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MALE: You found it. It’s your safer place for retirement planning. Prepare to be coddled in pure fiduciary goodness with your host and President of Decker Retirement Planning, Mike Decker. This is Safer Retirement Radio. If you’re in or near retirement, listen up and learn about a math-based, principle-based approach to retirement that is designed to help you enjoy a safer retirement. These strategies are to help protect and grow what you’ve saved and live the life you want today. So, grab a pen, because your safer path to retirement planning starts now.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:00:37]
MIKE: Welcome to Safer Retirement Radio where you get the transparency you deserve. I’m Mike Decker.
CLAYTON: I’m Clayton Bradshaw.
MIKE: And today we’ve got a show about Uncle Sam. [LAUGH] No, it’s about taxes today, but what you won’t believe is that Uncle Sam has changed the rules on retirees, and it’s not getting a lot of publicity right now. So, all of you listening up right now, if you are near retirement or currently retired, your tax environment has changed, and because of the political environment that’s taken the newsfeed, you are not being informed with it. Today we’re going to talk about that so you are informed as well as talking about other strategic changes. These are little changes.
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MIKE: We’re not going to dive into the weeds here, but little changes that make a huge difference on your lifestyle, the comfort that you can enjoy. Clayton, are you ready to dive right into it?
CLAYTON: I’m excited for today. I mean, death and taxes, right? The two certain things in life.
MIKE: Yeah. And we’ll be sensitive to death right now because the Kobe Bryant catastrophe has really struck the nation a lot harder than I think a lot of people were expecting, but it’s because Kobe Bryant’s death wasn’t expected. Here’s the point. Clayton, tragedy strikes, and it sucks. Plain and simple.
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MIKE: When my grandma died, it sucked, but we were expecting it. She was in her mid-80s. It was a slow digression over about a year’s time. We knew it was coming. We could emotionally prepare for it. When things happen that we’re not expecting and they’re tragic, the pain amplifies. It’s just worse. Kobe Bryant’s, the catastrophe we’re all talking about, it’s worse because it was not expected. When it comes to retirement and finances, the same thing goes. When something happens to your finances, it’s just worse when it’s not expected. That’s why 2008 was so bad.
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MIKE: 2008 wasn’t so bad because we just lost 40 percent. It’s because we were blindsided with a 40 percent loss. That’s what made it worse. Now, let’s just be clear. A 40 percent loss is terrible, and [LAUGH] living a retirement with no downside protection is a terrible situation, but it’s worse when you’re blindsided. And most people in America get blindsided about every seven to eight years or so, and so we want to talk about not only the changes that Uncle Sam did to you and how to reverse them… not reverse them, but how to amend them, how to plan around them, but also how to build in stability in your retirement.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:03:12]
MIKE: These are the principles of retirement. Clayton, we talk about them often. The first one: only draw income from principle guaranteed sources. I’m not suggesting that all your assets are in principle guaranteed sourced accounts. What I’m saying is where you draw income needs to be from principle guaranteed sources. The second one: diversify by purpose, not by risk, and that will be the theme for today. Diversify by purpose, not by risk simply states: if you have an investment over there, or an investment over here, you have [to?] not only understand what it’s meant to do in the growth aspect, but what it’s meant to do for you from an income or retirement plan standpoint, and the industry is missing the boat on this one.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:03:53]
MIKE: Oh, are they missing the boat. We’ll talk about that most of the show today. And then the third one is to use a distribution plan, not a pie chart guesser. You can’t know what you need to know in retirement with a pie chart. It can’t happen. And, Clayton, just to keep staying on my little pedestal [LAUGH] here, you know what’s so frustrating about the political environment we have today? Is that it’s so divided, and everyone’s just arguing for the sake of arguing at this point. I mean, it’s just pathetic the things that you hear on radio, TV, and the news, and things like that. It’s pathetic because it’s tribal. In finance, do you know what’s also very frustrating? How tribal it is.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:04:31]
MIKE: You’ve got your security guys over here that say the four percent rule works, and it doesn’t. Let me explain what that is for those who don’t know what the four percent rule is. It means you can keep essentially 100 percent of your assets at risk, and you can buy and hold, or maybe make some changes to your portfolio, but it’s all at risk, and you’re just going to draw four percent, and that should be fine. But you’re all at risk. That freaks a lot of retirees out, and so what happens? The pendulum swings to the insurance side of the industry, and the insurance agents are pitching income annuities, and the income annuities are all set up for guaranteed income life. True story.
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MIKE: I heard this commercial this week, Clayton, and it pissed me off. [LAUGH] This guy gets on the radio with a local anchor, and he says, “Hey, it’s good to talk to you,” and, “Oh, you’re so great,” and blah, blah, blah, and, “What do you got for us today?” And the guy says, “Well, I’ve got an income annuity that gives you a 10 percent bonus up front, and it guarantees at least about 10 percent every year that you own it of increased of value.” Sound too good to be true? It is because that is not accurately being portrayed.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:05:39]
MIKE: It’s a fake account that grows on this fictitious number, and then they calculate it with the wizards in the back that are actuaries making the insurance company rich, and your take home is around two percent annual return every year. So here’s the industry. They have one side where you can basically match the returns of a money market, but it’s protected and guaranteed for life, or you have the other side, which is all that risk, and you hope it works. That is a terrible environment for any retiree to be living in.
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MIKE: But when you incorporate the principles of retirement, just those three, it’s just three of ’em, three principles, you don’t have to go into either camp. You can finally see your retirement plan clear as day, getting the transparency that you’re looking for, create stability, and not fall into these traps that the tribal financial industry has put retirees in.
CLAYTON: Well, Mike, and it sounds like you’re talking about focusing on what is right versus who is right.
MIKE: Oh my gosh. Yeah.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:06:45]
CLAYTON: And when I say that, I’m talking about making sure that our listeners, that when you talk to your advisor, that the focus stays around, “What is the purpose of the conversation? What is right here?” Not who is right. It shouldn’t be this argument over the banker and brokers being right or the insurance industry being right. What is right for you?
MIKE: Can I tell you a story? A client came in. So she attended our social security event that was done in the Salt Lake City Library. This was a public event just to inform people about the different ways you could file for social security, because that alone is confusing enough for a retiree, much less everything else that’s out there. Gosh. I mean, I feel for all the retirees.
