Retirement Mistakes that LGBTQ+ People Need to Avoid

Episode 10: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 10: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only, and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Speaker2:
Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQ plus community protect and grow their hard earned money. Get set for a show full of education and insights with your host and advisor, Matt McClure. We recognize every family is unique. The goal of the show is to help you achieve financial freedom so you and your loved ones can have the retirement you've always dreamed of, a retirement you can take pride in, no matter who you are, where you're from, or who you love. So now let's start the show. Here's Matt McClure.

Speaker1:
Hello and welcome once again to take pride in Retirement. I'm Matt McClure, your host, your advisor, your pal. And I really do appreciate you joining me, being a part of the show once again this time around for a new weekly edition of the show. I also want to thank Katie Leikam. Look, if you have not listened to this episode of Take Pride in Retirement, um, it's aging in the queer community. A conversation with therapist Katie Leikam. Um, go to the podcast feed, like, right now, uh, and listen to it and then come back and listen to this episode, of course. Or you can do it the other way around, you know, listen to this one. Go back, listen to the previous one. Whatever you do, I just want you to listen to that episode. So many great topics that we talked about. She brought so much insight into what it's like to, you know, be someone who is like all of us getting older, but to be part of the LGBTQ plus community at that same time, different issues that we face, how our retirements are so different, how important things like estate planning are, an advanced directive, uh, stuff like wills and even trusts and things like that. We talked, covered a lot of ground. So listen to it and you'll get something out of it. I really, really do, um, know that you will. So that's great. And also go search for Katie Leikam online. Follow her on social media. The info is there on that episode in the podcast feed, so get in touch with her as well.

Speaker1:
A lot of great info there about mental health and and all of that. So great, great stuff. Thank you though for joining us for this edition of Take Pride in Retirement. A lot of great stuff this time around too. Um, go to take pride in retirement.com. That is take pride in retirement.com. And that is where you can find more information about the show. All of the previous episodes of Take Pride in Retirement are there and many, many more to come. I know, uh, over these next weeks, months and years that this show will be around because I plan on being in this for the long haul. The whole goal of the show is to help the LGBTQ plus community in general, and specifically, I guess I should say, help the LGBTQ plus community specifically, but everyone in general achieve a retirement that you can take pride in. That's the name of the show. It's it's take pride in retirement. And that's what we want you to do. We want you to take pride in yourself, no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter how you identify or who you love, we want you to take pride in yourself and take pride in your retirement. Build a retirement that you can take pride in no matter what, right? So that is the goal. That is what the show sets out to do. And that is what we're going to talk about today. A lot of great stuff to come up here. Uh, again take pride in retirement. Dot com is the website.

Speaker1:
(855) 246-9211. If you've got any questions for me that's 855246 9211. All right. So we're going to talk about five mistakes to avoid when it comes to planning your retirement today. If you can make these or avoid making these mistakes. Rather you can retire smarter. You can retire happier as well. A lot of great things in here and some stuff that you might not have thought of, so stick around for that. Also, uh, pensions, as part of the discussion today, we're going to talk about how much Americans actually love pensions, according to a new study and how few employers actually provide pensions for their employees. A couple of big employers are actually starting to reinstate their pensions, but at the same time, are others going to follow suit? Uh, who knows? Uh, my crystal ball is broken. But what I do know is it's very rare thing to have a pension these days. And we'll talk about what to do if your employer doesn't offer a pension. We'll define what a pension is, and we'll go through how you can respond. If your employer doesn't offer one and isn't planning to offer one like most. Um, also, why now is the time to build your retirement plan and how I can help you do that. And also top vacation destinations for retirees where American seniors want to travel. Um, and this goes for LGBTQ plus folks as well as everybody else. All right. So a lot of great stuff as I say. But first, let's start off our conversation this time around with a brand new quote of the week.

