Out, Proud, and Prepared: Social Security & Legacy Planning for LGBTQ+ Retirees

Episode 52: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 52: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
When planning for retirement. Trust is everything, and that's just one way. Nationwide's peak ten fixed index annuity stands out. With nationwide peak ten, you will benefit from protection for your principal, shielding your initial investment from market downturns. Growth opportunities linked to market performance. Without the risk of direct market exposure and a guaranteed income stream you can never outlive. Nationwide's reputation for reliability means you can plan for tomorrow and have confidence today. Call us now at (855) 246-9211 or go to take pride in retirement to connect with an advisor and learn how peak ten can help secure your financial future. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Guarantees and protections referenced are subject to the claims paying ability of Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Nationwide peak ten is issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Columbus, Ohio. Neither nationwide nor its other entities are associated or affiliated with Active Wealth Management. 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. 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.

Speaker1:
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. Hello, and welcome to another edition of Take Pride in Retirement. Matt McClure here. Your host, your advisor, your friend, your pal and your confidant. Thanks so much for being a part of things once again. This time around, really do appreciate it each and every time you're able to join me, wherever you might be, because it is a podcast after all. I don't really exactly know where you are. You could be in Timbuktu, you could be in Texas, you could be, uh, in my hometown of Atlanta. You could be, um, in my adopted hometown of New York. I don't know, you could be anywhere, uh, and anywhere in between. So I thank you, um, for that. Wherever and whoever you are, if you're joining for the first time, uh, I am a licensed financial advisor and a fiduciary, and that means I have to act in the best interests of those that I work with and on the show. I'm here to help LGBTQ. Plus folks like you and allies and whoever you might be, take control of your financial future. Um, I always sort of go by the premise, you know, that retirement planning can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to figure it out alone.

Speaker1:
There is help available. And, um, you know, on this show, I try to be of help and I try to break things down step by step so that you can retire with confidence and security and with pride. And I really do appreciate you being a part of the show once again this time around. Or again, if you've just joined for the first time. Welcome. Um, but, you know, got a lot of great stuff to come up here. But first, before we get into kind of the meat of the show, I wanted to remind you of a couple of things. Yep. It's housekeeping time. Uh, a couple of things here that, see, I do the housekeeping so you don't have to, um, go to take pride in retirement. Com that's take pride in retirement. Com that is the website there you'll find a lot of great stuff including links to the socials and all of that. Uh, plus all of the past episodes of the show. I've got more than 50 episodes of the show, uh, under my belt now, and so that's awesome. So go and listen to all 50 of them if you want. You know, you don't have to. Of course, it's not like, I'm gonna force you, but what you can do if I would appreciate it. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app.

Speaker1:
Leave a nice positive rating there as well. Go subscribe on YouTube also and just search for Take Pride in Retirement on YouTube and you can subscribe there. Like the videos, like the channel, all the things. Click that notification button to make sure that you get notified every time a new episode comes out in video form as well. Um, if you want to reach out, by the way, and I'll talk more about this as we go throughout the show, because, um, it's really important thing that you can do is get customized advice for your own financial situation. And you can do that by going to take pride in retirement. Com and clicking on schedule a consultation. That's that's way number one. Way number two is for you to give me a call at 85524692178552469211. I mentioned socials a minute ago. You can also connect there on Instagram, on Facebook, on YouTube also, just kind of all over the place. So don't hesitate to follow and reach out with any questions because I want to help you. I mean, and you, I'm sure, want your retirement to reflect your dreams and to reflect your values, right? You know, today's show coming up here is really just packed with a lot of powerful insights, a lot of strategies, a lot of resources, especially especially and specifically for LGBTQ plus individuals and families. So we're going to start diving right in. And as always, we'll dive in with our quote of the week.

