On this week’s episode of On the Money with Secure Money, Michael Diulus shares five things you can do right now to get where you want to be in retirement.
To see a full schedule of our radio airtimes, please click here.
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 and are 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. As performance is not a guarantee of future results, investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may 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 do 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 00:39
Hey, everybody, welcome in this is on the money with secure money. And Brian Quaranta is not here today. But we have Michael Diulus this. He is an advisor with Secure Money Advisors, we’re going to talk to him in a moment. And we’re talking about retirement, obviously. But if you don’t have a plan, chances are things are not going to go as well as you would hope they would. So a lot of people say boy, I wish I plan more, now’s your chance, we’re going to give you five things you can do right now to help get you to where you want to be in retirement. If you’d like to get a head start, give us a call. It’s 800-656-8616 800-656-8616 secure money gets underway right after this.
Announcer 01:21
And now on the money.
Brian Quaranta 01:24
Any good retirement plans starts with the foundation,
Announcer 01:27
asset protection, tax reduction, holistic planning,
Brian Quaranta 01:30
these are the things that start to move you towards having a retirement plan.
Announcer 01:34
Retirement doesn’t have to be complicated.
Brian Quaranta 01:38
You think that’s the difficult part? That’s just getting started!
Announcer 01:2
And now On the Money with Secure Money.
Steve 01:49
Welcome, everybody. This is on the money with secure money and Brian Quaranta usually here taking a well deserved day off. He’s a new dad and all with Kid number two, so I’m sure he’s not getting a lot of sleep hide a bike diagnosis here, though. He’s an advisor with secure money advisors, and a happy to have you along, Mike, how are you?
Michael 02:06
I’m doing great, Steve,
Steve 02:07
how about yourself very, very well. Thanks. And so you know, you are with secure money advisors. And I’ve always said that, you know, Brian has done a remarkable job at gathering the right people for the right job. And I that’s certainly what we can say about you.
Michael 02:22
Oh, absolutely, Steve, and you know, I don’t think I could have landed anywhere better. You know, I’ve been trained personally by Brian himself. And, you know, he’s just the greatest coach I’ve ever had. And what he really does that’s different from any other advisor that I’ve met with Is he really cares, he puts 100% 120% effort into every single plan that he builds out. And I learned that personally, my parents are actually clients of Brians. And that’s how I got tied into the business. You know, I spent a few months searching for a firm that fit me right from for myself to be an advisor. And once I met with Brian, I just knew this was the place for me.
Steve 03:00
That’s great. And again, I love the way that the company has developed, you know, has developed and has grown over the last few years and certainly bringing on new people. And, you know, the sort of Brian still remains at the helm making things happen, right?
Michael 03:15
Absolutely. You know, he is the CEO and founder this company, he’s trained every single advisor that we have here we have four licensed fiduciaries. And you know, there’s just something different about this office, you know, the family type atmosphere, we really say we have a family of clients. And if you compare us to any of the bigger firms, I won’t mention any names, but I just feel we really have that deeper connection with our clients than most
Steve 03:39
I would agree with you 800-656-8616. That’s the number that can get you started, folks. Let’s jump into some of this stuff here that we’ve got Mike. And we’re talking about, you know, the meticulous planner, I was married to a woman like that once, but I mean, again, no matter whether you’ve put a plan together or you have it, the bottom line is Mike, and I’m pretty sure you’re going to agree we’ve got to have a plan. And that starts with the, you know, what is retirement to you? Is that a question that you ask?
Michael 04:10
Oh, absolutely. You know, we often say, we’ll actually people will often say to us, am I on the right track for retirement? Well, you know, that’s why we named our show the right track retirement. And the problem is being on the right track means different things to every single person that comes in here. And the first thing you have to do is really figure out what is retirement going to be to you, you know, are you going to travel? Are you going to be volunteering, you’re going to go see the grandkids more often. You know, if you’re not even sure what your situation is. Just try to envision what that retirement is going to look like to you. You know, grab a pen, write it down, make it as vivid as possible. Just putting it on paper makes it more concrete. And you know, it’ll just make it a lot easier to turn your dream into reality.
