Are You in the Retirement Redzone?

7.14.23: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

7.14.23: 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 Your American Retirement with your host, Randy Sams. Get set for a full hour of financial information and economic news affecting your bottom line. Randy works hard each day to educate Americans like you on how to reach the financial freedom they've worked so hard for. And he can help you, too. So now let's start the show. Here is your host, Randy Sams.

Randy Sams:
Hey, good morning, central Arkansas. I want to welcome you to Your American Retirement, a 101.1 FM. The Answer. My name is Randy Sams. I am your host. I'm also president CEO of SMMG Financial. Folks, we've been doing this. I've been doing this for 37 years. I'd like to tell you, I started when I was 10 or 11, but I'd be telling the story. So. But. I've had several different positions. When I say several, I've had a couple of positions, executive positions with major insurance companies. So I've been on the corporate side helping distribution and develop products. Um, was president of a senior division, one of the largest companies in the nation for 18 years and retired in 2014, the end of 2014 and started SMMG Financial in 2015. So what are we in our ninth year? Um, been very, very successful. I enjoy doing what we do, but folks, I always tell people to say, Randy, do you have an office? Well, folks, I do have an office. Um, but I don't have you come to my office? I am a lot of you. You're probably going to date yourself with the comment I'm about to make because some of you remember the the TV show Marcus Welby. Well, what did Marcus Welby do? What what set him aside from all the other doctors? Well, I always tell people, see, Marcus Welby made house calls. All right. So that's what we do at SMMG Financial. We don't want you or require you to come to a brick and mortar office where you're uncomfortable.

Randy Sams:
You're out of your environment, your atmosphere. So what we do is we come to you. We feel like the you as the client are much more comfortable at your house. Whether we are meeting in the dining room or the kitchen table or wherever you want to out on the back porch, that's fine. Um, but we're in your environment and we're going to go through what your objectives are. We're going to listen and together we're going to put together a plan that that fits your retirement objectives, your retirement needs. We don't believe in cookie cutter. One size does not fit all. What your objectives are may not be the same as the people that I just got through meeting with or that I'm going to be meeting with in the future. So that's kind of what we do at SMMG Financial folks. We are focused on retirement planning. Our mission is addressing the major financial issues facing retirees and pre-retirees in America today. By helping folks like yourself, our listeners understand and prepare for a secure retirement, not a risky retirement. What I like to say is a happy retirement. That's what we want to do. So, hey, we want to thank you for listening. We've been getting some really good comments. Suggestions from our listeners. So again, thank you guys for listening. We appreciate you taking your time on a Saturday morning to listen to the show.

Randy Sams:
But we also understand that a lot of folks that are listening, you're taking some good notes and we're giving out some good advice for you to hopefully when you get ready to retire or you are in retirement, we can make some adjustments and we can get you set up for that secure slash happy retirement. So, again, thank you for joining me this morning. Again, central Arkansas. Little Rock. Cabot, Conway, Benton, Bryant, Haskell, all you. Thank you for coming in and listening to us. So, hey, if you have a suggestion or a comment, you know where you can go YourAmericanRetirement.com. Leave me your information. Leave us a good comment. Tell us what some of your concerns are, what you might want us to focus on in the future on one of the shows, and we'll make sure that happens. You can also get in contact with us. (866) 990-7664. That's the toll free number. (866) 990-7664. And again, leave us your contact information and some of your suggestions. Would love to sit down and talk to you guys, whether it be over the telephone or face to face. Hey, you know, we have podcasts, so wherever you enjoy your favorite podcast, Spotify, whatever that might be, just look for YourAmericanRetirement.com on your favorite podcast app. And you're going to see my smiling face. You'll hear a little short message from me. You can listen to the show. And also we have a YouTube channel again, Your American Retirement.

Randy Sams:
So you can check out our videos and subscribe to our weekly highlights. So folks on the YouTube channel, we don't have the entire program. We just take little snippets, two minutes, three minutes of one of the subjects that we feel like is the most important to got to get you to go to the website or listen to the podcast. Again, just search Your American Retirement on YouTube. So don't hesitate to call us with your financial questions. Leave us your comments, leave us your concerns. We love talking to and helping our listeners. Hey, for our listeners, listen, it makes sense, doesn't it? Our listeners listening. You are listening, aren't you? We're offering a free informational report on bond replacement to all our listeners. So get in touch with me to learn how we can delete fees on 50% or more of your portfolio today. It's all part of our free, efficient and market efficient, our fee efficient and market efficient strategy to help our listeners and clients win with their money. Folks kind of get tickled when I talk to folks and they tell me about their investment advisors and I'm not throwing stones, so don't. So don't take it that way. I never tell anybody to put all of your money with SMMG Financial or into one of our products. You need to diversify. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. But what I kind of get concerned about is when I'm hearing people and I see advertisements on TV and you see them too, or hear them on the radio where they say, you know, we make more money when you make more money, well, that makes sense.