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MIKE: All of you listening right now, I feel for you because it’s complicated, but it doesn’t have to be, and we’re going to talk about the solution so it doesn’t have to be. But here’s her situation. Her husband passes, and she needs some stability in income, and she talks to an insurance agent, thinking he’s a fiduciary, he’s not, and [LAUGH] and puts almost all of her assets into a variable annuity. A variable annuity, in layman’s terms, is a, quote, principle guaranteed account, but the only guarantee you get is when you die so it’s a worthless guarantee, and then on top of that, you get a situation where there’s high fees.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:08:04]
MIKE: For three years it didn’t make a dime. So she goes over to a securities guy, not knowing he’s a securities guy, on the other side of the pendulum, as it swings to the other side, and he liquidates all of her annuities at a significantly big hit because of the surrender charges and then invests her in some assets. Well, guess what? We’re in a three-year recession, and those assets didn’t do very well, and now she’s scared of the market. And the pendulum swung, and she puts ’em into another annuity because she doesn’t know the difference of the industry. She’s just working with salespeople that are tribalistic on one side or the other on who is right and not what is right for the client.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:08:42]
MIKE: This happens three or four times going back and forth. She comes to us, and she says, “I currently have an annuity. Is that okay?” ‘Cause she’s embarrassed by it. And we said, “Yeah, that’s fine. You have two years left in the annuity. It does not make sense to surrender it. It cannot lose money, and in two years maybe we’ll look at some options on how to invest it, but you can’t keep taking hits.” This is why at Decker Retirement Planning it’s so critical to be working with a purebred fiduciary, someone who’s actually legally bound to do what’s in your best interest. We are one of the few that qualify for being able to hold that mantle up.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:09:18]
MIKE: My point being, folks, we’re going to talk about taxes mostly today. If it’s over your head, that’s okay. If it’s simple, that’s okay. We’re speaking in the middle here of what’s best for you. We are legally bound to do what’s in your best interest, and anyone here that does want to come in or talk to us one on one, that feels like, “Yeah, I’m tired of getting jerked around by the industry,” we’re here for you. Because to take steps to a safer retirement starts by following the principles that govern proper retirement planning. Let’s focus on the second one and taxes.
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CLAYTON: Well, and as we get into this today, Mike, I want to remind our listeners that everybody’s situation is different, and what we’re going to talk about, some things might apply, some things might not, and that’s why getting a plan put together, and understanding your situation, and speaking with a purebred fiduciary about this is incredibly important so you can understand the effect that all of these have.
MIKE: Do you know the odds of someone working with a fiduciary today? I have the actual odds. [LAUGH]
CLAYTON: [LAUGH] I know it’s not great. I don’t know the number though.
MIKE: 1.6 in 100 are your odds of actually working with a fiduciary, and that assumes that the fiduciary even knows what they’re talking about.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:10:34]
MIKE: They can be set up in a good way, but they still might be kind of new to the industry and not know what they’re talking about. I mean, the company was founded 30 some years of Brian Decker building his knowledge into this practice, building principles, building stability. That’s what we’re offering, and very few people make it past seven years in this industry. Brian’s over 30. Just saying.
CLAYTON: So, I want to clarify. You just said that less than two percent of financial advisors are actual fiduciaries.
MIKE: Yes.
CLAYTON: Is that what I’m hearing?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:11:06]
MIKE: That is correct. All financial people, because of their regulations, have a fiduciary responsibility, which is layman’s terms for they have a compliance department that makes sure they CYA. That’s it. Actual fiduciaries. Less than two percent of all financial professionals are actually fiduciaries. Let’s talk about, we’ve talked about the status quo here, but investing with purpose, okay? So diversify by purpose, not just by risk. That’s the second principle of retirement planning.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:11:39]
MIKE: What it means is if you have an investment, you need to know what that investment is meant to do for your retirement, not just from a growth standpoint. So, Clayton, let’s say you have a stock, and a municipal bond, and a CD. Most people are going to say, “Okay, I’ve diversified by risk. Whatever.” What I want to know is, “Okay, what does the CD do for you? What does that municipal bond do for you? What does that stock do for you?” I’m oversimplifying it, but what’s going to pay what when and how? How is it tax efficient? What’s the purpose behind those investments other than growth?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:12:18]
CLAYTON: Yeah, why do you own it? What’s in the portfolio?
MIKE: See, for retirees, the transition, the assumption that most financial professionals make and why you’re at risk.
CLAYTON: And this is why the banker and broker model is so inefficient.
MIKE: It doesn’t work. It’s because the accumulation phase has one purpose: grow assets. Great. Let’s diversify by risk all meant to grow. Once you retire, your finances have more purpose than growth. There’s the purpose of tax efficiencies. Let’s get those taxes down as close to zero as possible.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:12:55]
MIKE: And yes, when implemented correctly tax minimization strategies can get many people to a zero-tax bracket in retirement. That’s pretty cool. But it has to be implemented correctly, and you have to be investing by purpose not just by risk. Income. Do you want to be all at risk, or do you want to lock all your assets? No. So you have to say, “This asset will do that. This asset will do this.” That’s diversifying by purpose not just by risk, and there’s so many other aspects about it, but this is the critical component of what we’re talking about today.
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MIKE: And if you don’t have a written plan that tells how your assets are going to be diversified by purpose, what they’re meant to do for you and your income and the stability in your life, then you don’t have a plan that’s principle-based, and frankly, most of your retirement is probably at risk at this point, but you don’t have to live in fear.
CLAYTON: So give us a call. Our number’s 833-707-3030. When you call, you get a friendly voice that answers. If you call on the weekend, they’re going to take your information. Somebody will get back to you on Monday to schedule an appointment to sit down with one of our purebred fiduciaries.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:14:06]
MIKE: Yeah, and just imagine this, okay? You and your spouse are together. One of you has done the finances your whole life, and that person who did the finances for the family the whole life just passed. What in the world is the other spouse supposed to do? Imagine the extra heartache you go through when you don’t have a written plan that’s especially not principle based. Now imagine this. Imagine it’s a tragic moment, and there is a passing there, but the surviving spouse has the written plan and the financial clarity to go through and mourn appropriately and not worry about the finances, not worry about a market downturn.
