10.20.22: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

10.20.22: 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 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, welcome, Central Arkansas to Your American Retirement. I am Randy Sams, president CEO of SMMG Financial. I'd like to welcome you to today's show. It's a beautiful Saturday here in central Arkansas. Thanks for tuning in on 101.1 FM The Answer where Little Rock comes to talk. Give us a call. 866 990 7664. Leave us some comments and leave us some ideas that you'd like to see for the show. But I'd like to kind of start the day reminding you go to the website, Your American Retirement dot com YourAmericanRetirement.com If you'd like to see or listen to any of the previous recordings that we've had, you can go to the website Your American Retirement dot com and all those shows are on there. So we're going to talk about today the quote of the week. We've got market update. We're going to talk about AEP. Some of you all are in Medicare, but we want you to watch and listen to previous shows, write down some comments, leave us good critique, leave us some messages, Leave us any suggestions that you might like for us to talk about on the show. We love to hear from our listeners. We thank you for all the positive comments that we've had. Again, you can also listen to the shows on our podcasts, listen to past episodes and subscribe. So when you listen to the episodes, give us a thumbs up. Hit that subscribe bell. We'd appreciate it. Listen to us on YouTube, Spotify, whereever you get your podcast from. So hey, I'd like to also give a shout out to a new producer today. Sam wasn't able to be with us, but we've got a new producer. Mr. Jim is with us. So Jim, welcome to the show. Glad to have you join me.

Producer:
Oh, Randy, thank you very much. I'm happy to be here and I'm really looking forward to the things we have lined up and the articles and and topics we're going to talk about and what's on the docket today.

Randy Sams:
Well, Jim, I'm I'm glad to know. Now, Jim, where are you sitting at right now?

Producer:
I'm sitting in a room here in beautiful Tampa, Florida.

Randy Sams:
Tampa, Florida. So the weather there in Tampa, Florida, today is what, Jim?

Producer:
Well, I have to be honest, and this is coming from a Floridian. I want to preface that it's a little bit chilly today. It is 67 degrees. When I woke up this morning, I had a little bit of a chill, although I do like that coming off a summer where it at times the humidity was very high and it reached triple digits, the temperature. So I'm very happy at times in the fall and the winter when we get down into the sixties, it's kind of a nice little touch.

Randy Sams:
Yeah, I could tell you stories about coming to Florida when it was people were excited that it would get down into the seventies because they could actually break out their sweaters in their fur coats. But that's right here in Arkansas, Jim, we we just experienced this week. We just experienced our first freeze. So I guess fall is has officially arrived. Leaves are falling from the tree. So I know what that's going to bring for me as far as honey does, as far as breaking the leaves, mowing the grass, probably for the last time this year. But hey, Jim, I welcome you to the show. Thanks for jumping in. We're Sam was not able to join us but folks today quote of the week.

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

Randy Sams:
I'm going to start off with quote of the week. When business or an individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt. When government does it, it sends you the bill. And when government does it for 40 years, the bill comes in two ways higher taxes and inflation. So make no mistake about it, inflation is a tax and not by accident. Now, that quote came from Ronald Reagan, who, as you well know, served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 67 to 1975 after having a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader. So that is the quote of the week. When a business or individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt. When government does it, it sends you the bill. And when government does it for 40 years, the bill comes in two ways higher taxes and inflation. So make no mistake about it, inflation is a tax and not by accident. So a lot of us are experiencing that higher taxes and inflation today. I've got an important announcement for those of you who are on Social Security, if you haven't heard yet, the cost of living adjustment for 2023 just came out. So the increase for your COLA this year, it will be 8.7%. This is up from last year, 5.9% COLA bringing the two year increase to 14.6%. So, Jim, whenever the when we have retirees that are out there, they're on Social Security right now, those colas come in handy. But right now kind of the inflation is kind of hitting that cola in the head, isn't it?

Producer:
It is. And it's also hitting people's wallets when it comes to picking up Halloween candy.

Randy Sams:
Yeah. And we're going to talk about that later in the show. Kind of frightening. Got that Halloween theme going on here. So so folks, we're living in the worst stretch of inflation in 40 years. So the good news is your Social Security income benefit has a built in adjustment to help protect your buying power. That's the COLA again, in 2023, it is 8.7% increase. The bad news is inflation still wreaking havoc on American families, particularly in these areas. Food cost up, energy cost up new and used vehicle cost up. Travel cost is up, folks. Also for the mortgage interest rates. I don't know if any of you have checked on the mortgage interest rates. You may not be in the market to buy a house, but I know some folks who are in the market are trying to sell a house and they wish they would have put their house on the market a little bit earlier, because right now I believe the mortgage rates are right under 7%. Some may a little bit over 7%, but mortgage rates being around 7% kind of prevents some of the couples out there from actually biting that bullet and taking on that mortgage based on what used to be a 3% mortgage rate. Now it's up to 7%. So this is part of why we want all our listeners to have a solid and tested plan for protecting and growing their hard-earned money.