Speaker2:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker1:
And this week's quote comes from Harvey Fierstein, who, if you know, um, who Harvey Fierstein is, he's absolutely legendary on Broadway. He was the one who originated the role of Edna Turnblad in Hairspray on Broadway. But he's done much, much more than that. Of course, he wrote Torch Song Trilogy. Um, he wrote the, um, a lot of music for Broadway as well, uh, the adaptation of La Cage aux Folles, uh, which was then made into The Birdcage that he was involved with, that he's done just a whole, whole lot. And Harvey Fierstein has these wise words for us this time. He said, accept no one's definition of your life. Define yourself. Love it. Accept no one's definition of your life. Define yourself. When it comes to defining your life. You are what matters in that decision and in that definition, right? You are the one that gets to define what you are and who you are and how you present yourself to the world and how you are going to, you know, be in retirement, whether it's, you know, you're going to be, um, you know, doing all the traveling and all the things where you're going to be sitting on the front porch sipping a mint julep, or if you're going to be, um, you know, just going and visiting family or, you know, even going back to work because you want to, not because you have to. Whatever the situation is, you define that.

Speaker1:
You define what is going to happen in your life. And here's the thing you can be able to define, especially what's supposed to be your golden years. Um, I often, well, every week, actually quote The Golden Girls at the very beginning of the show, your pal and your confidante. But the, um, you know, this is supposed to be your golden years, right? If you're in retirement. And so, um, the Golden Girls, the golden years, whatever your, your, um, preference. You can actually control what? That definition of your life is. If you are financially stable, financially sound, and financially able to do the things that you want to do, and that really is from the perspective of retirement and retirement planning, what it's all about is being able and I'm not saying you have to have millions and millions of dollars. No, but you, because your individual situation is yours. It's nobody else's. You need to be in a situation or at a point where you can call the shots, no matter what those shots are, and where you can feel comfortable doing the things that you want to do in your retirement years. That really is what the show is all about each and every week, and especially this week. Um, because we've got some stuff coming up here where we're going to talk about maximizing Social Security, protecting your wishes, and advocating for LGBTQ plus folks in communities across the country.

Speaker1:
First, though, a little bit of, um, some news that has been happening here recently. You know, there was a study you may or may not have seen this from McKnight's Senior Living. It's a it's a report that was commissioned, uh, from the um, so that's the Society of Actuaries Research Institute. And it just says, you know, basically that LGBTQ plus seniors today face unique retirement challenges for LGBTQ plus older adults. Preparing for aging. And retirement is about more than financial planning. And I try to emphasize that on the show as much as I possibly can, because it's so true that we talk a lot about finances, but it's physical health. It's mental health. It is, you know, just the feeling of acceptance and and the feeling that you can thrive no matter your situation. All of that is really what matters just about as much as the money does, right? Of course, the money is important, but all the other things are important too. And members of the LGBTQ plus community face unique challenges. That's according to this report, which says that they often face issues related to discrimination, health care access, social support, resilience, end of life preparation, and mental health. The report goes on to say that essential elements such as adequate healthcare services, economic stability, robust connections and familial support so support of your family serve as the bedrock for achieving successful aging generally, and it remains true for those who identify as LGBTQ.

Speaker1:
Plus, one concern for many individuals in our community is that they'll have to return to the proverbial closet in old age. They'll have to go back in instead of, you know, they may have been lived, lived most of their life out of the closet, or may have come out late in life or something like that, but they're afraid they're going to have to go back in in old age. As you know, most senior living and care communities are geared toward heterosexual residents. And that's, you know, not necessarily something that's done with malicious intent or anything like that. It's just it's a numbers thing for a lot of these places. But it's true regardless of the intent, it is true. And so, you know, the report goes on to say that a lot of LGBTQ plus seniors feel compelled to conceal their identities to access essential services. And it's driven by a couple of things, it says by past and anticipated discrimination. So discrimination that's actually happened in the past. Trust me, I know that that leaves you scarred for a long time and then anticipated discrimination. So discrimination that hasn't happened yet, but you are fearful of or you imagine that it will happen. Um, and so that is something that is tough to overcome, right? But the concealment combined with real existing bias, according to this report, can lead to inadequate care and inadequate support for LGBTQ plus seniors.