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MIKE: They don’t have to worry about all the ins and outs because it’s clear as day that they have financial stability and have built a plan that’s for success. This is called a safer retirement.
CLAYTON: Now, here’s what these appointments look like. You come in, sit down with one of our fiduciaries. There’s great parking at the buildings. It’s easy to get to, easy to find. You come in. We’ve got a nice office. You’ll sit down with the fiduciary. They’re going to just ask some questions to understand your situation. Because just like you’re trying to see if that advisor is a good fit for you, our advisors, our fiduciaries, want to make sure that you’re a good fit for us as well. So it’s…
MIKE: Absolutely.
CLAYTON: …it’s just about a conversation.
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CLAYTON: What it’s not is we’re not going to lock the door. We’re not going to throw away the key. You don’t have to bring your checkbook. You don’t have to make any financial decisions. That’s not what this is about. It is about understanding your needs, and wants, and desires for retirement.
MIKE: If you want to see what a principle-based plan looks like, if you want to see what the first couple of steps are to a safer retirement, if you want to see what financial stability looks like with incredible clarity, then I hope you call us and we can schedule that no cost visit for you. 833-707-3030. That’s 833-707-3030.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:16:02]
MIKE: This is Safer Retirement Radio by Decker Retirement Planning. We’re talking about taxes and how Uncle Sam changed the game on you, and you might not even know how significant of a change it is. I’m Mike Decker.
CLAYTON: I’m Clayton Bradshaw.
MIKE: Now, we were just talking about the second principle, mostly, of retirement planning and how critical it is. There are just three principles of retirement planning, and I’m going to say these over and over again because it is the foundation of why our clients in 2008 didn’t have to even change their travel plans. And yes, in this bull market we’ve been experiencing for the last 10 some years, they’ve really done well. It’s because it’s principle based.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:16:41]
MIKE: One, only draw income from principle guaranteed sources. Number two, diversify by purpose not just by risk. And number three, use a distribution plan, not the pie chart guesser. Clayton, let’s talk about the SECURE Act, that’s the jargon of how Uncle Sam just changed the game on you, and then we’re going to dive into some of the details of what to do and how to combat those issues, and then we’re going to circle back to a written tax minimization plan that is built to get you to a zero tax bracket in retirement. Stay tuned for all that and more on Safer Retirement Radio.
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CLAYTON: And you know, Mike, with the SECURE Act, simply put, this is the biggest legislation in 13 years to retirement accounts.
MIKE: It’s huge.
CLAYTON: It’s massive. They changed it. They put it through with a recent bill in December, but…
MIKE: Yeah, we’re getting Trump’s impeachment that’s taking up all the airtime right now, because this is huge. This is normally huge news. No one’s getting it.
CLAYTON: Yeah, there have been too many other things in the news that are grasping our attention.
MIKE: The corona…
CLAYTON: Yeah, the coronavirus that’s…
MIKE: Coronavirus. Which, it feels like it’s a beer virus. [LAUGH]
CLAYTON: [LAUGH]
MIKE: Corona Light. Put some lime on there or something.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:17:58]
CLAYTON: So, with this, with this SECURE Act, it’s important to note, because there are some things that won’t affect some of our listeners, but a lot of what’s in here does affect most of our listeners or can in one fashion or another.
MIKE: Let’s do the first one, and that’s required minimum distributions have changed for most everyone, okay? So, if you’re not doing required minimum distributions right now, which we call RMDs…
CLAYTON: Now, required minimum distributions, this is… So, Uncle Sam, what he did is he gave you a lifetime to put money into your 401k.
MIKE: Right.
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CLAYTON: You could put it in pre-tax so that it would grow and, well…
MIKE: You’ve deferred your taxes.
CLAYTON: [LAUGH]
MIKE: You know, you didn’t pay them. Congratulations. [LAUGH] The day of reckoning is coming. [LAUGH]
CLAYTON: Prior to December, or I guess prior to January 1st of this year, the age that you had to start taking money out of your 401k to then pay tax and pay yourself was 70 and a half.
MIKE: Yeah, and why is there a half in there? Like, let’s just make legislation confusing. And thank goodness they changed it to just 72 years old. Simple.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:19:10]
MIKE: If your 72 years old, you have to take a required minimum distribution because Uncle Sam, who is the biggest beneficiary of most all of your retirements, wants to get paid. It’s kind of like the, “I’m worth more dead than alive,” situation, and Uncle Sam is tightening the screws on this a little bit.
CLAYTON: Which is, as a side not, this is why Roth IRA’s, Roth 401k contributions, are important, but that’s for…
MIKE: Oh, yeah.
CLAYTON: …that’s for another conversation.
MIKE: That’s right.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:19:40]
CLAYTON: So first one again, changing RMD age to 72. The next one, and this is helpful for a lot of folks that want to continue to work into their 70’s, is the age limitation was removed for your IRA contributions. So what I’m saying is if you are still working and you’re over 70, you can continue to make contributions to your IRA’s in most cases. And because of that, that gives some added longevity. That gives the ability to keep working.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:20:13]
CLAYTON: I talk to so many folks that their passion is what they did for work, and they didn’t want to retire. They could retire, they had the ability to do so, but their hobby, their passion, what they like doing was work, and so they kept doing it.
MIKE: Totally fine.
CLAYTON: Yeah, that is great.
MIKE: As long as you’re in charge of how you’re spending your time, it is fine.
CLAYTON: And for some people, what I had to define retirement as, I defined it differently for some [people?]. ‘Cause some people it’s you go from working to not working, and you go do the vacation thing. You have a bunch of your free time, right?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:20:46]
CLAYTON: For some folks, retirement looks differently, and I, for some, defined it as going from having to work to wanting to work, so that you could walk away at any point, and you know that you would be fine.
MIKE: Yep. That one last day with the boss where he’s just being a jerk, you know what? [LAUGH] I don’t need this. I’m out. Peace.
CLAYTON: Imagine the stress relief.