Speaker3:
And now wholesome financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker1:
And this week's quote comes from the most prolific investor ever to grace the face of the earth. And that is my opinion. But it's not only my opinion, it's actually a lot of people's opinion, and it's Warren Buffett. I mean, the Oracle of Omaha, right? The co-founder and the head of Berkshire Hathaway, he said this. It's good to learn from your mistakes. It's better to learn from other people's mistakes. Warren Buffett said that. And it really does ring true if you can, you know, learn from your mistakes. That's not a bad thing. We all make mistakes. It's important to learn from them, right? It's important to take those lessons that you learn kind of the hard way. And trust me, I know about that in my own life, about learning lessons the hard way. Take those lessons and actually learn them. So it's good to learn from your mistakes. Don't just, you know, make a mistake and then repeat that same action over and over again. The better thing, though, as Warren Buffett is saying here, is to learn from other people's mistakes. And that really does apply not only to your financial life. It applies to life in general. Right? I mean, if you can avoid making the same mistakes that other people have made just by observing, by, you know, learning from them and that, um, you know, disaster in their life, you can avoid making it for yourself and you will come out better in the end, potentially.

Speaker1:
And it really is true for your, you know, financial life. Because if you can avoid making a bad investment, losing a bunch of money, then you don't have to make up for those losses. Um, and then you don't have to, you know, struggle. You don't have to play catch up, as it were. So good. Good words there from Warren Buffett. Uh, as I say, the Oracle of Omaha and just, uh, a very smart person to listen to when it comes to investing and apparently life in general, he knows, uh, knows a thing or two. He's been around for a while. All right, well, let's get to it. Um, the the main part of the show today is going to be about five mistakes that you need to avoid when it comes to planning for retirement. And. This all specifically applies to to me, to the LGBTQ+ community. Why? Because retirement for us, for members of our community can look very, very different. Then retirement for the nation at large. The world at large. You know, cisgender, straight people. They you know, mom, dad, two and a half kids, the white picket fence, the dog and the cat. Right. That is not the truth of our lives. Much of the time. Um, now, of course, there are circumstances. Everybody's family is different. Everybody's personal situation is different. And this is, by its very nature, a no judgment zone at all when it comes to, um.

Speaker1:
Making your, uh, retirement decisions when it comes to who you are, when it comes to who you love, when it comes to how you identify, this is completely a no judgment zone, no matter what your family makeup is. Okay, so putting that out there first and foremost, kind of the point of the show, right? Um, but this applies specifically to the LGBTQ plus community because we need. A certain amount of and we strive for. I feel like a certain amount of safety, a certain amount of guarantees, a certain amount of things we can count on in this world, in a world where things can change with the stroke of a pen, with, you know, legislation being signed in our respective states nationwide, whatever, where the rights that we have today that a lot of them we take for granted were fought for people strived for them, struggled for them, even died for them. Hello, Harvey milk, right? People have struggled for the rights that we now enjoy today over the decades. And so let's not take that for granted. Right? But let's also plan for no matter what happens, whatever is going to happen, we need to plan for all of the possibilities that we can envision so that no matter what, we have a secure retirement. Our partners, our husbands, wives, whomever has secure retirement, or if we don't have those, you know, whoever our loved ones might be that we can when we are no longer here, we can leave a legacy to them.

Speaker1:
We can leave a legacy to our favorite charity, to, you know, others who have touched our lives. It's no matter what you want to do your retirement planning in such a way that it is smart. And that's, you know, one reason I'm glad you're listening to the show, because, hey, you're educating yourself, right? You're getting smarter by listening to little old me. Who would have thought it? Um, but we also want you to retire and avoid making some mistakes that are actually pretty common. Right? So we've got, um, five things here. And before we get to listing those and kind of going through some details. What you do want is I want to start off on a positive here. You do want a retirement plan that includes a clear vision for what you want your retirement to look like. Right. And it's not to say that you have to have a crystal ball. As I said, mine is broken. I'm sure yours is, too. It's in the shop. They can't figure out what in the world is going on with it. But if your crystal ball is a little hazy, kind of like, um, most of ours, you still want to sort of at least dream and and plan around that. What does your ideal retirement look like at this moment in time? That may change along the way.