Randy Sams:
Remember, folks, Your American Retirement, We are focused on addressing the major financial issues facing today's retirees and pre-retirees in America by helping people understand and prepare for a secure retirement, not a risky retirement. So again, that's why we want all our listeners to have a solid and a tested plan for protecting and growing their hard earned money. So you will need to outpace In order to protect your buying power, you need to outpace inflation, and we can help do that. Folks, I want to cover real quickly a little article that I that I picked up from the Alliance for Protected Income. It's called Dramatically Different Retirement Landscape Calls for a New approach. So I'm going to give you some figures that that they threw out. And we're going to talk about some of the things that we do here at SMMG Financial, Your American Retirement in 2020. You all know that the coronavirus upended countless lives and threw markets and economies into turmoil. So it's not surprising that in the wake of the pandemic's first wave, many Americans saw their retirement plans derailed. But the coming storm for the next group of retirees has been brewing for some time. So which makes the case why we need a new approach to retirement security. So, folks, first, let's consider this. Let's look at the landscape. In just three short years, more Americans will reach the traditional age, retirement age of 65 than ever before.

Randy Sams:
Right now, what it looks like today, 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day today, tomorrow, the next day will happen again tomorrow. So that's what we're looking at. The number is expected to jump. Now, listen to this. By 2024, that number is expected to jump to more than 12,000 people a day, turning 65. And that for the baby boomers has been dubbed the peak 65. So that's when turning. Baby boomers turning 65 is going to hit their peak. It will jump up from 10,000 a day as we are experiencing today to up over 12,000. So that moment comes on the economic downturn, the heels of an economic downturn, a historic stretch of low interest rates we have created by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, they estimate that approximately 50% of households are at risk of not having enough to maintain their standard of living and retirement. Folks, that's what we do here at SMMG Financial. We want to meet with you, set up a plan to get some type of a a program, a retirement plan in place to cover your basic needs, your expenses. And we'll talk about it in just a second. Besides personal savings and. Investments in the market. Americans have access to only three types of protected lifetime income available today. Number one is pension. Number two, Social Security and number three, annuities. Only 20% of civilian workers participate in a defined benefit or pension, with a substantial portion of those workers or their employed unions, federal, state, local governments.

Randy Sams:
But undoubtedly, the retirement landscape changed dramatically because employer provided pensions have basically disappeared folks right now. The last statistics that I saw was around 10 to 13% of employers nationwide offer their employees a pension. And like I said, most of those are union workers or federal, state and local governments. So pensions have virtually disappeared while Social Security income is assessed too early for people to benefit from the maximum income possible. Now, what I mean by that, folks, you have a lot of folks that are about to turn 62 and they have it in their minds that they're going to turn on Social Security. And folks, it's not my issue. If you want to meet, we specialize and look at Social Security options for you when might be the best time to turn it on, when might be the best time to wait, and what age to look at to turn that on. So at age 62, you can turn on Social Security. Your full retirement age is going to be somewhere around 66, two months, four months, 66 and a half, depending on when you were born. It could be up to age 67. And then at age 70, if you have not turned on Social Security, then you have to turn on Social Security at age seven.

Randy Sams:
Now, the options to turn it on is 62 versus full retirement age at 66 and a half for myself versus turning it, waiting until turning it on at age 70. If I turn it on at age 62, I'm basically going to walk away from 25 to 30% of that monthly benefit that I would have had if I'd have waited till my full retirement age. If I wait from age 66 and a half to age 70, that benefit jumps up by about 8% per year. So about 32%. So from age 66 and one half to age 73 and a half years, if I can wait that three and a half year period, my Social Security check will jump up by about 32% for me to be about $1,000 a month, which makes a big difference. So, folks, the reality coupled with the uncertainty of the future of Social Security benefits and unprecedented numbers of baby boomers retiring earlier than planned is increasing retirement insecurity for millions of Americans. Americans reaching peak 65 in 2024. So the retirement picture may look bleak, but there is a path forward. And again, folks, that's what we do at SMC Financial folks, we're going to pick this up at segment two, but I'm going to turn this over to Mr. Jim, and he's going to talk kind of kind of take us out of this segment. So, Jim, take it away, please.

Producer:
Well, Randy, great job explaining all of that. And thank you, everybody, for listening to today's show. Quick reminder, the program is available in podcast form, As Randy mentioned earlier, wherever you get your podcasts, this gives you a chance, of course, to not only listen back to today's show, but to previous shows as well. We'll take a break. This is 101.1 the Answer where a Little Rock comes to talk. Your American Retirement. We'll be right back. You know that it would be untrue.