Randy Sams:
They're charging you a fee. So if your account balance goes up and I'm charging you 2% fee, well, 2% on $120,000 is more than 2% on 100,000. Right. But what if my account goes from 100,000 to 90,000? You're still going to charge me that 2% fee. So it went down. So I'm not going to make as much money on a 2% fee at 90,000 as I would on a 2% fee of 100,000. So put those two together and try to figure that out So they're charging you a fee whether your account goes up or your account goes down. Now, I don't have a problem with them making money when they do well for you. Everybody should get paid. But if you're in charge of my funds and I lose money, why should I pay you anything? You haven't done your job, as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, I'm gonna get off that soapbox again. Give us a call. (866) 990-7664. Or go to the website Your American Retirement and ask for the free report bond replacement. And we'll get that to all our listeners that will contact us. All right, let's get this thing starting. So the financial wisdom quote of the week.

Producer:
And now wholesome financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the Week.

Randy Sams:
The best way to predict your future is to create it. I love it. The best way to protect, predict your future is to create it. And that is given to us by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Thank you, Brother Abe, for that. So ask yourself this question. I get asked it all the time when I meet with folks. Are you taking too much risk with your retirement savings? Good question. Huh? Are you taking too much risk with your retirement savings? So, folks, retirees have been facing some difficult decisions lately due to inflation and soaring interest rates that have been putting a strain on their wallets and retirement planning. Some were actually unretiring. Meaning some are deciding to push back their retirement and some are not even sure whether they retire at all. So, folks, a little side note. When I meet with folks that are getting ready to retire. They have a target age. You know, used to everybody would say, I'm going to retire at 65. Well, they have a target age. It may be 66, maybe 67, depending on, you know, some people look at Social Security if they haven't turned on Social Security already. They look at waiting till they get their full retirement benefit, which for most people listening, is probably going to end up being either 66.5 or somewhere between that and 67. All right. But some folks are still going to work. A lot of folks like myself included, we have an objective to wait to turn on Social Security to age 70, which meaning at age 70, we will receive the highest retirement benefit. That we can possibly receive from Social Security. So if you can wait to age 70 to turn on that Social Security benefit you will make from age 67 to age 70.

Randy Sams:
It goes up 8% a year, folks. That's pretty good. Compound interest, 8%. So that makes a big difference. So deciding to push back on retirement. So a lot of people are just having to wait to retire because they don't have enough money accumulated. And that's one of the things we'll talk about. All right. So but are you taking too much risk with your retirement savings? So. There's a common thread among American retirees. They can't seem to let go of the stock market habits. Okay, So when you're in the accumulation phase, folks, it's always it's all about accumulate, accumulate, accumulate, accumulate. But when you get to retirement, it's no longer accumulation because most of you are not going to be working. You're not going to be adding funds to a 401. K, Your employer is not going to be adding funds to a 401. K or some type of retirement plan. You're going to be removing money. That's called accumulation. So a recent Gallup survey survey found that among older Americans ages 65 and older, almost two thirds, 63% own stocks, which is up from 53% of Americans in that same age group prior to the Great Recession that is 2001 to 2007. So it's important to remember this, folks. As you near or enter retirement, you have less time to make up any big losses, which means that balancing safety and risk is an important point to consider with your financial advisor slash financial. So folks, we call that the retirement red zone five years before five years into retirement. So when markets are good, people are quick to forget these two recent events. Now y'all come right back and we're going to get right back right into the two recent events that people are quick to forget.

Producer:
Miss part of today's show, Your American Retirement is available wherever you listen to podcasts and online at YourAmericanRetirement.com. Visit YourAmericanRetirement.com to schedule a free consultation with Randy today. And now back to the show.

