Wealth Protection

Protecting Your Retirement Assets

People are living longer than ever thanks to healthy lifestyles and advances in medical care. Improved longevity can be a blessing to today’s adults as they can enjoy the fruit of their labor for an extended retirement period. However, those years can turn into trials and hardship when people outlive their retirement funds. In the past, retirement plans did not consider that a client would live 30 or more years past the age of retirement. No one wants to run out of money, but it’s even more tragic when it happens during a person’s vulnerable senior years. This has caused the industry to reevaluate retirement planning.

Philip H. Ellis, president of Brittison Financial Group, Inc., works with clients to create customized financial strategies that help them to achieve their long-term goals. He develops financial plans that protect his clients’ retirement assets against longevity risk, market risk, and sequence of returns risk, as well as planning for their long-term care expenses.

“We create custom retirement plans that optimize social security and include forward-thinking, tax efficient planning strategies that protect your wealth,” said Ellis. “We help to set up guaranteed streams of income that increase with inflation to supplement social security income to handle their monthly income needs for the rest of their lives.”

PE 600x400Longevity risk is one of the most challenging issues to deal with when it comes to retirement planning. One consequence of extended lifespans is the increased possibility for long-term care. Almost 70 percent of people who reach the age of 65 will require some form of long-term care - whether it involves having an occasional helper in the home or living in an assisted-living facility. Longer lives mean greater risk of lengthy medical stays. Those unplanned illnesses can wreak havoc on one’s savings since Medical insurance, Medicare, and group employer insurance plans do not cover long-term care. A possible solution for long-term care is long-term care insurance which is designed for covering people who are affected by accidents or illnesses that are longer than 90 days. Brittison Financial Group offers this and other long-term care solutions, including annuities with long term care riders, asset-based long-term care, and life insurance-based long-term care. Ellis works with client to find the right plan for their specific concerns and situations.

“We also help to tackle longevity risk with guaranteed income indexed annuities,” said Ellis. “These types of investment strategies are effective for protecting against longevity risk as they provide a guaranteed stream of income for the rest of the client’s life.”

team ellis600x400Most people retire from working eventually, either by choice or by circumstance. Because everyone has different needs and goals, no two couples retire alike. However, common to all retirees is the desire to be comfortable and that requires that they have enough money to cover their regular expenses as well as enough left to do the extra things they want to do.

Some people use investment apps and robo-advisors to handle their retirement planning. While they can be effective for small investments, these tools take away the personal touch of a financial advisor who gets to know their client’s specific needs. Preparing for retirement can be an emotionally charged experience, especially when the market is volatile or if a person is going through a major life event. “Robo-advisors cannot help someone who has lost most of their long-term funds due to a debilitating illness which is something I’ve faced with several clients over the years,” said Ellis. “People need someone who can help them to find the answers to their retirement issues and build savings and income for the long term. That’s why you’re better off talking to a professional who can tailor your retirement plan based on your specific needs.”

Proper retirement planning involves making plans for a person’s “spending years” which are preceded by years of accumulating savings and investments. Because retirement planning is not static and will change through different life stages through unique and personal situations, it is important to work with a retirement planning professional to determine long-term goals and to make adjustments when major life events happen. For example, Ellis helps client to create structured income plans for surviving spouses, which unfortunately many people have not considered until it’s too late. Planning ahead helps to minimize the stress of life events.

“I’ve never created two identical retirement plans because I believe in taking an individualized approach for every client,” said Ellis. “We will take into account detailed budgets to identify how clients are spending their money. We’ll also optimize their social security savings based on factors such as age, years of work, the spouse’s situation and so on to ensure that they maximize their retirement income and savings.” Ellis and his team at Brittison Financial Group work with clients during their one-on-one strategy sessions on maximizing social security, conservative retirement planning, and tax reduction to help them build wealth, reduce or eliminate their tax burdens, and create retirement income that will last beyond their years.

For more information on Brittison Financial Group, Inc. visit: brittisonfinancialgroup.com

 

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