Karlan Tucker Reviews 7 Retirement Income Planning Tips for 2017

by Karlan Tucker | Dec 22, 2016 | Retirement Planning

Karlan Tucker Reviews

Karlan Tucker reviews 7 retirement income planning tips for 2017. Tucker Financial Solutions is a full service retirement planning, financial advisory and investment firm.

1. Hold a year-end review

If you plan to retire in the next five years, or currently retired, December and January is a great time to conduct a review of your retirement income plan. Are you on track? Is your principal protected from market downside? Are you on track to meet your goals? “Every day we meet individuals, who plan to retire within the next 10 years, concerned they will run out of money during retirement. Your income plan must include a plan of reliable and increasing income that will outlast you. How could upcoming life events or employment impact your current plan? Year end is a great time to schedule a second opinion to review your plan,” noted Tucker.

2. Reduce Fees

Research and analyze the fees that are currently embedded in your portfolio. FINRA offers an excellent tool to analyze mutual funds, EFTs and ETNs. Enter the mutual funds, EFTs and ETNs in your portfolio and analyze the net fees for a specific holding period. Typically 10 years holding period provides a good benchmark to costs. “Many times after we provide a portfolio review for a prospective client, they are shocked at the amount of fees and other costs we uncover. Taxes and fees are corrosive to a retirement plan principal and earnings. Minimizing both taxes and fees can provide a more secure retirement,” added Tucker

3. Lower Your Tolerance for Risk

As the Dow attempts to crack the 20K milestone, don’t get complacent and keep a majority of your assets exposed to the market. The stock market appears to have cyclical patterns; its highs and its lows can bring a sense of achievement or despair. Avoid the emotions of the market.
“In 2017, consider taking some risk off the table. Ask yourself: if the market drops substantially over the next several months, how will that impact my retirement income plan? In many cases, a market drop of 10% or greater, can substantially impact the plan. You might consider fixed index annuities as a way to lower the risk and yet provide a retirement income vehicle,” said Tucker. Karlan Tucker reviews portfolios regularly and has found that many retirees are 100% exposed to the market downside – this is a potential retirement income catastrophe should the market drop.

4. Enjoy the Upside, Minimize the Downside

If you want to participate on the potential upside in the market; consider this, fixed index annuities as a way to participate in the market upside yet protect your principal from the market downside. The Financial Research Corporation of Boston noted “no other investment vehicle can rival the income annuity for retirement security.”
“The annualized Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has average just 3.4% in the last 16 years. You invest your hard earn capital into stock market. You take the risk; but, there isn’t much reward,” added Tucker.

5. Start Preparing for Health Care Expenses and Long-Term Care

Health care and long-term care continue to rise year over year. Start planning now on how to pay for these expenses during your retirement years. Health care and long term care costs are fast ways to exhaust retirement savings, home equity, and other assets. “The odds are high that many retirees will need some form of long-term care. It can financially wipe out a couple’s savings in a matter of months. You don’t have a retirement plan if health care and long-term care is not planned for,” said Tucker.

6. Cut Costs, Save More

Saving when employed is easier than going back to work at age 70 because you didn’t save enough while working in younger years. Retirees who enter back into the work force after retirement are often working for minimum wage because of a lapse in skill set and experience. Find ways now to lower spending: housing, cell phone, cable, college expenses, insurance, automobiles, and etc. Take a lesson from the younger millennials. Millennials are creatively cutting housing, transportation, and entertainment costs to maintain their lifestyles.

“Review all of your household operating costs. What can you lower or cut to help achieve your retirement income goals? Lowering a cable, skipping going out to a restaurant or eliminate a cell phone bill can make a substantial difference. Calculating a 5% annual compound rate while saving $200 per month over 15 years, an individual could have $52,000 in savings,” added Tucker.

7. Avoid Taxes in Retirement

Income taxes and real estate taxes in retirement are difficult to predict. Many economists believe that the Federal government will need to increase taxes to offset the multi-trillion dollars deficit. If you plan now, there are several ways to get tax free income in retirement. “If taxes rise in retirement, you need a plan to receive tax free income from your Roth IRAs and the cash values of a life insurance policy,” said Tucker.

