In this week’s show, Erick welcomes a couple of special guest experts to talk about Medicare and taxes. Plus, with market uncertainty and inflation affecting all of us, Erick goes over some strategies for how you can “get to the guarantees” when it comes to your retirement planning.

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Call Erick today at 352-616-0511

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10.5.22: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

10.5.22: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Producer:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs, and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Producer:
Welcome to Take Point on Retirement with your host, Erick Arnett. Erick is a fiduciary and licensed financial advisor who always places your needs first. The experienced team at Take Point Wealth Management takes pride in knowing they've helped so many pursue the financial future of their dreams. And they can help you too. And now let's start the show. Here's Erick Arnett.

Erick Arnett:
So good morning, everybody, and welcome to Take Point on Retirement radio. We've got a great show for you this week. And first of all, I just wanted to open up the show and just say to our listeners down south, we're with you. We love you. We're praying for you and we're sending help your way. Like I say, our hearts go out to you guys down there. And Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte area. I know we have listeners down in that area. And so prayers are with you. And if there's anything that we can do to help, please let us know. But I know take point on retirements, taking up donations and going to be sending some money your way. And I know Florida Strong and some amazing people in Florida and we'll rebuild and just want you all to know down there that everybody is behind you and we've got your back. So with that being said, we have a great show this week. Get your notebooks out, get your pen and pads out and get a lot of good stuff to talk about today. And we have an awesome host today. Sam's not with us today, but we have Mr. Matt McClure here today, so we're super gifted for that and blessed. And Matt. Matt, how are you doing this morning?

Producer:
I am doing well, Erick. How are you?

Erick Arnett:
Yeah, awesome, man. And then we also have Rhonda Jones here today. We're going to the first half of the show. We're going to chat about Medicare. And welcome, Rhonda. Good morning to you.

Rhonda Jones:
Good morning. And I am very happy to be here today.

Erick Arnett:
Well, we're happy to have you. So that's you know, Medicare course is something that's always a topic on our seniors mind, our retirees, even if you're a pre retiree, if you're you know, if you're only 60 years old, whatever, you still may have some questions about how does Medicare work? And of course, it's a complicated situation and complicated challenge. And there's a lot of questions behind it. And, you know, take point on retirement radio. We always try to just broaden the show a little bit and try to bring different topics and different people to the show. And so we thought it would be a great idea. Rhonda Jones has been working with us here at Take Point on retirement for a long time. Just super great person. Been working in Medicare for how long now?

Rhonda Jones:
I actually received my license in 2013 and I've been doing Medicare Advantage plans and supplements ever since then.

Erick Arnett:
Awesome. Awesome. So, yeah, I mean, I know enough to be dangerous, but we like to be a one stop shop if we can for our listeners. Feel free folks. If something makes sense to to you today or you have a question, please reach out to us. There's several ways you can get a hold of us. One, as you can just pick up the phone today and dial 352 616 0511 and we can get you in touch with Rhonda. We're also going to share her contact information, but you can also go to our website, take point wealth dot com. In the upper right hand corner, you'll see a little box that just says click there to set up an appointment. And that's just a chat session, folks. You're just going to get on my calendar. I'll give you a call 15, 20 minutes, chat and see what your concerns are or what you have questions on. And of course, if you don't have time to listen to the whole show today and you you or you want to catch up on some past shows, then feel free to catch our podcast on any one of the podcast apps you subscribe to. And you can also get all our shows and podcasts right on our radio website. Take point on retirement dot com. So with that being said, let's let's jump right into Medicare. And so Rhonda and thanks so much for being here today. And I'm sure that we're coming up on the annual enrollment period. And there's just a lot of questions that folks may have out there. But, you know, in talking about Medicare and with open enrollment coming up, you're telling me how important it is no matter what. If you have a plan, you don't have a plan. It's just even review what you currently have.

Rhonda Jones:
So beginning October 15th through December 7th of 2022, what happens is we have an opportunity to review your plans. It's called Medicare Open enrollment for 2023. It's your annual review and it is, especially in Florida. We have so many new companies and things popping up and it can get very, very confusing. There's. Constant commercials that you're being inundated with. So it's very, very important for you to have an agent or someone to speak with so that you can actually review your current plan, see if there are any modifications or changes that need to take place. It's an opportunity for you to sit back and take a look at the past year. How is your planned work for you? Are there any changes that you need to make? You may possibly have some health care needs that have come up in the last year and you're just looking for some other options.

Erick Arnett:
Yeah, great. And one of the things that we also talked about was how to how do people get in touch with you? You can certainly, like you said, reach out to take our retirement, but people can get a hold of you directly if they have any questions.

Rhonda Jones:
They absolutely can. My telephone number is 352 279 6952. Or you can email me Rhonda Rhonda.Medicare@RhondaJones.org. I would be happy to set up a time to meet with you. We have a couple of different options now to be able to meet. We can certainly meet in an office. In our office. I can meet you at your home. We can have a Zoom call if you're more comfortable with that. And I've even met people at their favorite restaurants. So whatever is a better option for you and however you feel most comfortable, we would definitely be able to do that.

Erick Arnett:
So that's awesome. Kind of like a concierge service. We'll come right to you.

Rhonda Jones:
Absolutely. Yeah.