Steve 04:51
I like that and again, write it down. That’s important. And I think it’s important for people to start thinking about this because I know you know, if you asked me I’m not sure I’d haven’t would answer. Yeah. I mean, it’s a difficult question to ask. But it’s important to start thinking about it. And then you start to lay things down. And one of the things that we have to do is really understand our basic expenses. And I think that’s hard for a lot of people.
Michael 05:17
It is Steve. And the reason is, you’re just so used to having a paycheck come in each and every week, other week, bi monthly, however, it comes for you. But you know, what everyone does is the paycheck comes in, you deal with all your fixed expenses and regular bills, and you live on whatever’s left. But when retirement comes, there’s too many unknowns, and we can’t leave expenses to chance that way.
Steve 05:36
Well, yeah, again, you become your own payroll master.
Michael 05:40
Exactly. Exactly. Steve.
Steve 05:42
So I mean, how do we help people do that? How do you do it?
Michael 05:46
So you know, what you want to start with is really reviewing your assets. So determining where your income sources will be in retirement. And obviously, everyone has so security on the line. And that’s, that’s obviously the number one source of income in retirement, though, that’s less common of what people are really going to need. You know, they say it’s about 40% of your income is what you get from Social Security. So are we going to draw from our 401K? Do we have a pension? There’s a lot of variables that we really have to think about. And, you know, honestly, purchasing an index annuity may be one option for creating regular income stream. So I’d recommend talking to your advisor about that, if that’s the right solution for your retirement plan. Sure.
Steve 06:24
Well, again, I think that makes sense. And so, we have to figure out I mean, for a lot of us, we’ve been working 30-40 years, we’ve been saving, saving, saving, that’s the only thing we can think about because we want to get to retirement. So now, how do we know what all that money is going to do? How do we manage that?
Michael 06:41
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think one thing we always have to think about is our tax situation. So many people often put money into their 401Ks on the traditional side, they get the tax break now and deal with it later, because they’re expecting that they’ll be in a lower tax bracket in the end. But that may not be the case. You know, it’s even possible that you could be in a higher tax bracket in retirement, because several factors come into play, for example, your income affects how much of your Social Security is taxable. And then also, when you turn 72, the required minimum distribution, also known as the RMD kicks in on any tax deferred money that you have. So, you know, depending on the rest of your income, this could bump you into a higher tax bracket as well.
Steve 07:21
Well, things are such in flux right now. I mean, with the market doing what it’s doing, and then it hasn’t done in a long time, inflation pretty much here. We don’t know for how long I mean; things are really in flux. So, it’s important to get a handle on all of that as we begin to, to put that plan together. Because no matter how you look at it, we’re still going to retire.
Michael 07:41
Absolutely, you know, and Steve, that’s why we keep a few openings on our calendar each week for our listeners. And we’d love to hear from the folks who have seen the recent market volatility and are concerned about it, you know, you have the opportunity right now to sit down with and have a conversation with a fiduciary financial advisor who can guide you and possibly help improve your situation. Now, keep in mind, our strategies are often used by folks with over a million saved for retirement, but will never turn you away if you are serious about retirement planning. So, for the next 10 callers, who have at least 200,000 saved for retirement, we will perform a complimentary easy to understand financial review of your portfolio. So that review will indicate if you’re in need of a comprehensive financial plan. So, this analysis is not only going to include a fee report and a risk analysis, but also a tax analysis to review how we can deal with unnecessary losses, protect your retirement income and reduce those taxes. But most importantly, we’re going to develop a cash flow plan for you. That’s going to utilize proven strategies which can strengthen your retirement income and take the worry out of living retirement. So, for the next 10 callers, that’s a comprehensive financial review, that we’re providing complimentary with absolutely no obligation.