MIKE: Do your two weeks, obviously. You know, don’t leave them high and dry. [LAUGH] But, no, it’s incredible. But here’s the catch 22. Let’s say you’re 75 years old and still working, and you’re contributing to your IRA assets, your 401k assets.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:21:25]
MIKE: Great. You have this bubble that continues to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and every year you’re having to pay more out of it. You can put money in there, but you still have to solve or satisfy your required minimum distribution. Had a client come in. They were in a, financially, very successful situation, but they were stuck in a very, very high tax bracket because they put too much money in their 401k. Yes, that is possible.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:21:58]
MIKE: And it wasn’t like they were, you know, a Goldman Sachs, 50 millionaire, private equity, blah, blah, blah. They had too much money in their 401k, and the required minimum distributions compromised the integrity of their tax minimization strategy that they had before they met us, and they paid way more taxes every year than they needed to. All I’m suggesting is this is a, quote, a benefit that you can keep deferring your taxes, but there will be a day of reckoning coming. Do it mindfully.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:22:35]
CLAYTON: Well, and, Mike, this gets into the next one as well. The next point is they removed the provision of the stretch IRA, as some people would know it as, or the inherited IRA.
MIKE: Yeah.
CLAYTON: For individuals that inherited an IRA from their parents, they had the ability to stretch that IRA, those withdrawals, over their life expectancy.
MIKE: Now, this is my speculation, okay? This is speculation. This is Mike Decker’s opinion, and that’s it, [LAUGH] okay?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:23:07]
MIKE: I think they allowed IRA’s to continue to be contributed to, or 401k’s, after 72 years old because they wanted the balloon to get so big that then when you die, they get all paid out within 10 years.
CLAYTON: Because of this new provision, the removal of the stretch IRA.
MIKE: They know the largest transfer of wealth is about to happen, and they want to capture as much as possible because they have debt they can barely support. Over 50 cents.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:23:41]
MIKE: I think it’s like 60 to 70 cents to every dollar that the government has is spent on social security, Medicare and Medicaid, and the interest of the debt. Just the interest. Not paying off the debt. Just the interest of holding the debt. We are in a, financially, very difficult situation, but you, Safer Retirement Radio listener, don’t have to get caught up in the collateral damage and catastrophe that will happen at some point in our near future. When implemented correctly, you can minimize your taxes.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:24:18]
MIKE: I mean, you pass a Roth IRA to your kids, they take it. You know, they have more flexibility with it. You’ve already paid the taxes on it. Sure, there’s still some regulations with that with the SECURE Act, but they’re not paying taxes on it. You’re not forcing your kids to pay more taxes on their income.
CLAYTON: Right. Well, yeah.
MIKE: It’s easier for them.
CLAYTON: And so this is one for… I mean, this provision, this can drastically affect the next generation.
MIKE: And if you have Roth IRA’s… Imagine this. Just imagine this, Clayton. Imagine you are 62 years old, and you’re retired.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:24:52]
MIKE: You have 10 years now to convert all of your 401k, IRA assets that are subject to required minimum distributions and Uncle Sam’s new changes. But over 10 years, when implemented correctly, you can minimize that so by the time you’re 72 years old you don’t have any required minimum distributions. You don’t have to worry about Uncle Sam’s new regulations, Uncle Sam’s new tax environment. You don’t have to worry about all this. You’re in a zero-tax bracket.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:25:22]
MIKE: Heck, you might even qualify for Medicaid and food stamps because the government thinks you’re not taking any income at this point. Now, I’m not suggesting that you should take food stamps. That’s for people that need them. That’s an important service for people that need them that are in dire straits, but it’s kind of cool to not have to pay any more taxes for the rest of your life. For most people I talk to at least, they’re tired of paying high taxes. They’re done paying taxes. They want to be done paying taxes. Like to help ’em with that. We got a couple more points here of big changes that have happened here. Clayton, you want to take us to the next one?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:26:02]
CLAYTON: Yeah, the next one is that, and this might apply for some, those that are retired, anybody that’s got a 401k, the benefits administrator on that 401k has to provide an annual statement. It’s the lifetime income disclosure statement.
MIKE: This one gets my goat, okay? Can I tell you why, Clayton? [LAUGH]
CLAYTON: Let’s hear it. I think I know where you’re going.
MIKE: Kay. So, we already established this, but for the sake of those who just joined in on Safer Retirement Radio right now, you’ve got the industry that’s tribal. You’ve got part of the industry that’s drawing four percent from your assets that are all at risk. Kay.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:26:38]
MIKE: Anyone can take their full portfolio and say four percent and say, “That’s about what I can get,” but it’s still all at risk. It’s extremely dangerous. Then you’ve got the other side that’s doing income annuities, and they’re really showing illustrations and projections of around two maybe three percent of lifetime income annual return on your investments, which is a little bit more than a money market account. And the government stepped in and said, “All right. 401k’s. I know you got high fees right now, but you know what?”
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:27:10]
MIKE: “Let’s see if we can keep and encourage our people to have their assets stay in a high fee 401k account, and then we’re going to pay them and set them up with an annuity and encourage them, join them at some sort of safety play, to then draw lifetime income from it,” and they’re now required to quote them something they’re not qualified to do, nor do they have the technology to do so, that breaks the principles of retirement, but they’re supposed to do it because this new bureaucracy has been passed. They’re setting [LAUGH] retirees up for failure.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:27:47]
CLAYTON: It’s opening the door for people to get forced into more annuities.
MIKE: Ugh.
CLAYTON: And…
MIKE: My heart sank.
CLAYTON: Yeah.
MIKE: I mean, it’s tragic because the industry is ignoring the principles of retirement. The industry is focused on selling a product and not a service. They might call it a service. “Oh, I’m going to help you. I’m going to do this. I’m going to do that.” That’s what everyone else is doing. What we’re doing here is providing written plans that are principle based, and we take people through the steps to a safer retirement so they don’t have to operate in extremes, that they can enjoy their retirement.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:28:27]
MIKE: For goodness sakes. They’ve worked their whole dang life.
CLAYTON: Well, and for a lot of people, it just extends this accumulation phase of your life.
MIKE: Mm-hmm.
CLAYTON: And it delays getting to that distribution phase.
MIKE: Yeah.
