5 Things Your Current Financial Advisor May Not Be Telling You
By Boyd Casselman
As many of you know, in addition to being the publisher of Utah’s Senior Review since 2008, I spend my time working with people 60 years of age and older, helping them better prepare for and live more securely in retirement. After over 12 years of meeting with and helping hundreds of clients, I’d like to share five insights that may help you make better decisions and avoid some of the pitfalls many people make in retirement.
Insight #1 – Not all annuities are equal
That’s right. No matter what you have heard from reliable sources or the rumor mill, not all annuities are equal and certainly not all annuities are bad. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Even though there are bad annuities or annuities that may be a bad fit for you, there are annuities that may be an ideal choice for your retirement needs. My advice about annuities is to get the facts – true and fully-disclosed facts – that will enable you to make a good purchasing decision for yourself without being “sold” an annuity based on partial information or an outright misrepresentation.
Insight #2 – Promised guarantees are many times not real guarantees at all. Know when you are being misled
If you find yourself sitting in a sales presentation and you are being told that “no matter what happens in the market” your money is safe and you will be guaranteed a growth rate of 5% to 6% or more, know that this is one of the most common half-truths being propagated by financial and insurance advisors. How can they do this, you may ask? Because the way some of these products work, it’s easy to misrepresent the truth about phantom guarantees and safety because the product brochures seem to support these semi-false claims being made by the advisor. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true – it probably is.
Insight #3 – All fees assessed against your account are many times undisclosed
That’s right. Did you know that annual fees charged to you by financial or insurance institutions can range from 0% all the way up to over 4% EVERY YEAR? It’s no wonder that some advisors are so keen on selling you certain financial products…because the fees many of these products charge pay the advisor and the company he represents handsomely for the entire time you own that financial or insurance product.
Insight #4 – Your advisor may not really have your best interest at heart
If you are becoming more risk-averse or are completely against losing your money at this late stage in life, there is something you need to know. In an effort to protect his own income, your advisor may not be motivated to encourage you or even allow you to make changes to your financial plan that are appropriate to protect your retirement assets. I have personally witnessed this problem hundreds of times when a well-meaning advisor stops someone from moving their money away from risk, in an effort to protect his personal income.
Insight #5 – Hope is NOT a plan
As you may know, our greatest concern in our later years is typically NOT dying but living too long and RUNNING OUT OF MONEY. Making informed appropriate choices for your retirement can help ensure that you will always have the money you need for the rest of your life – without putting your money at risk and depending on hopeful market performance. Remember, hope is NOT a plan and if your current plan is built on the hope of growth in the market without the losses that can devastate your nest egg, then maybe a fresh, more appropriate approach might be in order.
Where can you go for more retirement appropriate and fully-disclosed information?
For 12 years, I have represented appropriate retirement products and strategies and I welcome the opportunity to teach you about those retirement solutions. Remember that knowledge is power. In this case, that power can enable you to create a safer and more secure future for yourself and your surviving spouse AND avoid many of the common retirement pitfalls that beset many of your peers.
If you are interested in learning more about appropriate, safe, and secure retirement products and strategies, please give my office a call and reserve a spot at one of the dinner workshops advertised in this issue of Utah’s Senior Review. You can also call and schedule a time to meet with me to sit down with you to have a candid, helpful discussion about your future at no cost or obligation.
Boyd Casselman, 385-988-3926 or 801-628-1032.