Annuities Archives - Page 14 of 16 - Jerry Golden on Retirement

New rules governing advisors mandate simpler, clearer guidance for individual investors

April 19, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Annuities, Guaranteed Income, retirement income, Social Security

You might have seen the recent news flurry about rules adopted by the Department of Labor that govern how financial professionals give advice with respect to qualified savings and IRAs. The changes are important because they would benefit everyday investors who are trying to build up and distribute their retirement savings.

I find this development especially satisfying because from the start of my career I have been working to create investments in the retirement and annuity space, emphasizing products that are easy to understand and put in place. These new rules would require financial advisers to abide by a “fiduciary” standard that puts their clients’ best interests before their own profits. They would have to disclose all fees and would not be allowed to push products only from companies they represent.

Registered investment advisors are already classified as fiduciaries that must put investors’ interests first. Brokers and insurance agents now fall under that category too, which means individual investors will get more information about the true costs of products, including fees and charges that can be difficult to find and understand. More

The top 3 myths you will hear about annuities at tax time

March 22, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity 1 Comment Tags: Annuities, Baby Boomers, Dependable spendable income, Guaranteed Income, retirement

As you pull together your records to prepare this year’s tax return, it might mark the first time in a while that you’ve really examined your finances.

If you are one of the many retired Baby Boomers, perhaps the amount of your interest income caught your eye. You were probably surprised, because if you’ve got $100,000 of your retirement assets in a bank savings account, the tally of monthly interest amounts to a little more than $20 per month. For the year, you earned around $250.

Your money isn’t working for you. More

Create a plan for pension-like retirement income

March 16, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity, Social Security 7 Comments Tags: Annuities, Guaranteed Income, retirement income, Social Security

A generation ago, retirees could rely on workplace pensions, along with Social Security payments, to provide guaranteed income that would meet most, or perhaps all, of their living expenses.

That doesn’t happen anymore. When you plan your retirement, you must take responsibility yourself to create a pension substitute from a mix of options that you can combine and customize to meet your needs. Often advisors unfortunately limit those options to investments like stock and bond mutual funds – combined with a “withdraw until it runs out” strategy. That’s very far from a pension. More

Predicting the future of retirement

March 11, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Annuities, Guaranteed Income, retirement, retirement income

A radio show I heard recently referred to an observation from the author Kurt Vonnegut, who long ago suggested that the U.S. government create a new cabinet post called “Secretary of the Future.”

The czar would predict what the country needs to do to prepare for 20 to 50 years out. The show’s host asked the audience for topics that would most likely contribute to the country’s health.

Christian Schnettelker - Flickr — Photo Credit: Christian Schnettelker/Flickr

Maximize tax benefits: Die broke in one investment account and rich in another

March 8, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity 1 Comment Tags: Annuities, Dependable spendable income, Guaranteed Income, retirement income

Everyone’s goal is to pay as few taxes as possible, but when planning for retirement many investors and even their advisors neglect a basic concept:

Die broke in your IRA or 401(k) account and
die rich in your personal investment account.

The tax rules dictate where to die broke and where to die rich. With a little planning and asset management, anyone can do it. Instead of fighting the tax code, take advantage of it by putting each of your retirement investments – stocks, bonds or income annuities – in the account that benefits you most.

With smart allocations, you will realize potentially huge gains. More