CLAYTON: So, the last point, Mike, that I want to talk about is they now require that 401ks have to be offered to part-time employees. So if you’re over 21, you work more than 500 hours a year, you can contribute to your employer’s 401k. Now, obviously, the younger end of that doesn’t apply to our listeners, but let’s say you want to retire, but you still want to work part time. You still can contribute and take advantage of this.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:29:05]
MIKE: Yeah. I’m very interested to know what the matching would be for a part-time employee, but look into it. If it’s great and you can get free money out of it, wonderful. If you can create some tax efficiencies, wonderful. But if not, is it worth it? For the younger generation, probably. For the older generation, maybe.
CLAYTON: Well, maybe you and your spouse are working, and your spouse, they’re a little older. They want to retire. They want to step down to the part-time, but the younger spouse is still making good enough income to pay the bills. You can take advantage of those tax efficient accounts, the 401k, the Roth contributions, to benefit from that a little bit more.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:29:43]
MIKE: Yeah. So, I mean, if you’re retired or near retirement, and you want to know how all of this affects you, we would invite you in at no cost to you. Come in and visit with one of our purebred fiduciaries, who are legally bound to do what’s in your best interest, to do, we call it a Sherpa review and an asset assessment. I mean, here’s what that is. A Sherpa review is, you know those guys that walk up and down Everest with you? Well, we’re like that with retirement, and we want to review your retirement plan as if we were going to walk every step of the way throughout your entire retirement and show you the pitfalls. “Hey, there’s a cliff over here. Hey, you know, there’s some mudslide possibility over here.”
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:30:22]
MIKE: We want to avoid that, but in a financial sense. And then we do an asset assessment because most people are diversifying just by risk and ignoring the second principle, and we want to help open your eyes to show purpose to your different investments.
CLAYTON: So if this is something you want, give us a call. Our number, 833-707-3030. When you call there’s a friendly voice that’ll answer the phone. They’re going to take your information if it’s over the weekend. If it’s during the week, we’ll be able to help get an appointment set up to sit down with one of our fiduciaries.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:30:57]
MIKE: Yeah, now imagine this, kay? Safer Retirement Radio, just imagine this for a second. Imagine that you’re in the backyard and you’re gardening, mowing your lawn, something like that. Sun is shining. Grass is nice and warm, but crisp. You know the way that healthy grass feels between your toes? And it’s a beautiful summer day. All is well. And you look over, and you see your neighbor, and he is ghost white. He is panicked. He can barely think straight. And you’ve known him for years, and something’s wrong. So you walk over and say, “Hey, Bob, what’s going on? Something seems [right?].”
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:31:32]
MIKE: And he says, “What do you mean something seems wrong? The market’s down. I’ve lost 40 percent in my portfolio. I don’t even know if I can keep the house. I might have to go back to work. I’m freaking out.” But you and your significant other aren’t because you have a written principle-based plan. You took the steps to get to a safer retirement, and now you’re enjoying that retirement. You are not caught up in the financial windstorms that Wall Street causes on the American economy. You’re past that. You’re enjoying your retirement exactly how you meant to enjoy it.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:32:10]
CLAYTON: Now, here’s what the visit looks like. You come in. You’ll sit down, meet with one of our fiduciaries. They’re not there to make you make a decision. They’re just there to gather information. Just like Mike said, do the Sherpa review, do the asset assessment. We want to learn about your situation, and what’s important to you, and what is going to meet those needs and wants that you have for retirement. Now, here’s what the appointment isn’t.
MIKE: Mm-hmm.
CLAYTON: There is no lock and key. There is no pressure to make a decision. This is all about you, and if you want this, great.
MIKE: Leave the checkbook at home.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:32:41]
CLAYTON: Yeah, leave the checkbook at home. It’s a great time to just, even if you are 99 percent confident in your current plan, this gives you a way to get to that 100 percent.
MIKE: Yeah, you know what the other guys are doing? The other guys want you to come into the office and make you look stupid so you have to use their service. When you come into our office, we build you up. We want to see what you’re doing right, and we want to let you know, “Hey, you’re doing a lot of things right here,” and then, “Here’s how you implement the principles. Here’s how you can take the steps to a safer retirement.” Such a positive, uplifting visit because it gives clarity without the jargon.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:33:19]
MIKE: It gives transparency without the bureaucracy. Call us. 833-707-3030. We’d love to visit with you in our offices, either in Utah, we’ve got Salt Lake or Lehi, we’re located in three different places in the Greater Seattle Area, Seattle, Kirkland, or Renton, or in downtown San Francisco as well. We’re here for you. Take the steps to a safer retirement that’s principle-based with a written plan. 833-707-3030. That’s 833-707-3030.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:33:53]
MIKE: If you’re just joining us, we’re talking about taxes and how Uncle Sam changed the game on you, and we want you to know about that. We’ve been talking about the principles of retirement and how important they are, especially the second principle which is to diversify by purpose not just by risk. If your investments don’t have a purpose, then they’re going to do whatever they want. If they have a purpose, they’re going to do what you want them to do. It’s such a beautiful thing. And we’ve talked about the SECURE Act, that’s the jargon code name of what Uncle Sam just did to you, and we’ve been discussing how to get around that.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:34:28]
MIKE: And if you want to catch up and get this show previously, you can always go to deckerretirementplanning.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We put this out there to give you the content that you need to be [providing that?], as well as our Facebook page. Clayton, did you know that we, well, obviously you know we video record this, but we’re now posting this content on Facebook for people to catch snippets conveniently on their feeds throughout the week. Just have to like the page or follow the page, I’m supposed to say follow the page, to then get the…
CLAYTON: The updates.
MIKE: …the updates and all. But what we still have left is understanding how required a minimum distribution fits into a retirement plan.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:35:08]
MIKE: It’s like surgery to get it correctly. And then we’re going to talk about a written tax minimization plan that most everyone is able to understand. Kick the jargon out. Let’s get you to a zero-tax bracket as best we can. Oh, this is going to be fun.
CLAYTON: Well, and I want to remind our listeners what RMDs are. Again, we talked about this. Required minimum distribution. So if you’re just tuning in, we’re talking about RMDs, required minimum distributions. This is the provision that allows Uncle Sam to get his piece. What I mean by that is you worked in your 20s, 30s, and 40s, contributed to a 401k, contributed to an IRA.