Erick Arnett:
And that's what I tell my listeners, you know, because we have a broad audience from Tampa Bay all the way south into Sarasota, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte area, and then, of course, the nature coast. Our home office is here in Springhill, Florida, right here in the nature coast. But I always tell people like, look, you know, we're happy to come to you or accommodate you in any way. And so that's nice that you offer that. That's great. And, you know, the comfort of your own home. Just doing a quick zoom or a phone call might just get your questions answered right there and in the way you go. So, I mean, I know like obviously just like in financial planning, you know, at take point on take part on retirement, we do a completely full financial plan for folks, totally free. You know, it's a free consultation. And part of that is we like to talk about income. We'd like to talk about Social Security. I'd like to talk about Medicare and health care costs and how that's going to impact folks. And so we bring that all into our our consultation and our comprehensive plan, which is completely free to folks. If you call in today 35261605113526160511. Or just go to our website take point wealth and we're happy to help you. But you know rising health care costs, I think we were just out at a big conference, investment conference and Medicare, our health care costs in general, not Medicare costs, but across the board this year went up 20%. And I know all this year we've been talking so much about inflation and how inflation is impacting our retirees and our pre retirees. And so health care costs going up 20% is I mean, health care was already expensive, right? So what are you seeing in your world there in the Medicare and the supplement world? Are costs rising or costs going down? And how is it that you think that we can help folks, you know, with that strategic planning there when it comes to costs?

Rhonda Jones:
We did get some information recently. They the federal government did let us know that the the Medicare Part B premium and deductible and coinsurance rates which are determined by the Social Security Act, they are actually decreasing in 2023. So for the average consumer paying their Part B premium, it was going from about $170.10 in 2022 down to $164.90 in 2023. So in this economy where we're expecting everything to just go up every year, which it has been historically, we're actually seeing a little bit of a decrease. The annual deductible in 2023 is going to decrease $7 from $233 to $226. So there are some changes that will be taking place in 2023. But there are also some some options for people. And that's why it's so important to get your annual review, because plans will change. Doctors will move from one plan to another. So you're on a particular plan because you are just your doctor is fantastic. But now you find yourself in a position where next year he's not going to be on that plan. So they are. We have many, many resources that we can actually take your doctors, we can take your medications. That's one of the biggest expenses right now. The the the medications, some of them are just just incredible. I've heard of people, especially with diabetes. Their medications could be 1000 a month easily. So there are plans out there which will cater to, if you will, these type of patients who need these additional benefits. And they actually we have the software available that we can plug this information in and cater something specifically to you to look at your needs and see where we can save you the most money. Because that especially those drug plans and some of the the formularies with the different plans, they they can be very complicating and complicated excuse me. And so we can kind of take some of that confusion out for you.

Erick Arnett:
Awesome. Thank you. So open enrollment again starts when?

Rhonda Jones:
October 15th and.

Erick Arnett:
It lasts until.

Rhonda Jones:
December seven.

Erick Arnett:
And then when should people contact you? When's a good time to get started on this?

Rhonda Jones:
They can they can contact me today. We can get some appointments set up. I do want to I did want to mention as well that once this period is over, are you are making changes as they would be effective January 1st of 2023. So we're not going to be making any changes effective in 2022. It would be effective 2023. I did want to mention that. But we can actually get on the phone and get sometimes scheduled and any time between October 15th and December 7th, we can set up some time to meet and do a review.

Erick Arnett:
So open enrollment periods for those that are already in Medicare and have a plan. So my thought is, what about folks that haven't reached 65 yet? They might be 62, 63, 64. What are what are some of the rules there? When should folks actually be thinking about setting up Medicare? And how does that how does that happen? I'm thinking of one of the biggest challenges that we have are folks that are in that I call it that kind of limbo zone. There might be 60, 62. They want to retire or they already have retired, but they can't get they've still got three years or two years away from Medicare. And so trying to bridge that gap with some type of health insurance and things like that can be challenging. So but when should folks start thinking about Medicare and what are some of the rules there?

Rhonda Jones:
Well, one of the we have different periods throughout your your Medicare journey and the initial enrollment period is seven months long. And this is for those of you who are going to be eligible due to your age, which means you're going to be 65 and that seven months is three months before and three months after your 65th birthday. So it begins and ends one month earlier. If your birth date birthday is on the first of the month. So you can enroll in Medicare Part A, part B or both.

Erick Arnett:
One thing that we always tell folks is if you're a couple of years out or even five years out to retirement, it doesn't hurt to get in here now, get in here today and start planning ahead. Right. And so I don't see anything different with Medicare. And and one thing that we can do here at take point on retirement is help you build that comprehensive plan. Listen, folks, we provide that completely free no cost to our listeners. And guess what? There's no obligation to work with us. You only work with us. It's best for you. And and I'm sure, Rhonda, that you kind of operate the same way. You're happy to answer folks questions, but you're not going to hold the gun to their head and say, hey, you know, you have to work with me. I mean, we just want to be an educational tool. We want to be an outreach for folks. And and so if you're sitting there by the phone, you have a couple of questions. Just feel free to reach out to us. I want you to share your contact information once again for those folks out there. But you think you had something else to say? Your me up there, something came to your head. So let's hear it.