Speaker1:
One solution, the report says, is to train managers and care staff members to deliver non-discriminatory health and social care meant to meet the needs of LGBTQ plus residents. Another solution, according to the research, is growth in alternative forms of retirement housing for gay older adults. In the future, I hope to do an episode entirely on that aspect of things. Um, just, you know, the retirement living, retirement housing for LGBTQ plus older adults because there are communities out there, um, that not only are friendly, but cater specifically to LGBTQ plus seniors. One LGBTQ plus senior housing executive director told this publication that that produced the report said that LGBTQ+ seniors are much less likely than other older adults to have family, community and church support. So having a place to go that's affordable and welcoming, where they can live their authentic lives, it's critical for their safety and health and well-being. Although scenarios vary greatly from person to person, LGBTQ plus individuals are less likely than heterosexual counterparts to have kids, so research found that LGBTQ plus individuals are more likely to rely on chosen family, perhaps romantic partners or close friends, for care and support as they age. Financial planning for retirement is important for everybody, of course, but in the LGBTQ plus community, it brings really unique challenges. And the study says that they stem from instances of underemployment, unemployment, potential housing insecurity, issues closely linked to sexual orientation or gender identity.

Speaker1:
And so, you know, we are not definitely not in a post discrimination world. Um, far from it. And again, whether that's intentional or whether it's unintentional, uh, fact remains that, you know, these studies now are showing, like this one, that they exist. Another thing, too, is end of life preparations are not always straightforward for many in the LGBTQ plus community, because they're often complicated by concerns about the availability of supportive and inclusive care services and potential discrimination in end of life settings like hospitals, nursing facilities, hospice, religious institutions, funeral venues, and the theme encompasses the particular challenges faced in ensuring that final wishes are respected. And we'll talk more about final wishes being respected momentarily. But I just have to say here, you know, that's a set of unique challenges for the LGBTQ plus community when you are looking at retirement and and going to live in a facility or in a community and or the challenges, if you don't have the resources to be able to do that, who's going to take care of you? All of these challenges, I feel like, are things that set us apart, but there are things that can bring us together. I feel like, as well, to overcome these challenges, and that's one of the reasons that I do. What I do is because I love helping folks map out a plan so that they're not going to be in a situation where they're only relying on their Social Security check in retirement.

Speaker1:
They're only relying on that check and maybe a little bit extra. They've got some saved in their 401 K maybe. Um, but they don't know how to draw that down where it's going to last their entire life. Um, they don't have any guaranteed income. Like, those are the situations we want to avoid. What we want to do is build an income plan so that you know you can survive in retirement. You want to have long term care be a consideration in that as well, because a lot of us are going to have to go into long term care at some point. And so you want to plan for that. There are different ways that we can do that. And make sure that you are set up for success in your retirement years. So if you want to start down that road and get prepared so you can avoid some of these challenges we've been talking about, take pride in retirement. That's the place to go. Take pride in retirement. You can also call me 9211. All right. So I mentioned we're going to talk about protecting your wishes. And this is something that's vital really for everybody. But I want to emphasize it especially for the LGBTQ plus community today, wills and trusts and making sure that your final wishes are respected and are are followed because, I mean, you know, here's the thing.

Speaker1:
You didn't work your whole life to have your final wishes just ignored. And your partner, your significant other, um, unprotected after you're gone. And chances are, if you are a partnered person, one of you is going to pass before the other. It very rarely happens at the same time. And so you've got to think about, okay, if this partner passes, what's the scenario? If the other partner passes, what's the scenario and go from there as far as your planning for legacy and that kind of thing. And without the right legal documents, it can really be a painful reality for LGBTQ plus families that you're in that situation, that that you have your final wishes ignored, right? And that your partner, your significant other, is unprotected after you're no longer here but wills and trusts, as I say, they're essential for safeguarding your legacy. And, you know, a marriage, marriage equality that's helped tremendously. But it doesn't automatically protect all non-traditional family structures. It doesn't protect, you know, like blended families or chosen families and that sort of thing. So legal documentation is what you need. Now, I am not an estate attorney. Um, I am not, uh, in in that particular line of work. We know some folks, but we can also help you, um, you know, with planning your end of life via connecting you with those who can help with wills and trusts, and also coming up with a plan so that you know what you're able to leave behind in the form of death, benefits and so on.