Randy Sams:
Hey, welcome back, folks. This is Your American Retirement on 101.1 FM. The Answer where Little Rock comes to talk. My name is Randy Sams. Let's get right back into it. We just left off talking about retirement red zone folks. We spend a lot of time with our clients talking about this, the retirement red zone. If you guys y'all are listening and y'all know football lingo. When a and when a college team or a high school team or a NFL team when they hit the red zone, that means they have gotten with at least to the 20 yard line from the 20 yard line into the end zone is what they call the red zone, what we call for retirement planning At SMMG Financial. We call it the retirement red zone. That is the five years before and the five years into retirement. And folks, that's when you want to focus on not losing. We want to start addressing the risk that you as pre-retirees and retirees. May see during retirement and you will see the number one risk, which is longevity. So we have to address longevity risk. And the last thing you want to do is when you see retirement, it's the light is at the end of the tunnel and you know it's close. The last thing you want to do is lose because then your option is either I'm going to have to work longer or I'm going to have to retire with less.

Randy Sams:
Or if you're in retirement and you lose right out of the gate and you're taking money out, then you have. The concern about running out of money. Okay. So that's what we want to be able to meet. We want to address that retirement red zone. So when markets are good, people are quick to forget these two recent events, The Lost Decade. It was a ten year period from December 31st, 1999 through December 31st, 2009, when the S&P 500 generated an annualized total loss of -0.9%, almost 1% loss over that ten year period. Number two. Event is the 2008 financial crisis, which also added to the number one event. All right. During that ten year period, 2008 financial crisis. Its pre-crisis peak of October 2007 to its lowest point in March 2009. The S&P 500 lost approximately 56% of its value. Folks, I can tell you my personal story. In 2008, while I was still working at one of the companies in my position that I was in and it happened my 401. K, I think when it was all said and done, I think I lost about 40% of the value. Now, folks. I was younger at that time in 2008. We're looking at, what, 15 years ago? So when you're young, you have time on your side, just like we said, when when a big loss occurs and you're in retirement. We don't have time on our side.

Randy Sams:
So I was young enough to be able to ride that out. But listen, it took almost five years for my 401. Ballots. And I know I'm not the only one out there, you guys that are listening. If y'all had 401. Or 403 or or accounts, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It took almost five years for my 401. Balance to get back to the number or to the level that it was at in 2008. We can't we can't afford that. You see, the luxury that I had at that time again, was I had time on my side. I was continually adding funds to that 401. K and my employer were adding matching funds to that 401. K, but I wasn't taking money out. I was adding to I was accumulating. Okay, if you're in retirement and you have a big loss and you're taking money out, folks, that's that's the double whammy. That's where your retirement account will possibly hit zero before your blood pressure does. We don't want that. So the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 54% between October 2007 and March 2009. So approximately 8.7 million jobs were lost in the United States Between 2008 and 2010, over 3.1 million homes were foreclosed on. In 2008 alone, and a total of 10 million homes were foreclosed on between 2007 and 2010. That's a 10 million homes were foreclosed on between 2007 and 2010. So, you know, the US government had to intervene with bailouts and financial assistance to stabilize the financial system.

Randy Sams:
But the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Tarp, authorized $700 billion to rescue banks and other institutions. So, folks, remember, we don't want you to have all your eggs in one basket. We want you to diversify. So, you know, when we meet with you, you call us and set up a free consultation. No obligation whatsoever. We want to be able to remove as much risk as possible from your retirement plan. You definitely want to remove longevity risk. We want to set you up with a program where you or your spouse, you and your spouse will not have a concern of outliving your retirement funds. That's called a guaranteed income annuity. All right. You got to change your mindset when you're when you're from the accumulation phase pre-retirement, you're getting close to retirement or in retirement. Now we're in the accumulation phase. You're no longer adding funds to your accounts, but you're removing funds and you want those accounts to last. So. Who biggest mistakes? Retirement. Two biggest retirement mistakes people make. Okay, so two biggest mistakes people make in retirement or two biggest retirement mistakes people make. You write it down how you want to. Number one, retirement is not about one big magic number. So retirement is much more about the strength of your income plan than the total balance of your savings. Let me emphasize that, folks.

Randy Sams:
I have yet to meet someone who is getting close to retirement or someone who is in retirement that does not need income. You retire on income, not assets. Folks, assets can be lost. It can be taken away. It can be through a storm. It can be through a divorce. Whatever a financial crisis you would hate to have all your. Funds in a stock account and the stock market have another 4,045% drop. We don't have time on our side. Okay, so it's all about income. Let us meet with you, see what resources we have to work with, what you have to work with, listen to what your objectives are, and let us put you in a guaranteed lifetime income annuity to take the stress of at least focusing on your basic expenses for month to month to month to where that way you and your spouse knows that no matter what happens to the stock market or any funds that you have in the stock market, you have your basic expenses taken care of because that guaranteed lifetime income annuity is going to pay you for the rest of your life and it's going to pick up and pay your spouse for the rest of their lives also. That's why I love it. Okay. Too many people have all or a majority of their savings in a tax deferred account, such as a 401. K, 403, B, IRA or 457 B.