Steve 08:49
And that sounds great Mike, folks take advantage of what he’s offering here today, that opportunity to come on in, sit down, get that financial roadmap put together. The team at secure money advisors understands how complicated things can be, but they can also break it down, make it clear and easy to understand. It’s a practical financial review. So, if you’re listening, give us a call 800-656-8616. You heard Mike, the next 10 callers are going to get that comprehensive financial review, you’ll see where you are today. But more importantly, you’ll have a roadmap that can help get you to where you need to be 800-656-8616, 800-656-8616
Michael 09:27
So Steve, I’m not sure if you’ve heard of this, but it’s called the Great Resignation. You know, millions of people are leaving the workforce each and every month. And if you are among them, or considering it, we’ve got some tips on what you should do with the money in your own account, and we’ll be right back.
Announcer 09:45
Do you ever feel like you’re fighting for financial knowledge? Don’t let bad advice be a punch in the gut your retirement to take advantage of a complimentary no cost no obligation consultation with a local trusted financial coach. Call Brian Q onto a host of retirement your radio 800-656-8616 or text Brian Q to 800-656-8616. We’ve made it easy for you to take advantage of this fantastic offer. All you have to do is call or text Brian Q to 800-656-8616.
Steven 10:22
We are back on the money with Secure Money. Mike Diulus is here for Brian Quaranta. Who is out, well, I think taking care of little ones. So, Mike, you are a fiduciary, you’ve been with Secure Money Advisors, obviously. You’re sort of from this area, not right here. But you’re kind of born and raised in the area raised in the area, right?
Michael 10:42
Absolutely. You know, I’ve been born in Western Pennsylvania, and I’ve lived here my entire life. I went to school in Oakland, PA, I went to college in New Wilmington, PA, I haven’t left too much except for a few vacations here and there. But this is my hometown.
Steven 10:56
But again, that gives you I think, an advantage of that. Because you understand the people you understand what their needs are you understand, you know where they want to be and how they want to get there. I think that that brings that that insight is pretty valuable.
Michael 11:10
Absolutely. And you know, as I mentioned earlier, my parents are moving into their retirement stage as we speak. And I really feel the personal impact of getting ready for retirement, many people, they plan for the accumulation, you know, it’s like climbing up Mount Everest, No one plans for the distribution phase or getting on the way back down. So, it’s a whole different ballgame that we’re in as we move into retirement.
Steve 11:32
Well, and things are very different today than they were you know, even five years ago, because I mean, this whole pandemic thing blew things up. And folks, well, yeah, you called it the great resignation, you know, quitting a job. People are doing it by the 10s of 1000s. And then you know what, like, what it says, what, 4 million a month? Wow. So, if you do quit your job, you’ve still got a lot to worry about in terms of getting, you know, getting yourself together getting a plan together. And if you had a 401k, what do you do with it, Mike?
Michael 12:05
You know, there’s a lot of different options that we have with our old 401 Ks from our old employer, Steve. And the first and most obvious one is leaving at the you know, you could leave it there if you’d like to, if you’re happy with the investment choices and make sure the fees are low and provided the plans rules allow it that the thing is your money will stay invested in the earnings will still accrue. But you won’t be able to contribute any additional funds. So it’s important that you make sure you’re opening up a new account, whether that be an IRA, a 401 K with your new employer, or a self-employed retirement plan to keep saving bottom line is be sure that you understand the rules for your old employers plan, particularly if your balance is less than 5000.
Steve 12:42
Okay. And again, so what how do we roll it into an IRA? Is that is that a difficult process? How give me a step by step if you would?