Rhonda Jones:
Yes, I did want to mention that part of that preparation is actually applying for part A and part B, So that's something that I've been able to to help our members with as well. If you have any questions, you're going to be turning 65. You don't know what to do. I would be happy to walk you through that process again. I don't charge anything for that. I don't there is no obligation to to work with me. As far as your insurance, I would love the opportunity to get you into a plan that's best for you. But that is something that we've also been doing. There are special additional help that you can get through Medicaid potentially, if that's something that you qualify for. And I can walk. You through that process as well. So it can be very confusing. But I would I would absolutely be available to help you start the process. And that way, as you're turning 65 and moving into this and transitioning. I actually just had a gentleman who retired from the sheriff's office. So for the past 25 years, he's basically been signing on the dotted line every month or every year and just getting his insurance. So this was quite a transition for him to move into the the Medicare world. And so we were able to I was able to work with him and make it a smooth transition so that when he turns 65 this month, he's he's ready to go. He's got his insurance, it's affordable and he's got exactly what he needs. I also wanted to just mention I'm on a team that is bilingual with Spanish, so we have a team that spans Hernando County, Pasco, Citrus, Pinellas, Hillsborough and even into Polk. So no matter where you are, I can put you in touch with one of our team members who will be able to help you and and be a great resource for you.

Erick Arnett:
Rhonda Jones, our Medicare consultant here at Take Point Wealth Management and Take Point on Retirement radio. Folks, feel free to reach out. Give us a call. You can certainly call us right here at Take Point Wealth at 3526160511. And we'll get you set up with Rhonda or Rhonda once again. Can you just share, as we're wrapping up this segment with you, can you just share your contact information once again so folks know how to get a hold of you? If they have any questions.

Rhonda Jones:
They can call or text me at 352 279 6952 or email me at Rhonda Rhonda.Medicare@RhondaJones.org

Erick Arnett:
Rhonda, thanks for being here today and we appreciate it. And I think we're going to have you we talked about having you back on the show again here in the near future to really kind of dive into supplemental plans plan Medicare Part C, right? So super complicated. There's all different kinds of plans, but I definitely want to have you back on the show. But thanks so much for being here with us today. I appreciate it.

Rhonda Jones:
Thank you very much. I look forward to speaking with you all soon.

Erick Arnett:
So, yeah, everybody, that was Rhonda Jones. Once again, our Medicare consultant here at Take Point Wealth Management. And just another tool in the toolbox here at Take Point when so when we're talking about doing that complimentary comprehensive financial plan for you, you know we're going to provide that at no cost to to to our listeners today. Just give us a call. 352 616 0511 - 352 616 0511. You certainly can. Just reach out to our website, take point health.com Just go on your phone, your smartphone there and just Google us and our website will come up on that first page in the upper right hand corner. You can click and get right on my calendar and there's also some section there to leave some notes and let us know what's what's on your mind, what you need help with. And and we're standing by to help you out. So, you know, part of that free, comprehensive financial plan, you know, we're going to help you analyze your specific and your unique financial situation. Everybody out there has their own situation, their own unique situation. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to tailor a plan just for you. We could closely examine any annuities that you have. We'll discover exactly how much you're paying in fees, help you cut unnecessary costs in your IRA, your 401 K in any other retirement savings account. We can also help you with that Social Security planning and Medicare. And so we'll compare your current situation to what's possible if you work with us. And there's no obligation at all to to work with us. But we just happy to get that education out to you once again, that free, comprehensive financial plan for our listeners today.

Producer:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the Quote of the Week.

Producer:
So our words of wisdom this week come from, I think, some of a somewhat of an unexpected source. He he was a Renaissance painter, as a matter of fact, Michelangelo of Sistine Chapel ceiling fame. So you might not immediately associate Michelangelo with with these words of wisdom, but these are some pretty wise words. And here's this quote. He said, quote, The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high or falling too short, but setting our aim too low and achieving our mark. I think that's that's very wise, actually. You got got to aim high, you know.

Erick Arnett:
Yeah, that's you know, that's going way back with Michelangelo. But that's great because I think that man, I mean, it's timeless, right? We see that still every day today in society and everything we do. And and I think it kind of ties in to even what we try to achieve here at take point with our our planning and, you know, hey, aim high with your planning and let's try to achieve all your goals. And that's one thing that we do here at take point is we first and foremost focus on the goals folks. We're we're a goals based planning firm, so we focus on the goals first and foremost. So aim high and let's get you there and and then we'll plug and play and put the right tools in place to achieve achieve that success. But thanks for sharing with us, Matt, the quote of the week. Pretty awesome, of course. Just joining us now to pop in, our CPA extraordinaire, Mr. Randy Woodruff. Folks, you've heard him before. He's been on the show many times. And he's my teammate and my partner and he's the guy that I send all my clients to. And we work as a team right here and take point Wealth management. Randy's been a CPA for oh man, I don't know, 500 know, it seems like how many? 35 years, 30 some odd years. So 30. So yeah. So Randy, you know, we thanks for being here today.

Erick Arnett:
We always, you know, a big thing the three things that we focus here take point well when we're sitting down with folks and and reevaluating what they're doing and putting a plan together for them that we feel is optimal. And the optimized plan for them is we really focus on really three things. I mean, we try to keep it simple. We're going to one, we're going to try to reduce your fees and expenses because expenses are definitely the silent killer to all retirements. We're also going to really closely look at risk. You know, what type of risk do you have in your portfolios across the board? There's risk in everything we do. And so and that's kind of dovetailing a little bit into what we're going to talk about. Matt, I think right in the second segment is getting to the guarantees. We want to give some folks some ideas. And because there's a lot of risk out there right now, I'm sure we're all feeling it, but we're going to share some ideas with folks and get to some guarantees. Things are improving in that guaranteed marketplace. And so we have some great ideas there. But and then the third thing that we're really focused on, which is the other silent killer, Randy, is taxes, you know, reducing taxes and retirement. So those three things, if we can focus on reducing taxes, which is going to improve your cash flow, it's basically reducing your expenses.