Producer:
Miss Part of today's show? Your American Retirement is available wherever you listen to podcasts and online at YourAmericanRetirement.com

Randy Sams:
They welcome back Central Arkansas to Your American Retirement with Randy Sams. Glad you could join us folks for the second segment. Hey, we're going to finish up what we just ended on Segment one, talking about turning 65, what we can do, what the retirement landscape kind of looks like for those of you who are about to turn 65 with Social Security. What we do at SMMG Financial, your American Retirement folks, is we like to look at your retirement plans. We want to look at what expenses you have. We want to look at what your objectives are. We'd like to meet with you and your spouse and sit down and put together a plan. So what we're what we would like to focus on is what we refer to as a guaranteed paycheck. All right. Guaranteed lifetime income annuity with the environment, the economic environment, the inflation rates that we are seeing today, interest rates that we're seeing, it's imperative that you set yourself up in retirement for a guaranteed paycheck. All right. And that's what we work for at SMMG Financial. We'll talk about some of the things we do, but give us a call 866 990 7664. We'd love to talk to you or leave us a message at Your American Retirement.com. We'd love to be able to set you up with a guaranteed lifetime annuity to cover your basic expenses, your basic needs, and then we can look at your wants with a guaranteed lifetime annuity.

Randy Sams:
So, folks, now we're going to talk about something that's really important to those of you who are on Medicare. As you know, we are right in the middle of a EAP. Annual enrollment period began October 15th, runs through December 7th. You have 51 days left. As of when we recorded this show on the 19th, you have 51 days left. But I'm going to do a quick overview, folks, and then we're going to go of what Medicare is, Medicare Part A, part B, part C, Part D, Medigap or Medicare supplement. And then we're going to do a quick run-through on what you can do during EAP. So right now, Medicare Part A and Part B original Medicare refers to Medicare A and Medicare Part B, which are managed by federal government. People can see any doctor that accepts Medicare assignment and the government program pays a significant portion, significant portion of the cost. Basically what we look at is an 8020 plan. All right. Very quickly, Medicare Part A hospital insurance, Medicare Part A covers inpatient care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. Not custodial or long term care. Part A also helps pay for hospice care and some home health care. The deductible for Part A in 2022 was $1,556. In 2023, it's going up to $1,600 in co-insurance, which means patients may pay or will pay a portion of the bill. All right. Medicare Part B, medical insurance, Medicare Part B covers doctor visits and other medically necessary services and supplies.

Randy Sams:
That includes preventative services or health care to prevent illness as well as ambulance services, durable medical equipment, mental health coverage and a few types of health of outpatient prescription drugs are covered. Some of the outpatient prescription drugs are covered under Medicare. Part B, Medicare Part B does require a monthly premium that starts at $170.10 per month in 2022. In 2023, that is decreasing to $164.90. That's 164.90 In 2023, single people with an adjusted gross income of over 91,000, 97,020 23, and married couples filing jointly with adjusted gross incomes over 182,000 in 2020 to 2023, that jumps up to 194,000 may pay a higher premium for your Medicare Part B. Also, Medicare Part B has a deductible of $233 in 2022, and in 2023, that's going to be reduced to to 26. So after that, you typically pay 20% of your Medicare approved amount for services and supplies. Medicare Advantage, which is also known as Part C. Medicare Advantage, is a type of health plan offered by private insurance companies that provides the benefits of Part A and Part B and often Part D prescription drug coverage as well. You must continue to pay your first part B or your part B premium, and there may be a separate premium you pay to the insurance. However, many Medicare Advantage plans on the market today are offered at zero premium for the insured.

Randy Sams:
These bundled plans may have additional coverage, such as providing some cost benefits for vision, hearing, dental. Different things of this nature. So vision, hearing and dental may be added to the Medicare Advantage plan. So unlike original Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans have an annual limit of out-of-pocket expenses. So you have an out-of-pocket limit for your on your Medicare Advantage plan. So you could pay as much as $7,550 out of pocket in 2022. In 2023, that maximum out-of-pocket goes up to 8300. Now, that doesn't mean that the plan that you have will have that high of a deductible. Or out of pocket cost. That limits what your out of pocket maximum out of pocket would be. So you have to really kind of check your plan or give us a call and we can go over your plan for you. So Medicare Advantage plans are typically HMOs or PPOs. So they provide coverage only in certain local areas, generally require pre-authorization and referrals. A lot of them, you have to have a PCP, which is your personal care physician, and they charge co-pays and co-insurance for most health care services. Medicare Part D, prescription drugs for Medicare Part D helps cover the cost of prescription drugs, both generic and brand name. The plans are offered by private insurers and require a monthly premium that averages right now in 2022, around $33 a month. It's projected to drop to an average monthly premium of 31, 50 and 2023.

Randy Sams:
And also, folks who may be in a higher income bracket may also pay more through the AMA. So, folks, those basically are your Medicare, your original Medicare Part A, part B, part C, Part D. Now, let's talk quickly about Medicare or Medicare gap known as Medicare supplement insurance. Medicare supplement insurance is an additional health insurance policy that you can buy from a private insurer to help you pay your share of the cost not covered by Medicare Part A and Part B. Remember, we just went over you can look at your original Medicare Part A, Part B as maybe an 8020 plan. If you have a medigap plan. On top of that, your Medigap plan is there to take care of those expenses above what the Medicare Part A and Part B do not cover. So part A for the Medigap plan, This includes deductibles, coinsurance, some health care. If you travel outside of the United States, Medigap plans do not cover long term care, prescription drugs, dental, vision, hearing aids, or private nursing care. So, folks, that was very quick. Kind of a recap on what Medicare is, folks, you're in. Yep. Those of you who have who have a medicare plan, Medicare Advantage, a prescription drug plan, say Part C, Medicare Advantage. Your AARP started October 15th and runs through December 7th. So very quickly, what I want to go over with you is what you can do during the open enrollment period or at EAP annual enrollment period.

