This week on On the Money with Secure Money, Brian Quaranta discusses common retirement concerns and expenses that can erode your savings.
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Radio Show Transcript
Announcer 00:00
Investment advisory services are offered through Foundation Investment Advisors, LLC. an SEC registered investment advisor. Brian Quaranta and his guests provide general information not individually targeted, personalized advice, they’re not liable for the usage of information discussed. Exposure to ideas and financial vehicles should not be considered investment advice or recommendation to buy or sell any of these financial vehicles. This information should also not be considered tax or legal advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results, investments will fluctuate and when were deemed to be worth more or less than when originally invested. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products they did not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company.
Steve 00:44
Hey, welcome everybody On the Money with Secure Money so program on consumer advocate, Steve, Brian Quaranta is here. And you know, as you embark on your retirement planning journey, it is crucial to foresee potential expenses that may nibble away at your hard-earned savings. Now join us as we explore six financial demands that can impact your retirement nest egg and discover effective strategies to prepare for that we’ve got that and more coming up here on no money was secured money, Brian, what’s up?
Brian Quaranta 01:11
Yeah, it’s a big journey through life, man, a significant chunk will be devoted to your career. And we’ve got to make sure that you get enough in savings and we’re gonna talk about that and more when we come right back with On the Money with Secure Money.
Announcer 1:33
And now, On the Money,
Brian Quaranta 01:35
Any good retirement plan starts with the foundation,
Announcer 01:38
Asset protection, tax reduction, holistic planning,
Brian Quaranta 01:42
These are the things that start to move you towards having a retirement plan.
Announcer 01:46
Retirement doesn’t have to be complicated.
Brian Quaranta 01:49
You think that’s the difficult part. That’s just getting started.
Announcer 01:53
And now On the Money with Secure Money.
Steve 01:59
And welcome in this is On the Money with Secure Money. I’m consumer advocate, Steve, Brian Quaranta is here Brian is an author, he’s president and CEO of Secure Money Advisors, speaking of an author, Right Track Your Retirement a Simple Planning Strategy to Help You Reduce Your Risk, Build Income and Provide Peace of Mind. I’m just gonna go with Right Track Your Retirement Brian, what do you think?
Brian Quaranta 02:18
Well, you know, I wrote this because that that is the number one question I get all the time, every time somebody comes to the office, or they call into the radio show. The question always is, Am I doing the right things? Am I on the right track? You know, my thoughts are always, you know, if I was doing something personally, in my life, whether it be with, you know, my finances, or my accounting, or just in something general, in life alone, maybe something I was doing in business, and I wasn’t on the right track, I would want someone to let me know that. And I would want to know, sooner than later. And I think it was Will Rogers that said, “the scary thing about life is not what you know, it’s what you know, that just ain’t so”. And so, a lot of times people think they might understand something, but in fact, their facts or the information that they’re basing it off of is just incorrect. So, and we certainly see that a lot in politics. But we also see it in financial planning quite a bit too, because the internet has made it possible for us to be able to acquire information at our fingertips at any time of day or night. And if you type in, you know, how should I build my retirement plan, or what retirement products are best for me to buy at the age of 60, or 65, you get a plethora of information and opinions about what to do. And that’s where it becomes a little bit confusing. And unfortunately, a confused mind does nothing. And so, you have a lot of people who are not making any changes, or are resistant to change, because they’re so confused on what to do. And they’re not sure who to trust. So Right Track Your Retirement was written in response to this bombardment of information that people are dealing with. And I got right to the point and got right to the facts that people need to know about how to build a retirement, that truly is going to help them reduce risk, build income and provide the peace of mind that we all want going into retirement, of course.