Randy Sams:
So this means that the government is a major partner in your retirement. We don't want that. And you will be subject to significant and likely rising effective tax rates. You know, a lot of people say, well, I like that 401. K because it's tax deferred. And when I retire, I'm going to be in a lower tax bracket. That could be true because of the fact that you're not making an income from your job. Now you're making your income off of a Social Security check or a pension check. If you're lucky enough to have a pension or you're having to remove those funds in the 401. K, But. Ask yourself this question and Answer the question. Do you think that taxes are going to decrease or increase as we move down the road? Okay. As we get older, do you think taxes are going to decrease or will they continue to increase? So just because you're deferring taxes until your retirement, we really don't know what tax bracket we're going to fit in because it's all going to be based on what the people in Washington, D.C. decide. How much of our money do they want to take away? All right. We have ways. Let's take the government out of being a partner in your retirement. 86699076648669907664. Or YourAmericanRetirement.com. Leave us your contact information. Tell us hey Randy I'd like to talk to you about how I might be able to avoid some of those taxes.

Randy Sams:
We've got tax deferred accounts now, but we'd like to have a tax free account if that's possible. We can help you to that point. All right. So to correct this, we recommend focusing on different sources of retirement income, Social Security, pensions and annuities. All right. Now, you guys know that what I've said, many of you that are listening today. Understand that you don't have a pension or pensions are a thing of the past. They're called a defined benefit plan or a defined benefit contribution. All right. So that's not what happens. Only about 13% of employers today offer a pension plan to their employees. It has switched from when you used to could work with a company for 25, 30, 35, 40 years, retire with that gold watch retirement party and then you got a pension. All right. And then you had Social Security that would kick in to help supplement that pension. But that is all switched. A burden for your retirement fund is on you as the employee. The employer may match a certain percentage, but it's up to you. To hit that magic number. That you want to have waiting for you when you get to that magic retirement age. All right. Let us help you. Let us take some of that stress away from you to where we can get you set up, to where we know that when you choose to retire and you want to set that income up, we can set you up with a personal pension plan via a guaranteed lifetime income annuity.

Randy Sams:
All right. Number two, issue retirement problems. People don't start saving or planning early enough. Einstein once said that compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. The earlier you start saving, the more time you have to grow your hard earned money. Remember, it's never too late to catch up, folks. Compound interest. It's magic. All right. I have an income annuity that gives us a guaranteed 8% compound interest growth for ten years. Now you do the math. Your money is going to more than double during that ten year period. So compound interest is where the magic is. And the longer you have to utilize compound interest in your favor, the better off you're going to be. Waiting too long to plan for retirement could mean enduring a massive lifestyle downgrade. There are multiple factors to align and consider Social Security planning, tax planning, pensions, when to turn on income or take the lump sum benefit a state legacy and planning. So folks, let us help you give us a call. (866) 990-7664. Or go to the website YourAmericanRetirement.com. Leave us your information. We'll get in contact with you and set up a free consultation. Hey, listen, we'll be right back and we're going to get right into the annuity gold rush. So come right back. Thank you.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Your American Retirement. If you like what you're hearing, subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch videos from this program and other recent episodes.

Producer:
New rules across Major League Baseball have shown their effects both on and off the field. I'm Jim Tarabukin with the retirement radio Network. Powered by AmeriLife. In 2022, the MLB Players Association agreed to a handful of new on field rules, with the goal to increase the pace of play. A pitch clock was introduced prior to the season, eliminating downtime between pitches. The numbers are in and game times across baseball are down an average of 31 minutes this season. But the new on field legislation has led to necessary changes off the field. President of Life Flip Media Eric Mitchell, explains the controversy. Further, it's.

Producer:
Controversial because everybody is so used to the seventh inning. That was it, right? Beer sales are shut off, so games are shorter. Beer sales are, you know, is important. They're also major sponsors of the teams.

Producer:
Mlb teams aren't governed to a league wide alcohol sales policy on how long into the game beer can be sold, but the seventh inning has traditionally served as that cutoff point. But according to the Associated Press, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers are two of five teams that will now sell alcohol through the eighth inning of their home games. Milwaukee President of operations Rick Schlesinger talked to MLB.com about his team's revised policy, saying, quote, If it turns out that this is causing an issue or we feel that it might cause an issue, then we'll revert to what we've done previously. Per the same report, the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets will halt their sales after the conventional seventh inning timestamp, but aren't ruling out potential changes in the future for the retirement radio network Powered by a marine Life. I'm Jim Tarabuco.

