Is Central Florida Ready for Retirement?

[00:00:00] Speaker A: 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. [00:00:27] Speaker B: Welcome to Retirement your Way with Amerilife of Central Florida, the show that puts you in control of your financial future. Your hosts, Bradley and Madison Hardin, are a trusted husband and wife team dedicated to helping you design a retirement that fits your lifestyle, your goals, and your vision for the years ahead. From smart income strategies and Social Security planning to protecting your wealth and living life on your own terms, this is the place where financial clarity meets coastal confidence. Whether you're just entering the retirement red zone or already enjoying your golden years, Bradley and Madison are here to guide you every step of the way. This is retirement your way. Let's build the future you deserve. [00:01:11] Speaker C: Hello, and welcome to Retirement your way. I'm Matt McClure. Thanks so much for being a part of things this time around. I am here with Bradley and Madison Hardin from Amerilife of Central Florida. Hello once again. [00:01:22] Speaker D: Hello, Matt. How are you doing? [00:01:24] Speaker C: Very well. I appreciate you being here. Of course, you have a lot of wisdom to impart on, as always, I'm sure. Talk about why you all are in this business and, you know, what you do for people each and every day. [00:01:40] Speaker D: So we found that the both of us really enjoy helping people. So at the end of the day, we're able to build our practice on helping people and providing advice. So. And we take an educational standpoint. So together, Madison and I have 17 years combined working with the Marilife to provide this education. And ultimately, it helps retirees feel more confident once you educate them on how to. How other people have lived retirement successfully and maybe some things that you can do to help yourself feel that way. [00:02:12] Speaker C: It gives people a lot of peace of mind. I would feel if, you know, they have a plan in place where they have some, you know, certain guarantees about their retirement, some. Some certainty about their retirement years. I think that there is so much out there that people look at, investing in general and be like, oh, it's the stock market and everything's at risk. But there are also things that you can do to keep your money safe and still get growth for your retirement. We'll talk about a lot of that today because the question that we're asking, there's one big question that we're asking here is, is America ready for retirement? And we've got some Surprising statistics from a recent survey to share here. You know, hopefully some of them are going to motivate you out there to get a plan in place for your retirement years. The very first statistic is this 54%. That's more than half of American workers don't know how much savings they're going to need for retirement. You know, it's just kind of flying blind here a little bit going into your retirement years, if you don't know how much you're going to need. [00:03:15] Speaker D: Right. And without knowing how much you're going to need creates uncertainty and fear. You know, I'm afraid to retire. Maybe I should keep working. Maybe I don't have enough saved. What are my expenses going to be? And so when we get a chance to sit down, the first thing we go through is income and expenses. All right, here's how much you're making now. Here's how much you're spending now. Here's how much you're going to make in retirement. And we try to anticipate those costs for retirement so we can at least have some type of budget to know. And do I have enough? Which is the biggest question. [00:03:49] Speaker E: And that's typically in our first meetings. It's just like when you meet with a specialist for the first time. There's a lot of questions, a lot of answers, a lot of getting to know each other so we can try to build a relationship where it's not uncomfortable talking about your money and your retirement, because we may see things from a different perspective and see a spot where we can potentially help and what you can track, you can grow. And it kind of alleviates some of that stress that people have when they think about retiring. We've had clients recently even have to work longer and stay employed for many more years than they really anticipated because they didn't properly plan early enough, which is okay. We just want to help people the best way that we can. [00:04:35] Speaker C: Yeah. And is that sort of feeling of intimidation that you. That you find with a lot of people, is that kind of one of the biggest hurdles that you have to overcome when you meet with maybe new clients for the first time? [00:04:45] Speaker E: I think so. And we just try to take the pressure off. It's really easygoing. There's no smoke and mirrors when it comes to the way that we run our business. So we just try to solve problems and educate our clients in the most transparent way that we can. [00:05:00] Speaker C: Yeah, that's. That's such good. A good way to do things. Because, you know, so many times I think people can feel like, oh, somebody's just going to try and swindle me or they're just after my money and all that. They're not going to do what's best for me. But the whole point of the business is to do what is best for them. And so that can give people those assurances as well. [00:05:20] Speaker E: Right. [00:05:21] Speaker C: Another stat that we're going to talk about here is 40%. Now that is the amount of income of your working income that Social Security was initially intended to cover, which is a pretty eye opening statistic. Social Security only meant to cover 40% of your working income in your retirement years. But there are a lot of people today, due to a lot of different factors who might be relying either solely or to a large extent for the majority of their income on Social Security. That is, you know, something that's, that's pretty disturbing. [00:05:57] Speaker D: Right. And also we've seen a lot of media about potential cuts to Social Security. And I think it was estimated if they don't make any changes about 2035. And so we've already started having