Steve 04:16
And that leads us into our first topic here, we’re talking about the things that will nibble away I like that nibble away. I think sometimes there might be a shark bite that’s taken your money. But, but let’s talk about health care, because that is an unknown, obviously. And but it has to be addressed. And the good thing is that as you include that discussion in making your plans,
Brian Quaranta 04:38
Yeah, I mean, this is actually pretty overlooked. For a lot of people. They don’t really think about the health care component of building a plan. And there’s five key areas and I talked about it in the book which folks by the way, if you want a copy of the book, go to righttrackyourretirement.com I send a copy of this book to the physical copy of the book I pay for the shipping and handling. It’s absolutely free. All you have to do is go to righttrackyourretirement.com and order the book and we’ll send it to you. And I talk about the five key areas. One is income two is your investment strategy. Three is your tax strategy. Four is your healthcare strategy. And five is your estate or legacy strategy. But healthcare is overlooked quite a bit. And you have to make it part of your planning. Healthcare is is a big cost, and you have to make it part of your planning process. So, this is one of the biggest unknowns in planning for retirement, even with Medicare, your out-of-pocket expenses can be significant, according to Fidelity Investments in their 22nd annual retiree health care cost estimate shows that a 65-year-old retiree can expect to spend an average of $157,500 in health care and medical expenses in 2023. If you’re a couple, you got to double that.
Steve 05:50
Yeah,
Brian Quaranta 05:51
That’s unbelievable.
Steve 05:53
Yeah, I think clarification. I mean, I think medical expenses through retirement, if you started this year in 2023, that I didn’t want to make it. I don’t want you people think that we’re gonna spend $157,000 a year.
Brian Quaranta 06:04
No, no, no, no, no, no. Over the course of retirement, but my gosh, for a married couple 300 grand you’re budgeting for, you know, divide that out by 20 years? I mean, it’s a lot of money.
Steve 06:13
It is a lot of money.
Brian Quaranta 06:14
Yeah. I mean, it’s a lot of money. So, you know, it’s,
Steve 06:18
How do we fix that? How do we address that? Right?
Brian Quaranta 06:20
Well, it all starts with having a written plan, because you can make all of these bad things happen on paper. So let me tell you exactly how we do it here at Secure Money Advisors.
Steve 06:28
Sure.
Brian Quaranta 06:29
First, and most importantly, we have to look at the math, and part of looking at the math is looking at how much you have in retirement savings, how much you currently have with insurances. So if you did have a health event, what insurances are going to offset the cost, right? We know Medicare to a certain, up to a certain amount is going to help offset some costs. But you’re going to be into out-of-pocket costs, too. So the question is, do you have any other additional insurance that would help like Long Term Care coverage, or any additional accident or cancer insurance or anything along those lines? If you don’t, then we wind up having to self-fund a health event, right? So, we’ve got to pay for out of pocket now. And when I say make things, bad things happen on paper, what I’m literally talking about is taking the amount of money that you currently have saved in your retirement savings, applying a conservative interest rate to that amount of money. So, let’s say a 4% interest rate, and then looking at all the withdrawals that you’re gonna have to take over your lifetime. So maybe you’re going to need money on a on an annual basis just to pay the bills, because social security itself is not going to be enough for you to live off of. So maybe you got to take $40,000 a year out additionally, above and beyond what you’re getting in Social Security. So, you got $40,000 withdrawals coming out now, right? But what happens if in 10 years from now, you have a health event, and all of a sudden, you need an additional $50,000, you know, for three years in a row to help pay for this, this medical event that you had. So now you got to take out $90,000 for three years. So, the question is when you start to build in all of those withdrawals coming out of your retirement savings, what does it do to the balance of that account. And now we can start to see by adding pressure on by taking more money, more and more money out at a conservative rate of return, we can see where the weaknesses lie within the plan. And if you make these bad things happen on paper mathematically, like I’m sharing with you right now, now you’re getting the information, you need to be able to make a very informed decision. You’re not looking at hypotheticals anymore, and saying, well, you know, we ought to just buy this because if this happens, you know, we want to make sure we have enough money. Well, what if you already have enough money? You don’t have to spend the money on that additional insurance, right? So these are the things that we do at Secure Money Advisors.
Steve 08:44
Perfect. Why don’t we invite folks to call right?
