Make the Best Investment

Twenty-first century asset protection calls for more than just strategic asset allocation. Guardian Financial Management in Lewisville, Texas, works with you to diversify your retirement assets across a variety of vehicles, including both insurance products and investments, to offer you the best chance of meeting your income goals throughout your lifespan. Depending on what is appropriate for your situation, we can even offer guaranteed* income products like retirement annuities to protect* your money from declines due to market losses.

Asset Protection

Because the market does not provide security, you may want your financial strategies to include some guaranteed* income products. These vehicles provide a reliable* source of supplemental income throughout your retirement, helping you maintain a comfortable and worry-free lifestyle.

*Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

Retirement Annuities

Today, the majority of the burden for retirement income seems to have shifted to the individual. For this reason, you may want to consider adding an annuity to your retirement strategy to establish a guaranteed* fixed income component. An annuity is a contract you purchase from an insurance company. For the premium you pay, you receive certain fixed interest crediting options able to compound, tax deferred, until withdrawn.

When you are ready to receive income distributions, this vehicle offers a variety of guaranteed* payout options. Most annuities have provisions that allow you to withdraw a percentage of the value of the contract each year up to a certain limit. However, withdrawals will reduce the contract value and the value of any protected benefits. Excess withdrawals above the restricted limit typically incur "surrender charges" within the first five to 10 years of the contract. Because they are designed as a long-term retirement income vehicle, annuity withdrawals made before age 59-1/2 are subject to a 10-percent penalty fee, and all withdrawals may be subject to income taxes.

*Annuity guarantees rely on the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Annuities are insurance products that may be subject to fees, surrender charges, and holding periods, which vary by carrier. Annuities are not FDIC insured.

Keep Your Bank Account Full

Once you are done protecting your current assets, you can start looking at different ways to increase your monthly income. Guardian Financial Management in Lewisville, Texas, offers our clients a variety of options designed to maintain your standard of living, including long-term care insurance and IRA planning resources.

IRA & 401(k) Rollovers

When you change jobs or retire, there are four things you can generally do with the assets in any employer-sponsored retirement plan. You can leave the money where it is; take the cash and pay income taxes as well as a potential 10-percent federal tax if you are younger than 59-1/2; transfer the money to another employer plan if allowed by the new plan; or roll the money over into an IRA.

Rolling over from one qualified plan to another allows your money to continue growing tax-deferred until you receive distributions in retirement. If you decide to cash out of an IRA, we can help you find suitable vehicles to help you reach your retirement income goals.

IRA Asset Planning

IRA accounts have become one of the largest types of assets inherited by beneficiaries. If you don't anticipate needing your IRA money in retirement, you may wish to consider a legacy planning strategy that potentially reduces taxes and increases the payout your beneficiaries will receive upon your death.

You may want to use some of the value in your IRA to provide your beneficiaries a regular stream of income while leaving the balance of IRA assets invested for tax-deferred growth. The result may yield substantially more money paid out over the course of your beneficiaries' lifetimes. We can help you evaluate your financial situation to determine if IRA legacy planning could help meet your goal of structuring a long-lasting inheritance for your beneficiaries.

Long-Term Care Strategies

As the oldest baby boomers continue into their 60s, one of the biggest concerns may not be outliving income but outliving good health. For retirees, home healthcare can cost $50,000¹ or more per year, and nursing home care can run as high as $80,000² per year. Does your retirement income strategy account for this kind of possibility? Would you be prepared for twice that amount as a married couple?

Considering that you could have to reduce your financial means before Medicaid will pay for long-term care and neither your employer group health insurance nor major medical insurance will cover long-term care, you may want to consider planning ahead for these potential expenses. We can help evaluate your situation and determine if purchasing a long-term care insurance policy may be the right move to help you feel confident in your financial future.

¹ Genworth 2012 Cost of Care Survey: Home Care Providers, Adult Day Health Care Facilities, Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes
² MetLife: The 2011 Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs