“InvestmentNews,” a leading news publication for financial professionals, shared an interesting statistic that should make the general public sit up and take notice: eighty percent of the beneficiary forms that are part of important financial documents are blank, outdated or improperly completed. These include beneficiary forms for individual retirement accounts, pension plans and insurance policies. Very often, this is discovered after it is too late to correct the document.

“These mistakes can be costly – even tragic – because what they do is impair the ability to protect, preserve and pass on assets to heirs,” explained Troy Hamsher, founder and CEO of Hamsher Wealth Management, LLC, a full service financial and retirement planning firm based in Colorado. To protect their clients from these and other oversights, Hamsher’s firm conducts a beneficiary review as standard practice, a unique service not offered at most firms. “Simply putting a name on the beneficiary form often does not reflect the true wishes of the client. Unfortunately, life events such as divorce, children, step-children, adult children with special needs and spendthrift protection need more detailed attention,” he detailed.

One way this unfortunate circumstance may occur is when people attempt to manage their financial planning through what Hamsher describes as “à la carte planning” – that is, working with different financial representatives from different firms and an attorney from yet another firm. “The problem is that none of these professionals are plugged into one another, working in tandem on behalf of the client. Therefore, all of the advice is one-dimensional,” he explained.

At Hamsher Wealth Management, clients have an entire team of professionals working on their behalf, including CPAs, insurance professionals, financial analysts, an estate planning attorney and two prominent portfolio managers, Wayne Schmidt and Michael Binger, who both hold the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst®. “Not only do our portfolio managers bring five decades of experience to the table, they bring two very important resumes, with one being fixed income and the other being equities,” said Hamsher, adding that Schmidt and Binger regularly appear on Fox Business News, MSNBC, CNBC and Bloomberg TV as panel experts to discuss current trends in the financial industry.

One of those trends focuses on the rush of baby boomers approaching retirement. Managing Social Security benefits is foremost on most people’s minds, but Hamsher has seen that often financial professionals give their clients the most simplistic, basic advice: start taking Social Security benefits at age 62, or at full retirement age at 66 or wait until age 70 to get the highest benefit. He cautions that variables like the age gap between spouses, the timing of retirement and the client’s overall financial plan make this a more complex decision for sound retirement planning.

“It’s certainly not a one-size-fits-all proposition,” said Hamsher. “We start with our proprietary software that runs every possible strategy and claiming option, so our clients can see exactly how to get the most out of their Social Security benefits. At the end of the day, every dollar that you can maximize with Social Security is one less dollar that you are going to need from your own nest egg to supplement that income gap in retirement.”

“Let’s face it, Social Security alone does not equal the ideal retirement, nor was it designed to,” continued Hamsher, introducing the topic of annuities, which have increased in popularity as pension plans have eroded.

“Indexed annuities can play a vital role in retirement planning. Different indexed annuities carry different features and benefits. For instance, some are better suited for producing income, some for wealth transfer and others are best for tax-deferred wealth accumulation. We carry a large portfolio of carriers and products, which is the only way that we can recommend the exact product that provides a gloved fit for the needs of the client,” Hamsher said.

Longevity is another hot topic for baby boomers. In the U.S. and other countries, people are living in retirement for as many years as they spent working. Long-term care insurance is advantageous for people who are in a position to keep paying monthly premiums. But according to Hamsher, there are people in their 60’s and 70’s who do not have long-term care insurance and are now starting to worry about the consequences to come as years progress. “The good news is that there are some very strong options available that we refer to as alternatives to long-term care,” said Hamsher, who warned that if people don’t work with a full-service financial firm, an introduction and explanation of these alternatives is unlikely.

For ten years, Hamsher has hosted the “The Dollars and Sense Radio Show”. His wife, Lauri, joined as co-host seven years ago, bringing the female perspective, which is often underrepresented in the financial industry. “Our listeners feel a connection that does not exist with typical prerecorded infomercials. Imagine talking to your spouse for one or two hours straight, unscripted and live – that’s where the entertainment factor comes in,” quipped Hamsher. Out of the studio and back at the office, Lauri, who oversees the client service and support operations at Hamsher Wealth Management, also specializes in assisting widowed and single women with income planning and solutions for their retirement portfolios.

For more information visit: www.hamsherwealthmanagement.com