Brian Quaranta
08:47
Yeah, folks, matter of fact, for the next 10 callers who call in right now we are going to give you a complimentary Right Track Review. It’s absolutely free. I don’t know any other way to say I hate saying the word free because I think it diminishes the value of what we’re going to do when you come in. But when you come in, we have a process that will bring you through to help you uncover any areas of your planning that might need to get on the right track. And we’ll do that by looking at the five key areas your income, your investments, your taxes, your healthcare strategy, and your estate planning strategy will identify any unnecessary fees that you’re paying any risks that you might be paying any inefficiencies in your tax strategy or investment strategy. So, call right now. Take advantage of the Right Track Review. 45 minutes when you come in, you’ll get a lot out of the meeting. Nobody from my team will ever try to pressure you to do anything or try to sell you anything. As a fiduciary firm. We’re truly here to help you identify and solve problems.
Steve 09:36
800-656-8616 800-656-8616
Brian Quaranta 09:42
When we come back, we’re going to continue to talk about the potential expenses that nibble away at your hard-earned savings. I’m going to go through three of them and you don’t want to miss number three when we come right back with On the Money with Secure Money.
Announcer 10:01
And now On the Money with Secure Money.
Steve 10:08
We are back On the Money with Secure Money. Brian Quaranta here and I’m consumer advocate Steve. We’re talking about things that can nibble away. We’re just like a nibble. Right? I think, all I think when I think nibble, I think mice somehow.
Brian Quaranta 10:17
Yeah,
Steve 10:18
Anyway, but we don’t we want to avoid the nibbling as much as we want to avoid the big bites too. And so, we’re talking about things we, we were talking about six different things, we covered one in the first segment that was healthcare, and how that can be something that just kind of creeps up on you. But there are solutions out there. And we have to think about homeownership. And this is a tough discussion, discussion to have sometimes with folks, isn’t it because they don’t want to leave that home. But, but you’ve got to have an honest discussion about whether that makes sense or not.
Brian Quaranta 10:51
Yeah, well, you know, that the bad thing about nibbling you know, if you’re trying to teach a kid to fish like I am my four-year-old,
Steve 10:57
Yeah.
Brian Quaranta 10:58
You know, if you ever watch a fish nibble away at some bait on a hook, and you don’t understand that, that that’s happening, like a four-year-old wouldn’t, the four-year-old pulls up, pulls his line out of the water and he realizes his baits gone, right? But the fish has just been nibbling away at it and he didn’t even realize it. And that’s the problem with these, these expenses in retirement and homeownership is definitely one of them. homeownership, you know, there’s a lot of unexpected cost for upkeep, maintenance, you know, on your, on your home can, can wreak havoc on your investment plans. People wanting to all of a sudden redo a kitchen or a bathroom. And you know, they, they just have to have it. But according to,
Steve 11:40
Have you met my wife?
Brian Quaranta 11:42
Well, I know you guys just did one and I did one two years ago. And a remodel is not cheap anymore. You know, even if you’re just doing a kitchen or bathroom, but, but you know, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2016, through 2020, Americans aged 65 or older spent, on average, about $16,880 per year on housing related cost.
Steve 12:07
Wow, that’s a lot. That’s over 1000.
Brian Quaranta 12:09
It is. It’s over $1,000 a month, on just, on just maintenance of the home.
Steve 12:14
Sure. Well, I mean, again, if it’s, if you’ve been in the home a long time, you know, at some point, you’re going to have to replace the roof. At some point HVAC is going to go out, you’re going to need a water heater. And those are the kinds of things we’re talking about here. And that I can see for 16 grand could there’s almost 17 could, could be there. I mean, that could be reality.