Randy Sams:
You can change from original Medicare with or without a medicare drug plan to a medicare Advantage plan. You can change from a medicare Advantage plan back to original Medicare with or without a medicare drug plan. You can switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another Medicare Advantage plan. So if you have a medicare Advantage plan with XYZ company and you're unhappy with that company, it may have had some issues with the coverage, may have may have had a doctor that's not in the network and you want to switch your Medicare Advantage plan to a different Medicare Advantage plan that may give you more coverage, may have your doctor included in the network, may cover more prescription drugs than what you have right now. You can do that during the IEP, so you can switch from a medicare Advantage plan that doesn't offer drug coverage to a medicare Advantage plan that offers drug coverage. You can also switch from a medicare Advantage plan that offers drug coverage to a medicare Advantage plan that doesn't offer drug coverage. You can join a medicare drug plan, prescription drug PDP. Part D If you do not currently have one, you can switch from one Medicare drug plan to another Medicare drug plan, or you can drop your Medicare drug coverage completely. So if you have a say, all you have is the original Medicare Part A and Part B, and you have a standalone prescription drug plan and you're unhappy with the current prescription drug plan that you currently have.

Randy Sams:
Maybe you've got some drugs that were added by your doctor throughout the year. That are not now that are not covered under your current PDP, your prescription drug plan, and you want to make that change. You can change from one prescription drug plan to another during the annual enrollment period, which started October 15th and again ends December the seventh. So folks, that's kind of quickly just ran over some of the ups and downs. You know, when you come into retirement. What we like to do, folks, is we like to sit down and work with our clients. Your health coverage, your retirement planning, your income. I've not yet a I've not yet met a retiree, retiree or someone who is getting ready for retirement that is not interested in income. Folks, you don't retire on assets. You don't retire on wealth. You retire on income. Guaranteed income is what we focus on. So we'd like to offer the complimentary. Retirement plan consultation to our listeners. Again, you can go to our website Your American Retirement dot com YourAmericanRetirement.com Or give us a call at 866 990 7664. Some of the things we'll meet and we'll discuss with you. We're going to provide a comprehensive consultation at no cost to you, our listener, and there's absolutely no obligation to take advantage of our years of experience.

Randy Sams:
I've been in this business for 38 years, so I'd love to sit down and meet with you, answer any questions you may have. We can help analyze your specific and unique financial situation if you're getting close to retirement. We want to look at what your plans might be, what some of your objectives might be. Look at Social Security. Why? When might be the best time to turn on Social Security or wait to a later date. We will discover exactly how much you are paying in fees and how you can cut unnecessary costs in your IRA or for one K or any other retirement savings account. So we were closely examine any annuities you may currently have, look at what's available today, make any comparisons. And if it's if it's the wise choice for us to make, if you want to make a choice and change annuities, we can. But sometimes it doesn't work out in the best interests of the client and we'll be the first ones to tell you. But we want to examine what annuities you might have right now and look and see if we can put you in a better situation. We can also help you with Social Security planning. And as we've just went over with your Medicare planning, again, your health care, your Medicare supplement, your Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans, because that is all part of what we look at in retirement.

Randy Sams:
That's going to do it for segment two for me. We want to thank you for listening Your American Retirement. We're going to play a listen to the messages that are going to be played by 101.1 FM. And we'll be right back. Thank you.

Producer:
The Federal Reserve keeps raising interest rates to combat inflation, but how could it affect your retirement? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement dot Radio Network. Powered by Amerilife. Supply chain issues. The pandemic, energy prices and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have all been contributing factors to runaway inflation to fight rising prices. The Federal Reserve has been using one of its most powerful tools raising interest rates.

Tibor Besedes:
So they started increasing the interest rates about, I guess, two meetings ago. So about three months ago when they had the first increase of three fourths of a point percentage points to 75 basis points, which at that point was the largest increase in about 30 years.

Producer:
Tibor Besedes is an economics professor at Georgia Tech. He says it's surprising that the August reading for inflation did not see a decrease, especially given gas prices have been plummeting from recent astronomical highs.

Tibor Besedes:
Inflation is not going to all of a sudden, but what's one is hoping for is that these increases start to decrease so that we start getting to levels that are a bit more manageable and more pleasing to the eye. If nothing else, it was it was very surprising.

Producer:
That's why, Besedes, says many analysts now expect the Fed to be even more aggressive with interest rate hikes in coming months. So what does this mean for you? Potentially higher payments on mortgages, other loans and credit cards?

Tibor Besedes:
So carrying any sort of balance on any loan that doesn't have a fixed interest rate, is it going to become more expensive?

Producer:
Besedes says it's important for consumers to cut back where they can to lessen the blow of inflation and interest rate hikes. And if you're in the market for a new home, it could be good to delay the purchase until rates or home prices come back down. So how do the Fed's actions on interest rates affect your wallet? That's a key question to consider as higher costs. Eat away at your hard earned money. With retirement dot radio network powered by Amerilife. I'm Matt McClure.

