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The Value of Insuring Against Life’s Risks

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The Value of Insuring Against Life’s Risks
Building wealth requires protection from the forces of wealth destruction.

 

Provided by M. Zachary Zinser

 

When you are planning for your future, what do you think about? You may think about your retirement, enjoying having the time and money to take trips and pursue your interests. Maybe you think about your home and enjoying the feeling of stability that can come with home ownership. In making these plans, people often find that their long-term view involves money, in some fashion.

 

That said, life also involves risk as well as unforeseen events that can change our plans in an instant. As an example, sudden injury or disability could leave you in a financial bind, unable to work for an extended period of time, or ever again. For this reason, among others, insurance is an important tool in allowing you to build and maintain your wealth, as well as protecting it from unanticipated and destructive forces.

 

Did you know:

* Sixty-eight percent of American workers have no long-term disability income protection.1

* Roughly 70 million Americans aged 18-38 have no life insurance.2

* About one driver in eight is uninsured?3

 

If you ask a homeowner, replacing a roof is probably the least satisfying expense they will ever face. While the value of such an investment is obvious, it doesn’t quite provide the satisfaction of new landscaping. Yet, when a heavy rain comes, ask that same owner if they would have preferred the nice flowers or a sturdy roof.

 

Insurance is a lot like that roof. It’s not a terribly gratifying expenditure, but it may offer protection against the myriad of potential financial storms that can touch down in your life.

 

The uncertainties of life are wide ranging, and many of them can threaten the financial security of you and your family. We understand most of these risks; for example, a home destroyed by a fire and a car accident are just two common risks that could subject you to outsized financial loss.

 

Similarly, your resulting inability to earn a living to support yourself and your family due to death or disability can wreak long-term financial havoc on those closest to you. Insurance exists to protect you from these forms of wealth destruction.

 

Some insurance (e.g., home or car) may be required, but when it isn’t mandatory (e.g., life or disability), individuals are tempted to avoid the certain financial “loss” associated with insurance premiums, while simultaneously, assuming the risk of much larger losses, which are less likely to happen.

 

 

But insurance premiums aren’t a financial “loss” – they are designed to help protect you and your family as you build personal wealth. Keep that in mind as you consider your coverage options and make decisions about your future; you could be making a decision that could affect the rest of your life.

 

Zachary Zinser may be reached at 502-245-6674 or zach@zinserbenefitservice.com

or www.zinserbenefitservice.com 

 

 

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

 

Securities Offered through Silver Oak Securities, Inc. Member FINRA & SIPC. Zinser Benefit Service, Inc. and Silver Oak Securities, Inc. are not affiliated.

 

Citations.

1 – ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf [2018]

 

2 – ajc.com/business/personal-finance/free-term-life-insurance-yep-thing-and-here-how-you-can-get/zzoBg0QQqRgjoBMAN1QfWM/ [12/3/2018]

Why Do You Need a Will?

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According to the global analytics firm Gallup, only about 44% of Americans have created a will. This finding may not surprise you. After all, no one wants to be reminded of their mortality or dwell on what might happen upon their death, so writing a last will and testament is seldom prioritized on the to-do list of a Millennial or Gen Xer. What may surprise you, though, is the statistic cited by personal finance website The Balance: around 35% of Americans aged 65 and older lack wills.1,2

A will is an instrument of power. By creating one, you gain control over the distribution of your assets. If you die without one, the state decides what becomes of your property, with no regard to your priorities.

A will is a legal document by which an individual or a couple (known as “testator”) identifies their wishes regarding the distribution of their assets after death. A will can typically be broken down into four parts:

*Executors: Most wills begin by naming an executor. Executors are responsible for carrying out the wishes outlined in a will. This involves assessing the value of the estate, gathering the assets, paying inheritance tax and other debts (if necessary), and distributing assets among beneficiaries. It is recommended that you name an alternate executor in case your first choice is unable to fulfill the obligation. Some families name multiple children as co-executors, with the intention of thwarting sibling discord, but this can introduce a logistical headache, as all the executors must act unanimously.2,3
*Guardians: A will allows you to designate a guardian for your minor children. The designated guardian you appoint must be able to assume the responsibility. For many people, this is the most important part of a will. If you die without naming a guardian, the courts will decide who takes care of your children.
*Gifts: This section enables you to identify people or organizations to whom you wish to give gifts of money or specific possessions, such as jewelry or a car. You can also specify conditional gifts, such as a sum of money to a young daughter, but only when she reaches a certain age.
*Estate: Your estate encompasses everything you own, including real property, financial investments, cash, and personal possessions. Once you have identified specific gifts you would like to distribute, you can apportion the rest of your estate in equal shares among your heirs, or you can split it into percentages. For example, you may decide to give 45% each to two children and the remaining 10% to your sibling.