Speaker1:
So wills are a big part of this. You hear a lot more about wills, I feel like, than trusts. But wills ensure that your assets go exactly where you want them to go to your partner, to your close friends, charitable organisations or whomever you choose. Now, I must say, if you have, let's say, a life insurance policy or an annuity or whatever, and you've named a beneficiary on those policies or that policy that will override a will, the named beneficiary on a specific policy will override whatever you put in a will as a result of it being a named beneficiary on that policy. So make sure that if you update one, you update the other. Because you don't want to be in a situation where maybe you are, um, you know, going to pass and your X winds up with a bunch of money that you didn't want them to have and you thought was going to go to, you know, your new partner or husband, wife, whatever the case may be. And you updated that in the will, but you didn't update the beneficiary on the life insurance or the annuity or whatever. And so that person, your loved one who you thought was going to be set, probably be very surprised to learn that that money would go somewhere else.

Speaker1:
So if you update one, make sure you update it in both places. Now that's a will. So a trust can be a tool to hold assets. And it can really they can be complicated. But they can also help further simplify matters. A trust will in many cases, avoid probate court. Um. Preserve your privacy. Um, ensure a smooth transfer of assets. They can. It's a tool to use. It's a tool in your tool belt. And they also allow you to plan for things like incapacity, making sure that somebody, uh, can, can manage your affairs if needed. There are all kinds of legal documentations that can be, um, or legal documents, I should say that can be part of this planning process, that can take care of all of these things. Health care proxies, um, as well, you know, that's something where you can appoint a person to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make them on your own financial powers of attorney. So you can appoint people to be able to manage your finances. If you can't manage them on your own, and then living wills, you know that would outline your own, health care preferences. If a certain situation were to arise, then there's also hospital visitation directives, so that guarantees your partner's visitation rights if you're not married. Now, if you're married, you know you, your spouse, and they could and should automatically be granted that access now.

Speaker1:
On the other hand, who the heck knows what in the world's going to happen these days? Um, in the environment that we're in right now. So maybe, just maybe, to be on the safe side, if you are married, still get a hospital visitation directive, still get all of these things taken care of because you don't want to leave your future to chance. You know, I just said we don't really know what's going to happen. That being the case, make sure you have the right documents in place because they give you the power to make the rules for yourself rather than, you know, somebody else dictating that, or government rules and regulations dictating that. Right. So you need to ensure that your wishes are honored and your assets are protected no matter what and no matter how much you have. I mean, honestly, I will talk about, um, you know, estate planning sometimes and people will ask, well, how much do I have to have to qualify for it to qualify as an estate or something like that? Or, uh, boy, I don't have enough money to even worry about estate planning because I don't have an estate. Yeah you do. If you own your washer and dryer, you have an estate. That washer and dryer is your estate. If you have, um, you know, a thousand bucks worth of stuff in your home.

Speaker1:
Um, and most people, I would say have more than that. But if you have a thousand bucks worth of stuff that you own. That's your estate. Make sure that it's set and make sure that you know what is going to happen with anything that is an asset, anything that is part of your estate, no matter how big or how small it is. So I would encourage you guys to take pride in retirement. We can start you down that road of getting a solid retirement plan in place to make sure that you are going to be set up for success in your retirement. We'll also take into account any type of life insurance you may have, any type of annuities that you may have, those things with those death benefits, so that you can leave a legacy for that next generation or for your partner or husband, wife, whomever, when they're gone. When you are gone rather well, make sure that those things are all taken care of. The T's are crossed, the i's are dotted, and we can also connect you with those estate planning attorneys who can help get all of those documents in place for you as well. So take pride in retirement. You can also email me. Just go on your email app and type in Matt at Take Pride in Retirement. Com That's Matty. Take pride in retirement.

