Life Income Annuities Safe Bet For Steady Income

As people are living longer, the elderly are frequently victims of fraud, particularly in the annuities area.  However, life income annuities, which provide income without anyone getting to that money, can be a hedge against that type of fraud.  Stan the Annuity Man says that for those needing income, this is a pure transfer risk, as these are the original design, single premium annuities that have been sold for over 200 years in the U.S.  They are simplistic, transfer risk, and works just like social security in that it pays you for as long as you live, he adds.

Stan the Annuity Man

Source: stantheannuityman.com

Stan the Annuity Man says that if you need additional income, not knowing how long you're going to live, you want to transfer the risk to the insurance company for as long as you live.  You can attach cost of living annual increases to the contract so that it increases every year as well.  He believes these commodity products are really the best ones for the consumer and although they're very similar to social security, they don't lower the payments.  Believing that social security is the "best inflation annuity on the planet," Stan the Annuity Man says that with cost of living riders on annuities, the insurance companies do lower the initial payment to make up for that cost of living adjustment but if you have longevity in your family history, it might make sense. 

Taxation on an annuity not in an IRA is a combination of returnal principle and interest, so you won't pay taxes on the principle, just the interest, making it a good reason to do it outside of an IRA, explains Stan the Annuity Man.  Inside of an IRA, it works as well because it covers for the Required Minimum Distributions.  

It really comes down to what you want the money to do and with that question answered, you will find out if you need an annuity or need to consider an annuity.  

Stan Haithcock, "Stan the Annuity Man," is a nationally recognized expert on annuities and he spoke with Retirement News Today during this interview.  Retirement News Today provides online retirement news video content and is a featured network of Sequence Media Group. 

Women Need to Be in Control of Their Finances

In society today, it's still not uncommon for women to think that men should handle the finances and that they should just "trust" that everything is being taken care of.  Patrice Washington, Founder and CEO of Seek Wisdom Find Wealth, a personal finance training and development firm in Atlanta, Georgia and author of "Real Money Answers For Every Woman," talks with Retirement News Today about her book, which teaches women that they need to be in the loop about everything that has to do with their finances, regardless if they have a mate.  

Washington stresses the importance of women maintaining legal documents of any kind, from trusts to birth certificates.  It should be anything that proves who you are and any contracts or documents that are binding you to any agreements with anyone.  Everything should be in one place so that should anything arise, you can put your hands on them immediately.  

Patrice Washington

Source: http://seekwisdomfindwealth.blogspot.com/p/about-patrice.html

While women will often take the first step in getting a will in order or opening up a retirement account, after that initial paperwork is taken care of, it's filed away and never looked at again, Washington says.  As women move into different phases of their lives, they need to be checking in on things, whether that's done quarterly or annually.  Those documents need to be reviewed so they "still speak to who we are and where we are," Washington says, as something that was created years ago may no longer provide the support that's needed today.  It's also important to make sure that the power of attorney you had initially chosen is still the person you want to be in charge of your affairs.

The number one problem women have, Washington believes, is not trusting themselves to know what's going on.  Working with women of different ages every day, Washington says they all say they're not good with money, no matter their age, and that they'd rather have someone else take care of it.  Many women think men are better with money and allow them to take charge, which often ends up not working in their favor.  Trusting that "you can do it and be in charge of your financial affairs," is one of the first things Washington tells women.  At the very minimum, she recommends women stay as involved as possible, so that they're fully aware of what's coming in and what's going out and how their financial affairs are being handled.  

Washington is a big advocate of having your financial team in order so that you can always have a "trusted, go-to team" in place.  She advises women to build a team to include an estate planner, an attorney and a financial advisor or accountant.  To build this team, she suggests reaching out and getting some referrals from trusted sources.  It's important to go in for a free consultation now and see if they are a good fit and if they can be trusted.  When the time comes that you'll really need their services, you won't be scrambling to find just anyone and you'll be working with someone with whom you've already established a relationship, she says.  

Patrice Washington is the Founder and CEO of Seek Wisdom Find Wealth, a personal finance training and development firm in Atlanta, Georgia and author of "Real Money Answers For Every Woman."  She spoke with Retirement News Today, providing online retirement news video content and is a featured network of Sequence Media Group.

Strategies to Protect Yourself From a Market Correction

With retirees facing risk from market corrections, there are some strategies they can employ to protect their retirement portfolios.  Nicole Mayer, an RPG Life Transition Specialist, talks with Retirement News Today to discuss these strategies.

Mayer recommends rebalancing your portfolio, especially when the market is at an all-time high, as it is currently.  The risk that was initially taken when investing in your portfolio, is probably not the same as it was in years prior, as the market has gone up.  You want to go back to the "same risk allocation that you set out to take when you initially set up that portfolio," Mayer says.

Nicole Mayer

RPG Life

Source: www.roundtablecompanies.com

People often want to get more aggressive and that's one of the biggest mistakes Mayer sees.  Instead, she advises having a cohesive risk-management strategy to always be prepared for a downturn.  

Mayer says that people like to "time the market," and get emotionally involved and she finds that more often than not, people do the exact opposite of what they're supposed to do.  You're supposed to sell high and buy low but when the market corrects itself, they end up selling low.  "If you take your emotions off the table, you're probably going to be in better shape in the long run," advises Mayer.

Knowing when to get out and know when you've had enough is another important strategy Mayer recommends.  As the market is high today, decide that if the market is going to fall, what level it will be when you need to get out.  Mayer says to not "protect that nickel on the upside," but rather protect the downside.  

When approaching retirement, it's important to rebalance your portfolio to manage the risk and to know what kind of risk you're taking.  Even more important than rebalancing is knowing what kind of risk you're taking so that you're rebalancing into the risk level that you want, says Mayer.

Nicole Mayer is a Life Transition Specialist with RPG Life.  She spoke with Retirement News Today, providing online, retirement news video content.  Retirement News Today is a featured network of Sequence Media Group.