A do-it-yourself will may be acceptable, but it may not be advisable. The law does not require a will to be drawn up by a professional, so you could create your own will, with or without using a template. If you make a mistake, however, you will not be around to correct it. When you draft a will, consider enlisting the help of a legal, tax, or financial professional who could offer you additional insight, especially if you have a large estate or a complex family situation.

Remember, a will puts power in your hands. You have worked hard to create a legacy for your loved ones. You deserve to decide how that legacy is sustained.

When You Retire Without Enough

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When You Retire Without Enough

Start your “second act” with inadequate assets, and your vision of the future may be revised.

 

Provided by M. Zachary Zinser

    

How much have you saved for retirement? Are you on pace to amass a retirement fund of $1 million by age 65? More than a few retirement counselors urge pre-retirees to strive for that goal. If you have $1 million in invested assets when you retire, you can withdraw 4% a year from your retirement funds and receive $40,000 in annual income to go along with Social Security benefits (in ballpark terms, about $30,000 per year for someone retiring from a long career). If your investment portfolio is properly diversified, you may be able to do this for 25-30 years without delving into assets elsewhere.1

 

Perhaps you are 20-25 years away from retiring. Factoring in inflation and medical costs, maybe you would prefer $80,000 in annual income plus Social Security at the time you retire. Strictly adhering to the 4% rule, you will need to save $2 million in retirement funds to satisfy that preference.1

 

There are many variables in retirement planning, but there are also two realities that are hard to dismiss. One, retiring with $1 million in invested assets may suffice in 2018, but not in the 2030s or 2040s, given how even moderate inflation whittles away purchasing power over time. Two, most Americans are saving too little for retirement: about 5% of their pay, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Fifteen percent is a better goal.1

 

Fifteen percent? Really? Yes. Imagine a 30-year-old earning $40,000 annually who starts saving for retirement. She gets 3.8% raises each year until age 67; her investment portfolio earns 6% a year during that time frame. At a 5% savings rate, she would have close to $424,000 in her retirement account 37 years later; at a 15% savings rate, she would have about $1.3 million by age 67. From boosting her savings rate 10%, she ends up with three times as much in retirement assets.1

   

Now, what if you save too little for retirement? That implies some degree of compromise to your lifestyle, your dreams, or both. You may have seen your parents, grandparents, or neighbors make such compromises.

 

There is the 75-year-old who takes any job he can, no matter how unsatisfying or awkward, because he realizes he is within a few years of outliving his money. There is the small business owner entering her sixties with little or no savings (and no exit strategy) who doggedly resolves to work until she dies.

 

Perhaps you have seen the widow in her seventies who moves in with her son and his spouse out of financial desperation, exhibiting early signs of dementia and receiving only minimal Social Security benefits. Or the healthy and active couple in their sixties who retire years before their savings really allow, and who are chagrined to learn that their only solid hope of funding their retirement comes down to selling the home they have always loved and moving to a cheaper and less cosmopolitan area or a tiny condominium.

 

When you think of retirement, you probably do not think of “just getting by.” That is no one’s retirement dream. Sadly, that risks becoming reality for those who save too little for the future. Talk to a financial professional about what you have in mind for retirement: what you want your life to look like, what your living expenses could be like. From that conversation, you might get a glimpse of just how much you should be saving today for tomorrow.

 

  1. Zachary Zinser may be reached at 502-245-6674 or zach@zinserbenefitservice.com

http://www.Zinserbenefitservice.com

 

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

 

«RepresentativeDisclosure»

 

Citations.

1 – investopedia.com/retirement/retirement-income-planning/ [6/7/18]

How Can You Make Your Retirement Money Last?