Michael 12:50
No, absolutely not. You know, that’s, that’s obviously option number two there. And the advantage of doing this, and it’s very simple, you know, all you would do is whether you have a company website, or if you’d rather if you’re a little bit more old school, and you’d rather just make a call, you call your 401 K provider, you get on the customer service reps line, and they’ll walk you step by step through, it’s very simple. The benefit to doing this is, you know, there’s generally no taxes, no penalties, unless you’re rolling from a traditional 401 K to a Roth IRA. In that event, you know, income taxes on the entire amount. So, what we want to make sure is do a direct rollover, which is where you, your plan administrator is sending the money directly to the IRA provider. Otherwise, if they send it directly to you, automatically, 20% of your balance will be automatically withheld, per IRS rolls. But you’ll still have to deposit the entire balance to avoid penalties. So, to be more specific, let’s say a 50,000, your balance and they send the money straight to you, you’ll receive 40,000. But you’ll still need to deposit 50,000 to that IRA or other retirement plan to avoid hefty taxes and fees.
Steve 13:53
Well, I’ll tell you what, if it were me, I will just call you because you give me the assurance that nothing is going to happen. And it is not going to be a taxable event. But that’s what you do for a lot of folks. I mean, you do a ton of that stuff, don’t you?
Michael 14:07
Oh, absolutely. You know, we’re doing these rollovers every single day. And the great thing about doing it into an individual retirement account, is you have so many more options than you have in a 401 K. I mean, you have ETFs, stocks, bonds, and a 401k, you typically have 20 to 30, maybe even 40 options, if you’re lucky. Whenever you’re in an IRA, you have the ability to shop the entirety of the market.
Steve 14:28
While working with secure money advisors to because you’re independent fiduciaries. You have the universe of availability of anything, whether it’s from ETFs to annuities, you name it, and you have access to it.
Michael 14:42
That’s exactly right. Steve, you know, we’re not with one of these big name firms that are going to tie you down to a specific cookie cutter plan where they say okay, well, you’re going to be in this investment, this investment and that investment and now, we’re catering this plan specifically to your needs. And that’s why we use the IRA and that’s why we have The ability to go out and pick what’s right for you.
Steve 15:02
So if we did, so if I left a job, and I’ve got another job, and they’ve offered a 401 K, can I just roll it in there? Or and or is that a good idea?
Michael 15:12
Yeah, I mean, absolutely. Assuming your plan allows it, you know, you can always roll it into your new your new 401k. First things first, as I mentioned, with your current 401k, you’ll really want to examine the fees and investment options to be sure that they’re satisfactory to your situation. Otherwise, rolling the balance into an IRA, or keeping with your own employer can be better options. So as with rolling the balance to an IRA, always ask for a direct rollover. In this case, you’d want your old plan to send the money directly to your new plan. Otherwise, that whole mess we talked about a little bit ago, with the mandatory withholding taxes and fines, we just want to avoid that.
Steve 15:48
Sure. Well, yeah. And again, we one of the other options, obviously, is you can cash it out. So just give me the money. And I think a lot of folks that are probably in there between 30 and 40, have a tendency to want to do that. Would that be a fair assessment?
Michael 16:02
You know, Steve, and that would absolutely be a fair assessment. But let me warn you why that is almost always the worst option, when you do your job, you know, your balance will be subject to the mandatory 20% withholding. Plus, if you’re in your 30s or 40s, you’re gonna owe an additional 10%, early withdrawal penalty. Just it’s almost never worth it. So, an early 401 K withdrawal was extremely costly. You know, if your marginal tax rate is 22%, and you cash out a 50,000 balance, you’d receive just 32,500 after taxes and find out.
Steve 16:33
Wow, that’s disappointing. Well, I’ll tell you what, folks, if you’d like to avoid that, why don’t we get together? Give Mike a call? Come on in and talk about it?
Michael 16:40
Yeah, absolutely. As I mentioned, you know, we keep these openings for folks just like you, you know, we have this opportunity to sit down and have conversations about what’s your plan? And do you have a plan, because that’s the main point is most people do not have a real written plan. So whenever you come in, and this is for the next 10 callers, we’re going to give you that fee report and a risk assessment to help recognize these unnecessary losses in your portfolio. And see if by simply protecting your retirement investment, you could experience dramatic growth potential. And while also performing tax analysis, revealing how you could possibly reduce your taxes and a customized income plan, utilizing these proven strategies, which will strengthen your retirement income, and just take the worry out of it. So next 10 Call is that’s a comprehensive financial review that we’re providing to you complimentary, absolutely no obligation.