Speaker1:
And yes, you can make adjustments to your plan along the way before you get there, but you still want to start planning with that clear vision of what you want your retirement to look like at this moment in time. If you could write your story going forward, what would that story look like? What would that happy ending look like? You want to plan for when you'll take Social Security? More on that momentarily. You want an income plan that will allow you to beat your budget. You want to have more money than month, not more month than money. A sound investment strategy for any retirement accounts that you may have as well. And we'll get to to some more on that. But I mean, those are some simple principles. And this is actually taken from a Yahoo finance story that that I found. And it said that these things seem simple. But there's a lot that goes on. There's a lot of complexity sort of behind the scenes, right. So it can go wrong if you trip up, if you make some common mistakes. And so this week I'm sharing with you five mistakes to avoid so you can retire and plan for retirement with peace of mind. And that is something that you cannot put a price on. All right. Mistake number one is probably the most obvious of the five.

Speaker1:
And that is failing to plan. Mistake number one in planning for retirement is failing to plan at all. Um, but I mean, you know, many people in the world just sort of carry on living, going about their lives for decades as if retirement doesn't exist or will never arrive. But for the vast majority of us, it does and we will be retired. For many, many years. We will be retired. Um, not having that steady earned income each and every month. So we have to plan for that stage of our life. It's not as if we didn't plan necessarily for this stage of our life. Why don't we go to school? Right. That was to plan and to prepare us for going into the working world. And you might say, well, I never got a college degree or I didn't do this or that or the other. Well, we all planned, we all prepared. So think of the next several years of your life as sort of like college or high school or whatever for your retirement, right? You're preparing, you're getting ready for it. You want to know what it's going to entail. And, you know, not planning to retire encourages more mistakes, because if you don't plan to retire, you're more likely to not budget. You're more likely to not save, to not invest so that you're going to actually be able to afford living expenses later on in life. When, you know, working becomes a lot harder.

Speaker1:
You may think you're going to work forever. You're probably not going to want to. But if you do want to, great. Work because you want to, not because you have to. Right. Working is going to become difficult, even impossible for a lot of us later on in life. So don't rely on that earned income or plan to rely on that earned income in your retirement years, because that's not a retirement plan. That's a plan for disaster, quite honestly. Mistake number two is to mismanage tax advantaged retirement plans. You know, a lot of people just sort of set it and forget it when it comes to things like their 401 K, an IRA, um, that people, especially when it comes to 401 K, they don't contribute enough to get to the employer match. To max out that employer match. That's turning down free money. So if you don't contribute enough to get the most money matched per paycheck that your employer will match each time you are turning down free money. And that's a 100% return on a certain percentage of your contributions. And each employer plan is different, right? Some employers may not even offer a match. Most do. If your employers do offer a 401 K contribution match up to a certain percentage, please max that out. Contribute enough so that your employer will match that 100% that that percentage of your pay, your employer will match it and that is free money for you in retirement.

Speaker1:
Another 401 K and IRA mistake, by the way, borrowing from a plan and then failing to pay it back, or just borrowing from a plan. Period. I know that you you may get on hard times. Look, I have been there. I actually, in the past have had to withdraw money from a 401 K, took a, took out a 401 K loan when things were, you know, a little shaky a few years ago. But if you can avoid that. Especially avoid early withdrawals. Those are subject to costly penalties. Um, you know, penalties by the IRS. Penalties potentially from your 401 K itself. So you want to do everything you can to avoid that. It should be a very, very, very last resort. Um, but if you do take out funds, if you do take a loan from your 401 K, especially pay that back because then you'll be. Not necessarily where you would have been, but closer, right? But don't invest your hard earned retirement plan funds exclusively in shares in your employer's company, either. That's another big mistake. You got to diversify your investments, and that helps you minimize that risk because, you know, don't put all your eggs in one basket. In other words. Mistake number three here. Um, this is one that I. And more and more passionate about. I feel like these days because. I think a lot of people, in my experience have not.

