New DOL rule a $40 billion bonus to retirement savers

I’ve read a lot about this topic in the past several months and will continue to do so for the months to follow. There will be chest-thumping, lawsuits and repeal proposals.

And, of course, like the hold-up on the Supreme Court nominee, you’ll hear “just wait until our candidate is in.”

Forget the politics and focus on the substance. I’m less concerned about the industry at-large since they will be given time to adjust. I’m more concerned about the smaller investor, who may not get the advice they need other than through so-called “low-cost robo-advisors.”

What these individuals need is:

  1. a planning approach that addresses the most important retirement issue–not running out of money
  2. a hybrid system providing basic education and guidance online, and human support for reviewing, refining and implementing the online plan.

And that’s what we’ve started at Go2Income.com–tools that help you select the income annuity customized to your personal situation.

The road to retirement just got rockier

This article focuses on the challenges of making informed decisions about how to address long-term care needs, especially as their costs are rising, as well as the critical role that advisors must play in helping them make the right decision for their unique circumstance.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when considering the cost of long-term care options:

  • Do you consider long-term care insurance as “insurance” like any other or is it “wealth preservation?”
  • How does Medicaid factor into the equation, and what assets or income can you protect before qualifying?
  • Are there alternatives to long-term care insurance, like income annuities or life insurance with long-term care riders?

A guide to drawing down your savings in retirement

There’s a lot of good stuff in this article, even though I disagree with the premise – building a strategy around withdrawals in retirement.

No matter how you strategize, running the risk of burning through your savings because of withdrawals is just not acceptable.

At some point, we’ll stop propping up the 4% withdrawal rule and replace it with something more solid, a solution that makes sure you don’t run out of savings during retirement.