How to Handle Your Retirement Worries – Mark Heinrich

Investment-related worries take up a huge amount of retirees’ time and attention. According to a Charles Schwab study, retirement planning is the leading cause of financial worry for most Americans. But living the retiree life doesn’t have to be scary. You can take actions today that will help you sleep better at night and feel like your retirement is under control, no matter how much money you have saved. Here are some tips to get started:

You’ll Outlive Your Savings.

The Worry:  Even if you save for thirty years, there’s no guarantee you won’t run out of money. According to the Aegon Center for Longevity’s 2019 poll, over half of Americans are concerned about running out of money in retirement. This is a reasonable fear, given that over 40% of Americans have less than $5,000 in retirement savings, the future of Social Security remains unclear, and people are living longer than ever before.

The Reality: While it’s true that no one can predict how long an individual will live, statistics show your chances of living to age ninety-five are good. And even if you do fall short of the magic number, Social Security can fill in the gaps. Even if you’re not ready to retire, save early and often, and keep your expenses low so your savings will go as far as possible. The key is to figure out the best way to save based on your current situation. Annuities, Social Security, tax breaks, and home equity can all play a role.

Your Investments Won’t Keep Up.

The Worry:  The day you retire, your investments will stop growing. This worry often goes hand in hand with the fear that you’ll run out of money. Even if you think you’re saving enough for retirement, you may be worried that your investments won’t be able to generate enough income when you need it. Yes, the stock market has traditionally provided a certain rate of return, but what if a recession occurs just before your retirement?

The Reality: Even if the investment growth slows once you hit retirement, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any opportunity for growth at all. Sticking to a plan that offers “required” growth in the form of fixed income accounts can help you keep up with inflation in retirement. You might also look into investments that offer capital appreciation, which puts money back in your pocket.

The Rising Cost of Medical Expenses

The Worry:   You’ve heard that health care expenses are high, but you don’t know how much to plan for. As the population ages, medical costs are likely to go up, making it even more important to build extra savings.

The Reality:  The average 65-year-old couple retiring now will spend an estimated $300,000 on healthcare during their retirements, according to Fidelity Investments. If there’s a family history of chronic diseases or anyone in your household is battling an illness, be sure you’re building enough into your budget for future medical needs. And if you can afford it, adding long-term care insurance may help ease the financial burden of extended care should the need arise late in life.
If you have a high-deductible health plan, you may want to start maxing out your health savings account (HSA) in addition to paying for supplementary insurance. HSAs are similar to IRAs in that they enable you to invest pre-tax cash. You may then take money out of your HSA tax-free if you utilize it for eligible medical costs. As a result, HSAs are especially well-suited to building up funds for later-in-life medical bills.

The Death of Your Spouse

The Worry: For individuals nearing or in retirement, the untimely loss of a spouse may inflict more than just emotional sadness. It may also have a significant influence on your retirement earnings and taxes. Survivor spouses frequently question whether they will have enough money to pay their new costs and balance the drop in Social Security benefits and pensions, in addition to the cost of healthcare and hospice.

The Reality: Have a talk with your financial adviser about techniques to preserve income and establish a buffer for the transition from paying taxes as married filing jointly to single to keep the dread of losing a loved one at bay. A decent life insurance policy, for example, may assist you and your spouse with a variety of things, such as income replacement, cost of living money, mortgage payback, and financial peace of mind.

Make sure you understand all of your retirement income streams, in addition to life insurance. You may obtain a sense of what survivor benefits look like and how they can affect your income by looking at the Social Security website and any pension plan papers. You can also consider downsizing ahead of time to save money in retirement. If your spouse dies and your income changes, moving into a smaller, less costly property or minimizing lifestyle creep might help you feel financially comfortable.

Contact Information:
Email: mark.heinrich@grfci.com
Phone: 9187441333

Bio:
Mark, a lifelong Tulsan graduated from Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting. Mark served in the United States Army as a Captain in the 486th Civil Affairs BN. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and retired in 1996. Mark is married to his high school sweetheart Jenny and has four beautiful children. Mark’s passion for his work, which includes over 20 years in the Financial Industry started as an Oklahoma State Bank Examiner. Mark examined banks throughout Oklahoma gaining a vast knowledge and experience on bank investments, small business and family investments. Mark’s experiences include being formally trained by UBS Wealth Management, a global investment firm where he served as a Financial Consultant specializing in Wealth Management for individuals & families. Mark is a licensed Series 24 and 28 General Securities Principal and an Introducing Broker Dealer Financial Operations Principal. Additionally, Mark is a Series 7 and 66 stockbroker and Investment Advisor focusing on market driven investments for individuals, businesses and their families.

Mark specializes in providing financial knowledge, ideas, and solutions for federal employees, individuals, families and businesses. We serve as your advocate, and assist you in the design and implementation of financial strategies while providing the ideas to maximize your security and wealth. Our goal is to give you maximum control of your financial future. We provide the expertise to help you with personal issues such as: practical tax Ideas, risk management, investment solutions, and estate preservation.

Additionally, we’ve counseled hundreds of employees on their transitions from careers in federal government, and private industry to their next life stage, whether that is retirement or a second career. We specialize in devising strategies that roll your TSP, 401(k), pension plan, to a suitable IRA to meet your objectives.

Disclosure:
Securities offered through GRF Capital Investors, Inc., 6506 South Lewis Avenue, Suite 160 Tulsa, OK 74136 Phone: 918-744-1333 Fax: 918-744-1564

Securities cleared through RBC Capital Markets, LLC. 60 South 6th St., Minneapolis, MN 55402

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