Producer:
Are you interested in ways to protect and grow your hard earned money? Your American Retirement is here to help. Here's Randy Sams.

Randy Sams:
All right. Welcome back, my fellow listeners again, my name is Randy Sams. I am your host. You're listening to Your American Retirement, a 101.1 FM. The Answer where Little Rock comes to Talk. Thank you for joining us. I hope you've enjoyed this Saturday morning. Listening to the show, taking some good notes again, reach out and touch base with us. We love to hear from our listeners. (866) 990-7664. Or YourAmericanRetirement.com is the website. Leave us your information give us a thumbs up listen to the podcast. Tell your friends and families. All right, folks, you know, those of you who are faithful listeners, you know that one of the things that we focus on is annuities and understand a lot of retirement planners or financial and investment advisors, whatever you want to put a label on them, they don't like that word annuity. I do not understand why, folks, because it's the only financial product that can guarantee you a lifetime income. Okay, Nobody else can do that. But listen to this. An annuity is a risk transfer vehicle. It's not an investment vehicle. If anybody ever used this word investment when it comes to an annuity, back off a little bit. Listen to them, but back off a little bit, because the way I look at it is an annuity is a risk transfer product. You're transferring the risk of you running out of funds, your retirement funds, before you pass away.

Randy Sams:
You're transferring that risk from off of your shoulders onto the shoulders of the insurance company. And the insurance company has a lot more money, a lot more funds, a lot more reserves than I do or than you do. All right. So look at the annuity. So an annuity also can be looked at as a guaranteed stream of income. So if you have an investment advisor that looks at you and says they don't like annuities, they just told you they don't like you, what do you mean by that? Randy Well, if an annuity is a guaranteed stream of income and that investment advisor is charging you a fee as long as they have your money under their management, whether that money goes up or whether that money goes down, they're charging you a fee. So they're making a revenue off of your money. So what does that make you? That makes you an annuity. As long as they have those funds under their management charging you a fee, they have a guaranteed stream of revenue. So anytime an investment advisor says they don't like annuities, they just told you they don't like you very much. Huh? Plus, what do you think Social Security is? Social Security is a guaranteed lifetime annuity. What is a pension? A pension is a guaranteed lifetime annuity. So that's why I like annuities, folks, because if you don't have a pension but you have a 401.

Randy Sams:
K or an IRA, we can take those funds, a portion of those funds, depending on what target income amount you need, income level you are looking for. We can take those funds, put that into a guaranteed lifetime annuity, let it grow for as long as you want it to grow and then turn on that income. You've just set yourself up with a personal pension that you and your spouse can never outlive. It's going to pay you and then it'll pay your spouse for as long as they live. So let's talk about the annuity Gold rush. Tell you why I'm so high on annuities or big on annuities, and obviously other folks are also. So we had another record breaking quarter for us. Annuity sales. This is from a Limra Life Insurance Marketing and Research Associate Research Associates. So as pre-retirees and retirees seek more guaranteed income solutions for their futures, they have again broken records by purchasing more annuities than ever before. That's because you have folks like myself that are preaching annuities. We're preaching guaranteed income folks. You retire on income, not assets. Take your eyes off the amount you have in a 401. K or an IRA or your stock account and move your focus over to income guarantees. That's what it's all about. So following record sales in 2022, the first quarter annuity sales were 92.92 billion.

Randy Sams:
First quarter annuity sales in 2023 were 92.9 billion. That's a 47% increase from 2022, the same period in 2022. So this represents the highest quarterly sales ever recorded, according to preliminary results from Limra US individual annuity sales survey. So folks, if annuities are supposed to be so bad, why are so many people taking advantage of them? You see, it just depends on who you're listening to. It depends on whether I get my money based on a fee for managing your account, whether it goes up or goes down. I still get that fee or whether or not you're more concerned about your clients well-being because of the fact that no matter what happens to the stock market, I don't have conversations with my clients about them losing money or maybe running out of money because we have them set up on guaranteed lifetime income streams. It's a paycheck and it can be a paycheck. All right. So you got to ask yourself where the paychecks going to come from when the paychecks stop. In other words, when you retire, where those paychecks are going to come from, folks. So key takeaways from the Limra survey survey about annuities. Market conditions continue to drive investor demand for annuities. Every major fixed annuity product line experienced at least a double digit year over year growth. Folks Fixed annuities. Guaranteed Annuities. Omegas Indexed Annuities.