Steve 17:29
Make that call right now, folks, 800-656-8616, you heard Mike, the next 10 callers are going to get a comprehensive financial plan. And essentially, you’ve got a roadmap that can help get you to where you need to be taking all of that complex financial world, turning it into something that really makes sense. And again, 10 collars right now. 800-656-8616 800-656-8616.
Michael 17:53
So running out of money is every retirees worst nightmare. Good news. When we come back, we’ll outline some of the things that you can do to help you avoid that fate. And it’s never too late to start.
Announcer 18:09
He’s letting the clock run out on his social security at age 70 For maximum benefits. And here comes the Roth conversion. He’s got some outstanding coaching with that lifetime income plan. He’s created his own pension as well. And it looks like he’s going to go all the way. Play your best retirement game call Brian Q at 800-656-8616. Or text Brian Q to 800-656-8616. Call or text Brian Q to 800-656-8616.
Steve 18:44
And we are back on the money with Secure Money. Mike Diulus here he is an advisor with secure money advisors, fiduciary, independent all of those things, Brian Quaranta, thinking they’ve deserved Saturday or Sunday off. And so Mike, one of the things that you guys do is you do a lot of educational seminars, don’t you?
Michael 19:04
Yes, Steve. We do different seminars at libraries, college campuses, and you know, really anywhere that we could fit them in, we feel that education about all things retirement is something that we have the duty to provide.
Steve 19:18
Okay, well, yeah, absolutely. 800-656-8616 That’s the number you can call to get started right here. Let’s see. We’ve got some great questions here. Mike. Let’s jump in Jerry’s up first, he says I’m a single parent, I’m 67 ready to retire. However, I’m anxious about decisions I need to make. My daughter is in her last year of college. I don’t have any more money to pay for it. So for her last year, should I take from my retirement monies or get a loan? She’s a good kid with some special problems that she overcomes daily. Any advice? Tough one.
Michael 19:54
Yeah, that is tough. And Jerry, if you’re hearing me right now just listen. It’s It is a very great thing that you’re doing for your daughter. And you know, you should be really proud that you have a daughter that’s going through college and really furthering her education. Now, here’s the thing that you have the two options there, do you take a loan? Or do you take money from your retirement? The problem is, you’re ready to retire, you’re 67 years old, you’re right on that finish line. And if we take a large withdraw to pay for a year of college, that could really affect it negatively. So, loans right now still may be feasible to get I know, we’re in a rising interest rate environment. So, I would look into that loan first, see if we can get something a little, a little bit on the cheaper end before we take a large chunk out of our retirement.
Steve 20:38
Sure. So he’s not saying what he has ready for retirement. But again, if he has a retirement plan, or or, you know, a retirement income plan, he could just give us a call, come on in and talk with you. You could look at that plan and see what could be done, right?
Michael 20:51
Absolutely. And that’s what all of our clients do all the time. You know, if you’re a client of ours, you’re entitled to unlimited financial planning meetings. And this is a situation where we’d have you come in, we’d run the numbers and see if it really makes sense. And look at the two different options. If we’re getting a low interest rate loan, then maybe that’s a lot better than taking a large chunk out of our retirement right now.
Steve 21:12
All right, 800-656-8616. Jerry, if you’d like to know some more, On we go to Marty says the stock market is my problem. Well, it’s a lot of our problems right now, Marty. He says my 401 K is my problem. What are the chances I retire the stock market crashes? All my plans are upside down? What do I do with my 401? K? Now my original plan as recently as last month was to draw down my 401 K and use approximately $200,000 to renovate my house? Should I take a loan or keep my plan the way it is? Wow. Yes, similar situation.