Speaker1:
Com you can give me a call at 85524692 11 (855) 246-9211. All right. So if you missed last week's show I want you to to tune in to the show from last week. All right. And I want you to do that for a couple of reasons. Number one is it was just a really great show filled with a lot of great info. Um, and number two, I had a wonderful guest on Christina DeCosta from sage, which is services and advocacy for LGBTQ plus elders. Um, and the reason that I bring that up is one, you need to go and listen to that episode if you haven't yet, because she shares a lot of great information, especially their Sage Sense program, which is a digital wellness platform, um, that provides customized financial education for you. And it's completely free. You just go and log on to the website and you can, you know, start on that journey making sure that your financial house is in order in present day, um, but also. Just learning more about sage and what they do was so eye opening for me because I had heard of sage before, but I wasn't exactly sure what it was that they did. And they do a lot. I mean, it's America's oldest and largest nonprofit that's dedicated to LGBTQ plus aging, and their goal is to empower older members of the community to boost financial stability and be able to access key benefits, stay connected to inclusive communities as well.

Speaker1:
So there's a lot there that they do in many different sort of arms of the organization. So that being the case, I wanted to kind of take that that I learned last week and sort of springboard into some LGBTQ+ organizations that you need to know because, you know, building a strong retirement future starts with a good support system. And as I'm saying, as I said earlier, rather the LGBT, LGBTQ, plus community. A lot of times we don't necessarily have close family that others do. We have chosen family. We have, you know, great friends. We may have, you know, partners, husbands, wives, um, that sort of thing, but we may not have the traditional sort of family structure there. And so there are a lot of organizations out there that are stepping in to to sort of fill those gaps and their LGBTQ plus specific organizations that offer, you know, things like free financial education and personal empowerment resources, retirement planning tools and all of that. So great places to start here. Um, and sage, of course, being one, the National Resource Center on LGBTQ Plus Aging, um, was actually founded through a federal grant to educate aging service providers and, um, LGBTQ plus individuals on their rights in retirement, healthcare access, financial protections. It's the first and only resource in the nation, the first and only resource center in the nation, I should say, that's dedicated to LGBTQ plus older adults and their caregivers.

Speaker1:
A lot of states have resources as well. Um, Massachusetts, just as an example, has Fenway Institute's LGBTQIA+ aging project that advocates for inclusive health care and support services across the country. And they provide vital resources for navigating aging while maintaining your independence and your dignity. So important to be able to maintain your independence and your dignity as you age, uh, no matter who you are, but especially as an LGBTQ plus person, because it's it can be something that, um, others take for granted, at least the dignity part. And, you know, independence, no matter who you are, you can you can lose your independence as you age just because of, you know, things that happen naturally in the body. The body breaks down and all that kind of thing as the older we get. But there are resources out there like that. The Fenway Institute and their, um, LGBTQ plus Aging project, and then other states offer resources for seniors in the community like, um, in New York, The Loft LGBTQ Plus Community Center, open House San Francisco and California, a center on Halsted in Illinois, outreach LGBTQ Plus Community Center in Wisconsin, LGBTQ Plus Center Orlando in Florida. I mean, there's so, so much, so many resources that are out there that people may not even realize are out there. I was I spoke with, um, a gentleman a few weeks ago here on the show, Phillip Rafshoon, um, who is a small business owner, entrepreneur and someone who advocates for the community, uh, and has done throughout his life.

Speaker1:
He's in my city, in the Atlanta area, and we had talked about the fact that there's no LGBTQ plus community center in Atlanta, which is kind of crazy because Atlanta is like, you know, it was sort of jokingly refer to it as gay Mecca of the southeast. That's kind of true, though. Um, it's the largest gay friendly city in the southeast. And so the fact that there's no community center for LGBTQ plus folks, boy, that's a big deal. And actually shared some good news that some folks in the city are working on getting one started as we speak. So that's good. And so here's the thing, and here's why I share all these different resources is if you're just starting your retirement journey, maybe you are just now retiring, maybe you're a few years from retirement, maybe you're well into retirement. Whatever your situation, knowing where to turn for help can make all the difference. And if you need any of those resources, um, you know, just search for them again. The sage. Sage. There's the National Resource Center on LGBTQ Plus Aging. There's the Fenway Institute LGBTQIA+ A+ Aging Project and many, many more. So another resource that I think you should check out is a financial advisor who understands the community and who is a member of the community, and will not discriminate based on any factors.