Randy Sams:
Fixed Fixed Indexed. Annuity sale also had a record breaking quarter. Fixed indexed annuity sales were up 42% for first quarter 2022 results. So economic conditions remain favorable for annuities and this is forecasted to continue throughout the year. So Limra predicted indexed annuity sales to continue to grow as investors continue to seek out solutions with a better balance of protection and growth. So folks, that's what we are all about at SMMG Financial. We are about protecting our clients. We are about educating our clients on what products are available that will assist you and help you and your spouse, your family meet your retirement objectives. And number one objective should be let's remove longevity risk, which means the risk of outliving your retirement funds doesn't make any difference. If someone can put together a monte Carlo demonstration for you and your spouse that will last until you're 90 years old. What happens if you live to 95? What happens to what happens if you live to be age 100? You see, I'm not going to put together anything like that. That's going to show you that you've got an 89% probability that this plan will last to age 85 or age 90. No, we're going to look at products that are going to say we've got 100% probability of this product paying you your lifetime income and your spouse's lifetime income for as long as you live 100% beats the heck out of 80 or 80 5 or 90 or.

Randy Sams:
Right. Or 95. So why fool with something like that when you know you have a product available for you and your family that can give you the guarantees that you want, that can give you the peace of mind that you want and that you need to where, you know, we have taken the possibility of you outliving your retirement funds off of your retirement plan or out of your retirement plan. So, folks, why is it so important, those of you that were born between 1946 and 1964, you are in the baby boomer generation, Correct. So we focus a lot of our attention. I mean, we're we're working with Gen X and we're working with, you know, different folks ages. We're we're not locked into one age group. Uh, but the majority of our clients are going to be in the baby boomer generation because you are the. Eration right now that is reaching retirement age, could be age 60, could be age 65, could be age 67. But that's the baby boomer generation. The baby boomer generation. We have what's known as called peak 65. And I'm going to tell you what that is. All right. Peak 65 is approaching and many Americans are flying without a net. So the US experiences is experiencing a historic demographic milestone. Millions of Americans are facing retirement without a secure income.

Randy Sams:
Where we focus on secure income, here's what you need to know about the perfect storm. Listen. The perfect storm of retirement insecurity and what you can do to protect yourself. So. Folks. 4 million Americans will turn 65in 2024. So next year, our country will mark a historic demographic milestone called peak 65. Be 65. That's when the US will experience more Americans turning the traditional retirement age of 65 than any time in history. Did you hear that? More Americans in 2024 will turn 65. Than any time in history. So almost all will have Social Security income they can count on, but most will not have protected income from a pension. So to help fill the gap in lifetime income left by Social Security, that's what a pension. Was originally set up for, you had your pension and then Social Security. Helped fill that gap. But we don't have those any longer. So at peak 65 next year, more than 12,000 Americans will turn 65 each day. So an estimated 4 million Americans will turn 65in 2024, according to census data. So unfortunately, half of these peak 65 Americans have $100,000 or less in investable assets, according to the newly released 2023 Protected Retirement Income and Planning study Prepared. All right. Less than half. We'll have 100,000 or less. Okay, Mayor. So that study was done from the Alliance of Lifetime Income.

Randy Sams:
So at best, many of them won't be able to maintain the lifestyle that they want in retirement. At worst, they face the prospect of outliving their savings, meaning your blood pressure. Your your your retirement account hits zero before your blood pressure does. All right. So listen to the perfect peak, 65 storm. So for storm clouds have gathered to create a perfect storm of retirement insecurity, The first cloud is good news. Americans are living longer despite the rare dip in life expectancy in 2021, thanks to changes in lifestyle, medical advances and other factors, life expectancy in the US has been on the rise for decades. Because we're living longer, our money has to live longer as well. Folks, that's called longevity risk. The second cloud in the perfect storm, the ongoing market volatility, high inflation and fears of recession has significantly reduced the value of people's retirement savings while undermining their confidence in retirement, especially those who are peak 65 or just retired. Remember retirement red zone five years before five years into retirement. So according to Fidelity, the average 401 K suffered a 20% drop in 2022 and according to the study. 70% of consumers are worried that the markets are reducing their potential for retirement income. All right. So the average 401. K in 2022 dropped 20%. Well, folks, when I talk to people, they say, well, you have my 401. K is up this year.