Erick Arnett:
If we can reduce your fees and expenses and what you're currently doing, and then we can also reduce your risk, you're going to have you're going to have a much stronger, better opportunity to reach your goals in your reach, your retirement goals. So with that being said, Randy, we're coming up on some deadlines here once again, but what are some of the advice you have for folks and what are you doing with your clients? Currently?

Randy Woodruff:
We're getting we're actually we're in the fourth quarter now. So now is the time to begin thinking about ways to save those dollars and save save tax dollars. And one of the things we like to talk to clients about is if you're going to be giving money to a charity instead of getting money directly out of your checking account to a charity, maybe give money out of your IRA or retirement account, right to the charity. And that way it doesn't hit your tax return at all. And that that way, because it may increase your income up on your Social Security, your AGI and that may tax part of your Social Security may make it more taxable. Other other things can be triggered by pulling more and more money out of your IRA or retirement accounts and giving it to charity. So it's best to bypass your your account altogether. Right to the charity is a great.

Randy Woodruff:
Tax Tip for most folks that don't know to do that. I've found more and more of that as I talk about this. More and more and more, more folks are doing that, which is good. Another thing, too, that folks do sometimes is they want to give money to charity. So they'll sell something, they'll sell stock. They'll sell bonds. They'll. Mutual funds are your property, and then they'll be selling it for profit and then they're then giving that money away to charity. Well, a better way to do that if you're going to be if you want to sell an asset that it has depreciated in value is just to get that get that asset directly to the charity. And that way that gain does not hit your tax return either, which will again potentially increase the tax on your Social Security and other taxable consequences. If you're taking a loss on an asset, whether it be stocks or property, then it is best to go ahead and sell that asset individually. You can claim that loss on your tax return and depending upon the size of the loss, take part of it this year up to 3000 and then the rest of it in the future based on how much the actual losses.

Randy Woodruff:
As we all know, capital losses are taxed at 3000 per year, which we were talking earlier. How long I've been doing this, I've done some 30 years and that that loss has not been indexed up for inflation at all. So it's been 3000 for at least 30 years now. So every year, if you if you have a significant loss in the market or real estate or whatever the loss is from, you can only take 3000 per year. Now, if you have gains in the future, you can you can offset those gains with those carryover losses. But still 3000 a year is not much unless you're here again, I think I've got clients that have some significant going back to the Great Recession that happened and started happening in oh eight and and then the next couple of years. So I think things started coming out the middle of 2009, but a lot of losses were still taken. I've got clients that are still taking losses from those years and have six figures several times over left to take.

Erick Arnett:
To make sure that as you're as you're doing your tax planning, make sure you're actually giving the charities, there are ways to to give to charity. We all want to support charities, especially with what's happened to Hurricane Ian down in south west Florida here and other other good causes. But before you just write a check or sell something, check with us and make sure there might be a better, more tax advantageous way for you to make that charitable contribution.

Producer:
Well, Erick, it is time for us to take our first break here. Don't go away, folks, though, this is Take Point on Retirement. Takepointonretirement.com is the website and there is much more of the show and Erick's conversation about taxes and more coming up right after the break. Stick around.

Producer:
You're listening to take point on retirement to schedule your free no obligation consultation visit Takepointonretirement.com .

Producer:
Where's the best place to hang your hat when you retire? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement radio Network Powered by AmeriLife. Whether retirement is just around the corner or several years away, time is ticking on planning not only your finances for your later years, but where you want to live out your post-retirement life. Personal finance website wallethub recently released its list of best states to retire in 2022.

Jill Gonzalez:
Florida, unsurprisingly, ranked number one, followed by Virginia, Colorado, Delaware and Minnesota.

Producer:
Wallethub analyst Jill Gonzalez.

Jill Gonzalez:
The top ten continues with North Dakota, Montana, Utah, Arizona and New Hampshire.

Producer:
So what makes a state one of the best to retire in?

Jill Gonzalez:
The study was based on 47 metrics, including tax friendliness, the elderly population, golf courses per capita and shoreline mileage.

Producer:
As for Florida, which landed the top spot this year.

Jill Gonzalez:
Florida excelled in tax friendliness, fellow retirees and things to do, but could use improvement with home health aides per.

Producer:
even though the Sunshine State is number one overall, If finances are your primary concern, you might want to consider a move to Mississippi. It ranked as the state with the lowest overall cost of living. As for tax friendliness, Alaska jumps to the top of the list. But what if you want some culture in your retirement years? New York ranks as the number one state when it comes to the number of museums per capita. The tradeoff there is naturally, the Empire State is one of the most expensive in the country. So where do you want to spend most of your time in retirement? And what factors are most important to you when considering a potential move? Those are key questions to consider as you plan for the future. With the retirement radio network powered by a metro Life, I'm Matt McClure.

Producer:
Welcome back to Take Point on Retirement schedule your free financial consultation now at take point on retirement dot com.