Producer:
Are you concerned about market volatility, rising taxes, economic uncertainty, and how it all could affect your future in retirement? Then tune in to Your American Retirement to learn how you can protect and grow your hard-earned money, Your American Retirement. Every Saturday at 1:00 PM right here on 101.1 FM. The Answer. Protect your hard-earned money today and schedule a free no-obligation consultation now at Your American Retirement dot com YourAmericanRetirement.com.

Producer:
Welcome back to Your American Retirement. Here is Randi Sams.

Randy Sams:
Hey, welcome back to Your American Retirement with Randy Sams. I want to thank you for listening to us on this Saturday afternoon, 101.1 FM. The answer. Where Little Rock comes Talk. Hey, folks, real quickly, we're going to go into Segment three, but I want to recap again what we just covered. If you remember what we talked about, baby boomers right now, you know who I'm talking to. I'm one, including myself. We are turning 65 every day, 10,000 of us. Today, tomorrow and on at 2024, that number jumps up to over 12,000 a day. So it's very important. Right now, I call it the red zone. You know, if you're looking at football, they call I think if you get into the 20 yard line, they call that the red zone. How often does a team score in the red zone? Well, what we look at is the red zone as being for retirement is five years before and five years after. And what we look at as those periods being the red zone, because it's very important that you start putting together some type of a retirement plan. You need to start considering what your Social Security benefits are going to be. When do I want to turn on Social Security? What's my health insurance going to look like? Long term care insurance? These are all things that we can do If we get together with a free consultation. We'd love to meet with you guys, but folks, just think about it. When you're in retirement, especially in the situations that we are in today, with inflation, rising interest rates rising, mortgage rates rising, pretty much everything's going up.

Randy Sams:
Just think of the folks that I've worked with, that we've worked with who right now have the peace of mind knowing that they've got a guaranteed paycheck coming in for the rest of their lives. I work with a lot of couples where their main concern is, especially for the husbands. They want to make sure that they have a certain income coming in while they are alive. And if they pass away, they want that same amount. They want that same monthly income to be passed on to their spouse. And that's something that we do here at Smbc Financial. Your American Retirement folks would love to work with you, but give us a call again, We want to work with you and set sit down and talk to you about your retirement plans. Cover your bases, expenses, your basic needs with a guaranteed lifetime income annuity, and get you set up with a peace of mind knowing that no matter what the stock market may be doing, no matter what happens out there in the economy, that you've got that paycheck coming in to cover your basic needs. Also, we want to talk about Social Security. When's the best time to turn it on? Is it going to be at age 62? It's going to be at age 65, or should we wait to age 66 and a half, or should we wait till age 70 where we get the biggest bang for our buck again, some of the things that we talk about, hey, also we covered about Medicare again, very quickly, Medicare Part A in-patient hospital or skilled nursing facility care, Part B, doctor's visits and preventative services, part C, same coverage as parts A and B plus additional benefits may include cost help with vision, hearing and dental care, but they are administered by a private insurance company.

Randy Sams:
Part D is generic brand prescription drugs. That is your prescription drug coverage. So, folks, that's part A, part B, part C, Part D, And we also looked at Medicare supplement. Folks, you're in AP. If you have a medicare Advantage plan or you have a prescription drug plan or you have original Medicare, just parts A and B, very quickly, you can add prescription drug plans, we can change prescription drug plans. You can change your Medicare Advantage plans during EAP, which started on October 15th and runs through December 7th. So, folks, that's kind of a recap. Give us a call. We'd love to sit down and do a review of what you may have as far as your Medicare coverage goes. Go to Your American Retirement dot com. Leave us a message. Leave us your contact information. We'd love to spend some time with you on the telephone or set up a free consultation, meet with you face to face and kind of review what you may have and see if we might be able to put you in a better situation with your Medicare is concerned, your supplement plan, your advantage plans, your prescription drug plans. So again, you can give us a call 866 990 7664 leave. Leaving your contact information, We'd love to be able to talk with you and sit down with you during this AEP period enrollment period. All right. Let's look at cost cutters.

Producer:
Here's the cost cutter of the week.

Randy Sams:
Here's what we got cost cutters for today. Skip holiday travel, air travel this year and opt to stay home for the holidays. Is that going to be an option, Jim? Do you think that's an option for most people? Skip the air travel and stay home for the holidays.

Producer:
Well, I'm I'm not the right person to ask. And here's why. Because I've always been under the assumption that a vacation to me is taking a break from work activities. Some people married wife, kids activities, and just staying home on the couch and maybe watching a little bit of football and hockey.

Randy Sams:
Well, I mean, there are a lot of people I think that's I think that's one of the heaviest air travel days of the year. That and Christmas, I would think, or, you know, when you say stay home for the holidays, but here's what I've got. Thanksgiving. Air prices are currently averaging $281 round trip, Jim. That's up from 25% from last year, $281 round trip. So according to travel booking group Hopper PPR for Christmas travel, airfare prices are averaging $435 round trip, which is up 55% from last year and 19% higher than in 2019. So you can see these are basically the highest levels that we've seen in the last 15 in the last five years, according to the website. That's a travel booking group. Hopper. So meanwhile, the cost of jet fuel remains elevated, thanks in large part to the war in Ukraine and a decrease in crude oil refining capacity. So, folks, it's going to be difficult. It's going to hit in a pocketbook level like we've spoken about. We didn't we haven't talked about it, but we probably. Will going into November on one of the shows. What's it going to cost us in 2022 for a Thanksgiving or a Christmas meal with the family versus what it cost in 2020 or 2021? What's your guess? You think it's going to go up? Yeah, I do too. Everything else is going up. So we're going to play right or wrong.

Producer:
Come on down as we test your financial knowledge in right or wrong.

Producer:
Right or wrong. Let's get into this here as I look at it on our lovely outline. Okay. Right or wrong, life insurance can only be used as a death benefit and provides no other features unless the policyholder dies. Is that right or wrong?

Randy Sams:
Well, I wish we had a bell or a little ink on this, but that would be.

Producer:
Oh, we do. By the magic. By the magic of production, Randy, we do have a bell.

Randy Sams:
All right. So we're going to we're going to push the button goes. So that's going to be wrong, Jim. So life insurance can be money for living or money for dying. So permanent life insurance policies build cash value. Some policies are tied to an index providing growth potential for tax-free retirement income. So what that means, Jim, is I have a lot of folks, especially younger folks, younger professionals right now that I'm working with as an example. What we're looking at is having them putting them into an index. Universal life gives them both the death benefit and it gives them the ability to create wealth, tax-free wealth, so they're paying their premiums. Jim, during the premium paying years, whether we set it up for ten years, 15 years, 20 years or a certain age. So what that does is let's say we take someone, for example, I have a 30-year-old I'm working with and I did an illustration for him to pay premiums for the next 20 years. His premiums were around $600 a month, so $7,200 a year. He was going to pay premiums for 20 years. So you can do the math. He's looking at, what, around 140, 150,000 in actual premiums that that he's paid. But what happens is that age 50, he stops paying those premiums unless that money to continue to accumulate in age 65. Based on his illustration, his 140,000 150,000 investment for the life insurance policy has now increased to over $1,000,000, which gives him the ability, Jim, at that time to take out loans against the cash value, which is what, tax free. So you have a lot of folks out there today that are using their life insurance for kind of like I think it's called some people refer to it as bank on yourself, building a cash value account and then taking that money out during retirement years. Cash for your tax free. That makes sense.

Producer:
Yeah. And that's vital information for somebody that's in my age bracket that not necessarily looking towards retirement, but certainly these are things that we have to start to learn and start to understand. Okay, I'm all for one. And I personally always like to win, so I have to get this one right. Our next one, right or wrong, you can enroll in Medicare and change your coverage plans at any time, Randy. Is that right or wrong?

Randy Sams:
Again. Hit that button. That's wrong, Jim.

Randy Sams:
So you must enroll in Medicare and make any adjustments during the annual enrollment period, which runs from October 15th to December 7th. Now, Jim, I'm going to kind of expand on this. So, folks, there are different times that you have the ability to apply for Medicare Part A and part B, There are different times that you can apply for your Medicare Advantage plan or your Medicare supplement or a prescription drug plan. I can't cover all of them on today's show. Maybe later on on on the show. Since we're in AEP, we can look at the different options because there's a lot of folks that may not be 65. You may not be on Medicare yet, but you're getting ready to turn on turn 65 or you're close to that age and you'd like to just be educated on what your options are at age 65. There may be some of you out there that are still working and are older than 65, but you have your health care, your prescription drug coverage through your current employer. Which is great. As long as your current plans qualify as credible coverage, then you're going to be in good shape. And what that means is that credible coverage for a prescription drug plan basically means that your current employer-sponsored prescription drug plan covers at least the same as the government plan requirements are. So that is credible coverage. So what that does for you as an employee, it means that you do not have to sign up for the Medicare Part A, part B or Medicare supplement until the time when you want to retire or if you're about to lose your employer-sponsored group health plan or your prescription drug plan at that time, then you have a certain window, 60 days, 63 days, 90 days to be able to make that decision.

Randy Sams:
But folks, you have EAP. After EAP comes EAP open enrollment period that starts in January and runs through the end of March. So January 1st, 2023 through March 31, 2023, you have the ability, if you signed up for a medicare Advantage plan during this year's EAP, you have the ability to change to a different Medicare Advantage plan if you so choose. You also have your initial enrollment period when you're about to turn 65, and then that is three months before you turn 65, the month that you turn 65 and three months after you turn 65. And then you have what's known as an SEP special enrollment period. So if you were to ever lose coverage, so let's say you have a prescription drug plan and that prescription drug plan no longer qualifies for credible coverage, and you can change prescription drug plans under an SEP enrollment. Or if you move out of, say, a covered area, you may have a medicare Advantage plan through a certain company. And you are you're moving to a different part of the state or you're moving out of state. You will qualify for an SEP. Special enrollment period that you can then apply for a new Medicare Advantage plan. But folks, those are just a couple of the programs. So when we talk about enrolling in Medicare, you can make changes this year if you have a medicare Advantage plan or if you're on original Medicare or you have a prescription drug plan beginning October 15th through December 7th. All right, Jim, next question.