Brian Quaranta 12:31
Yeah. And that’s why you have to make home upkeep costs part of your emergency fund, so that if or when something happens, you’ve got the funds to cover the cost. And that’s where we like to look at your money working for you in different segments, we like to look at it in the form of bank money. And then the next segment we’d like to look at is money that can generate income or monthly cash flow for you. And then the next segment we like to look at is money that is designed for long term growth, you know, and when I say long term growth, it needs to have a time horizon of 10 years or longer. So, you know, making sure that you’ve got these well laid plans. And there’s a system to it, Steve, there’s a system and process that has to be followed. And one of the things that we’ve done at Secure Money Advisors, we’ve taken all of these loosely thrown around terminologies of retirement planning, financial planning, build your plan. Everybody likes to talk about billion plan, but what does it actually mean? There’s a, there’s steps in the process. One is there’s strategies that you want to use to maximize your income. Number one, and most importantly, right. Number two, there’s going to be strategies that you want to use to maximize your investment strategy in retirement because the investment strategy that you use during your working years is not the same investment strategy you want to use in your retirement years, there’s a hybrid approach that you need to start to take, there’s a fundamental shift that takes place in the way that you manage your money when you retire. Number three is making sure you have a good plan for tax efficiency. You know, the IRS is allowing us to do something absolutely amazing with our retirement accounts. And that is they’re allowing us to move money from taxable accounts to tax free accounts. And people don’t realize that one of the biggest things that will, will erode your wealth faster than anything is an increase in taxes. So, if tax rates go up, and you’re pulling money out of retirement accounts that are taxable, you’re just going to get less money because you have to pay more taxes on that money. Fourth is your health strategy, which we talked about in the first segment. And fifth is your estate planning strategy. And when we bring you through that, Steve, we bring you through those five key areas, there’s probably about 10 questions that we ask in each of those areas. So, there’s about 50 different questions that we asked with you so that you have a good understanding of what you know, and maybe what you don’t know. And that’s what the right track retirement strategies. All about speaking of taxation, right? The next thing, the next thing that reduces your purchasing power or gives you less money in retirement is inflation.
Steve 15:10
Oh, man. And boy, don’t we know that only too well in the last two years,
Brian Quaranta 15:13
Right, so, you know, inflation is down from its 40 year high last year, but it’s still significant. I mean, the inflation rate stands at about 3.67% Compared to 3.26%. Last month, and 8.26%. Last year. So, this is higher than the long-term average 100-year average, by the way of 3.28%. So,
Steve 15:33
Well, but then 3.67? I mean, it’s going up again, Brian, do we need to be concerned again?
Brian Quaranta 15:38
Well, it depends. It all needs to be part of your plan, because,
Steve 15:41
Okay,
Brian Quaranta 15:42
What people don’t realize is that inflation when you’re looking at 100-year inflation number, I mean, that’s 100-year average, well, you might only be retired for 10 or 20 years. So, what does that 10 or 20 year time period going to look like for you? Because that’s going to be your inflation number. I mean, look at somebody that just retired, if somebody just retired, they’re dealing in the first year they’re dealing with an inflation, they were dealing with an inflation rate of 8.26%. Right?
Steve 16:07
Right.
Brian Quaranta 16:08
So, what is your inflation number, it’s hard to say, it’s hard to build a plan around 100-year average. So, you’ve got to be looking at, you know, worst case scenarios, and I always say, let’s make the bad things happen on paper. So, but yes, these things have to be built into the plan, and then you know, they are going to impact your plan negatively. And that’s where the decision needs to be decided of whether or not it makes sense for you to retire now or retire later. Or maybe you have to go into a hybrid retirement where maybe you work a little bit and you’re retired too, which is becoming more popular. So again, working the inflation strategy into your overall plan is important. And the last one, as I promised you was adult children, right from cell phone bills. Many retirees find themselves financially assisting their adult children or even grandchildren. And I’m telling you folks stop doing it. You’re enabling people. So, you gotta,
Steve 17:03
The number there, Brian 2.79%, we’re providing financial support that according to a study,
Brian Quaranta 17:08
I know nobody wants to see their kids fail. But at the end of the day, well, some people do. But yes, you can’t be there, they need to fly anyway. But folks, take advantage of our Right Track Review, it truly is a very helpful process that will bring you through, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to help I don’t even know if we’re going to be a good fit for the problems that you’re trying to solve. What I can tell you is this, in my 25 years of doing this, the thing that I hear when people come in is Brian, you gave me so much clarity today, your team gave me so much clarity on what I need to be considering right now for retirement to make things a lot better. You’ve given me ways to give me peace of mind into my planning and take the risk out. And I liked that because everybody else is telling me just to gamble with my money. So, folks, take advantage of it. Call the number and schedule today.
