The financial markets are impossible to predict, and a market loss can affect your ability to live a comfortable lifestyle down the road. That’s why it’s important to diversify among a number of different investments and financial products. It’s like the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Diversification may help you gain when markets rise and protect you when they fall. In addition, diversification does not guarantee future results, ensure a profit, or protect against loss. Your financial professional can help.

Markets rise, markets fall, and no one can accurately predict when. If you have lots of time ahead of you, chances are you will have the opportunity to rebound from market losses as the year’s progress. But if markets fall while you liquidate retirement assets for income it can have a significant impact on your retirement security. One way to protect against this is to diversify your assets among a variety of financial products, including some that are not affected by market downturns. Your financial professional can show you how.

Social Security can be a great foundation for a long-term financial strategy. But for many, Social Security alone is not enough to provide a comfortable lifestyle. That’s why building your savings is so important. It’s the combination of your Social Security and savings that will determine the level of financial freedom you’ll have during retirement. To find out more about how much Social Security you can expect, visit the My Social Security website to get your personal Social Security statement: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. 

The IRA contribution limits change from time to time. In 2020, you may contribute a total of up to $6,000 per year to all your IRAs ($7,000 if you’re age 50 or older). However, you cannot contribute more than your annual earnings. So if those earnings are below $6,000, you can only contribute up to the amount you made.

Source: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits

When the goal is to build long-term savings, many investors think of contributing to an IRA because it enables savings to grow faster through the power of tax deferral. However, there are also other tax-deferred options available to investors, including your employer’s 401(k) plan, annuities, and other vehicles. Before investing your hard-earned money, ask your financial professional about the features and benefits of the various tax-deferred plans, and select the one or ones that best suit your personal situation, needs, and goals.

Taxes can impact how quickly your savings grow. Taxes can also impact how much you get to keep once you begin taking income. Distributions from annuities, IRAs, qualified retirement plans like 401(k) plans, and pension plans are generally taxed at income tax rates. Assets outside retirement plans like stocks, mutual funds, and real estate are generally taxed at capital gains tax rates. There is an often overlooked source that offers tax-free income—from sources such as Roth IRAs, municipal bond interest, and cash value life insurance death proceeds, loans, and withdrawals.

Will I have enough assets and income for a long retirement? No one can predict how long they’ll spend in retirement, but many people today live well into their 70s, 80s, and even 90s. That’s why it’s important to have financial products that help you grow your money as much as possible and, down the road, turn it into income that can last your entire life.

Without my income, how will my family pay the bills? You may see life insurance as an expense—financial protection for your families at the cost of premiums paid. What you may be missing is that life insurance can be part of a diversified retirement strategy, providing valuable financial protection against premature death now, and the opportunity to build a source of supplemental retirement income later. Life insurance may be especially attractive for high-income earners who may face contribution caps on qualified retirement plans and need help saving enough for retirement.

Yes, when it comes to saving for retirement, there are variety of tax considerations including annual contribution limits to qualified retirement plans, tax deductibility of contributions, tax-deferred growth potential, taxation of income (including capital gains and dividends), early penalty taxes for early withdrawals, and taxation of death proceeds. Your financial professional and tax advisor can help determine which options are right for you.

During our professional careers, investing is mostly about growing the amount of money we have. But when we retire, the emphasis often shifts to the goal of creating income. Specifically, how might we ensure our assets will provide enough income throughout the rest of our years to support a life that’s meaningful to us? Your financial professional can help you determine how much income you may need and how to create a strategy to meet your goals.