conversations with those people about if that does happen, what type of plan can I come up with to alleviate that pressure or bridge that gap, if you will. Now, I surely hope that doesn't happen. And for all of our clients, I surely hope that doesn't happen. But the idea is creating a plan just in case. Right. If this does happen, I know that, you know, Bradley and Mattison were able to help me seal that gap. But again, another thing we've helped people is we've helped people to retire. So we've met with other people, the other side of that statistic that were able to retire once we sat down with them and explore different options. So it really just depends on your specific situation. [00:06:51] Speaker C: That is really the key here. It's dependent completely upon your specific financial situation. It's not a one size fits all retirement plan that you will receive. If you reach out to Bradley and Madison, you can give them a call. [00:07:04] Speaker A: At 386-977-9684 or you can visit planretirementyourway.com that's planretirementyourway.com or 386-977-9684. [00:07:19] Speaker C: We've been talking a lot about some kind of eye opening, a little bit shocking, maybe at times statistics about retirement. The whole premise of the show is America ready for retirement right now? More specifically for our purposes, is central Florida ready for retirement right now? And a lot of times the answer to that question unfortunately is no, not really, because of the things that we talked about. Right. Like more than half of American workers not knowing how much savings are going to need for retirement. That 40% being the amount that Social Security was supposed to cover of your working income. Right. So a lot of people though, relying on it for 100% of their income in retirement. So that's a huge lifestyle change. So there's all of that and now some more statistics to share. 34% is the next number that we will present here. And it's that 34% of pre retirees haven't even started saving for retirement. And that's a pretty shocking statistic because you think about all of the different options that might be available for folks, even things like a 401K and you know, an IRA, something else may be available through your employer, 403B or those type of accounts. Maybe people haven't even started making contributions to those. More than a third of people in this country. It's just you're starting off very much behind. [00:08:41] Speaker D: Right? Yeah. And to have a successful retirement, you have to plan. And you know, I know we're going to get to the three phases of retirement, but accumulation is number one. So while you're working, if you want to have that 5 o' clock summer retirement, you have to accumulate retirement dollars. And like you said, Matt, there are plenty of options still available for those people that may feel a little behind. So if that's the way that you're feeling, then we can show you some of those options. [00:09:12] Speaker C: Yeah. And do you find a lot of people too? At least I know I felt this way in my life about different sort of aspects of life and finances at one point in my life as well, that if you are behind, I mean, you think about it, if you're, if you're behind financially, let's say whether the situation is you're in a lot of debt or you don't have enough money to go around every month to make all of your obligations and that sort of thing. If you are behind, you don't feel like you can ever get caught up. It's like you're always just sort of chasing your tail a little bit. And so that just calls into focus that making a plan and having a solid plan is really even that much more important. [00:09:49] Speaker E: Right. And definitely taking advantage of what your employer is going to be able to contribute and if you are fortunate enough to have a plan where they're going to be matching, contributing also. It is tough nowadays with the cost of everything increasing, but we really have to Try hard to make those contributions like Bradley said, when you are in that accumulation phase because it is going to pay off extremely in your retirement years. [00:10:14] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely. So, so important there. Make sure that you get that employer match to and max that out if at all possible. And that should be the least that you're contributing to those accounts. [00:10:25] Speaker D: Right. And in your budget. And that's another big thing is a budget. One thing that my grandfather taught me when I was young, it took me a little bit to, to do it, but one thing he always taught me was to pay yourself first. So the idea is yes, you've got to pay for food, gas, utilities, I understand that. But in your monthly budget, put you in there, pay yourself first. So that way your older self will thank the younger self for go ahead and making those contributions to you future. [00:10:53] Speaker C: You will be very grateful that younger you did that. [00:10:56] Speaker D: Absolutely. [00:10:57] Speaker C: I love that for, you know, talk about a great lesson to learn when you're growing up. Thank you grandpa for the words of wisdom. I love that. All right, so one more kind of statistic here to share and this one is also a little bit disturbing, at least just from my own standpoint as well. Knowing, knowing how I behave with money and all of that and concepts that I haven't always understood and things is that 40% of Americans, according to this particular study, do not have any sort of professional guidance when it comes to planning their retirement. Obviously it makes what you all do very, very important to people in the community. But it also is, you know, like I used myself as an example a second ago, I would, I think, just be overwhelmed by trying to do it myself and maybe throw my hands up and not even come up with a plan. And that is not good because as we've established in this very segment alone, you got to have a plan, right? [00:11:59] Speaker E: And I think a common misconception that people may have around that is that it's this rigorous, you know, strict sort of fee used program that we take when we're meeting with clients. But it's really just more of a holistic approach