Michael 21:47
Very, very similar to Jerry, you know, just a little bit different here. And what I recommend for you, Marty, is just really go to your advisor. And if you don’t want if you don’t have one come into our office, and we can run the numbers and we could see what makes more sense for you. You know, the problem with drawing down your 401 K, this close to retirement is it can really throw a wrench into the gears. So should you take a loan, I mean, there’s often loans that you can get, you know, home equity lines of credit home equity loans, that could be very affordable and might be the option for you. But we really won’t know until we get a look at your personal financial situation. Sure.
Steve 22:21
I mean, again, everything every situation is different. But that’s why it’s important to sit down with an advisor and you know, get that get that insight. Let’s see, we’ve got more here. Edith says, I’m 64. My husband is 62. We plan to work until he is at least 65 soul three or four more years, we have about a million dollars total in various accounts, but my own IRA has $40,000 in it. Should I move that to a Roth IRA? Or is it too late at this stage? I’m also trying to pay down our mortgage, our house is worth about 650,000, the mortgage now 200,000. So when we retire, we’ll be debt free and can sell the house and go what do you think?
Michael 23:01
Yes. So Edith, let me let me touch on a few things there. Let me start with the IRA, that you’re thinking about converting to a Roth IRA, is it too late, it’s never too late to make good financial decisions. The one thing we do want to be careful of is how we make that decision. You know, you have 400,000 there, if you were decide to convert that all in one year, that’s 400,000 worth of income, you’re adding on to your current income with both your husband and yourself still working. So I would definitely recommend against that. And, you know, maybe there’s a better strategy of doing a little bit year over year, just reducing that RMD risk that we have later in retirement.
Steve 23:39
Okay. Well, it sounds like they’re set pretty well, you know, and again, just working out a few details, they could probably have a pretty nice retirement sounds like.
Michael 23:46
They definitely could, you know, and one of her other questions there were about trying to pay down the mortgage, you know, you have sections or 50,000, left and words left at 200,000. So, I understand, you know, you want to be debt free, you want to pay off that mortgage. But you know, if ultimately your plan is to sell the house and go, maybe we don’t need to pay that down completely. Maybe we sell the house, take with the take the equity that we receive, pay off the rest of the mortgage on our way out. And then look what we have down the road from there.
Steve 24:14
All right. Well, again, we have pretty much your run up against the clock again, Mike, this has been a great show. Let’s go ahead and invite folks to call one last time.
Michael 24:22
Yes, so Steve, we keep these openings on our calendar each week for you listeners and we really love to hear from you each and every time we love your questions that are coming in and you have the opportunity to come in, sit down have a conversation. Each and every advisor in this office is a licensed fiduciary. And just keep in mind these strategies, as I mentioned, are for folks with over a million dollars but we will not turn you away if you are serious about retirement planning. So next time call is to have at least 200,000 saved. We will perform a complimentary easy to understand financial review of your portfolio that review indicate if you are in need of a comprehensive financial plan. So this analysis will give you that fee report I spoke of a risk analysis to help you under understand the unnecessary losses that you could be taking your portfolio, along with protecting your retirement investments will give you a tax analysis to reveal how you can potentially reduce your taxes. And we will also give you a developed customized income plan, utilizing these proven strategies which could strengthen your retirement income and take the worry out of living in retirement. So next 10 callers that’s a comprehensive right track financial review that we are providing complimentary to you with absolutely no obligation.
Steve 25:32
Hey, that sounds fantastic. This is that last opportunity today to make the call 800-656-8616 10 callers gets the comprehensive financial review and we walk out the door with a roadmap that’ll help get you to where you need to be 800-656-8616 again, 800-656-8616 a good show today, Mike, they all show great, great job today from you. And it’s always good to talk with folks at secure money advisors.
Michael 26:00
Yeah, absolutely. Steve, and it’s great to have you as well.
Steve 26:03
And we want to thank everybody for listening. We appreciate it. We’re going to come back next week with new topics and questions right here On the Money with Secure Money.
Announcer 26:17
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 and are not liable for the use of drip information. Discuss exposure to ideas and financial vehicles should not be considered investment advice or recommendations, 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 redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income stream for only two fixed insurance products 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.
