Category: Retirement

Presented by EMILY PROMISE AIF®, APMA®, CRPC®

Part of planning for ‘life’s biggest vacation’, aka retirement, involves not only making sure you are saving money to help make your goals and dreams come true, but also planning in the event that something happens to you. It is never pleasant to think about, but preserving all that you have worked for is very important.

By definition, estate planning is a process designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive and to conserve and control their distribution after your death according to your goals and objectives. But what estate planning means to you specifically depends on who you are. Your age, health, wealth, lifestyle, life stage, goals, and many other factors determine your particular estate planning needs. For example, you may have a small estate and may be concerned only that certain people receive particular things. A simple will is probably all you will need. Or, you may have a large estate, and minimizing any potential estate tax impact is your foremost goal. Here, you will need to use more sophisticated techniques in your estate plan, such as a trust.

Elements of an estate plan
A plan generally comprises four elements:

1. The last will and testament is a blueprint that directs who will receive your property upon your death and the specific circumstances in which they will receive it. Your will governs only property that flows through probate. For example, financial assets with beneficiaries other than your estate, jointly owned property with rights of survivorship, and assets in a trust funded during life are not distributed under the terms of your will.
2. The durable power of attorney (POA) authorizes someone, often called an agent, to handle your financial affairs if you were to become incapacitated. Without a durable POA, your family members would have to institute legal proceedings and request a probate court to appoint a guardian to carry out these responsibilities.
3. The health care power of attorney (HCPOA) is a document that authorizes someone to make health care decisions if you are not able to. It can also allow your wishes to be known about end-of-life decisions in the event that you are unable to communicate. The latter may be part of your health care POA document or an advanced medical directive, also referred to as a “living will.”
4. A trust is a formal arrangement allowing the trustee to hold assets. The trustee distributes assets to your beneficiaries at the time that you direct in the trust document. There are two basic types of trusts: a living trust and a testamentary trust. A living trust is funded during your lifetime and may receive your estate assets after probate is complete. It is often called a revocable trust because you retain the right to make changes or remove property during your lifetime. A testamentary trust is created after your passing and your will is approved by the probate courts.

Important considerations

Estate planning can be complex. It is important to keep the following in mind:

• Be sure that your beneficiary designations reflect your wishes. Contact your current and former employers, your financial advisor, and your life insurance agent for the required paperwork to make any changes, if necessary.
• Don’t make the mistake of assuming a change in your circumstances, like a remarriage, will make a prior designation null and void. Always make beneficiary changes on the correct paperwork specific to the financial institution.
• Include both primary and contingent beneficiaries for your accounts. If your primary beneficiaries die before you, without a backup beneficiary, the death benefit would be paid to your estate. This can result in unnecessary fees and delays associated with probate, as well as accelerated taxes.
• Relatives with special needs or disabilities rarely inherit directly. Receiving an inheritance outside of a special needs trust could mean the loss of valuable government benefits.
• You can name a beneficiary of your retirement accounts, but be aware of the tax impact. In the end, the advantages of having the retirement accounts managed by a trustee may outweigh the tax disadvantages.

Remember that your plan should be reviewed every year or so and should reflect any life changes. Perhaps you got married, had children, lost a spouse, remarried. All these life changes will require review of your estate documents to reflect new beneficiaries or other changes.

Working with your financial advisor in conjunction with an estate attorney can help you plan for life’s biggest vacation and help preserve the legacy that you have worked so hard to achieve.

Engage with the entire Blakely Financial team at WWW.BLAKELYFINANCIAL.COM to see what other expert advice we can provide towards your financial well-being.

EMILY PROMISE is a financial advisor with BLAKELY FINANCIAL, INC. located at 1022 Hutton Ln., Suite 109, High Point, NC 27262 and can be reached at (336) 885-2530.

Blakely Financial, Inc. is an independent financial planning and investment management firm that provides clarity, insight, and guidance to help our clients attain their financial goals.

Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser

Prepared by Commonwealth Financial Network and Broadridge Advisor Solutions

 

Presented by STEPHEN LAFRANCE, CFP®, MBA

Planning for life’s biggest vacation takes discipline and a little bit of work on the front end. Having conversations with your financial advisor to identify your goals and dreams for retirement now will get you on the path to the best vacation ever!

