One of the greatest challenges to retirement income is retiring at a market top. The following illustrations show the differences in three portfolios starting at the market top of 1999. It can be difficult to create an income stream in today’s interest rate environment with traditional income sources. These illustrations compare two portfolio’s vs. our Balanced Risk Program that can provide clients with income.

Retirement Basics: Fixed Index Annuities

From: REAP, LLC.

How a Fixed Index Annuity could strengthen and protect your overall retirement plan.

When it comes to your retirement, a steady stream of income could make a difference in your later years. With a fixed index annuity, a portion of your retirement savings is protected from risk until it’s needed. What is a fixed index annuity? A fixed index annuity allows you to protect a portion…

5 Social Security Myths That Seniors Are Falling For

From: linkedin.com

Social Security is a sensitive topic for people of all ages, but especially for the 65 million Americans who today claim its benefits after paying taxes into the fund throughout their careers. There are a lot of myths around the Social Security program that need to be debunked. Here are some of the biggest that seniors should not fall for or…

Minimize the Impact of Required Minimum Distributions (RMD)

From: newretirement.com

When we reach the age of 70 ½ we must — in order to avoid tax penalties — take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD s) from IRAs, 401ks and other types of tax advantaged accounts — all retirement accounts funded with pre-tax contributions.

So what exactly is a “Required Minimum Distribution?” Let’s break it down:

Best Investments For Retirement Planning

From: forbes.com

People invest for many reasons. As a hobby, for their ego’s sake or to meet a medium-term goal, such as paying for college.

All are reasonable choices, as far as that goes. Investing as a form of entertainment is no sin. Certainly CNBC would cease to exist, otherwise.

But most of us have a real, long-term goal. However you choose to express it, retirement, your golden years,…

An insider’s guide to bond opportunities

From: wellsfargofunds.com

If you’ve been thinking that bonds are only a play on interest rates and you’ve been waiting and waiting for a spike in yields to reallocate for the long term, you’ve been waiting for nothing. While waiting for Treasury yields to go up, you’ve missed out on some good income opportunities in credit. Going forward, credit is where we think the opportunity in fixed…

Which comes first: Social Security or IRA withdrawals?

From: financial-planning.com

It is a retirement dilemma.

When planning for retirement cash flow, should a client start Social Security as early as age 62, letting individual retirement account money continue to grow, tax-deferred? Or should that client tap the IRA and wait for a larger Social Security benefit?

A client who would receive $1,500 a month at 62 would collect $2,640 a month, plus any cost-of-living…

IRS Denies IRC Section 1035 Tax Deferral in Annuity Exchange

From: wealthmanagement.com

Taxpayer’s receipt of outright cash from original insurance company barred non-recognition

A taxpayer inherited an interest in an annuity from his late father. The taxpayer wished to exchange his interest in the inherited annuity for an annuity sold by a different insurance company. With the intent of qualifying the transaction as a permissible tax-free exchange, he mistakenly requested a “Lump Sum…