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All retirees want their money to last a lifetime.  There is no guarantee it will, but, in pursuit of that goal, households may want to adopt a couple of spending and investing precepts.

One precept: observing the 4% rule. This classic retirement planning principle works as follows: a retiree household withdraws 4% of its amassed retirement savings in year one of retirement, and withdraws 4% plus a little more every year thereafter – that is, the annual withdrawals are gradually adjusted upward from the base 4% amount in response to inflation.

The 4% rule was first formulated back in the 1990s by an influential financial planner named William Bengen.  He was trying to figure out the “safest” withdrawal rate for a retiree; one that could theoretically allow his or her savings to hold up for 30 years given certain conditions (more about those conditions in a moment).  Bengen ran various 30-year scenarios using different withdrawal rates in relation to historical market returns, and concluded that a 4% withdrawal rate (adjusted incrementally for inflation) made the most sense.1

For the 4% rule to “work,” two fundamental conditions must be met.  One, the retiree has to invest in a way that will allow his or her retirement savings to grow along with inflation.  Two, there must not be a sideways or bear market occurring.1

As sideways and bear markets have not been the historical norm, following the 4% rule could be wise indeed in a favorable market climate.  Michael Kitces, another influential financial planner, has noted that, historically, a retiree strictly observing the 4% rule would have doubled his or her starting principal at the end of 30 years more than two-thirds of the time.1

In today’s low-yield environment, the 4% rule has its critics.  They argue that a 3% withdrawal rate gives a retiree a better prospect for sustaining invested assets over 30 years.  In addition, retiree households are not always able to strictly follow a 3% or 4% withdrawal rate.  Dividends and Required Minimum Distributions may effectively increase the yearly withdrawal.  Retirees should review their income sources and income prospects with the help of a financial professional to determine what withdrawal percentage is appropriate given their particular income needs and their need for long-term financial stability.

Another precept:adopting a “bucketing” approach.  In this strategy, a retiree household assigns one-third of its savings to equities, one-third of its savings to fixed-income investments, and another third of its savings to cash.  Each of these “buckets” as a different function.

The cash bucket is simply an emergency fund stocked with money that represents the equivalent of 2-3 years of income the household does not receive as a result of pensions or similarly scheduled payouts.  In other words, if a couple gets $35,000 a year from Social Security and needs $55,000 a year to live comfortably, the cash bucket should hold $40,000-60,000.

The household replenishes the cash bucket over time with investment returns from the equities and fixed-income buckets.  Overall, the household should invest with the priority of growing its money; through the investment approach could tilt conservative if the individual or couple has little tolerance for risk.

Since growth investing is an objective of the bucket approach, equity investments are bought and held.  Examining history, that is not a bad idea: the S&P 500 has never returned negative over a 15-year stretch in recent memory – the 15 years ending in March 2009, when it bottomed out in the last bear market.2

Assets in the fixed-income bucket may be invested as conservatively as the household wishes.  Some fixed-income investments are more conservative than others – which is to say, some are less affected by fluctuations in interest rates and Wall Street turbulence than others.  While the most conservative, fixed-income investments are currently yielding very little, they may yield more in the future as interest rates presumably continue to rise.

There has been great concern over what rising interest rates will do to this investment class, but, if history is any guide, short-term pain may be alleviated by ultimately greater yields.  Last December, Vanguard Group projected that, if the Federal Reserve gradually raised the benchmark interest rate to 2.0% across the three-and-a-half years ending in July 20149, a typical investment fund containing intermediate-term fixed-income securities would suffer a -0.15% total return for 2016, but return positively in the following years. 3

Avoid overspending and invest with growth in mind.  That is the basic message from all this, and, while following that simple instruction is not guaranteed to make your retirement savings last a lifetime, it may help you to sustain those savings for the long run.

 

Citations

1 – money.cnn.com/2016/04/20/retirement/retirement-4-rule/ [4/20/16]

2 – time.com/money/4161045/retirement-income/ [5/22/16]

3 – tinyurl.com/hjfggnp [12/2/15]

 

The Chapters of Retirement

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The Chapters of Retirement

The five phases of life after 50 & the considerations that accompany them.