Producer:
Welcome back this is Take Point on Retirement. I'm Matt McClure here filling in for Sam Davis who is the normal producer on the show. But he is off this week and I am filling in and trying to fill those those big shoes of his as we are in another edition of take point on retirement for this weekend. And Erick Arnett, of course, is our host here. And Erick, I know that that you've been having this great conversation today a little bit earlier about Medicare now more into taxes. And you were you were just saying that that this conversation really brought something to your mind.

Erick Arnett:
Hopefully, folks, if you're listening, you've heard from your advisor, it's getting close to the end of the end of the year here. We've only got a couple of months left and we've had a very, let's say, volatile year and probably a year where portfolios are down and your non IRA accounts. And if your advisor isn't actively calling you right now to go through your portfolios and talk about where do we take some losses to offset gains, past gains, maybe gains you've had this year? You know, more than likely if you're in a if you have investments inside of a taxable account, you're going to have you could do some tax loss harvesting. And so with all of our clients, we are currently meeting with them to go through their trust accounts, to go through their joint accounts and their taxable investment accounts and seeing where we need to take losses and to offset those gains so they don't get hit because you can still get hit with taxes on your dividends and interest in a year in which you lost money in your portfolio. So, you know, let's try to at least alleviate, alleviate that burden or that headache or, you know, that big wallop when you hey, I lost money in my portfolio and I still got to write a check this year for for dividends and interest. We can offset that with some, you know, going through the portfolio and strategically managing that and taking some gains where they need be.

Erick Arnett:
So part of that year end planning, folks, if you don't have a team, a CPA, an investment advisor meeting with you right now to kind of go through all that with you and talk about not only your taxes and but also what can we can do inside your portfolio to help alleviate that burden. Now is the time and we're happy to do it for you. Reach out to us. 352 616 0511. That's 352 616 0511. Also, you can just go right to our website takepointwealth.com And you can set up an appointment in that upper right hand corner folks you deserve. I don't care what size portfolio you have, what size client you are, you deserve this kind of comprehensive service. So I urge you to reach out to us today so we can get you on the calendar. It's crazy how fast time flies. I mean, before we know it, it's going to be Thanksgiving. It's going to be Christmas. We want to get you on the books now, get you on the calendar now. And Randy and I, you know, not to toot our own horn, but combined almost 30 years of experience, we'll sit down with you. 50. Combined 50? Yeah. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. We're old. Oh, holy shit. Nike's. We are old. I just realized that. So. Yeah, You know, over 50 years of combined experience, Randy and I have been doing this for 20 some odd years together, and, man, you could.

Erick Arnett:
It's amazingly impactful when we sit down with people and do this year end planning the things that we we save people a lot of money just just to come right out with it. We have. And that's where we add value. If we can save money, reduce fees, you know, but a big part of that, you've got to be very strategic. You've got to be making changes. You've got to be nimble in this marketplace right now. And so definitely want to do some tax and tax loss harvesting and some tax reviewing.

Randy Woodruff:
And back on the tax loss harvesting. One of the things that I noticed over the years that really in the last year particularly that really surprised a lot of clients that have mutual funds, they may see their mutual fund values going down a little bit, but maybe at the beginning of a year, sometime during the year, that mutual fund manager may have sold a lot of the assets inside the portfolio and created a lot of capital gain distributions. And so last year in particular, when we're doing 20, 2021 taxes beginning of 2022, and several clients that were surprised at the size of their capital gain distributions. And so that was a surprise for some of them. And some of them they wound up causing more of their Social Security to wind up being taxable.

Erick Arnett:
So again, just because if you have a lot of mutual funds in your portfolio, just keep that in mind that the last two years of the market had been really good and then it went way, way up, especially 2021, and your manager may have really rebounded. Some portfolios beginning at 2022. And if they did that, you may have a lot of gains in your in your portfolio that you are not thinking about. But when you get that 1099 in the beginning of 2023, you're going to be shocked that, oh wow, we actually took a bunch of gains off the table and protected the gains, which is a good thing to do. But you're going to there's some tax consequences for Erick's point. Even if you're not investing in individual stocks, you still can do some some tax harvesting. And those I like to call them silent gains or surprise gains or phantom or, you know, those those kind of gains that happen in mutual funds from those capital gains distributions. Please be aware of those and please make sure you know what they are before you get past the end of the year. And you may want to sell out of some of these mutual fund positions to create some losses to offset those capital gain distributions.

Erick Arnett:
That was one that I was sitting there. I think we were like on a mental telepathic thing there because I was getting ready to jump on mutual funds.

Erick Arnett:
And I'm sure that if you're out there listening right now, I would encourage you to just take a few minutes. You can log on to where your money currently is, where it's being managed currently, and you can actually log on there and pull a statement or you can go in and see your cost basis. You can also you should also be able to get a report on if there have been those capital gains, sales and distributions inside your mutual funds. And so that's one of the big, big, big efficiencies of mutual funds and why we're not a huge fan of mutual funds here at take point. You know, we believe in ETFs, individual stocks, that gives us the ability to be more nimble and to do that kind of tax planning and tax harvesting. But if you're out there listening, take a few minutes and just pull that information. And if you don't know how to do it, that's fine to get a hold of us. 352 616 0511 3526160511. Or go to take point wealth dot com and just set up a chat session with me, but I'll show you how to pull that information and kind of guide you through it because that's super, super important. We saw that in 080708. Mutual funds were selling and they had all these gains from previous years and people were like, I don't understand this, Erick. Like, what's going on? We just our portfolio is down 20, 30%, but we're still having to pay taxes.