Producer:
All right, here we go. I'm o for two and I'm going to get this one right. I'm telling you right now, I guarantee it. You ready, Randy? You can use an annuity to fund your Medicare expenses throughout your entire lifetime, Randy, is that right or wrong?

Randy Sams:
Hit that bell, Jim. That is correct. That is right. That is right. So we believe this is a smart idea. If you remember, Jim, I've already spoken earlier in this in this show, we want to look at putting together a program that covers your basic expenses, your needs. Those basic expenses might include Medicare expenses. It might include your Medicare premiums. So that's something that we want to look at. That's why we put an importance we put an emphasis on a guaranteed lifetime income annuity, because we know that if we get you set up with that type of a program, that you've got the peace of mind knowing that you've got a certain amount coming in, a certain paycheck, a dollar amount that you need, that's going to come in every month for the rest of your life. And if we set it up, it will come in the same amount for the rest of your spouse's life. So we think that's a smart idea. It's a great step to ensure that you and your spouse will be able to fund expensive healthcare costs during the retirement. Now, on a side note, Jim, we've got some insurance companies out there right now, annuity companies they are creating. A long-term care annuity, which basically means those funds that are in that annuity can be used for long-term care expenses. And we are starting to see annuities out there that are adding long-term care riders, which means that it may not be the same as a long-term care standalone policy, but it is an annuity that is designed to be utilized if the need for a long term care situation for you or spouse ever arrived. So you need to make sure that while we're doing a consultation and we're talking about retirement, that we get your long term care into discussion. So folks, that's the end of this segment. Thanks for joining us. We'll be right back. Your American Retirement dot com YourAmericanRetirement.com, Randy Sams 101.1 FM The Answer.

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:
Hey, welcome back. Central Arkansas. Randy Sams, I'd like to welcome you to Your American Retirement. Welcome you back for a segment 4. 866 990 7664. Give us a call. Leave us a message. Make you give us some good comments, critique us, give us some ideas of what you might like for the show to one of the topics that we can talk about are several topics we can talk about. But again, we welcome you back to the show 101.1 FM. The Answer where Little Rock comes to talk. So folks, in 2023, if you missed a earlier in the segment 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment COLA is going to increase 8.7%, which is up the 2021 was 5.9%. So over the last two years, 2020 to 2023 will be an increase of 14.6%. That's something that is great for our folks that are in retirement to look forward to. I know when I meet with folks, Jim, when we do a consultation, when I'm doing an annual review and we look at the client situation, that's one of the things that they're always going to ask me. Of course, I don't you know, I don't have the crystal ball. I'm not the one that makes that decision. So I don't know if they're going to go up again. Like we just said, there are since 1975, there's only been three years that we haven't had an increase. So I would say that that that's a pretty good pretty good percentage in our favor.

Randy Sams:
But we just don't know what that increase might be or if there is going to be an increase. But why they're interested in this is because of the fact that, as you know, it costs more today to buy groceries to pay for your gas. Inflation is hitting us hard. We're about to come up on the holiday season, Thanksgiving, Christmas, gifts, flights, expenses. And we're about to have Halloween. We'll talk about that in just a second. As far as what inflation has affected, what effect it's had on the Halloween celebration, I guess you could say. But when I talk to clients on Social Security, that's what they're interested in. They have to make sure that they know what their expenses are going to be and knowing that they're going to have a slight increase in their Social Security payment every month, it makes them feel more comfortable because everybody likes an increase. You don't like to see a decrease. So then again, that's why we put an emphasis on a guaranteed lifetime income annuity, because we like for you as a client, as a customer to feel comfortable. We want to educate you. We want you to understand what is going to occur during retirement. We want to prepare our clients for a secure retirement and not a risky retirement. So again, Jim, you made it was coming slow out of the gate, but you came back strong.

Randy Sams:
You've got two of the last 2 to 4. Two out of the last two. So congratulations on that. But folks, we appreciate your listening. Please give us a call. 866 990 7664. Let us let us look at your situation. Let us do a review with what annuities you might have, what retirement plans you might have, what expenses you want to cover. And then we'll look at what you have and we can put together a plan or go to Your American Retirement dot com and leave us your contact information and we'll get back in contact with you. So, Jim, frightening inflation figures. So we're about to go into Halloween. The cost of candy is up 13% just in time for Halloween. That's kind of scary for all you ghouls and goblins out there. Those of you who may live in a neighborhood that have a lot of children and you give out that candy, just be prepared. When you go to your local drugstore, you go to your local Wal-Mart, you go to the grocery store, wherever you may buy your candy at. Be prepared to be frightened because cost of candy is up just in time for Halloween by 13%. So it's largely due, Jim, The increase is largely due this year because of what the record CPI, it's been the highest. A 13% increase is the largest yearly jump in candy prices the CPI has ever recorded.