MIKE: Yep.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:35:48]
CLAYTON: That was all pre-tax money that went in. That was great. It lowered your taxable income for the year, and you got a benefit from that. Your CPA loves seeing that.
MIKE: Yep. [LAUGH]
CLAYTON: But once you hit, and the age has now changed to 72, Uncle Sam says, “By the way, I want mine now,” and then you’ve got to start taking a portion out of that every year so that you can take that income and then pay the tax on what you’re taking.
MIKE: I mean, I’m just going to say it. This is probably politically incorrect, but contributing to your 401k is kind of like making a deal with the devil.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:36:20]
MIKE: Very kind devil, the devil has set it exactly how it’s supposed to be, but at some point, you have to pay your taxes. There are two things that are certain, death and taxes, and with your 401k they are certain at the same time. But as you get closer to death, Uncle Sam will continue to pick into your pockets and continue to force your hand to pay on these assets. Now, here’s the big debate with required minimum distributions. And yes, Clayton, the industry is also polarized on this one as well. Why are so many people polarized?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:36:57]
MIKE: It blows my mind how much arguing happens in this nation. But anyway. RMDs. Here’s the big debate. Do you convert all of your assets immediately, and I’m being a little facetious here, to a Roth IRA, which means that you’ve paid your taxes and it can grow tax-free? It pays [INAUDIBLE] tax-free. It’s called a backdoor Roth conversion. I know that’s a little jargon here, but it’s a fancy way of converting your pre-tax IRA’s to a post-tax IRA account, kay? Or you keep it all in there, and you just pay your RMDs on whatever it is.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:37:34]
MIKE: One’s extremely proactive and possibly destructive, and the other is reactive and also possibly destructive. Mathematically speaking, it does not make sense to convert 100 percent, unless your tax bracket allows you to do so and the time frame allows you to do so, or not convert everything and be reactive. Here’s what I mean. If you have a long enough tax runway, you’re 60 years old, 62 years old, maybe 63 years old, and you have enough in non-qualified assets, okay. These are after-tax funds.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:38:13]
MIKE: We can take all of your income from after-tax funds, and then whatever income tax you’re comfortable paying, you can slowly hack away at your 401k and convert to Roth accounts. What that means is Roth accounts don’t pay required minimum distributions. What that also means is that you’re not being forced into a tax bracket when required minimum distributions are required at 72 years old. Cool. You can be proactive with this.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:38:47]
MIKE: Some people though will not be able to convert all of their IRA and 401k assets to a Roth IRA. Sometimes they have too much in there. Sometimes they don’t have enough time to do it. So what do you do? You incorporate, it’s like surgery, into a written plan that’s principle-based to only be paying taxes around, you know, eight percent effective tax rate. 10 percent at most. You minimize it so low that it’s barely a hit to your overall plan.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:39:22]
MIKE: I have yet to see another financial professional do this, and it’s just math.
CLAYTON: And so, Mike, what you’re talking about, ’cause we kind of went into some jargon there, you’re talking about just efficiently converting assets to Roth dollars or after-tax dollars so that when you get into 72, it drastically lowers what you’re going to have to pay.
MIKE: Here’s my fear. And what you said is correct. Debt is insanely high. It’s historically high right now, okay?
CLAYTON: You’re talking about the federal debt, right?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:39:58]
MIKE: The federal debt is incredibly high, and there’s a lot of states that have high debt too. And taxes are, historically speaking, relatively low. I don’t think there’s going to be a significant tax change in the next election, regardless of who’s elected, based on the proposed plan, but we all know a proposed plan often changes when elected into office, which also makes me nervous. But at some point, we have to pay for our debt.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:40:28]
MIKE: At some point, we will be held responsible for the debt that’s happening, and what I’m nervous about is that retirees will enter retirement and not be proactive, and now they’re going to pay an extra 10 percent, roughly speaking, that’s just my projection, 10 percent more on their overall income to taxes because the debt got out of hand. Let me ask you this. Safer Retirement Radio listener, if your total income was X, and now you just lost 10 percent of your income, what would that do to you?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:41:04]
MIKE: Retirements are going to be about 30 years or so. If you don’t take care of this, that is a risk you’re going to have to take. I don’t care how you’re diversified by risk, and hope to get gains, and you’re going to offset it and hope by this, and that, and the other. I don’t care. At some point, the day of reckoning will come, and those who don’t take deliberate steps to a safer retirement and don’t incorporate the principles of retirement may be caught in paying an extra 10 percent at some point in their retirement, which is a life-changing event.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:41:41]
MIKE: Everyone within the sound of my voice, I want to invite you in to be proactive and deliberate in minimizing these future tax burdens while taxes are still on sale today. Because when implemented correctly maybe you don’t pay an extra 10 percent, but you pay 15 percent less in taxes. Maybe you’re getting more money out of your retirement.
CLAYTON: And now, Mike, you’ve talked to the folks that are in their early 60’s, right? Say a long enough runway.
MIKE: Yeah.
CLAYTON: These strategies can still be implemented for people that are in their late 60’s and early 70’s.
MIKE: Absolutely.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:42:21]
CLAYTON: We’re not just trying to single anyone out. There’s a wide range of opportunity here for those that are retired or near retirees, and keep that in mind that we’re, when stating age, everybody’s situation is different, and that is crucial to state because these plans can affect everybody differently, but when implemented correctly, this is how you can enjoy a safer retirement.
MIKE: Absolutely. I mean, when it comes to a second opinion, it’s life changing. For my wife, her second opinion was saying, “Hey, you’ve got Hashimoto’s.”
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:42:54]
MIKE: The 10 previous doctors she went to could not tell her that and said, “Just get over it and take a pill.” I’m not suggesting that medical professionals are bad. I’m just saying that a second opinion can be a life-changing event because my wife now is happy and healthy because of that second opinion. For all of you listening right now, this second opinion with Decker Retirement Planning may be the life-changing second opinion that didn’t cost you a dime but saved you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your retirement. Is it worth it to you?
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:43:28]
MIKE: I certainly hope that you call us and take us up on this offer because just with taxes alone it can be a life-changing event. When with everything else that we can incorporate in this visit and understanding the steps to a safer retirement so you can incorporate the principles of retirement, it’s pretty incredible. It’s life changing.