Randy Sams:
Okay. Well, if you lost 20% in 2022 and your 401. K is up 10% this year, are you up? Now. Now you're still down. You may be up facing your amount from 20 from January 1st, 2023, but you're still down from the amount you had in your 401. K on January 1st, 2022. All right. So the third store. Rekindled fears about the future of Social Security. So data shows that only 1 in 5 Americans are now confident in the overall solvency of Social Security, despite reassurance from the government and the fourth cloud. Ties back to many people's predicament that millions of people age 65. Fewer than half of Americans age 61 to 65 have protected income from a pension or annuity. So it's not surprising that only about half believe their retirement savings will last. So, folks, remember, we don't want to set you up with a plan that gives you a 90% probability of not running out of money by the time you're 85 or 90. We want to give you a product that gives you a 100% probability of guaranteed lifetime income for as long as you live and as long as your spouse lives. So again, you're listening to Your American Retirement. My name is Randy Sams. Y'all stay tuned. We'll be right back. We're going to finally finish up with the silver lining for retirement security, the silver lining for retirement security.

Producer:
Like what you're hearing. You can watch the show to visit YouTube.com and search Your American Retirement to watch clips from this program.

Randy Sams:
Hey, welcome back, folks. Thank you for joining me today. My name is Randy Sams. I am your host. You're listening to Your American Retirement on 101.1 FM. The Answer, again, thank you to all our listeners. Thank you for sticking around. And we're going to finish up with the silver lining. Remember, we're talking about peak 65. So in 2024, there will be the highest number of Americans in history to reach the age of 65. 4 million Americans will hit age 65 in 2024. So we need to help you focus on your retirement plan, guaranteed income. We've just talked about the four clouds in the perfect storm that are hitting people. Many people don't have a pension, don't want you to go into retirement thinking that Social Security is your retirement fund. We need to set up a plan and you need to figure out that retirement red zone five years before your retirement age and or your retirement age target and the five years following your retirement. So give us a call. (866) 990-7664. Or go to our website YourAmericanRetirement.com leave us your information. Let us get in contact with you set up a free consultation where we're going to sit down with you and listen to what your retirement objectives are and put together a plan that is going to include guaranteed lifetime income for you and your spouse. So the silver lining for retirement security. So despite the storm clouds that we just spoke about, there's good news to report.

Randy Sams:
The study, the PRP study finds that many consumers and financial advisors change their approach to retirement planning last year and began focusing more on retirement income. So listen, 32% of consumers made changes to their investments in 2022, moving to both safer investments and greater protection. An overwhelming 93% of consumers who protected their portfolio with an annuity are happy with their retirement choices and have a significantly more positive outlook on their retirement prospects. So folks, there was a study done by Towers and waters and it basically got in contact with, I forget what the number of retirees, what the actual number was, but they found that retirees that had an annuity, a guaranteed lifetime income annuity, they lived longer, they were happier, and they were much healthier. You want to know why? Because they removed that longevity stress, that longevity risk. When you have that guaranteed income coming in month after month after month, no matter how long you live and when you pass away, your spouse now has the peace of mind knowing that they, he or she will be able to continue the same lifetime income for as long as they live. Now, I don't know about you, but to me that helps me put my head on the pillow and sleep well at night because I don't have to worry about my clients running out of funds.

Randy Sams:
They know that they've got that guaranteed lifetime income paycheck coming in month after month after month after month. 100%. Not 80%. Not 85. Not 90%, 100% guaranteed by that annuity company that we're dealing with. All right. So more advisors are recommending annuities to build their income. So more people are listening, folks, but they're still in they're still advisors out there that they don't like that word annuity. You already heard me talk about it. They think annuity is a bad word, but it's not. If you are going if me as myself, my responsibility to you as a fiduciary. That was that put your well-being before my objectives. I put your objectives before what my objectives might be. I've got to include income. I've got to include guaranteed income. Why would I do that? Guys, if I have all of your money in the stock market, which folks? Side note, I don't do any stock market investments. All right. I'm not licensed to do stock market. That's why you don't hear me talk about it. Because I would get in trouble if I did. I can talk about general consensus about stock markets, but I can't give you stock market advice because I'm not licensed. Don't go down that road. All right. I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. And don't play a stock market advisor on a TV show.

Randy Sams:
You're listening to me on the radio. We talk about what guaranteed lifetime income, annuities and setting you up for a secure and a happy retirement, not a risky retirement. So, folks, let's talk about some of the insights. From the 2023 Protected Retirement Income and Planning study. That's the trip planning study done by. The Alliance for Lifetime Income. So. The study revealed concerning statistics. Listen to this 51% of consumers aged 45 to 75 express doubts about the longevity of their retirement savings. What have we been talking about? Fearing that it may not be sufficient to last throughout their lifetime. Folks, that's that's concerning. That's where you get stressed out. You're concerned about running out of funds for your retirement. That's why we talk about on this show, guaranteed income. You retire on income folks, not own assets. So additionally, 32% lack confidence in their ability to cover basic monthly expenses during their retirement. So the study also found 44% of retired individuals have been forced to return to work due to financial constraints. Now, folks, if you want to return to work because you'd like to stay active, my mom, bless her heart, I'm not going to tell you how old she is, but she still works three days a week now. She loves doing that because it gets her out of the house. It keeps her active. She has friends that that where she goes to work.