Speaker1:
You know, that we talk about, like I say, every time we get together here on the show, no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, who you love, how you identify or how much money you have, you deserve a retirement you can take pride in go to take pride in retirement. That's take pride in retirement. Fill out the form there to contact me or to just directly schedule a consultation. I'd love it if you would do that. And we'll get together. We'll talk about your financial picture, get a plan put together that's tailored specifically for you. All right. So I've been, you know, thinking and talking a lot about Social Security lately. As a matter of fact, I just did a Social Security seminar at a local library. I did a couple of them actually, and so I wanted to talk about because Social Security is on my mind, and it's an important topic that I think sometimes we don't talk enough about. Um, but I want to talk about maximizing Social Security and how marriage and, you know, things like partnership status instead of maybe marriage status affect your benefits because the Social Security benefits, we want it to be the cherry on top. That's ideal, right? We want your Social Security check to be the cherry on top, not the main course.

Speaker1:
We want it to be the gravy, not the, you know, meatloaf under the gravy or whatever your whatever food related metaphor you want to use. We want it to be the the topping or the side dish, not the main course. So here's the thing. I mean, for LGBTQ plus individuals, you got to know the fine print and you got to make sure that you claim what you deserve and what you are entitled to. Um, I mean, of course, the good news with this is that Social Security does recognize same sex marriage nationwide. And that means that if you are married as an LGBTQ+ individual, you're entitled to spousal and survivor benefits, just like, you know, straight couples, just like the cisgender couples, you are entitled to those type benefits. And so here is why that really matters is because you can collect spousal benefits based on your spouse's earnings. That's up to 50% of their benefit, up to 50% of their what's called a Pia, which is the primary insurance amount. That's the amount of money that they would be entitled to at their full retirement age. You're eligible for that, but only after that spouse has started claiming so again. Got to know the fine print. Then if your spouse passes away, you can qualify for survivor benefits. If even if you still qualify for your own benefit. For example, let's say you don't, um, take a spousal benefit while your spouse is alive because you earned enough money to, um, for, you know, for that to be more than your own benefit, rather to be more than half of your, um, partner's, your your husband, your wife's benefit.

Speaker1:
So that being the case, maybe, um, you know, you don't take a survivor benefit either. If you are the survivor, um, who earned more money than the other spouse. You know, it's the highest earning spouse or the highest check is the one that's going to remain. So between the two, one of them's going to be higher. The surviving spouse gets the higher of the two benefit amounts. And here's something that you might not know or might, um, be surprised to hear anyway, that divorced LGBTQ spouses Is may qualify for benefits based on an Ex-spouse's record if the marriage lasted at least ten years. Yeah. So that's something else to consider if you are divorced, if your ex-spouse has a Social Security benefit that's more than twice yours or what yours would be. And that's something to maybe look into and consider, because then you can claim, based on their earnings record, if you and your partner maybe haven't gotten married because of discriminatory laws of the past, that hopefully will not come back. You may still qualify for retroactive survivor benefits by providing proof of a committed relationship. That is something that you have to check in with the Social Security Administration or a trusted advisor about to, to sort of work with you on that.

