you plant instead of on the big harvest. And the other advantage to it is that taxes probably going up in the future. There is a, you know, a deficit right now, the national debt is huge. It's bigger than it's ever been. And if you ever want to give yourself, you know, a lot of anxiety go to that US debt clock.org website. Oh it's just like. If they could tie that thing to, you know, to the as fast as those numbers go up and as fast as the, you know, thing rotates, they get tied to a ceiling fan. You can keep yourself really cool in the, you know, if you just attach it to your ceiling. But it moves fast, basically is what I'm trying to say.

Matt McClure:
And so taxes, generally speaking, are going to have to go up. That's just kind of the consensus. And so and that's not to be at all political. That's just kind of a reality of the situation. So that is another reason why a Roth would be a good idea for anybody. But you've been contributing to all of these accounts or, you know, one or more of these accounts throughout the years. And so the. To phase that you have been in has been the accumulation phase, right? Your accumulating your wealth for your retirement, your accumulating your retirement savings, your investment accounts and all of that to then build up the big pot of money and draw it down in retirement. That is your decumulation phase when you get to retirement. So protecting what you do have saved is absolutely paramount. And because of rising interest rates, you know banks are able to offer more attractive rates for certificates of deposit CDs. But the current interest rate environment has actually made other safe money alternatives more attractive as well. So a bank CD is not the only thing out there. And there could be, for your particular situation, a better alternative for you. I would love to help you explore some of these that we're about to talk about, by the way. Just email me Matt at TakePrideInRetirement.com. That is Matt at TakePrideInRetirement.com.

Matt McClure:
Or you can call 8552469211855246 9211 for that no obligation complimentary consultation. So bank CDs on the one hand we've we've addressed that a little bit. I'll go into a little bit more detail about them specifically here in in a few minutes and how it kind a little bit about how they work. But. I'm going to compare and contrast a little bit as we go along here for the rest of our conversation, and talk about bank CDs versus fixed indexed annuities as kind of the alternative that will that will base this conversation on. Now, we could compare bank CDs to another type of annuity, which is called a mega. That's a multi year guaranteed annuity. So Mega is the acronym. And you know it's just an easier way to refer to it. But we're going to compare it to feas a fixed indexed annuity today. So just for comparison's sake. So you know that there's not only one alternative out there. Right. There are there are many. And actually with with omegas and with fixed indexed annuities, there are a lot of different types of those, almost like subtypes or different writers that can go on those, you know, particular vehicles and all that. So. That is the comparison that is going to happen. And the first bit of comparison. That I want to make is about financial reserve requirements. Now. You might be sitting there and you're listening.

Matt McClure:
You're listening and you're like, okay, Matt, what in the world? Financial reserve requirements. That kind of sounds like something that would make me fall asleep. Well, am hopefully not going to make you fall asleep here because I will succinctly describe this. And it's something that is very important for you to know. So I want to give you some understanding here about what happens to your money when you place your savings in a bank. In a in a bank CD specifically. So when you deposit money with a bank, including in a bank CD, that bank, no matter what bank it is, if it's one of the big ones, if it's a regional one, whatever. The bank is only required to keep 10% of your money in its reserves. That's the reserve requirement. And that. Means that the remaining 90% is used for other bank operations. That means. Paying their light bills. It includes making loans to other customers. So you put your money in the bank. You think, oh, well, that's going to sit there. You know, you sort of have this old view of the of the bank. They they put it away in the safe and it's nice and secure. No not really. They're only required to keep 10% of it on hand in reserves. And so in comparison to that. Well and then so just to finish wrap that up in a nice little bow here really quick.

Matt McClure:
Let's say that there's a run on a bank, for example. And a bunch of people go because they're freaked out about something going on in the economy. They go in. And we saw this with a couple of banks earlier this year, which we'll talk about in a minute, but. We saw this with a couple of banks this year where people were freaked out by some other things going on. There was a run on the bank, and the bank did not have the reserves on hand to be able to pay out all of the money that people had deposited. That's why a 10% reserve requirement is not the best thing in the world. When you are talking about your investments for your future money that you want to have safe and secure. In comparison to that highly rated insurance companies that provide annuities. Fixed indexed annuities. In this case, they have a 100% reserve requirement. Oh, yeah, you heard that absolutely right. A 100% reserve requirement. So dollar for dollar, the money that you put in to the annuity. Dollar for dollar. That annuity company that that insurance company that provides that annuity. Has to keep. That same amount on hand in their reserves. So would you rather? Place your hard earned money, your retirement savings with a bank that has a 10% reserve requirement, or with a highly rated insurance company with a 100% reserve requirement.

