Retirement 360

While people were celebrating father's day, hopefully they were tuning in as well! Alan went over some financial advice we all get our fathers and shares some of the best advice he got from his father when it comes to finances. Is retirement planning too complicated? Alan reviews the results to a Harris Poll and the answer might surprise you. Tune in to find out the results!

This week we decided to take some of our favorite clips from recent months and put them together in a "Best Of" series for you all to enjoy! Have a topic you'd like to hear covered on our radio show? Drop us a comment and we'll take it into consideration!

Alan talked with Tony & Dwight live on WHAS this morning about what's going on with the market, how to navigate it and how it relates to the Coronavirus. Tune in to see what he had to see!

Historically, whenever the market goes down, at some point investors rush in and “buy the dip" but could this dip be different? We hear audio from Allianz's Chief Economic Advisor Mohammad El Erian advising caution when trying to time the market. Are people afraid of running out of money? A survey from both Schroders and Schwab both confirm this. The Schroders survey asked people 40 and up. 42% have that fear. The Schwab survey asked people within 5 years of retirement. 72% had that fear. Does it surprise you and what can these people do about it?

The DOW slid almost 13% in one week due to the news of the Coronavirus. When will it stop? Will it continue to slide? Alan and Randy talk about how this recent scare has affected the market and what they expect it to do when comparing it to previous outbreaks. In contrast to the Coronavirus talk, Randy and Alan also talk about a "backdoor Roth IRA" and go through the pros and cons of going into retirement with a Roth IRA. While there are contribution and income limits, there is a strategy called the "Backdoor Roth" you should hear about!

Did you know that even though people 50+ only make up 35% of the population but pay 59% of all federal income taxes?! Alan and Randy talk about this and more in this weeks radio show and talk a bit about how you can opt out of that statistic. Is having your money in a hedge fund the best bet? Alan talks a bit about how Wall Street's most successful hedge fund fell short when compared to most run-of-the-mill investors by breaking even in 2019.

Politics and investing... How are they affecting your portfolio? A new study claims that mutual fund managers tend to invest more money in companies that share their same political beliefs and it could end up costing you. How long do you think you will spend in retirement? For most people, the answer is longer than they expect. Will you live to be 90? 100? Maybe even 150? The more important question is whether or not your money will last as long as you do. How can you build a proper nest egg while not knowing how long it needs to last?

Volatility in the market is causing a lot of retirement savers to pull their money out of the market, but Fidelity thinks they might be over reacting. For instance, what happens if you take your money out and then the market goes up? Then you're just leaving money on the table. Troy talks a bit about this and the risks associated with pulling your money out of the market during volatility. The age-old idea of the 60-40 portfolio (60% stocks & 40% bonds) is the "traditional" portfolio that most investors have stuck with throughout most of their savings history, but Bank of America says that traditional portfolio just isn't cutting it anymore. What's the new mix look like?

So... Is another recession really on the way? If a recession does hit, how is going to effect you if you're in (or nearing) retirement? Alan talks a bit about this and also talks a bit about how your financial plan should have planned for a possible recession. There are some people who aren't planning to retire for a very grim reason...They don't expect to live that long. The truth of the matter is, people are living longer than ever these days and you don't want to live longer than you expect while wishing you would have planned better for your retirement. Among men who are currently in their 50s, a third of them will live to be 90. For women, that number jumps up to half! Listen in to hear more about the importance of planning for retirement well past when you think you might need to.

How much risk is too much risk in retirement? How much risk should you be keeping in your portfolio as you start to exit the work force and enter into retirement? Patrick Kelley, the author of Stress Free Retirement, says it all depends on when you're going to actually need the money that you're investing. Don't tell your lawyer friends, but there's a new phone app that actually lets you draw up a will on your smartphone in around 10 minutes time. While most of their customers are between the ages of 25 and 40, there are a decent amount of their customers within retirement age that are using their phones to draft wills. Alan talks a bit more about this new app called Fabric and how it speaks for the future of estate planning.

Have you heard about Uncle Sam and his retirement plan? Here's a hint - he doesn't retire when you do. Your taxes are essentially Uncle Sam's "retirement plan" and when you retire, you only keep on paying them. Alan talks a bit about paying taxes in retirement and how to factor them in to your anticipated retirement income. Does it make sense to convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA? What are the pros and cons of doing so? Tons of "baby boomers" are at a stage in their financial life where they're considering this but might not be aware of all of the benefits of doing so. Alan talks a bit about the benefits behind converting over to the Roth IRA to help settle this debate once and for all.