CLAYTON: Well, and maybe our listeners, maybe you’re not worried about minimizing your own taxes, but you care fiercely for the next generation that’s going to inherit some of those funds. This still applies to you.
MIKE: Maybe it’s just income. You want stability in income, and you don’t want to go to the income annuity and lock it all up, and you’re tired of being 100 percent at risk.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:44:07]
CLAYTON: Or maybe you’re not going to spend any of it ’cause you’re fine living off your social security and maybe a pension that you got when you retired.
MIKE: And maybe it’s your total assets and your estate. You want to make sure it passes correctly. We can identify that. With a safer distribution plan, it opens up the entire landscape of your financial journey, and we can pinpoint where the cliffs are, where the mudslides could be, where the desert section is and you’re going to need to pack some water. We can identify that when you use a safer distribution plan. I hope you call us.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:44:36]
MIKE: If you call us right now, 833-707-3030, you’ll get a friendly voice on the phone who will take your information so we can call you on Monday and schedule a visit for you and all about you.
CLAYTON: Now, these schedules are a little tight, so calling sooner than later is going to get you in with one of our fiduciaries promptly, and that will allow you to start making those decisions if you’re unsure of which direction you need to go. So, imagine this. Imagine you wake up one morning, and your spouse kind of rolls over, hits you in the shoulder, and says, “Hey,” or your significant other says, “Hey, it’s Tuesday, right?”
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:45:15]
CLAYTON: “We’ve got to go to the play tonight.” “Well, no. You know what? The play’s on Thursday. But hold on, it’s Wednesday. The play’s tomorrow.” It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is.
MIKE: Every day’s like Saturday.
CLAYTON: Every day is like Saturday, and that’s what a distribution plan can give you, is it can allow you to enjoy every day like it’s Saturday.
MIKE: Now, here’s what the visit is. The visit accomplishes the first two steps to a safer retirement. The first one’s a Sherpa review. You know the guys, the Sherpas, that walk up and down Everest with you along the way? They keep you safe.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:45:54]
MIKE: They make sure you avoid the crevices and all the different dangers on that. Well, there’s a lot of dangers in retirement, and our Sherpa review allows us to look at the landscape, the lay of the land, with you and say, “Okay, here’s what you’re looking at. Here are a couple pitfalls here to avoid,” and we review what your plan is, your current plan, and open up the eyes and the clarity so you can enjoy a safer retirement, but we also do an asset review. Because a lot of people think they’re not paying a lot of fees, when there’s a lot of hidden fees. We want to open that up to you. A lot of people have annuities.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:46:24]
MIKE: We want to open up your eyes on what your annuity is actually paying and help, if possible, even minimize some of those fees within your annuities or show you other options, without a crazy surrender that so many people are doing. It’s nuts. It’s about opening your eyes and understanding the journey that’s ahead of you and the assets or your tools that you currently have to use and how you can properly implement them in your retirement. But here’s what it’s not. It’s not a high-pressure situation. It’s not a time where you’re going to make financial decisions. It’s impossible to have enough clarity in one visit to make financial decisions.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:47:02]
MIKE: It’s not a time where you’re going to feel stupid because of all the fancy jargon and lingo. No, no. It’s all about you. Kick out the jargon. Kick out the bureaucracy. Let’s focus on you and the life that you want to live. That’s what this is.
CLAYTON: So…
MIKE: All about you.
CLAYTON: …give us a call. Our number’s 833-707-3030. Again, 833-707-3030.
MIKE: Now, we’ve been talking today about mostly taxes and how Uncle Sam changed the game on you. This is Safer Retirement Radio. I’m Mike Decker.
CLAYTON: I’m Clayton Bradshaw.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:47:41]
MIKE: And we’ve incorporated a lot of great content here for you, about you, and hopefully in ways that you can implement it to have a more enjoyable and a safer retirement. If you’re just catching the show, you can go to deckerretirementplanning.com or anywhere you get a podcast, and type in Safer Retirement Radio, and you’ll get this show either transcribed or the audio. You can listen to it at your convenience. But the bottom line is let’s get you the transparency that you deserve so you can make the right decisions. And for us, we believe that those decisions must be principle-based, and the decisions must be revolving around a written retirement plan. Only 12 percent of retirees have a written retirement plan.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:48:20]
MIKE: Less have a written tax minimization plan. That’s a scary statistic, and it may be why the number one fear is running out of money before you die. And it makes sense. There’s no clarity. I’m going to go over real quick, Clayton, the principles of retirement one more time, and then I want to kind of wrap up the show if that’s okay with you. First principle: only draw income from principle guaranteed sources. Markets turn over. That’s fine. Your income is still consistent. I’m not suggesting that all your assets are in a principle guaranteed source or account, and I’m not suggesting that this is an income annuity.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:48:58]
MIKE: They’re supposed to be laddered and structured to do X for so many years, and then do Y for so many years, and then be done.
CLAYTON: And when you say principle guaranteed account, you’re talking about any type of investment or vehicle that cannot lose value.