Matt McClure:
So you know that that money is there, right? That is what we mean mainly when we talk about annuities being so safe. And you know, that really is, by law, the case. Because they have to. They're required to keep that money in reserves, and some of them are even required to keep more than the amount that you deposit in reserves as well. Banks. Not the case now. Vix index annuities versus bank CDs. The tax implications. So so everybody's concerned about taxes and said you know we're talking about Roths a minute ago that taxes are probably going up in the future. Very true. It's just the way that things are going to have to be because of a lot of different things. There were these tax cuts that passed a few years ago were not paid for at all. Spending barely changed in response to those, and they are going to have to go. The old tax rates are probably going to have to go back into effect. And then that, of course, is not going to get us out of debt as a nation because we were already in debt when the old tax rates were in effect back in 2017. So taxes are going to have to go up, and they're going to have to go up fairly significantly if we're going to ever be out of debt as as a country.

Matt McClure:
So the tax implications here are very important to consider. So when your money is in a bank CD you're required each year. Each and every year to pay taxes on any interest earned, on any interest that you earn that year, you're required to pay taxes on it. Now compare that with a fixed indexed annuity. Your investment is taxed deferred. And you only pay the taxes on it once you start withdrawals. Right. And you pay the taxes on the earnings when you make withdrawals. Now here's the thing. And I alluded to this a few minutes ago. Be careful with bank CDs. If you if you're hearing me talk about this and you think, well, you know, I still I've banked with this same bank for years and years and I trust them and and you know, I've got different accounts with them right now. It you know, I've got my money market, I've got my checking my savings. I think, you know, with interest rates so high bank CD might still be a good thing to be careful with this because of those bank failures that we saw earlier this year. March 10th, Silicon Valley bank. It failed, was the 16th largest bank in the US at the time of its failure. It also was the largest bank by deposits in Silicon Valley. And you know how much money there is in Silicon Valley.

Matt McClure:
I well. If theoretically you know how much money it's in Silicon Valley. I don't even know how much money is in Silicon Valley. It's a lot. Let's just say then signature Bank. It was a New York based bank. Full service bank. Commercial bank. It also failed on March 10th. And why? As I was alluding to a minute ago, customers were spooked by the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and they went to signature and withdrew more than $10 billion in deposits, and signature collapsed because of that. Then of course, you had First Republic Bank. That was and still is a California based bank and 11 of the biggest banks on March 16th of this year stepped in. They announced a $30 billion bailout package for First Republic in an effort to keep it from going under and being the third bank to fail in less than a week. The collapses and signature were the second and third largest bank failures in US history. And historically, you know, if you look at the 20 largest bank failures in US history, ten of them happened between 2008 and 2010. The biggest, by the way, was Washington Mutual. Did you have an account with Washington Mutual back in the day before they all up and closed? I had a friend who worked there back in the day and lost his job because of all of the financial turmoil and.

Matt McClure:
You know, all of the the craziness and the fact that the bank no longer existed and still doesn't. But a warning here do not hold. No matter who you are within the sound of my voice, do not hold. More than $250,000 total in any bank at any time because you think, okay, FDIC, you've got $250,000.

Matt McClure:
Account No. $250,000 of FDIC insurance on deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per person, not per account. So you do not want to hold more than $250,000 in deposits at one bank at any time because of the possibility, not even not necessarily the likelihood, but the possibility. You've got to be prepared for the what ifs in life. I preach that a lot, too. You got to be prepared for the what ifs in life. And so that is one of the big what ifs is. What if the bank fails? Well, you're insured up to $250,000, but. Oh, never mind. I have 500,000. There goes half my life savings. That's not going to be a good situation for you to be in. Another situation that is not good for you to be in is a situation that we've we've all kind of been in here for a couple of years and that's inflation not being able to keep up with inflation in particular. And as we compare bank CDs and fixed indexed annuities. As far as inflation protection, you know, we do look at a bank CD and it offers a predictable rate of return. Right. But many retirees are looking for both protection and growth. And that's because inflation's been eating away at our buying power not only in this country but around the world for the last several decades. And it's picked up in a bad way since 2020. It's tamped down. It's cooled off some now but it's still higher than historic levels on average. Right. Know the Federal Reserve has that goal of 2% inflation. In any given month. And so that's the goal. But we've still we've been above that. You know, we've been as high as nine something percent year over year.