Speaker1:
Done this or I guess have made this mistake, which is the mistake is not doing something. Um, I'll get to it in just a second. But a lot of people do this. A lot of people. Make this mistake. Just because they think that they don't have any control over what happens with it. And talking about Social Security. Mistake number three is not having a plan for Social Security. It's a primary source of retirement income for retirees. And to qualify for monthly lifetime benefits, you just have to work a required number of years. And then you contribute during those years to mandatory payroll taxes. So, you know, Social Security, it really does sound simple. Like I said, I'm pretty straightforward. And people say, okay, well, when I retire, I'll get Social Security. There's nothing that I can do to change what my, uh, amount is going to be my benefit amount, anything like that, but especially. If you are married. You'll want to make a plan if you're single. If you're partnered, you still want to make a plan, but especially if you're married. Um, because, for example, say if if you're a part of a married couple, if one of you dies. The survivor. Has to carry on with just one monthly check. Now it is the larger of the two, but it's just one check. So depending on your situation, nearly half of your, uh, Social Security income every month could go away when one of you dies.

Speaker1:
And so for that reason. That higher earning partner may want to claim benefits as long as possible, because delaying your benefits increases your eventual monthly payment, so you want to pay in rather as long as possible. So the higher earning partner delay delay delay if you can. Right? So if you were to start taking Social Security at the age of 62, your benefits going to be probably about 30% lower ish than if you were to wait until your full retirement age, about 67, let's say. But if you wait even longer, that benefit is going to be even higher if you push it out all the way up to age 70, then you're going to get an 8% increase each year in that monthly benefit. So that could be very beneficial to you if you delay as long as as long as possible. Now, there are a lot of different scenarios. There are a lot of different factors that go into it. But. You'll want to make sure and have a plan. You'll make sure that you speak to a fiduciary financial adviser like myself, and I can help you with that plan. You can go to take pride in retirement.com. That is take pride in retirement.com. You can also send me an email Matt at take pride in retirement.com. Easy enough. My name is Matt. Websites take pride in retirement.com put a at symbol in between the two.

Speaker1:
You could also give me a call. The consultations are free. There's no obligation at all 8552469211855246 9211. Is that number? Now here's the thing too. You know, many people also just make a mistake of relying too heavily on Social Security in retirement to fund their monthly budget needs. Um. Now here's the thing. Your Social Security does have a built in inflation protection element to it, right? Cost of living adjustments. The Cola that we talk about each and every year. Not like a, you know, a can of cola like the one that I have here with me in the studio. Uh, but a cola, which is a cost of living adjustment cola. They pretty much occur every year unless inflation is flat. But many people believe that the Cola is now only really cover partially what is the true rate of inflation in America today. Because some things get counted toward the actual like official inflation number and some don't. It's sort of a complicated formula. But does the Cola actually keep up with the true cost of inflation? Uh, a lot of debate about that, and I don't know that it does honestly. So yeah, you'll get a raise nearly every year with Social Security. But. Do not count on it as your sole source of income for retirement, because then you will fall short. The benefit amount on average is not very high.

Speaker1:
It's a little less than $23,000 a year, according to the latest numbers. And that really does put a big exclamation point in a shining red light and a big beacon. On the importance of additional savings and additional income sources in retirement. To be able to supplement those Social Security benefits. Just to be to be comfortable. You don't want to be struggling in your retirement years. They're supposed to be gold and make them golden. Plan, plan, plan, plan. Write. About 97% of Americans age 60 and older either receive or will collect Social Security benefits, according to Social Security Administration. Elderly Social Security beneficiaries are 37% of men, and 42% of women receive at least half of their income from the program. This was as of a couple of years ago. So that number has fluctuated, I'm sure, since then. But those were the latest numbers that we have available here. So a lot of people receive at least half their income. So half of it or more from Social Security. You want to make sure that you have a plan where Social Security is kind of the cherry on top. It's not what you solely rely on. And here's the other part too, is that, you know, Social Security is really under a lot of pressure because beneficiaries are living longer. That means that the program pays over a longer period of time to those recipients. About 10,000 baby boomers are retiring every day.