Speaker1:
Partnerships like civil unions and domestic partnerships, they may qualify for federal benefits. They may not. So it's vital to confirm your eligibility directly with the Social Security Administration. You can maximize your claim by doing a couple of things here. One is checking your marital status, making sure that you know if you are married, that that is of record everywhere. Understand timing strategies for claiming at full retirement age or delaying until age 70 for a higher payout. You know, we can run a Social Security maximization analysis for you and tell you what the best situation for you is going to be, how you maximize that benefit. And then, of course, to get sort of the most bang for your buck, which your buck is zero, because we don't charge for this. But to get the most bang for your buck in this scenario, what we'll do as well is take a look at your overall financial picture and get that Social Security analysis and see where it fits in to the overall puzzle. It's one piece of the puzzle and an important piece of the puzzle, but at the same time, you can't. You don't just look at one piece and say, oh, here's the puzzle and it's done. No, it's one piece of the puzzle. You look at the rest of the puzzle and it's got a big hole in the middle of it.

Speaker1:
That's where your Social Security should go. So we need to look at the whole puzzle and see if you've got a pretty picture, or if you've got a kind of an ugly picture. And we want to get yourself a new puzzle to put together here. All right. So it could be that you already have, uh, you know, things maximized or you, you're working on a strategy that is already pointing that way. But, hey, no harm in getting a second set of eyes on things. And also, you know, to maximize your claim, you want to review survivor options if they apply to you. Um, you know, what is my spouse going to receive? Should I pass away at a certain age or time or whatever? So, you know, claiming Social Security in a smart way could really add thousands, thousands to your retirement income. And, you know, I've seen it where different scenarios really, um, or different decisions rather really cause different scenarios to play out. Um, we the software that we use to run Social Security maximization reports really shows a bunch of different options when we run them for people, and they can make a huge difference, even just, you know, your full retirement age, let's say yours, for example, maybe 67 is waiting three years if you're eligible or if you're not, if you're eligible, you are eligible.

Speaker1:
But if you are able to do that, wait until age 70 to start claiming Social Security. There's no point in waiting beyond that because the benefit doesn't go up after that. But if you are able to just delay until age 70. It's a real boost. It's an 8% boost each year that you wait to your Social Security income, to that primary insurance amount. It gets adjusted upward by 8% each year that you delay taking benefits up until age 70. So and then you got to weigh that with, oh, what's my life expectancy? Is that a good thing for me to do? If, you know, let's say all of my people live into well into their 90s and most, you know, don't die until they're in their early 100 seconds or something like that. Great. Yes. That could be a good strategy for you. We'll have to see your overall financial picture, but you could very well benefit by, you know, benefit from rather delaying Social Security until age 70. Maximize that benefit and then you'll make a bunch more over time cumulatively then, you know, also, um, there are a lot of other different considerations to take into account. Are you married? Are you single? Are you just partnered? Does that partnership count for Social Security purposes? Um, even if you are in a in a civil union or something like that. So, you know, those are all different considerations to take into account, because a lot of people just think that Social Security is like, oh, I just, you know, decide when to draw my benefit.

Speaker1:
And that's kind of it. No, it can be a very complicated decision. And making the right decision on when to draw benefits and when your spouse, if you have one, draws benefits. It's so important. It's so crucial because it can mean the difference of, as I say, thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. And a little bit of a fun fact here that I actually before we did some research for the show this week, I was not aware of this, and I especially wasn't aware of one aspect of it which you will probably be able to guess which aspect I was not not aware of. Um, but the Social Security Administration Trains staff nationwide on LGBTQ cultural competency to better assist same sex couples and transgender individuals. And this report that we've seen says that so far, no major Trump era policy has reversed the Social Security Administration's legal obligation to serve LGBTQ plus individuals equally for benefits, including survivors and spousal benefits. That's the part that surprised me because they've gone in and changed so much, um, especially with, you know, related to the trans community. But apparently, at least according to this particular report, um, the legal obligation to serve LGBTQ plus individuals equally for the purposes of Social Security benefits.