Did you know that many people do not participate in their employer’s retirement plan because they believe they do not make enough money or because they feel they lack the knowledge about why to participate? One of the best ways to save for retirement is to take advantage of your employer’s retirement plan.

Employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans such as 401(k)s are some of the most powerful retirement savings tools available. If your employer offers such a plan and you are not participating in it, you should be. Once you are participating in a plan, try to take full advantage of it.

Understand your employer-sponsored plan

Before you can take advantage of your employer’s plan, you need to understand how these plans work. Read everything you can about the plan and talk to your employer’s benefits officer. You can also talk to a financial planner, a tax advisor, and other professionals. Recognize the key features that many employer-sponsored plans share:

• Your employer automatically deducts your contributions from your paycheck. You may never even miss the money — out of sight, out of mind.
• You decide what portion of your salary to contribute, up to the legal limit. And you can usually change your contribution amount on certain dates during the year or as needed.
• With 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), SARSEPs, and SIMPLE plans, you contribute to the plan on a pre-tax basis. Your contributions come off the top of your salary before your employer withholds income taxes.
• Your 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plan may let you make after-tax Roth contributions — there’s no up-front tax benefit but qualified distributions are entirely tax free.
• Your employer may match all or part of your contribution up to a certain level. You typically become vested in these employer dollars through years of service with the company.
• Your funds grow tax deferred in the plan. You don’t pay taxes on investment earnings until you withdraw your money from the plan.
• You’ll pay income taxes (and possibly an early withdrawal penalty) if you withdraw your money from the plan.
• You may be able to borrow a portion of your vested balance (up to $50,000) at a reasonable interest rate.
• Your creditors cannot reach your plan funds to satisfy your debts.

Contribute as much as possible

The more you can save for retirement, the better chance you have of retiring comfortably. If you can, max out your contribution up to the legal limit (or plan limits, if lower). If you need to free up money to do that, try to cut certain expenses.

Why put your retirement dollars in your employer’s plan instead of somewhere else? One reason is that your pre-tax contributions to your employer’s plan lower your taxable income for the year. This means you save money in taxes when you contribute to the plan — a big advantage if you’re in a high tax bracket. For example, if you earn $100,000 a year and contribute $10,000 to a 401(k) plan, you’ll pay income taxes on $90,000 instead of $100,000. (Roth contributions don’t lower your current taxable income but qualified distributions of your contributions and earnings — that is, distributions made after you satisfy a five-year holding period and reach age 59½, become disabled, or die — are tax free.)

Another reason is the power of tax-deferred growth. Your investment earnings compound year after year and aren’t taxable as long as they remain in the plan. Over the long term, this gives you the opportunity to build an impressive sum in your employer’s plan. You should end up with a much larger balance than somebody who invests the same amount in taxable investments at the same rate of return.

For example, say you participate in your employer’s tax-deferred plan (Account A). You also have a taxable investment account (Account B). Each account earns 6% per year. You’re in the 24% tax bracket and contribute $5,000 to each account at the end of every year. After 40 years, the money placed in a taxable account would be worth $567,680. During the same period, the tax-deferred account would grow to $820,238. Even after taxes have been deducted from the tax-deferred account, the investor would still receive $623,381. (Note: This example is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent a specific investment.)

Capture the full employer match

If you can’t max out your 401(k) or other plan, you should at least try to contribute up to the limit your employer will match. Employer contributions are basically free money once you are vested in them (check with your employer to find out when vesting happens). By capturing the full benefit of your employer’s match, you will be surprised how much faster your balance grows. If you do not take advantage of your employer’s generosity, you could be passing up a significant return on your money.

For example, you earn $30,000 a year and work for an employer that has a matching 401(k) plan. The match is 50 cents on the dollar up to 6% of your salary. Each year, you contribute 6% of your salary ($1,800) to the plan and receive a matching contribution of $900 from your employer.

Evaluate your investment choices carefully

Most employer-sponsored plans give you a selection of mutual funds or other investments to choose from. Make your choices carefully. The right investment mix for your employer’s plan could be one of your keys to a comfortable retirement. That’s because over the long term, varying rates of return can make a big difference in the size of your balance.

Note: Before investing in a mutual fund, carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the fund. This information can be found in the prospectus, which can be obtained from the fund. Read it carefully before investing.