Speaker1:
I think that number is actually going up as of this year, meaning that the share of workers paying into the system. Via payroll taxes is actually falling relative to the number of beneficiaries. And so that means, you know, there there had been at least something of a balance there. It's way out of balance now because you've got more people retiring, fewer people working, and that means fewer people paying into the benefits for those who are retired. And I mean, unless Washington does something the Social Security trust fund that pays for retirement benefits. Is estimated to run dry less than ten years from now. Nine years from now. Just about 77% of promised benefits would be payable if that trust runs out, according to SSA. So don't enter retirement without a plan for Social Security. Start actually planning long before we anticipate some changes coming in the next decade. So really, even hopefully before that, if they get their act together in DC and actually shore up the system. But regardless of what that what happens with that, they're going to be some changes. So get in touch. Learn how to maximize your own Social Security benefit based on your unique situation and your needs. Take pride in retirement.com is the website. Mistake number four when planning for retirement. Gosh, this is the probably the worst one that you can do emotional investing. You got to strike a balance here, right? You don't want to set it and forget it.

Speaker1:
Setting it and forgetting it. Not a plan. So you don't want to just make investments and then, you know, check them periodically and don't make any changes and say, oh, well, I lost my you know what? Today, uh, in, uh, my investment accounts. Oh, well, I'm just going to stay the course. You don't necessarily have to. That may be the best thing for you to do at that particular time, but it all depends on your individual situation. It depends on your investment objectives. It depends on your time horizon. It depends on a lot of things your risk tolerance, all of that. But. You also don't want to be on the other end of the spectrum and just changing things up whenever the wind blows a different direction and getting super emotional about it. Getting scared when there's a big sell off or getting, um, excited when there's some big new IPO comes up and, and there's a new stock that you can buy, especially if it's a company that you really like or whatever. Um, or if it's a high profile thing that everybody's getting excited about is that's the thing that, you know, kind of Warren Buffett always says when people are excited, that's when you should be worried, too. To paraphrase. Um, so don't try to time the market. Don't be emotional about it. That's one of the least promising investment strategies that you could have, because tends to be in that scenario that you're not going to get it right on the buy side or the sell side, let alone both ends.

Speaker1:
So if you don't want your golden years tarnished by financial stress, you got to have a solid plan. So give me a call. It is 855246 9211 855246 9211. Helping get you started with that plan as well. So you know, don't don't spend retirement on the Wall Street roller coaster. Uh, many people who work with us as licensed fiduciaries. Uh, licensed advisors. People enjoy working with us because we are looking out for you. That is our creed. That is what we do. Um. We are bound legally and ethically to work in your best interest. Not for ours. We are bound to work for you. And so that is what I pledge to do, is to work in your best interest and not my own. Number five on the list of mistakes here. Last one that you can make when planning for retirement, focusing only on the financial side of retirement. Uh, we talk about money a lot, obviously, because that is a big part of your retirement years. But retiring only really is about money in part of the way when you're thinking about it. Right? You'll also need to find ways ways to fill your time. Those, you know, eight plus hours a day you spent working.

Speaker1:
What are you going to do with all that time? Well, you want to do it in ways that improve your health, enrich your life. That would be fantastic and ideal. What you don't want to do is sit around and be bored, because then I think you're just going to drive yourself crazy. Um, but you also don't want to get yourself in a situation where you have to go back to work. And make that what you. Leave. You know, occupy your time with in retirement is more work because you have to, you know, if you want to do that, as I said earlier. Great. That's awesome. You've got that fire. You said I just can't sit around and do nothing. Fine. Great. Please do that because that will then supplement whatever retirement income you've got coming in, all the stuff that you've planned for, then you'll have even more and you'll keep yourself occupied with something that you like to do. So that is fantastic. But if that's not you, what are you going to do? Do you have what we like to call a smart vision for your retirement? I mean, because for a lot of folks. It can be a little bit stressful because they're like, okay, what am I going to do? Um, can I just sit around? I don't know if that's for me. Um, what am I going to do during retirement? And it just kind of spirals.

Speaker1:
But for a lot of people, it's actually the fun part of retirement planning because you get to sort of dream a little bit, right? So ask yourself some questions and really think about these answers. Seriously, what are you going to do during retirement during those years, however long that is? Where are you going to live? Who will you spend most of that time with and how do you plan to fund it? See, money's part of it, but it's not all of it, right? If you don't start planning with a clear vision and list of goals in retirement, you could experience a lot of unknowns down the road. So let's plan for the knowns. Let's plan for the unknowns. Let's plan to maximize your income in retirement so that you can. Whatever that smart vision that you have for your retirement is, you can live it. You can make it happen. Will maximize that income. And I'll work with you on coming up with a plan that best suits you, that best fits your needs. Can give you a complimentary review of your 401 K your IRA. Do an x ray of any annuities that you might have right now, and you can work directly with me with no obligation. If you meet me and you're like, oh, that Matt guy is not always cracked up to be and I don't really want to work with him. That's fine. Seriously? No. No skin off my nose.