Steve 17:56
Sounds like a great idea, Brian. 800-656-8616 That’s the number. Hey, we’ll give you the opportunity to review your individual circumstances, as Brian pointed out, no cost, no obligation. 800-656-8616 no cost, no obligation 800-656-8616
Brian Quaranta 18:14
When we come back the secret to financial security and stability and how to take control over your financial future. Uh, stay tuned, we come right back with On the Money with Secure Money.
Announcer 18:31
And now On the Money with Secure Money.
Steve 18:38
We’re back On the Money with Secure Money I’m consumer advocate Steve, of course, Brian Quaranta, you’re always fun to talk with you, Brian. And, you know, you’ve got an energy that that’s infectious. I like it.
Brian Quaranta 18:49
We try to be that way here at Secure Money Advisors. You know, I mean, truly, I mean, what you see is what you get,
Steve 18:55
Yeah,
Brian Quaranta 18:56
You know, we’ve got, we’ve got a great group of people. And I think when you love what you do, you know, you really do wake up and really get excited about going to work and helping the people that you can help and, you know, trying to really share a message to, you know, the world that retirement doesn’t need to be difficult folks, it actually can be relatively simple. And a lot of the talking heads out there, and the pundits that are writing all the headlines. Remember, they’re paid to make news, they’re paid to create chaos. And you know, one minute the markets going to hell, the next minute, we’re in the next bull market. And what we teach you how to do is build a plan that really can ignore all of that and give you the peace of mind so that you don’t have to pay attention to that stuff anymore. And you can go on and join the things that you want to enjoy. That’s your family, seeing the world and whatever else you’ve put on your bucket list.
Steve 19:50
800-656-8616 how you can get the ball rolling, folks. In fact, let’s jump into some questions here. Brandy is up first, and she says I’m 53 And, and behind the eight ball when it comes to retirement savings, my company does not match my 401k. I currently contribute 12%. And the funds I’m offered to invest in are just not performing well, I have the option to convert monies into ETFs or IRAs. I know none of this is a get rich quick scheme. But taking that 12% and depositing it into a CD is more appealing to me. Any ideas or thoughts? And how would meeting with a financial advisor help?
Brian Quaranta 20:30
Yeah, Brandy, this is a great question. And there’s a lot more questions I actually have. But at 53. Being behind the eight ball and then wanting to redirect money into a CD is probably not the best long-term strategy. But I think meeting with a financial advisor to figure out how behind the eight ball you actually are, would be the first step. Because why do you feel like you’re behind the eight ball? Based on what information. Is it you know, something that you read that said, you should have so much money saved at this point, I would tell you that if you’re 53, and you want to retire in the next 10 years, invest in a CD could potentially really limit your growth. But if you’re investing in the next, I mean, if you’re gonna retire in the next two years, maybe that’s a good idea. So, but there’s a lot of variables here. So, making a decision without professional guidance. I would encourage you whether it’s Secure Money Advisors, or just go find a good fiduciary firm that can help you. That’s fee based and get some advice around what to do.
Steve 21:34
So, Brandy give us a call. It’s (802)656-8616. That’s the number and as we go through let’s, let’s move on to Millie. Millie has a question. She says I’m 63. And don’t plan on retiring for at least five years. Now. I’ve been working with an investment advisor for two years. And he recently informed me that his fees are going up from point 5% to 1%. For non-specific reasons. I was told initially that it was friends and family discount. Is something off here?