Randy Sams:
For comparison, it took nine years from 1997 to 2006 for candy prices to rise 13%. Sugar is up 17% since last September. Flour prices have risen even more at 24%. Costumes. Now, folks, I don't know about y'all, but when I was a little kid and we used to run around the neighborhood and, you know, we were dress up and we would ring the doorbells and we would say, the trick or treat, you'd knock on the doors. You know, my costume might have been a cowboy hat with a pistol on my on my side. It might have been, you know, dressed up like, I don't know, the Tin Man are dressed up like the scarecrow or whatever my mom or dad wanted to put me in. But right now, if you're listening to this and you have young children or you have grandkids and they're out trying to buy costumes, listen to this. Costumes. While the CPI report does not specifically track costumes, the price of clothing has jumped 5.5% since last year. So those who are crafty enough to create handmade costumes like we used to do when I was a kid may be feeling the punch because you're having to buy the materials. All right. Or if you're not crafty enough to be able to make your own costume, it's going to go up because you're going to have to buy those costumes that are sitting on the Wal-Mart shelves or the department store shelves or the Halloween stores that now sell nothing but Halloween goods.

Randy Sams:
So listen to this. Sewing machines, fabric and supplies are up 11% since last September. Now, folks, my mom and dad didn't spend a lot of time putting together, like, sewing something really fancy. We might put a little makeup on your face. We might do this. Like I said, put a cowboy hat, strap that cap gun to your show, to your to your belt, and let's go knocking on doors and I'll be a cowboy. I'm not being Roy Rogers. Who knows who I might have been at that time. But according to the National Retail Federation, Halloween spending is expected, get this now, Halloween spending spending easy for me to say is expected to reach a record 10.6 billion. That's B billion with a B this year, Halloween spending and realize that it's gone up 13% just for the candy. That's amazing. So something else to look about. We're talking about inflation very quickly, folks. Mortgage rates are forcing sellers to slash prices. We talked about that just a little bit in the earlier segment of the show. The average long term mortgage rate is now 6.92%. So what that's doing today, folks, listen to this. We've got clients I've got clients that were counting on selling their house and getting that home equity that they've accumulated over a 30 year period, 40 year period, however long they've lived in that house, taking that money, buying a smaller house, downsizing, so to say, and taking the additional funds that you have left over and adding that to your retirement planning funds.

Randy Sams:
But folks, right now, folks just aren't buying. So sellers are having to decrease their prices. A year ago, two years ago, I can remember. Man, do you remember what it cost for housing? Do you remember what your house value was was given? Houses jumped up by 10%, 15% to 20%, depending on the area of the country that you were in. So right now, sellers who have looked forward to selling their house, the real estate market is just not moving as much as quickly as it used to. And the demand, the supply is out there. The demand is lower because of the fact that you've got a lot of couples that do not want to pay that 6.92% mortgage. Folks, I'll tell you a personal story. All right. And they will. In this segment, personal story. When I was a younger man back when Jimmy Carter was president, the interest rates jumped up to 17%. Mortgage rates, mortgage interest rates were 17%. The city that I live in had a little local bank. We heard rumors that there was going to be bond money.

Randy Sams:
Now, listen to this. Bond money was going to be available, limited supply and that interest rate was going to be 10%. Now, how many of you would line up right now for a 10% interest rate, a mortgage rate? Not very many. But right now we're looking at somewhat 7% mortgage rates. Well, back then, 10% was a bargain. So I took my little lawn chair and I took my jug of water and I planted myself at the front door of this local bank. And I made the front page of the local newspaper because they wanted to know what I was doing with my lawn chair and a jug of water sitting in front of the bank. And when I told them that tomorrow morning when the bank opens these doors is going to be first come, first serve. We were going to be able to get bond money at 10% interest rate, a mortgage at 10%. So, folks, I know you're not doing that. I just wanted to let you know, just think back. What was that back in the eighties? 83, 84 interest rates, Mortgage rates were 17%. I spent 24 hours overnight in a lawn chair in front of the bank. Waiting for a 10% mortgage right now. Mortgage rates have gone up from, what, 2 to 3% over the last couple of years have jumped up to 7%.

Producer:
It's this week in history.

Randy Sams:
Very quickly, I'm going to close this out this week in history. American Comedian October 23rd, 1925. The American comedian Johnny Carson was born. Host of The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992, established a standard format for television chat shows that continues today. Folks, I may never be a Johnny Carson. I'm on the radio. My mama always told me you had a face perfect for radio. So, folks, hey, thanks for listening. This is Randy Sam's president, SMMG Financial for your American Retirement. 866 990 7664. Give us a call. Go to the website. Thanks for joining us today. 101.1 FM. The Answer. Where Little Rock comes to talk. Thank you.

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 Your American Retirement dot com YourAmericanRetirement.com Today. That's Your American Retirement dot com. 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 specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. AmeriLife 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:
Where's the best place to hang your hat when you retire? I'm Matt McClure with a retirement dot 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:
While at job 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.

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

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 a retirement dot radio network powered by Amerilife. I'm Matt McClure.

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