Speaker1:
If you only will work with me if it is right for you. 100%. So go to the website. Take pride in retirement.com. That's take pride in retirement.com. And that is where you can find all the information that you need to get in touch with me. Uh go to the contact page there. You can send me an email, request a free consultation and we'll make it happen. We will make it happen. So quick recap here. The top worst retirement mistakes not planning at all. Failing to take full advantage of retirement savings plans. So like your 401 S, IRAs, all of that mismanaging Social Security benefits or just not planning for it at all, making emotional investment decisions and not having a smart vision for your retirement. So, you know, I mean, regular consultations with a financial adviser like myself, not to toot my own horn here does provide those consultations do provide, I should say, valuable insights. To ensure that you are on track to meet your retirement goals. A lot of people think that it costs too much, or it's too much trouble or any of that stuff, but actually what I can tell you is we can help you save money. As we work to protect and grow your hard earned money. No matter how much money you have, your money is important to you. So that means it's important to me and that is what is going to help fund whatever you want your retirement to look like that smart vision.

Speaker1:
Let's make it happen. Let's make it come true. Let's make that smart vision a reality for you and for your loved ones. All right. Again, it's take pride in retirement.com free consultations. Their comprehensive no cost to you no obligation. You'll only work with me if it's best for you. It's a $1,500 value provided at no cost to you just for listening to take pride in retirement. All right. All right. I teed this up earlier. I wanted to get to it. Um, before we get to kind of the end of things here. Before long, people love pensions in this country. Too bad not a lot of us have them. Um, USA today had this story the other day about, uh, a like people have. Of course, the majority of, of employers provide 401 K's today. That's just the way that it is. Um, it's been that way for years and years. Uh, pretty much as long as I've been part of the workforce. That's how it's been. So we do have I actually do have a pension that I, um, work for a company that I worked for a few years ago. So when I retire, um, I will be able to get what was the last time I checked it, because the pension is no more but the like. So the new employees that that work there, that didn't work there when it was offered don't get anything.

Speaker1:
But I will get something like $120 a month, something like that. I'll be like, oh, by the time I retire, that'll be like one Starbucks. But, um, anyway, so that that's my pension, uh, what's yours? Probably zero, unless you are very, very lucky. Um, but people love their pensions. But not very many employers offer them. I mean, and here's the thing. Inflation is continuing to to cool off, but it's still climbing. Prices are climbing, right? They're climbing but they're not climbing at the rate they were. And that is really eating away at Americans finances, particularly savings. A lot of people are, um, you know, having to dig into their savings and, and pull some money out to make ends meet or to, to deal with the rising cost of everything these days. But it's also making people nostalgic for the pension, right? Um, because, like 90% of Americans saving in a company retirement plan, like a 401 K, worry that it's not going to provide a reliable stream of income that can withstand the financial strains posed by inflation, which hit a 40 year high a couple years back. 60, or rather 76% of. People in in working people in this country, which is up about six percentage points from a year ago, 76% worry that they'll run out of money in retirement. And that's survey after survey has shown the number one fear of retirees and pre-retirees.

Speaker1:
83% of people surveyed, uh, now want guaranteed lifetime income to be a part of their retirement plan. Guaranteed lifetime income? Hmm. What is that? That's a pension, right? Well. Pensions can be expensive and risky for companies, though. That's what happened to pensions. They fund pensions, they decide how to invest and grow them, to keep them fully funded. But it's tricky to predict how much an employer is going to need to meet their pension obligations, especially with people living longer. Pensions are still common a lot more in the public sector these days. 86% of government workers have access to them in 2022, or had access to them in 2022, I should say, compared to or according to these numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So 86% of government workers have a pension. But this is why we say they're very rare, because 15% of privates, yes, 15 one 5% of private sector workers have a pension. So companies move toward defined contribution plans. So a pension is a defined benefit plan right. So defined benefit meaning you will receive a certain amount of money. There will be increases in that, you know, due to cost of living. As you go through the rest of your life, you will receive that pension the rest of your life. And there could be survivor benefits and all all of those things as well. So you'll get that pension.