Brian Quaranta 22:05
Good old friends and family. Look, I don’t have a problem. I don’t have a problem with somebody paying a fee. I mean, look, nobody’s gonna work for free, right? Especially a financial advisor, but nobody works for free, a plumber, electrician, you know, a doctor or lawyer. Nobody works for free. So yes, financial advisors charge fees. That’s how we make our money. However, the question is not how much the fee is, the better question is, what service are you getting for the fee that you’re paying? So, if this individual is reviewing your plan each year, and you’re actually getting a written plan, and they’re giving you guidance on income strategies, investment strategies, tax strategies, health care strategies, estate planning strategies, that I would say an increase in fee is worth it. You know, we charge 1%, you know, for, for our fee. But, but, but I would ask, what are you going to get? What are you getting for the fee that you’re paying? And if you’re getting a good servicing model, that maybe it’s worth it?
Steve 23:01
Right? Well, again, these are the things that that you can help us understand. And that’s why it’s important to get a second opinion to work with an advisor. Right?
Brian Quaranta 23:09
Yeah, yeah. And I would say just go to a good fiduciary planning firm. And if you’re already working with somebody, it’s always good to get a second opinion, because then you have something to compare to.
Steve 23:18
Sure.
Brian Quaranta 23:19
You know, if you’ve been working with this individual for some time, maybe you don’t know what else is out there. Maybe you don’t know what other servicing models are out there. Maybe, you know, you don’t know what you’re missing. I mean, this happened to me personally, with tax accountants over the years. You know, you know, I thought I had a great tax accountant, and then I interviewed somebody else. And, you know, and the servicing model that they were providing, which was much more robust, that was going to help our business much better. And, you know, and it was a little bit more expensive, but I was willing to pay it because of how much better service I was going to get.
Steve 23:51
Sure. Well, that makes perfect sense. (802)656-8616. And I’m gonna go back to Brandy for a second because I’m curious. I’ll give her credit for knowing what’s going on inside her 401k Because I would venture a guess most people couldn’t.
Brian Quaranta 24:07
Yeah, no. Most people don’t know what’s going on their 401 k’s and right, it’s kind of, you know, and its changes that we’re trying to see made in Congress where there’s more transparency within their four, people’s 401k. So, they can actually see the cost associated when you start getting a couple years out from retirement, or in retirement, that’s when it becomes pretty scary. So, you know, again, folks get, just get with a good fiduciary firm that can answer some of these questions for you, and get with someone that, that does real financial planning, that’s going to be able to give you a written plan so that you can make good informed decisions.
Steve 24:38
All right. Well, folks, if that’s something that you should do, we’ll do that right now. In fact, Brian, let’s wrap it up. Give us one more opportunity to come on in and sit down with you.
Brian Quaranta 24:45
Yeah folks for the next 10 callers. I want you to take advantage of our Right Track Review. Okay. And this review, I have spent years developing to give you a very comprehensive planning opinion and where covers five areas, your income, your taxes, your investments, your health care and your estate planning will teach you how to think like a retiree and not a gambler will teach you strategies that show you how to protect some of your money and create your own pension but also show you how to grow your money in the most fee efficient way. And also show you how to do it to where you’re not constantly walking on eggshells worried about what the stock market’s doing. So again, for the next 10 callers call in right now, we’re gonna send you a copy of the Right Track Retirement book, absolutely free, we ship it out to you, and we’ll see you at the office.
Steve 25:37
So that’s fantastic. Brian 800-656-8616. That’s 800-656-8616 really the goal of the show is to help you make the best decision for you. So, if you have any questions about what we’re talking about today, how it might apply in your own situation, now’s the time to give Brian a call. 800-656-8616 800-656-8616 Brian it’s always a pleasure to talk with you. And the show goes by really quick but lots of good information today,
Brian Quaranta 26:05
Steve Absolutely. And folks, we’ll see you again next week right here with On the Money with Secure Money.
Announcer 26:17
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