Matt McClure:
And you know back down to earth a little bit, you know three point whatever percent here recently. But fixed indexed annuities actually allow investors to track the performance of a stock market index without subjecting their hard earned money to stock market risk. Some fears even have attractive features like bonuses, guaranteed simple interest roll ups. And I'll go. I'm actually going to give you a great example of this before the end of the show. So stay. Stay with us for that. But. You know, bank CDs. As I said, they do offer some predictable returns. But if you're looking for growth, you're not necessarily going to find it in a bank CD, because let's say just to throw a number out there and this is somewhere kind of in between that peak of inflation, right, where it was like nine something percent and where it's kind of come back down to, which is three ish percent. Let's say there's year over year inflation of 5%. And let's say you got a great rate on your bank CD. And that bank CD is growing at 4% for you each year. You're still not keeping up. And as a matter of fact, that means you are losing money. Based on the real cost of living increase. You are losing money in that account. You're not getting 4%, you're losing 1% and your buying power. So that's why it's so important to look at a different kind of. A cow. A different kind of investment in a different kind of alternative. Something like a fixed indexed annuity. And so those fixed indexed annuities, as I've mentioned, they are insurance contracts. They provide a guaranteed income stream for your retirement. That's really what.

Matt McClure:
Is the the biggest positive.

Matt McClure:
I feel like when we're talking about an annuity, particularly a fixed indexed annuity, because they're an insurance contract, as I said, 100% reserve requirement. And they're seen as a potential alternative to either bank CDs or traditional bonds, which bonds have been going through the wringer here, too, by the way. And they provide a way for investors to protect retirement savings from market volatility. It's linked to a market index, but it is not actually in the market because fixed indexed annuities FIAs, as we sometimes refer to them as they are designed to provide protection from market downturns but provide the potential for growth as well, and some solid growth. Also, the main benefits here we're talking about protection from that volatility. So fire is fixed. Indexed annuities provide protection because the annuity is linked to that performance of the index. It's not actually inside that index though. So it's not directly affected by short term market fluctuations. And so the worst that you can do in any of these fixed indexed annuity products, the worst you can do is zero 0% growth. If the worst that you can do is 0% growth, when everybody else, you know, in a year where they lose 20, 30, 40, 50% like has happened before. If the worst you're doing is zero, great. Sign me up to, you know, shut up and take my money. That is, you know, something that provides so much protection and peace of mind to a lot of people.

Matt McClure:
It's a attractive option for people who are looking for that steady and reliable income stream, because you can turn on lifetime income and you don't have to worry about breaking your budget. You don't have to worry about not being able to live the retirement life that you have dreamed of. Because you run out of money, you're not going to run out of money in with a fixed indexed annuity. It's just not going to happen because an FIA has that guaranteed lifetime income stream. It is guaranteed for the time that you are on this planet, you are not going to outlive your money. As a matter of fact, your money is going to potentially outlive you because of several different options that are available in fixed indexed annuities, different riders, and you know, that kind of thing. You can actually have, you know, a life plus period certain. So like a life plus ten years. So if you turn on income, that's going to pay you a certain amount each and every month for your life, plus another ten years, or you can have your life plus the life of somebody else. So your spouse, your child, whatever you can, there are different options that you can take advantage of and would love to walk you through that and show you some of the different options that you have.

Matt McClure:
You know, just go to TakePrideInRetirement.com TakePrideInRetirement.com. That's the place to go to get in touch with me. And it doesn't cost a single penny for me to run a thorough analysis of your current situation and then do an illustration of where you could be if we work together and how we could improve your situation. TakePrideInRetirement.com once again is that website for the show. Also, in addition to the lifetime income tax, deferred growth, earnings on the annuity are not subject to taxes until the withdrawals are made. You don't have to think about the taxes right now. And so basically what you're doing if you put your money inside a fixed indexed annuity. And you turn on that income stream. Boy, that sounds a lot like a pension, doesn't it? Like when you retire back in the day, you would retire from. And some companies still have them, but only just a handful of companies really still have any sort of pension plan, which is a defined benefit plan, by the way. Everybody turned to a defined contribution plan, which is like the 401 K, and that leaves the onus on you to actually, you know, manage things and hope that you kind of make the right decisions about what, you know, types of investments to be in, in the account, because you have options that you can choose from inside that 401 K.