Speaker1:
That's a guaranteed stream of income for the rest of your life. That is a defined benefit plan. Defined contribution plan means. You make a contribution as the employee, not the employer, unless you get the match, unless you get an employee match from your employer. Um, up to a certain percentage. As we said earlier, a lot of them do offer that. But so a defined contribution plan is like a 401 K. You put money into it, you have a little bit of control over the investments inside that portfolio. Right. Or which which, um, options inside the portfolio you want to invest in, which not a lot of people realize you do have some control there, but employees really became responsible for funding their own retirement plans. And the companies like, okay, we'll match a small amount, but good luck to you basically. So the solution here. For a lot of people who don't have a pension. Is to strengthen your retirement income plan with a personal pension. And by personal pension, I mean something like a fixed indexed annuity. Um, these are great products, I think, for a lot, a lot of people. Um, because a lot of people, as I said earlier, retire, retire with, uh, the reliance being on Social Security, but that's not going to be enough. To fund your retirement. Let's say you've got Social Security and a 401 K. And you are going to withdraw money from that 401 K.

Speaker1:
That's not a solid plan, though, because. There are very few guarantees in that. Well, kind of none. There are very few guarantees when it comes to that 401 K when it comes to that retirement account. It certainly can't guarantee that you're not going to run out of money before you expire. So don't be someone who is just reliant on yourself to make those decisions about when to withdraw. And then end up running out of money in retirement, because that is not a plan. The plan, it's it's a plan, but it's a plan for disaster. How's that? Well, when you invest, though, in a fixed indexed annuity, you put a floor on at least a portion of your portfolio. That means you cannot lose money on that portion of your portfolio. Your retirement portfolio and any gains. So so basically what happens is the gains in the account are tied to an underlying index of stocks or, you know, some type of equities. But they're not invested directly in them. Right. And they're locked in at regular intervals. So the gains. That you experience get locked in. But if that index were to go down, you don't lose a penny. That's what we mean by putting a floor on it. You you're not ever going to have any less than what you put in. But if the stock market has a great year, you could have really great gains in your retirement portfolio as well.

Speaker1:
And then when you get to retirement, that converts into an income on a monthly basis or, you know, sometimes, uh, different, uh, pay out periods, but on a monthly basis is is the most common. Um, you get a check every month or a deposit every month from that annuity, and that lasts you the rest of your life. A lot of people can do multiple annuities like, um, laddering of annuities, basically where you take out one a year, and so then you get your retirement income increased as your retirement goes along. So there are a lot of different ways you can structure them. But the bottom line is you don't want to do. Live kind of a just in case retirement where you, you're sort of afraid to spend money that you saved for your golden years or you're not afraid to spend money and that comes back to bite you. Okay. You want a solid income plan. You want to know what your income is going to be in retirement because you want paychecks to pay your bills, and you want play checks to be able to do what you want to do in your retirement years. Companies, as I said, not offering pensions by and large these days. But but, but but you can have a pension, a personal pension that you can control and you can replace what would have been with what can be and what will be if you go to the website.

Speaker1:
Take pride in retirement.com that's take pride in retirement.com. You can also call 8552469211855246 9211. Call me today and I'll help you with that. All right okay. So last thing. And this is kind of fun. Here pack your bags folks. This is a new study from US News and World Report on where people want to travel. Um, especially the baby boomer generation in general wants to travel to these destinations. If you're talking about in the US. Okay. Florida is number one here on this list. I get it. Sunshine state. They're warm weather. More than 800 miles of beaches. You got the fishing, you got the golf. That's great. I do like to go to Florida every now and then. It may be a little bit less these days, but I do like to go to Florida. Um, California boy, talk about beautiful out there. Um, and I've actually never been I've been close. Get to that in a second. But nine national parks, 280 state parks, 280 state parks in California, wine tours, coastal resorts, all of that beautiful, beautiful, uh, place to go. Las Vegas. That's as close to California as I've been. Um, and I've been there several times. But of course, the casinos, the pools, the concerts and events and what happens there stays there. But retirees really go in there as far as, uh, here in the US, in Texas as well, a big, uh, spot according to this survey.

