Five Points to Consider

1) Retirement Planning.

• Income planning at retirement should always include spending planning.
• Your cash flow will always improve substantially in retirement if you take Uncle Sam out of the equation.
• Taking Uncle Sam out of the picture is possible, but it requires planning when you are in the Red Danger Zone (at least 6 years before retirement and after retirement.)
• Thinking of retiring? Open an equity line of credit on your house first. It will help with unexpected events and make cash available for opportunities. Open the equity line when you don’t need it. If you wait until you do need it they will not loan it to you.
• The lender is always in the driver seat when you need access to cash. Be in a position of strength, not weakness.

 

2) Thoughts on Permanent Life insurance.

• Life insurance is not an investment. It is a great place to park your money for unexpected events and opportunities as they arise.
• The maximum efficient life policies are the ones that provide the greatest living benefits in addition to the death benefit.
• Access to cash through the cash value of a life policy is a great way to relieve financial stress.
• You don’t borrow from your policy. You borrow from the life insurance company and they use the cash value as collateral for the loan.

 

3) Don’ t overlook this little-known fact about Social Security! If your ex-spouse is deceased, and you were married at least 10 years, you may still be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits even after you remarry, if you are at least 60 years old when you remarry. Survivor benefits are not available if you remarry at under 60 years old.

 

4) What do you mean I cannot collect the proceeds of my ex-husband’s life insurance policy? I am the beneficiary! The U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8 – 1 ruling in June 2018, concluded “revocation on divorce” statutes for life insurance policies were constitutional in the USA. These statutes automatically remove an ex-spouse as a primary beneficiary for life insurance proceeds, instead favoring the contingent beneficiaries listed in the policy even if the beneficiary had not been changed during the divorce. These statutes were adopted on the assumption that failing to change a beneficiary after divorce likely stemmed from “inattention” not “intention.” The policy owner can still override these statutes by making a special note in the policy (abajournal.com,2018).

Note: It is a good idea to review all your beneficiary designations every year to ensure what you want to happen will happen!

 

5) Why do I receive my Social Security payment on the 3rd Wednesday of the month and my spouse receives theirs on the 2nd Wednesday of the month? The day of your birth determines which week of the month your payment will arrive.

Day of birth during the month	Social Security payment timing
1st through the 10th	2nd Wednesday
11th through the 20th	3rd Wednesday
21st through the end of the month	4th Wednesday

 

Recommendation: Secure an advisor, understand these concepts, and let him or her guide you to a worry free and successful retirement!