Matt McClure:
But that's a defined contribution plan rather than the defined benefit plan, which is a pension. And so what you're doing now is you're taking that you're taking control. You're taking ownership with a fixed indexed annuity and some other annuities as well. But fixed index is what we're talking about. And you're taking ownership of that. And you are giving yourself your own personal pension. You are building that wealth for you for the rest of your life. That is so great. You're building yourself guaranteed income. It's your own personal pension. You know, you think about it like what happens when when employers try to take pensions away from people. This really just kind of illustrates the importance of a pension. I mean, the Teamsters union earlier this year threatened to strike against the trucking giant yellow after the company missed health care and pension payments. Yellow went under not long after that. So they kind of paid the price big time. For a lot of different things, I'm sure. Autoworkers. Have been on strike and it just not long ago reached deals with the Big Three automakers Ford, GM and Stellantis. And so one of the big sticking points, you know, they used to have lifelong health care and pension income. And they were wanting that back.

Matt McClure:
And we can't blame him, because if that's something that you used to have, if that was a guarantee that you had. You don't want that guarantee to go away. You want it to be. If it's a guarantee, it's a guarantee, right? And then there are other examples as well. The hospitality workers in Las Vegas authorizing a strike against hotels and casinos. It's it's a bunch of different scenarios and situations where employees have been up in arms about their employers trying to take these. Pensions away from them. So give yourself one. How about it? Take control of it. Put it into your own hands. And you don't have to have a ton of money. A huge pot of money to be able to do it. In all scenarios, in some you do. It helps if you have an investment account, you know, some some type of big pot of money that you can take and then put that money, roll it into a fixed indexed annuity. And we can talk about that as we go through our our free consultation. I should say, when I do that analysis and really analyze your portfolio now and show you what it could be. But the one thing that I wanted to talk about before we kind of wrap up here in just a moment is. An example of a fixed indexed annuity that I really like.

Matt McClure:
And as a matter of fact, I am part of the 1% of the advisors across the country who can offer this product. It's from nationwide, which is a carrier that, you know, nationwide is on your side, right? And I am appointed through nationwide and appointed with nationwide to be able to to offer this fixed indexed annuity nationwide. By the way, triple A or not triple A, it's A+ rated by three major credit agencies. That's Moody's S&P and the Better Business Bureau. And that says a lot because there are not a lot of insurance providers, not a lot of insurance carriers that are rated that highly. And nationwide has been around a long time. So this is something that you can really, you know, sort of take your assurances in. Right. You can rest assured that this is going to be around. Chances are, nationwide is offering a 20% bonus on the amount that you invest. So let's say if you do have a fairly big pot of money, like, say, just throwing it out there $360,000, they're offering a 20% bonus so that your account value would actually not start at $300,000. It's not going to start at less than that. It's going to actually start at $360,000. Yeah. Immediately. That bonus credited to your account value. It also offers an 8% simple interest roll up every year.

Matt McClure:
You defer turning on income so that in retirement, if you reach an age where you could turn on income. Um, a point in the annuity contract where you could turn on income, but you defer. The worst that you can do in those years is not 0% growth. It's actually 8% growth. Simple interest roll up each and every year that you defer turning on that income. It's also and this is my favorite part. Nationwide in this particular. Fixed indexed annuity is also offering get this a 335% participation rate. It's sort of crazily unheard of 335% participation rate in the BNP Paribas Global Factor Index. So this is sort of like it's one of those indexes, kind of like the S&P 500, kind of like Nasdaq sort of a thing. But it's a proprietary index for BNP Paribas. And it's the global factor. It's called that because it tracks global health care markets. And boy, you know, those have been on a roll here. But if let's say, for example, with that 335% participation rate, if the index should go up 10%, then you would receive 32.5%. Yeah. If the market that index goes up 10%, you get 32.5%. You say, Matt. Well, you say that 335% participation rate. That's right. There's a 1% spread in there. So that shave that off the top. But it's 32.5%. On that index going up just 10% in that year.

Matt McClure:
That's saying something.

Matt McClure:
That's a lot of growth. And if the index doesn't go up, the worst that you can do most years 0%. The worst that you can do when you defer turning on income, as I said, is 8% growth. That's the worst you can do. And so my thought is, why wouldn't you at least explore this option? And my here's my thing I have never been like a sales person, ever. It's just not in my nature to, like, push things on people. I used to get reprimanded. I worked at a at a retail store back in the day, probably closing in on 20 years ago now. I worked at a at a retail store part time, and I would just get reprimanded because I wouldn't push the store credit card on people. It just wasn't my thing. I didn't want like I had already at that point in my 20s had trouble with credit cards and didn't want to push that on other people. And you know, something that I didn't believe in. So I didn't like, say, oh, this is so great, you can get this discount and all this stuff because it just it didn't ring true to me at all and I didn't believe in it. This I believe in because of the backing of nationwide, because that's the company that's offering this for this fixed indexed annuity, and because of the fact that it offers so many positives as well as benefits to this particular product.