What do Bill Belicheck and Warren Buffet have in common? They're planners. While Belicheck might do his planning on the field and Buffet in the bank, both have a set plan for what they're doing and understand every step along the way. This week we talk about how having a game plan for your retirement is incredibly important and how you're leaving money on the table if you're not planning properly. We also talk about the "king" of investing, Warren Buffet, and how he compares retirement to a castle. How are you protecting your "retirement castle?"

If you're still investing in index funds while nearing retirement, a recent Forbes article says you could be making a costly mistake. Many retirees or people closing in on retirement depend heavily on this traditional investment strategy and a recent article says there might be better ways to do so. Even if you haven't taken the time to set up an official state plan, you already have one whether you realize it or not. You either set up your estate plan with an advisor, or a probate judge is going to impose one on your relatives after you're gone. Troy and Randy talk a bit about this topic and what steps you should take to make sure your estate plan is set in stone.

According to the Stock Trader’s Almanac, in years preceding presidential elections since 1971, the July-October span marked the worst four months. The Dow and the S&P 500 index have tended to peak in July, bounced around in the next couple of months, and dropped in October, ending with losses by Halloween. Should some of us go into “financial hiding” for a while? Did you know that you could get a "do-over" on social security? An obscure tax law allows you to restart your benefits at a new, higher rate based on your current age. This week Alan talks a bit more about this tax law and how you can use it to potentially increase your social security.

The economy is currently in a good spot... but the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates? Is this normal? Alan walks you through the traditional process the Federal Reserve follows when it comes to interest rates and explains why the Federal Reserve has decided to cut rates. Did you know that according to a survey from Nationwide Retirement Institute fewer than 1 in 4 people can name the four factors that will determine the amount they will get from Social Security? This week we're explaining the four factors that effect how much you get back from Social Security and share why it's so crucial you're cognizant of everything within the equation.

When you sit down with a financial advisor, one of the main reasons you do so is to find out if and when you're able to retire. When you're trying to decide that, what factors are you looking at? Alan goes through some of the main factors that help make this decision and talks about the questions he asks in his planning process. Did you know that about 20% of Americans over the age of 65 are still working? This is the highest this number has been since 1962. While some of those people are working by choice, their is a chunk of them that simply can't afford do retire and Alan shares his thoughts on this topic.

Is another recession coming? How can you protect yourself? A new study from Allianz Life says that 48% of middle class americans fear a major recession, which is higher than it was last quarter. What are you doing to prepare? The Street is calling for a "Target Income Fund" to be created, but what does it do? Alan walks us through what the creation of the fund would accomplish and how it would benefit investors already in retirement. If you had at least a million bucks in your various accounts, would you consider yourself to be “wealthy”? Ameriprise Financial put that question to a group of people who each have between one-and-five million dollars…and the overwhelming majority (83%) said they don’t feel wealthy. Why do you think that is?

This Sunday, tune in to Retirement360 with MWA advisor Alan Mercurio and host, Randy Cook, as they take on the latest tending news. Are you planning to celebrate Bobby Bonilla Day? Better yet, did you know that even though he retired from baseball in 2001, Bobby Bonilla still receives a check for $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets on the first of every July? Are you receiving the right financial advice for your retirement? Forbes says the financial advice people use in their working years is not necessarily the best choice to help them as they approach retirement. What advice are you receiving? And, will you really spend more during your retirement? S. Katherine Roy, a strategist for J.P. Morgan, seems to have a pretty strong opinion about the subject.

This Sunday, tune in to Retirement360 with MWA advisor Alan Mercurio and host, Randy Cook, as they take on the latest tending news. How much of of your salary do you need to save? 10 times or even 16 times? Are the writers at Motley Fool correct? What and who are you supposed to believe? Have you done a "Stress Test" on your retirement plan, and what does that entail? And, how does citizenship play a role in your taxes? New Royal baby, Archie, could face an interesting dilemma.

Often, we at MWA discuss the term Retirement Plan. Your Retirement Plan is unique to you, your goals, your needs, and your family's wants. There are ways to achieve these goals, and there are some myths that need to be addressed because they may not be the most viable options. This week on Retirement360, MWA advisor Alan Mercurio and host, Randy Cook, highlight some common fallacies on securing your retirement goal: •Relying on your home as a source of income •Only relying on Social Security •Relying on lottery winnings •Relying on inheritance from a deceased relative