Randy Sams:
And she's able to stay active and, you know, keeps her mind going. She's able to have those associates, those acquaintances, those friends that she can see. So she does it because she wants to. She doesn't do it because she needs to. My dad. God rest his soul. He set her up well. So she's doing fine financially. She just likes to be able to have that interaction with other people. So if you choose to go to work because it's something you want to do. Just to keep your mind active. Keep you thinking. Always growing. That's fine. But if you have to go return to work because of financial constraints, because you're concerned about your retirement plan running out of money, then that's a different situation. That's where stress comes in and that's where you have health issues. All right. We want to remove that risk from your retirement plan and set you up. For a secure and a happy retirement, not a risky retirement. So we're seeing the increasing demand for protected income slash annuities. All right. So the ongoing retirement crisis, there has been a noticeable surge in the demand for protected income and annuities. The study highlights that consumers are increasingly interested in allocating a significant portion up to 80% of their retirement savings into safer investment options. Notably, individuals who possess pensions and annuities, tend to have more optimistic outlook regarding their retirement prospects. Annuities, in particular have gained popularity as they provide a reliable means to convert retirement savings into a steady and a predictable guaranteed income stream.

Randy Sams:
All right. So listen to that, folks. People who possess pensions. What is that? That's a guaranteed stream of income and annuities. What is that? A guaranteed stream of income. They tend to have a more optimistic outlook regarding their retirement prospects. Why? Because they've addressed longevity. They've taken that risk off the table. That's the only product, financial product. Okay. And listen, the majority of you listening to the show today do not have a pension. So if you're getting close to retirement, what's your 401. K balance? What's your IRA balance? What's your 403. B balance? Because it's all been on your shoulders. Have you done a good job in savings? Have you taken advantage of the 401. Tax deferred benefits? Have you taken a compound interest? Have you taken advantage of the fact that your employer is matching a certain percentage of your contributions? I hope you have. I mean, having that 401. K is better than just retiring, thinking that Social Security is going to be your ticket home. It's not never was created to be your retirement fund, your sole retirement fund. All right. So, again, people who have annuities guaranteed lifetime stream of income, they're healthier and they're happier because they've addressed and eliminated longevity risk from their retirement plan, knowing that they're guaranteed to have that paycheck.

Randy Sams:
Coming in every month for as long as they live, and that paycheck will continue every month for as long as their spouse lives. Okay, So folks, there's a variety of annuities available. You've got fixed annuities, fixed indexed annuities and variable annuities so individuals can select options that best align for their specific needs. So. You got to remember, folks. Indexed annuities not only insure principal protection, but also offer a minimum crediting rating. Giving you the interest rates based on market index. The majority of the income annuities that we work with folks, they are indexed annuities. All right. We don't do variable annuities because variable annuities, your money carries the same risk. It's in the stock market and they have high fees. All right. So considering annuities becomes important when Social Security benefits alone are inadequate to cover basic expenses, when there is a need to protect against the risk of outliving savings due to a longer life expectancy, longevity or when individuals seek to mitigate risk and safeguard a portion of their portfolio. Folks contact me. (866) 990-7664. Or go to the website Your American Retirement. Contact us at SMMG Financial and let us help you with a secure and a happy retirement, not a risky retirement. Folks, thanks for listening. I'll look forward to seeing you again next week. Same time, same place. Your American Retirement on 101.1 FM. The Answer Where Little Rock Comes to Talk.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Your American Retirement. You deserve to work with licensed financial insurance experts who can offer sound strategies for protecting and growing your hard earned money. To schedule your free no obligation consultation, visit YourAmericanRetirement.com today. That's YourAmericanRetirement.com.

Producer:
Not affiliated with the United States government. Randy Sams does not offer tax, legal or investment advice. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. These opinions are not intended as investment advice, nor do they predict future performance of any product. All information provided is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of any statement. This information is intended to be educational in nature and does not provide a guarantee or a specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. AmeriLlife assumes no responsibility or liability for the content of this message. The information contained herein is provided on an as is basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information.

Producer:
Fixed annuities, including multiyear guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuer.

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