Research the investments available to you. How have they performed over the long term? How much risk will they expose you to? Which ones are best suited for long-term goals like retirement? You may also want to get advice from a financial professional (either your own, or one provided through your plan). He or she can help you pick the right investments based on your personal goals, your attitude toward risk, how long you have until retirement, and other factors. Your financial professional can also help you coordinate your plan investments with your overall investment portfolio.

Know your options when you leave your employer

When you leave your job, your vested balance in your former employer’s retirement plan is yours to keep. You have several options at that point, including:

• Taking a lump-sum distribution. Before choosing this option, consider that you’ll pay income taxes and possibly a penalty on the amount you withdraw. Plus, you’re giving up the continued potential of tax-deferred growth.
• Leaving your funds in the old plan, growing tax deferred. (Your old plan may not permit this if your balance is less than $5,000, or if you’ve reached the plan’s normal retirement age — typically age 65.) This may be a good idea if you’re happy with the plan’s investments or you need time to decide what to do with your money.
• Rolling your funds over to an IRA or a new employer’s plan (if the plan accepts rollovers). This may also be an appropriate move because there will be no income taxes or penalties if you do the rollover properly (your old plan will withhold 20% for income taxes if you receive the funds before rolling them over, and you’ll need to make up this amount out of pocket when investing in the new plan or IRA). Plus, your funds continue to potentially benefit from tax-deferred growth.

By taking advantage of your employer’s retirement plan, in conjunction with regular review meetings with your financial advisor, planning for the biggest vacation of your life will be easier than ever. And the earlier you can start, the better off you will be. Make sure to take the time now to put those plans in place. You will be so glad you did!

Engage with the entire Blakely Financial team at WWW.BLAKELYFINANCIAL.COM to see what other financial tips we can provide towards your financial well-being.

STEPHEN LAFRANCE, CFP®,MBA is a financial advisor with BLAKELY FINANCIAL, INC. located at 1022 Hutton Ln., Suite 109, High Point, NC 27262. 336-885-2530.

Blakely Financial, Inc. is an independent financial planning and investment management firm that provides clarity, insight, and guidance to help our clients attain their financial goals.

Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.

Prepared by Broadridge Advisor Solutions

Authored by ROBERT BLAKELY, CFP®, AIF®, CHFC®

You work all your life and take the time to plan vacations each year with your family, but are you taking the time to plan for the biggest vacation of your life, your retirement?  Many of us get caught up in the day-to-day of life and do not think about the day when you can wake up and do anything you want.

Today, we want to give you some guidelines as to how to begin planning for that ultimate vacation.

Begin by setting your retirement goals early. We see it all the time. People spend so much time planning a summer vacation, with all the details to make it a fabulous trip. But why not take some of that time and energy and begin thinking about your goals after retirement. How do you see yourself once you retire? What would you like to be doing? Where do you want to live? Do you want to buy a beach or mountain house? Do you want to stay near family? By answering these questions, and working with a financial advisor, you can begin to roadmap the steps you need to take to reach those goals.

The old adage, time is of the essence holds true here. What is your time horizon?  When do you plan to retire?  The sooner you determine when you want to retire, the sooner you can set your goals and put your plans in motion. Remember, time is your friend. Planning and saving early will pay dividends in the future.

And one other thing to consider in your overall plan is how much money will you need to save to reach your goals? Without a steady paycheck, you will need to know where your day-to-day living expenses will come from. Social Security, pensions, and individual retirement accounts will all come into play when identifying how much money you need to live. Working with a financial advisor can help you identify the amount of money that you will need at the time of your retirement. There are many tools that an advisor has at his or her disposal to help you work towards those goals.

Just as you are dreaming of that fun summer vacation in the next month, spend some time dreaming about and planning life’s biggest vacation – retirement. By planning ahead and consulting with a financial advisor, you will be prepared to have the biggest vacation of your life when you retire.

Engage with the entire Blakely Financial team at WWW.BLAKELYFINANCIAL.COM to see what other financial tips we can provide towards your financial well-being.

ROBERT BLAKELY, CFP® is a financial advisor with BLAKELY FINANCIAL, INC. located at 1022 Hutton Ln., Suite 109, High Point, NC 27262. He is the founder and president of Blakely Financial, Inc. celebrating 25 years in business.

Blakely Financial, Inc. is an independent financial planning and investment management firm that provides clarity, insight, and guidance to help our clients attain their financial goals.

Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.