Erick Arnett:
So that's a big a big clobber to the right, just bashes you over the head and it's not fun. So we but we have time to work through that and alleviate that problem for you. Hopefully. Potentially so. And it only it's only going to take you to make that phone call and reach out to us and us about 20, 30 minutes writing. I can get together and evaluate that for you. Hop on a Zoom appointment. You know, however we can accommodate you, we can come right to you. We have offices all over the Tampa Bay area and executive offices down in the Sarasota area. We can certainly meet up with you and and help you through all that if that's something you have questions on. But it is it is particularly it is going to be one of those years, I'm sure, just because we've had big corrections in the stock market.

Randy Woodruff:
You know, I hear when people come and get their taxes done in the first quarter of the year, well, I wish I had done this. And, you know, I can't tell you many times I've heard that. And so Erick and I can help you out if you come see us next year as to late at that point. So we have a whole quarter and then it's kind of a busy quarter with the holidays at the end of the quarter, now is the time to get on the phone, give us a call and get in early so we can we can do some planning.

Randy Woodruff:
And, you know, there's still plenty of time. We have we have a whole quarter, so please don't delay in giving us a call.

Erick Arnett:
We talk about kind of our mission statement and and why we built take point wealth management and with our backgrounds. You know, we've I've worked in the big firms. You've been running your own practice for years and you work with clients of all shapes, all sizes, multimillionaires to people just starting out. And everybody has their own unique situation and plan. And that's what we we have a lot of passion and be able to sit down with each individual and and look at those challenges. But you know if you if you don't have that kind of service folks currently and like I said, I don't care how much money you have or where you're at in life, you deserve that total comprehensive service, that team wrapped around you. And that's why we really developed Take point we were tired of. I know I was, you know, working in the industry at the bigger, larger firms. It was like, you know, we only gave attention to those folks that had ultra net worth, you know, And so now I want a driving force behind all this. And what we do is we want to bring that high level, that high touch, those great ideas to everybody, no matter what size portfolio here in the local markets.

Erick Arnett:
And so bringing everything right to Main Street so we can help you guys out and just, you know, folks, you deserve that attention. If you haven't heard from your advisor, if you're not getting that comprehensive planning every year that sit down, you really do deserve. That. And I urge you to give us a call, You know, reasons to work with a financial advisor and a CPA. I mean, I know there's a lot of people out there that like to do their own taxes as well, and a lot of people like to to manage their own investments. And that's okay. There are a lot of people out there that don't want to do that, that just want to retire, enjoy retirement and let the experts handle it. And that's where we step in. But if you don't, you know, there's a lot of reasons to work with an advisor and a financial professional. But number one is you deserve communication, constant communication. You deserve your you deserve to have tactical and nimble ideas across your portfolio. You know, maybe you don't even understand what an expense ratio is. And, you know, you need to be asking these kind of questions of your advisor. How much are you paying inside your portfolio? Expense ratios and mutual funds. You know what? What expenses are you paying? Do you understand the risk that you're taking in your investments? And do you have a formal retirement plan? Now, I know a lot of people out there listening probably have a plan in the back of their mind and and they've been kind of working through it.

Erick Arnett:
And it may be working for you, but this year it might have shaken things up a little bit, might have shaken you up a little bit, might have hit you, hit your confidence. You might be wondering, am I still on track? You know, is what I'm currently doing still working. And, you know, we're not going to get into it on today's show. But there are a ton of things that are going on behind the scenes within the economy and within the markets. And we're paying close attention to that. We're ever vigilant and we can bring those ideas and solutions to the table, reducing costs, reducing fees, reducing risk. So you need that formal retirement plan, right? I mean, just like you need a formal tax plan. We've got to do this planning. It just takes time.

Randy Woodruff:
People spend more time planning their annual vacation and they plan for retirement and they spend more time, you know, picking hotels, picking fly, picking things to do that you're going to spend just one weekend, but you can spend your entire probably a decade, maybe two decades or more, depending on when you retire and how healthy you are in retirement.

Erick Arnett:
And not near enough focus is put on that. So and the sooner you start to plan, the better in general, the better retirement you're going to have in terms of the money. You're going to have a retirement because so many people don't start planning into one guy. I've got to get the kids to college. They get the kids at the house. Can I get them on the way? Now? They're in their early fifties and they they don't have the time for that compounding. So it doesn't matter how if you're already in retirement, well, then we need a plan on making sure that your income's going to last. But you have to plan and you can't get planning in five or ten, ten minute, 15 minute thought. It has to be a well thought out, well crafted, vetted and have someone here can challenge you on your plan. Is your plan even going to work? We've come across plans that, you know, people are going to have this much when they get to retirement time. We do all the calculations, don't have enough money. Based on their current plan. So I really want to encourage you to think about the fact that you're going to spend hopefully years and years in retirement, hopefully are going to be happy, happy years in retirement. But to have those happy years, you have to spend a lot of time planning. It can't just be an afterthought, you know.

Randy Woodruff:
and hour or 2 a Year. And and but planning doesn't just involve coming and seeing us. It involves educating yourself on finances, on the market, on budgeting, on on cash flow and and also being disciplined to make sure that that you're sticking to the plan. So.