Speaker1:
That remains. And so those resources are still there. So what you don't want to do is leave Social Security money on the table. That may or may not mean taking the money and running at the age of 62, as soon as you're eligible for a check. Waiting until your full retirement age, which for most folks right now, um, is well, for pretty much everybody right now it is either 66, 66 and some months or the age of 67, or that may mean delaying all the way until age 70 when you max out those benefits. So don't leave money on the table. Your options are numerous. And so I want you to to just make sure that as part of the retirement that you can take pride in, you have Social Security taken into account. Take pride in retirement. Again, is the website that's take pride in retirement. Com. You can call me at (855) 246-9211. Again, that is the number. And when you do that I will take a look at several things. Of course your Social Security benefits. You know we'll get some some numbers from the Social Security Administration, some data there. Run it through, um, software and, uh, analyze it ourselves and provide you with that Social Security maximization report. That's one of the things we do. But we take a look at your overall portfolio, your overall assets as well. And again, doesn't matter how much money you have, I don't have a minimum of somebody that I'll work with.

Speaker1:
Absolutely not. You got five bucks in your pocket and you're looking for a financial advisor. Come see me. Right. But we'll discuss your financial goals. Look at your vision for retirement. It's kind of job one, right? Because you got to know where you want to go before you can figure out how to get there. I'll take a look at your current plan and your portfolio of assets, whether it's big, small or somewhere in between. I'll walk you through a plan that I would recommend for you based on your current individual situation, and I'll also answer as many questions as you have about your retirement. You know, I've gone through and done a lot of study. I've worked with several people, as RuPaul would say, several, many people, um, on their retirement plans. And given that that education and experience, I want to use that, put that to good use for you. And so reach out and get started on your own customized retirement plan today. Just go to take Pride in retirement comm. And you can also call 855246 9211. Either one of those ways and schedule that no obligation consultation. So it's been I think it's been a show filled with a lot of great information here. I hope that you have enjoyed it, gotten something out of it as well. Again, don't hesitate to reach out, even if you just have questions about, um, you know, different aspects of retirement.

Speaker1:
I'd love to answer those for you. And you know, I'm not a person who ever pretends to have all the answers. Like, if you stump me with a question, I will find out the answer for you and and come back to you with it, or direct you to somebody who can answer it. Because, yeah, I know a lot. I've got, as I said, the education and the experience for all of this. But at the same time, I'm not, um, all knowing and all all seeing omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent and all the other things, um, all the other omnis. Um, I'm not that. So what I can tell you, though, is that if you do choose to work with me, I'll work on your behalf. Not only am I legally obligated to do that as a fiduciary, I'm morally obligated to act in your best interests as well. And and I hold myself to that standard. So not only does the law hold me to that standard, I. I hold myself to that standard and would, regardless of whether or not there was a fiduciary responsibility legally. Right. So I think that there's been a lot of great info. I hope you share that belief about today's show. And I also hope that you'll reach out once again, take pride in retirement. Com is the website. Well, that'll do it for this time around. But until next time, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you then.

Speaker3:
Thanks for listening to Take Pride in Retirement. Members of the LGBTQ plus community deserve to work with a fiduciary financial advisor who puts their needs first. To schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Matt McClure and the team at Active Wealth Management, call (855) 246-9211 or go online to take pride in retirement investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor and Active Wealth Management Incorporated 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.

Speaker1:
Hey, it's Matt McClure with Active Wealth Management and hosts of Take Pride in Retirement. When it comes to your family's financial future, Peace of mind is everything, and Nationwide's Pick ten fixed indexed annuity can help with a nationwide pick ten. You'll benefit from joint income options to help provide lifetime income for both you and your spouse, a death benefit to provide more security for your loved ones, and protection for your principal so your initial investment is safe for market downturns. Plus, you can receive an immediate 20% bonus added to the income benefit base when you choose the Lifetime Bonus Income plus rider for an additional cost, call me now 85524692 11 or go to take pride in retirement. Com to connect and learn how Peketon can help protect the ones you love. That's take pride in retirement.

Speaker3:
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Guarantees and protections referenced are subject to the claims paying ability of Nationwide Life and annuity insurance company. Nationwide peak ten is issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio. Neither nationwide nor its other entities are associated or affiliated with Active Wealth Management. Matt McClure in Active Wealth Management are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency.

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. 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 annuity 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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