 

The journey to and through retirement occurs gradually, like successive chapters in a book. Each chapter has its own things to consider.

 

Chapter 1 (the fifties). At this stage of life, retirement becomes less like a far-off dream and more like a forthcoming reality. You begin to think about when you can retire, and about taking the right steps to retire comfortably.

   

By one measure, men have their peak earning years in their mid-fifties. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows the median male worker earning 127% of his initial salary at that time. The peak earning years for women are harder to statistically gauge, as some women leave the paid workforce for years-long intervals. In inflation-adjusted terms, earnings actually peak earlier in life. PayScale estimates that on average, pay growth for women flattens at age 39 (at a median salary of $60,000), and at age 48 for men (at a median salary of $95,000). So by the fifties, many people are receiving raises to keep up with the cost of living, but essentially earning the equivalent of what they made a decade or more ago.1,2

 

During your fifties, you may contend with “lifestyle creep” – the phenomenon of your household expenses growing along with your pay raises. These increased expenses may include housing costs, education costs, healthcare costs, even eldercare costs. Despite these financial strains, the inflow of new money into retirement accounts must not cease; your retirement plan assets should not be drawn down through loans or withdrawn too early.

 

Chapter 2 (the early sixties). The anticipation builds at this point; you start to think about the process of retiring and the precise financial and lifestyle steps involved. You also begin to think about the near future – not only what you will do next, but how you will do it.

 

According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the average American man now retires at age 64, the average American woman at age 62. So the reality is that the early sixties coincide with retirement for many people. This reality is worth noting in light of the difference between Americans’ envisioned and actual retirement ages. Last April, a Gallup poll asked pre-retirees when they expected to leave the workforce: 37% saw themselves working past 65, 32% before 65, and 24% at 65. The same poll asked older, retired Americans when they had stopped working full-time, and 67% of those respondents said they had done so before 65.3,4

 

You may have to act on your plans to volunteer or start an encore career earlier than you think. If you do not have a set plan for the next chapter, a phased retirement may give you more of an opportunity to determine one.

 

This is also a time to dial down risk in your portfolio, especially if a bear market occurs right before you retire. You have little time to recover from a downturn.

 

Chapter 3 (the start of retired life). The first year or so of retirement is akin to a “honeymoon phase” – you have the time and perhaps the money to pursue all kinds of dreams. The key is not to spend wildly. Lifestyle creep also affects new retirees; free time often means more chances to spend money.

 

The good news is that you may spend less than you think. Transportation, insurance, housing, clothing and food costs may all decline. The common view is that you will need to live on 80% of your end salary for a comfortable retirement, but in a 2014 T. Rowe Price survey of retirees, the average respondent was living on 66% of his or her pre-retirement income. Eighty-five percent of those retirees said they were maintaining their standard of living with less money.5

   

Chapter 4 (the mid-sixties through the late seventies). This is when some people get a little restless. It is also when some people find their retirement savings growing disturbingly smaller. You may get bored with all-leisure, all-the-time and want to volunteer or work on your own terms, health permitting. You may want to adjust your retirement income strategy or see if new streams of income can be arranged.

 

Chapter 5 (eighty & afterward). The last chapter of retirement is one frequently characterized by the sharing of legacies and life lessons, a new perspective on the process of living and aging, and deeper engagement (or reengagement) with children and grandchildren. This is also the time when you should think about your financial legacy, and review or update your estate plan so that when you leave this world, things are in good order and your wishes are followed.

 

Before and during your retirement, it is wise to keep in touch with a financial professional who can guide and consult you when questions about income, investments, wealth protection, and wealth transfer arise.

 

 

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

 

Citations.

1 – marketwatch.com/story/peak-earnings-for-men-come-in-their-early-50s-2015-06-18 [6/18/15]

2 – fastcompany.com/3025564/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/when-are-your-high-earning-years-how-much-you-should-make- [1/30/14]

3 – crr.bc.edu/briefs/the-average-retirement-age-an-update/ [3/15]

4 – gallup.com/poll/182939/americans-settling-older-retirement-age.aspx [4/29/15]

5 – news.investors.com/investing/073014-711065-people-adjust-to-lower-income-in-retirement.htm [7/30/14]

 

 

 

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