Erick Arnett:
If you're sitting there right now listening to our show or even in your car, if you can just make these mental notes or write them down. But you've got to have a formal retirement plan. If you have a plan in place, let's test it. We'll actually test that plan. We stress test it, we evaluate it. We throw 1000 scenarios at it. Good markets, bad markets, high rates, low rates, combinations thereof. And and we're going to see it's going to spit out a probability of success. And we're going to see do we need to tweak that? Do we need to make some changes in order to make sure that you're reach your number one goal? Your number one goal is what? Don't run out of money, right? We've got to have income. But there's ways that we can enhance that by being strategic. And so, you know, you may not understand how much risk you have in your portfolio as you get older. A lot of folks come in here and they just don't truly understand risk. For instance, a great example was the bond market. This year, the bond market is down over 13% and that was supposed to be our kind of risk free asset class that was supposed to protect us. So perfect example there.

Erick Arnett:
So if you don't know if you should pay off your house or not, maybe, you know, we can answer that question for you. And then also, if you don't have health care, a health care plan in place, we'd like to help you there as well. So comprehensive retirement planning, folks, if you're not getting it, we're happy to help you reach out to us today. 352 616 0511 3526160511. You can go to my website. Takepointwealth.com clicking the upper right hand corner. And you can certainly get right on my calendar and we'll set up a 1015 minute chat session just to get to know each other and see what it is that you know, see what your plan is and see if there's something that we can do to enhance it, optimize it, give you some ideas. But first and foremost, let's test it. Let's see how it's going to hold up, because we're certainly in a much different marketplace today. I've said this many times on our show, you know, the next ten years will be nothing like the last ten years. And so fortunately or unfortunately for our retirees and our pre retirees, in today's environment, we're facing a lot more challenges. And so we've got to be more strategic. We've got to really tighten things up and really pay close attention to all the details. And that's what we do here at Take Point Wealth as we're going to really dive into all the details and make sure that plan is maximized and optimize for success.

Producer:
Well, you know, Erick, so much of our conversation today has really revolved around inflation and inflationary pressures on everything, right from the Medicare conversation that we had earlier and a lot of health care getting more expensive, but actually surprisingly so. A lot of the Medicare premiums actually coming down, which was a good thing. We also talked, though, about taxes, you know, just now and how inflation is going to impact that. And so that kind of leads us right into our next segment here. And it's on we're kind of calling it get to the guarantees, right? Because people there's so much uncertainty right now in the markets. There's so much uncertainty with inflation and the overall economy and exactly how the interest rate increases to battle inflation are going to impact the economy and all of that. So people are looking for guarantees in life and in their finances especially. And so that just kind of leads us right into this portion of it because, yeah, people are looking for those guarantees in time when it doesn't seem like there are many.

Erick Arnett:
Yeah. Matt, thanks so much for for kind of segmenting that for us. I mean, it kind of just ties in to what we were just talking about earlier, you know, evaluating that risk in your portfolio. And we've been talking about bonds all year on the show. We started talking about it about them two years ago and get bonds out of your portfolio and because of the risk associated with them. And so we're getting we're absolutely getting a ton of calls and we're getting flooded with questions of and people asking for ways to invest and be able to generate income for retirement. And somewhere where the money could be can be safe. You know, and because people have been rocked pretty hard this year with that traditional kind of 6040 moderate portfolio, we've all been told for so long, conventional wisdom, you know, hey, you know, you're kind of that retiree, pre retiree. You've got that that traditional moderate portfolio, 60%, 50% or so in stocks and the rest in fixed income and bonds. And, you know, that didn't work for us this year. And quite frankly, it's not going to probably work for you going forward any time soon. We've still got a lot to shake out here with interest rates and the Fed and and inflation and and all of those different dynamics, the strengthening of the dollar.

Erick Arnett:
I mean, we can just go on and on, all these different dynamics that are kind of hitting our pre-retirees and our retirees out there. So let's talk about some ideas. Let's talk about some guarantees. And one thing that we're not certainly professing any particular product here, we're just trying to give folks some ideas and then also encouraging folks to something here kind of piques your interest. Give us a call and we will educate you all the way through so you truly understand the nuts and bolts of all these. But we've talked about annuities, right? Indexed annuities. We also we also currently like what we call multi year guaranteed annuities. These are fixed annuities. Fixed annuities are just like a CD at the bank, but they're a guaranteed rate of return that you get with an insurance company. And so the good news is with rising interest rates, things start getting a little bit better for our retirees in order for them to be able to invest in things that are going to actually provide a decent interest rate or return. So for four, if you're looking to buy a new home or new car or, you know, things like that, it's a little tough because it's a little harder to stomach these huge increases in rates. But if you're a pre retiree or a retiree and you're looking for some guarantees and some safer places to put your money, it's really starting to become a much better marketplace and a better environment for that because of the rising rates.

Erick Arnett:
So. An example that fixed MIGA, which is a multi year guaranteed annuity with the insurance company, is just like a CD. You know, we're seeing rates as high as 3.6% on a two year guarantee. Five year MIGA is right now you can we're seeing some as high as 4.95%. That's a guarantee on your money. The thing that I like about the MiG is versus the CDs that you would maybe get at a bank is that when your money is inside of the fixed annuity or the MIGA, it grows tax deferred. So you're not going to get a tax bill every year like you would inside a CD. So CD rates are probably a little bit lower. These rates that insurance companies give out through these miners are a little bit more competitive than the bank rates. And they're trying to gather dollars and they want your money. So they're being a little bit more competitive there with the rates. But the advantages are over. Cds are, one, you get the tax deferral, which is great, and two is they do have liquidity provisions. So unlike a CD at the bank, if you put your money in and then you go a year or two later to get it out or get some of it out, you're going to be penalized because they have penalties for early withdrawals inside of these fixed annuities.

