60 is the new 40

The other day, a friend of mine said, “Don’t you know that 60 is the new 40?” Well, if that’s true – and I hope it is – then there is good news and bad news. The good news, of course, is that we can look forward to enjoying active lifestyles for a longer period of time. The bad news is, if we’re going to live longer, how will we pay for “stuff” if we outlive our retirement savings???

Now – and I mean right now – is the time to focus on increasing wealth through tax-saving strategies and maximizing qualified retirement plan savings. And guess what? They go together.

If you are a business owner, partner in a firm or tax advisor, listen up! There are three things you can adopt today that can really have a significant impact on the success of your qualified retirement account above and beyond a traditional 401k plan. And thus, increase the odds of having a successful outcome to secure your lifestyle through retirement.

First – make sure your current 401k plan is running at maximum efficiency. Are you able to put away every dime you can up to the limit? Or are you restricted by low employee participation?

Second – think about using flexible profit sharing plans that allow you to put money into your retirement account even if other partners or colleagues don’t share your retirement goals. Your retirement contribution wagon does not need to be hitched to theirs!

Third – use a defined benefit or cash balance plan to supercharge your retirement account. This will allow you to stockpile significant, tax-deductible, contributions today for use in retirement.

Contact Greenberg, Wexler & Eig today to see how we can help you develop a successful retirement outcome. The success of your future is our business today.

This material is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal or tax advice and is not intednded to replace the advice of a qualified attorney, tax advisor or plan provider.

Personal Financial Security – Life Insurance As A Risk Management Tool

This is part 1 of a series discussing life insurance as personal financial security. You can find part 2 here.

 

The primary purpose of life insurance is the transfer of financial risk of death to a life insurance company in exchange for premium payments.  This is simple in concept.  However, life insurance products, contract forms and how they are designed for use are deceptively complicated.

In the simplest of terms, there are two type of life insurance policy forms: temporary coverage called term life insurance and permanent coverage.

  • Term life insurance is coverage that pays a death claim if you die during the term of coverage.  For example a 10 year term policy provides coverage for 10 years and terminates at the end of 10 years.  Term coverage does not accrue any cash value.
  • Permanent life insurance pays a death when you die.  It also accumulates cash value.

The first planning tenant for personal financial security is “it is more important to have the right amount of life insurance than the right kind of life insurance.”   For personal financial security, the amount of life insurance is determined by quantifying objectives for final expenses, paying off debts, educating children, replacing lost wages and family members with special needs.  Then liquid assets are deducted from the quantified objectives and the gap is filled with life insurance.  This gap is frequently filled with term life insurance on the theory that over a long period of time debts get paid off, children complete their education; wealth is created by savings, investments, retirement plans and business interests.

Over time, if enough wealth is accumulated then the family may have sufficient resources to self-insure their financial security and the need to life insurance may become superfluous.  However, if the accumulated wealth is insufficient, then it would be prudent to continue life insurance coverage (more on coverage continuation options later).

Please contact David Wexler, CLU, ChFC, AEP to find out more about planning for Personal Financial Security