Speaker1:
But what about international destinations? Boy, this is what I, uh, want to get to because I love traveling internationally. It got to do it a little bit before the pandemic and then haven't been out of the country since. So I am longing for this, uh, number one international destination is Mexico. And, um, boy, there's of course, a lot of great gay destinations in Mexico, as well as some of the beach cities are very, very gay friendly and kind of gay meccas these days. Uh, you got the beaches, the resorts, even. You know, if you go inland, you've got some of those ancient ruins and stuff, um, Mexican food tours. Trust me, I love some Mexican food. Um, a lot of people go to Paris to go to go to France as as the the country of France. The city of Paris is within it, of course, Eiffel Tower, Eiffel Tower, the Louvre. Uh, you go outside of Paris, you've got the French countryside, you've got just a lot of beautiful, um, areas there. Uh, within the country, outside of Paris, in Italy, you've got ancient Rome, you've got Tuscany, you've got Pompeii, you've got Italian coastline with the beautiful beaches and all of that there, and talk about wonderful food and very friendly people. And to me, one of the most beautiful places on earth is also on this list. Ireland. Boy, when I when, when we were on the plane, we were about to land in Ireland for the very first time.

Speaker1:
I'm like, I have never seen this shade of green before. I mean, they call it the Emerald Isle for a reason. It really is emerald. I mean, it is just such a deep, deep green. Everything is beautiful. Everything is, um, is just gorgeous. I mean, you know, from from Dublin, from the city. You've got, you know, that's the home of Guinness beer, of Jameson Whiskey and the birthplace of whiskey, really. Right there in Ireland and in Dublin especially. But then within Dublin and outside Dublin, you've got castles, you've got the cliffs, you've got these beautiful little villages. There is full of so many very nice people. Um, if golf is your thing, you've got a lot of that. Like it's just so beautiful and it's one of those places you can go and everybody speaks the language, so you don't have to worry about a language barrier. Um, but it's definitely a foreign country and it's not really. It didn't break the bank when, when I went there. I mean, it's they use the euro as their, um, currency. So it's not like it was that far off an exchange rate, at least at the time that I was able to go. Um, but let me tell you, it was just absolutely beautiful and so much fun. So there you go.

Speaker1:
That one gets my recommendation and my sign off. Um, and of course, very gay friendly, very LGBTQ+ friendly in general there in Ireland. All right. Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Take Pride in Retirement, folks. Thank you again so much for joining me here once again on the show. I really do appreciate it. Um, to recap, we talked about five mistakes that you want to avoid when it comes to planning for your retirement. Uh, also why Americans love pensions so much. And where in the world they went? Uh, why now is the time to build your retirement plan and how I can help you do that. And also, we just talked about those top vacation destinations for retirees. I thank you so much. Please go to the website. Take pride in retirement dot com. Reach out to me there. It's Take Pride in retirement.com. Click on the contact page and you can send me a message. Or you can also set up a time to have a consultation. I would love to help you out with any of your questions. If anything that we've talked about on the show today piqued your interest. Love to talk about it. I would love to talk about, uh, planning for your retirement, uh, in particular as well. Take pride in retirement.com. You can also call (855) 246-9211. Thanks again so much for joining me. I look forward to seeing you next time on Take Pride in Retirement. Until then, take pride in yourself and take care of each other. We'll see you next time.

Speaker2:
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 8552. 2469211 or go online to take Pride in retirement.com investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC. Bcm, a registered investment Advisor, BCM and Active Wealth Management Incorporated are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.

Speaker1:
Registered investment advisors and investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosure of any conflicts of interest, if any, exist. Fixed annuities, including multi year 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.

Speaker2:
Matt McClure and Act of wealth management are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency.

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