Erick Arnett:
These MIGA is these multi year guaranteed annuities. You are allowed to typically take out up to 10% penalty free. So you still have access to the cash so you can place your money someplace safe and still get a decent return. And some tax deferral, which helps out after tax returns are strong, stronger. So just you owe it to yourself. Reach out to us if you have some questions about it. We want to explore that more. I'm happy to get you some information. I can run illustrations for you. Send it right to your email right in the comfort of your own home. You don't have to get in your car and drive and spend 2 hours in a meeting. We can get that information out to you right away. So, you know, go to our website, take point wealth dot com in the upper right hand corner, just click that chat session and that will go right into my calendar and you'll get some time where we can just chat on the phone. Or today, even if you're listening to the show, I'm standing by, just give me a shout and I'm happy to chat with you.

Erick Arnett:
I'll get that information, educate, educate, educate, educate yourself over and over again to really understand all the options that are out there. But, you know, imagine how much better you'll do if you can generate almost 5% on your savings money each year without any market risk? You know, I think that there's a lot of folks out there that would probably feel a little bit relieved if they had that option right now. So, you know, this is a this is almost a 4.9% guaranteed return. It's based on the claims paying ability of this well known insurance and annuity carrier. So they're very strong. Typically, you know, not going to get into all the dynamics of it. But when you do call and you have those questions, I'll certainly dive into the details. But typically, you know, the insurance companies are even stronger than the bank. So it's a safe place to keep your money. They have a much higher reserve ratio than even the banks do. So owe to yourself to to look into this and get some decent returns now that rates have gone up and your money is 100% safe. So also, you know, how can you save money and protect your nest egg and reduce those costs and get some more guarantees in your portfolio? It's remove bonds from your portfolio.

Erick Arnett:
Get them out, folks. I mean, I know you're probably tired of hearing this, but there'll be another day. Bonds will have their heyday again down the road, I'm sure. But, you know, that's why we're active in Nimble here at Take point right now they're just not they're just dead weight and there's a lot of risk there. And we've got to get those out of your portfolio and and look at a tax deferred, you know, or even a tax free income strategy for investing those dollars on your retirement. And typically, in a bond replacement scenario, we can find instruments out there that have no fees at all because you're if you're holding bonds, you're more than likely paying a fee and you're losing money. So and it's going to be very difficult for those to recover in this current interest rate environment. So let's look at indexed annuities and ways in which you can protect that growth and get market like gains without that market risk. So, you know, your money, whenever your money is invested in an annuity, whether it's a fixed annuity or an indexed annuity, it's 100% guaranteed. Your principal is 100% protected. And so there's some that you can get market like gains and there's others that you can just get straight up guarantees. So let's talk through that. So reach out to us today and let's get that information.

Erick Arnett:
It's time to make some changes, folks. It's time to be nimble. Don't be fearful of change. Sometimes changes is is is important and exactly what you need. We also talk about the guarantees that you can get in life insurance. We'll sit down and tailor a life insurance plan just for you and your family. And it may be that you actually have risks that you need to insure or you may need tax free retirement planning, life insurance, whole life indexed universal life policies. I'd love to talk you through it, but you can get tax free income once again. I said tax free income in your retirement with some strategic strategic planning now. So just a couple of little guarantees out there and cost cutters and savers. So I know that we're probably getting close to running out of time here, Matt, and I'm not really great on the intros. I'm not really great on the wrap ups and I'm not really good on the transition. So I'd love to leave it to you, the professional, to kind of take us home here. And once again, folks, thanks so much for listening to the show and once again to our folks down South. Hang in there. Helps on the way. We love you. We're thinking about you. We're praying for you and be strong.

Producer:
Yeah, definitely a great way to wrap up the show with those thoughts, Erick, Our thoughts and our prayers definitely with everyone who has been affected by that, that awful, awful storm. And folks, this has been take point on retirement. We really appreciate you listening. As Erick said, I'm Matt McClure. I am not the host of the show. That would be Erick's job. But I am the producer today because Sam Davis, who normally sits in this chair, is off this week. And I'm just trying to do my best that I that I can to fill in for him and and do do a good job and sit here and kind of keep it between the lines, as it were. But, Erick, thank you for all of your support this week. I really do appreciate it. Look forward to doing it again next time. And folks, remember, if you are interested in anything else that has been discussed on the show today, go to the website. It is Takepointonretirement.com . That's Takepointonretirement.com. And once again, you can get the show as a podcast edition there and download it. Subscribe. We would love to hear from all of our listeners here on Take Point on Retirement. That has been this edition of the show. We look forward to seeing you again next time.

Producer:
Thanks for listening. To Take Point on Retirement, you deserve to work with a private wealth management firm that will strategically work to protect your hard earned assets to schedule your free no obligation consultation visit, take point on retirement or pick up the phone and call 352 616 0511. That's 352 616 0511. Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC Become a registered investment advisor and Take Point Wealth Management are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results.