About Karlan Tucker

Karlan Tucker, CEO, Tucker Financial Solutions

Karlan Tucker is the CEO and Founder of Tucker Financial Solutions located in Littleton, Colorado. He is also a radio talk host and author. He’s been interviewed nationwide on television and radio stations. Since 1991, he and his advisory team have helped Coloradans successfully retire. Regularly he reviews topics on investing, retirement, college planning and taxes.

About Tucker Financial Solutions
Tucker Financial Solutions, a retirement and investment advisory firm, specializes in fixed index annuities, life insurance, asset management, and college funding. Tucker Financial Solutions, founded in 1991, is located in Littleton, Colorado. Tucker Financial Solutions is part of the Tucker companies, which include Tucker Advisors, Tucker Asset Management, and Tucker College Solutions.

Investment advisory services provided through Tucker Asset Management LLC, a register investment adviser. Guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the insurance company.

About Karlan Tucker Reviews

Karlan Tucker reviews regularly financial planning, investing, taxes, college planning, wealth management, annuities and asset allocation.

Could 401(k)s Be A Thing of the Past?

by Karlan Tucker | Oct 6, 2015 | Retirement Planning

If you’re like most investors,, it is very likely that you have a 401k as part of your retirement plan. In fact, there’s a solid chance that your 401k could be the backbone of your entire financial portfolio. If this is the case, you definitely aren’t alone. They can supply you with a healthy amount of retirement income, there are tax benefits, and if you obtain one through your employer, you may receive matching contributions.

That being said, 401k plans could be in trouble. And we’re here to tell you exactly how…

Federal Government’s Massive Budget Deficit

Unless you’ve been living on the moon, you’ve surely been painfully aware of the deficit our country is facing. The federal government is trying to decide how exactly to bring down that iever-growing amount, and 401k plans could become a target. More precisely, proposals have recently been made that would target the tax benefits enjoyed by the contributions you make into your 401k. The effect would especially be felt by individuals with a higher income. The basic thinking is that the contributions you’ve been making into your 401k cannot be taxed right away, and that is something that has raised the eyebrows of a variety of lawmakers.

Flat Tax Credit Proposal

Last September, an idea was given to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee to help improve the country’s deficit. It was suggested that the pre-tax and tax-deductible contributions be replaced by a flat tax credit of 18%. This would go for both companies and their workers who contribute into these accounts and take advantage of their tax benefits. While this would raise $458 billion over the next decade for the government, individuals would be forced to pay taxes on any money contributed into their 401k accounts. Losing this benefit could be devastating, at least to those with a sizable amount of income.

Lower Income Would Benefit, Higher Income Would Suffer…

How you feel about this proposed change might very well have a lot to do with whether you are considered to be in the lower income or higher income bracket. Basically, this change would add an increased incentive for those in the former category, while those in the latter category would be negatively affected. Why? Because a 15% tax bracket would be the line dividing the two groups. If you are below this bracket, you would receive a greater benefit with this proposed “new” system. If you’re above the 15%, however, your benefit would decrease from how it exists in the current plan.

… Or Maybe the Higher Income Individuals Wouldn’t Suffer, After All

Despite the decrease that this proposed system would cause to pre-tax benefits, there is a good chance that most, if not all, higher income individuals wouldn’t be affected. This is because they would simply alter their financial portfolios to take this into consideration. In all likelihood, they would simply move the funds normally utilized for a 401k and other newly taxable accounts into a retirement account where contributions are not taxed. Shifting funds might be a bit of an inconvenience, but it’s something most higher income individuals would be fine with. Especially since many of them have a financial adviser that handles all of these issues for them. Plus, the lower income investors could really use an incentive, seeing as how a recent survey by EBRI found that barely a third of individuals earning less than a $35,000 yearly salary are currently saving for retirement.