Matt McClure:
So that that's why I'm not trying to just sell you a bill of goods here or some snake oil or something like that. The exact opposite, actually. I actually do really believe in this, and that's why I am so passionate about it. All right. So if you have questions, if you're looking to reduce your investment risk during times like these, where we're all no matter where we are, who we are, where we come from, any of that, no matter who we love, how we identify. If you are concerned about the risk that you're taking inside your portfolio right now, visit the website. TakePrideInRetirement.com. That is, TakePrideInRetirement.com. You can also call 85524692118552469211. If I don't answer, just leave a message and I will gladly, gladly call you right back as soon as I can to set up a free consultation. And that really is. When I say free, I do mean free. It is not something that's going to cost you a penny. A little bit of time and that's it. And you really don't have anything to lose because. You know, and a lot to gain because all you have to lose is the little tiny amount of time that it takes to do this.

Matt McClure:
And I think you're going to be really, really grateful for that time and that investment of your time, because the investment of your money will very likely do much better in the years to come. So. And here's the thing too. Just before we just before we close out, I think a lot of people out in, in the world and especially in our community, because it's sometimes it can be hard to to trust people because. You people that we thought we could trust, or people that we used to trust have shown us that we can't really. And a lot of times, not all the time, of course, everybody's situation is different, as I always say, but. Some people are really nervous and intimidated by meeting with a financial advisor. And so. You know, I want to help you ease those concerns. In that initial consultation that I mentioned. I want to just help you answer four questions mainly. And they are. Number one, what does a successful retirement look like to you? What does a successful retirement look like to you? Is it on the beach in Bora Bora? Is it in the mountains in, you know, Vermont? Is it sitting at home wherever you've lived for 40 years? Whatever that successful retirement looks like to you? I want to help you answer that first of all.

Matt McClure:
What are you going to be doing and who are you going to be with? Do you have a husband, a wife, a partner, a significant other of some kind? Whomever you know. Do you have kids that are going to want to spend time with you in retirement? Maybe travel with you in retirement if you want them there? I say facetiously. What are you looking to accomplish? Do you have any specific retirement goals? And how do you plan to create income each month? That's the big one. It's not about the big nest egg pot of money. We have been we have been sold a bill of goods on that. It's about how is that going to translate into income in retirement? Retirement income is what is important. How are you going to make ends meet every month and how are you going to have. Extra money every month so that you can have that retirement that you've always dreamed of. Do the things that you want to do. I want to help you get there. I really do. Once again, TakePrideInRetirement.com is the website. (855) 246-9211 is the number. Well all right folks, before I overstay my welcome once again, that's going to do it for this edition of the show.

Matt McClure:
Hope that you've learned something. I've actually really enjoyed it this time, even though I'm, you know, I'm solo this time around once again. Got some other great guests coming up on the show. Again, a couple of episodes back, we had Gabriel on the show. Gabriel Clayborn, who's a wonderful trans woman, really active in the community and talked about the different hurdles that trans people face in retirement. Fascinating episode, really eye opening. And if you are a part of the trans community, reach out because I really do want to help no matter who you are. If you are the L, the G, the B, the T, the Q, or any of the plus letters I, A, two spirit, any of the things, the wonderful tapestry that makes up our community. I want to help you, and I want to help you take pride in your retirement. All right. Um, that is going to do it, as I say, for this time around. Again, TakePrideInRetirement.com is the website. Would love it if you go there. Find the past episodes of the show. Listen to the podcast, subscribe to the podcast, watch video highlights all of those things. But whatever you do, wherever you go, take pride in yourself and take care of each other. We'll see you next time.

Announcer:
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 TakePrideInRetirement.com investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, BCM, a registered investment advisor. Bcm and Active Wealth Management Inc. are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Fixed annuities.

Matt McClure:
Guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuer. 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 interests of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest, if any, exist. Refer to our firm brochure, the ADV to a page four for additional information. Any comments regarding safe and secure products and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products. Fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company, and are not offered by BWA. Any bonuses mentioned may be subject to additional restrictions and regulations based on the offering annuity company. You may not receive the bonuses if the contract is fully surrendered, or if traditional annuitization payments are taken, and if the policy is partially surrendered, it could result in a partial loss of bonuses. Because these are bonus annuities, they may include higher surrender charges, longer surrender charge periods, lower caps, higher spreads, or other restrictions that are not included in similar annuities that don't offer a bonus feature.

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