MIKE: Or source. For example, we have a lot of clients that have built up a rental portfolio. They consider their rental income as a principle guaranteed source. It’s not subject to market change. Sure, rent may go up and down a little bit, but rent’s not going to take a 40 percent hit. So, where you draw income from must be from a principle guaranteed source.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:49:37]
MIKE: Plain and simple. The next principle is to diversify by purpose not just by risk. Let me explain. You’ve got three objectives in any given retirement plan. You’ve got to have some assets set aside for when life happens, when an emergency happens. That’s not that much of your portfolio, but it’s set aside for immediate access for when things happen. Then you’ve got another category here of income.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:50:05]
MIKE: You’ve got to ladder out your income, whether it’s 10 years or 20 years, whatever’s comfortable for you, that is laddered, principle guaranteed sources that can grow with the market, but also cannot lose money, and there’s a number of different investment options to satisfy that principle-based requirement. Then you’ve got some assets over here that have a long-term investment horizon that their purpose is to grow. Kind of like what you’ve done your whole life, just grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow. Markets turn over and you took a hit, that does suck. You probably were buying and holding, and that happens, but you have time to recover from that catastrophe.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:50:43]
MIKE: If you want to use two-sided models that are designed to make money in up or down markets, great. You might not take that hit. There’s a lot of options there. We’ll show you the options, and then you pick how you want to diversify by purpose and by risk. The accumulation plan, the pie chart, has one purpose and that’s growth, and if you don’t want to take income, then that’s fine. You don’t need to change. But to think that you can use the tools you used in the first part of your life and apply them to the second part of your life is maddening. It’s insanity.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:51:19]
MIKE: You need to adapt when your environment has changed. That’s why the second principle you use to diversify by purpose not by risk is so critical, and it’s the reason why so many people destroy their retirements when the markets turn over is because most of the industry ignores the second principle and the third principle. And the third principle is to use a distribution plan, not the pie chart guesser. Here’s what you can’t know from a pie chart. You can’t know your income. You can’t diversify by purpose. You can’t know tax minimization strategies and future burdens because it’s all clumped together.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:51:57]
MIKE: That’s like saying, “Here’s a ball of clay, and it’s now a horse.” No, it’s a ball of clay. It could be a horse. It could be a statue. It could be a number of things. But as long as it’s a ball of clay, it’s going to stay a ball of clay. A written plan takes your ball of clay, take your pie chart, and builds it out so you can articulately see what you’re doing throughout the rest of your retirement. Here’s what’s interesting. And I know we talked about Kobe Bryant a little bit, and may he rest in peace, and his daughter.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:52:29]
MIKE: If Kobe Bryant were 80 years old, had an illness, was in the hospital, and was fading, his death would not be as tragic. But when we’re caught by surprise, it is much, much worse. When the markets turn over, and they tend to do every seven to eight years, it catches people by surprise, and financially it is much, much worse. These principles prepare you, so even if you’re caught by surprise, the tragedy is significantly less.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:53:05]
MIKE: That’s why the first steps to a safer retirement are principle-based and understanding these principles and how they work in retirement.
CLAYTON: And it’s not just understanding the principles, Mike. It’s also implementing them correctly.
MIKE: Knowledge is not power. Applied knowledge is power, and we can’t keep missing that, especially with our finances.
CLAYTON: Right. And so when you’ve correctly implemented these principles, that leaves you to be able to enjoy your retirement and know what it is you’re going to be able to spend, and use, and ultimately do in retirement.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:53:44]
CLAYTON: And it’s through this that your spouse, your significant other, I mean, I’ve had these conversations where folks have sat down, and we talked, and the one will lean over to the one that was the bread winner, pat ’em on the shoulder, and say, “Thank you for taking care of us. You’ve done a great job. I can see that now.”
MIKE: I want to do a little exercise. Close your eyes for a moment. Actually, no, you’re driving.
CLAYTON: [LAUGH]
MIKE: Just kidding. Keep your eyes open. Stay on the road. Let’s stay focused. But just imagine with me for a brief moment. Top three activities or pursuits in retirement are travel, spend time with family or friends, or pursue or engage in hobbies. Pick one of them right now.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:54:23]
MIKE: You’re traveling, you’re with family and friends spending time with them at their homes that are not near you, or you’re enjoying a new hobby, kay? Now imagine who you’re doing it with. Now imagine that regardless of what the markets do, you don’t have to lose sleep or change your travel plans. That you have now consistency of this lifestyle. That is what we’re doing here at Decker Retirement Planning. We’re providing that solution, that lifestyle, that clarity to those who want to enjoy a safer retirement.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:55:02]
MIKE: For all of you listening right now, at no cost to you, if you’re 55 or older, if you’re near retirement or currently retired, I hope that you take us up on this offer. I hope that you’ll allow us to open the eyes and see what retirement really could look like. Our number’s 833-707-3030, and it would be a great honor to sit down and visit with you to be able to, plain and simple, show you how much better your retirement can be. For some of you, it may be retiring years early or earlier. For others, it may be getting more income out of your retirement while lessening your risk.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:55:39]
MIKE: It’s just a simple mathematical equation we developed that’s principle-based to get you more out of your retirement.
CLAYTON: Now imagine that you’re spending time with one of your neighbors and they say, “Hey, we’re going to go on,” they’ve been telling you this for a while, “Hey, we’re going to go on a cruise.” They maybe do a cruise once a year. And now that you’re retired you have the time, but they come to you and they say, “Hey, we’re going to the Mediterranean in three months. Do you want to come with us?” If you have a correctly implemented plan, you will be able to say, “You know what? Yeah, I don’t have any obligations. I’m not working anymore. I’m free to go.”
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:56:17]
MIKE: Yeah. That sounds like how retirement is meant to be. So here’s what the visit is. The visit’s a calming review and an asset assessment. We want to open up your eyes and get clarity to what’s going on with your current plan, and then show you some alternatives here. But what the visit is not, it’s not a place to make financial decisions, and leave your checkbook at home. There’s no pressure here, and we don’t want you to pay us a dime. We just want to sit down and have an opportunity to show you how much better your life can be, because it’s a life-changing opportunity to lower your risk and create more stability, without diverting to the two extremes that the industry offers.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:56:56]
MIKE: Let’s find that silver lining, and we can do that for you and with you at Decker Retirement Planning. Call us at 833-707-3030. That number one more time. 833-707-3030. When you call, that friendly voice will gather your information so then on Monday we can reach out and schedule that visit. Clayton, thanks for taking the time and being on the show with me today.
CLAYTON: I love being here. This is so much fun to talk about, Mike.
MIKE: So, if you’re just tuning in towards the end of the show, this is Safer Retirement Radio. If you’re listening to us via radio, same time, same place every single week. It’s a nationally syndicated show, so pay attention to your time and your station right now.
RR S3 E32_MIXDOWN [00:57:32]
MIKE: But also, you can listen to it Friday mornings first via podcast wherever you get your podcast. Just search for Safer Retirement Radio, and get it at your convenience. New to podcast? Ask a friend that’s aware of it. It’s a pretty cool outlet to get good information for you. And last but not least, you can catch this show, the written transcriptions, and a bunch of content at deckerretirementplanning.com. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining us on this hour today. We’ll see you soon.