that we take and there's never any fees associated with us kind of helping you create that retirement plan and seeing where you can stand to make some adjustments or repositioned. So we just try to take the pressure off whenever we meet with folks. And really if you're not utilizing the education or knowledge of a financial professional, you're at a disadvantage because we meet with people of all ages, of all demographics in all areas of Florida and everyone's situation is different. So I think we have valuable insight as to what what's working, what's not, and maybe take a different approach of what you haven't thought of. [00:12:57] Speaker C: Yeah, get another set of eyes on your particular situation and your plan if you have one. If you don't have a plan, get a plan in place. If I think if there's one thing that you can take away from this show today, it is to have that plan in place. Stick around much more of Retirement you way still to come. [00:13:15] Speaker B: You're listening to Retirement Your Way with AmeriLife of Central Florida to schedule a no cost, no obligation consultation. Give the team a call at 386-977-9684 or visit planretirementyourway.com the weather is warm. [00:13:35] Speaker A: Are you planning to use some of your hard earned money to get out of town? I'm Matt McClure with Retirement Radio Network, powered by Amerilife. Whether you prefer a trip to the. [00:13:46] Speaker C: Mountains. [00:13:49] Speaker A: Soaking up sun at the. [00:13:53] Speaker C: For. [00:13:53] Speaker A: The thrills and chills of a theme park, here's a destination for pretty much anyone who's looking to travel over the summer. The consumer finance website WalletHub recently did a study ranking the top summer travel destinations. Orlando came out on top, followed by Washington, D.C. and Tampa, Florida. Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah rounded out the top five, WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. [00:14:15] Speaker E: The study was based on 43 metrics, including cheap flights, number of delays, hotel costs and Covid numbers. [00:14:22] Speaker A: In the meantime, inflation probably has you watching your budget more closely than before. So when considering travel costs and hassles, the website says Santa Rosa, California is your best bet. At the other end of the spectrum, McAllen, Texas has the highest costs and most hassles. But what if you have your heart set on escaping to a specific destination? And it's on the pricier side? There are ways to save no matter where you're headed, travel expert Mark Elwood recently told the Today Show. [00:14:50] Speaker C: Before you do anything thing, if you're a member of a warehouse club like Sam's Club or Costco, go to their websites because they sell travel at a big discount. [00:14:58] Speaker D: Brilliant. [00:14:58] Speaker C: So that's immediately you might find you could suddenly cut the price. [00:15:01] Speaker A: Of course, there are also travel websites like Expedia, Travelocity and Kayak, just to name a few. But if you're looking for discounts specifically geared toward retirees, the seniorlist.com has a pretty extensive directory of them, including which airlines, hotels, cruise lines and rental car companies give discounts to those over a certain agency. So how can you head away for a warm weather vacation without breaking the bank? That's a key question to consider as you keep a close eye on your budget with the Retirement Radio Network powered by AmericanLife. [00:15:32] Speaker C: I'm Matt McClure. [00:15:36] Speaker B: Welcome back. It's time to talk more about building the retirement you've been dreaming about. This is Retirement yout Way. [00:15:50] Speaker D: Come on down. [00:15:55] Speaker B: As we test your financial knowledge in Right or Wrong. [00:16:05] Speaker C: Welcome back to Retirement your way. I'm Matt McClure. Really do appreciate you sticking in with us throughout the show here today. I'm here with Bradley and Madison Hardin of Amerilife of Central Florida. This is our favorite game. We call it Right or Wrong. And what I do is present a statement to Bradley and Madison and they tell me whether that is right or if it is wrong. And I'm going to present it just as if it's the absolute truth. But they can see right through me, so. So they'll get it correct each and every time here. All right. So do you test your knowledge as well as we play this game called, as I said, right or Wrong in the first one is this. In 1975, almost 30% of the workforce had pension benefits, but today that number has decreased to just right around 13.5%. [00:16:51] Speaker D: That is right. And so we've seen a steady decline in companies offering defined pension plans and going more towards defined contribution plans. And so what that does is allow somebody to contribute to their retirement. And sometimes you get a company match but you're not guaranteed that paycheck. Once you do retire, you have this nest egg and then you think, well, what should I do with this? Should I just draw out of it? I know it's on the market, it's going up and down. And so, so what we've seen is a solution to that problem is rolling over a portion of that retirement plan that you have in creating your own personal pension. [00:17:31] Speaker C: I love that. And people, you know, even today, the small number of people who have a pension, especially in the, you know, the private, is part of the private workforce. Not a lot have it, as we were saying. And but the ones that do love their pension plans. And so I love the fact that as you just sort of framed that there, you can take that of those contributions that you've made and those funds that have hopefully grown over the years and create your own personal pension with that money that you've stashed away. Because the onus now, you know, is employers have gone away from those defined benefit plans, those pension plans, the Onus is on you to sort of create your own plan for retirement. [00:18:12] Speaker E: Right. And with that it's more customizable. So it allows you the opportunity to have a joint payout rather than just a single payout. If you are a married couple and you're looking to make sure that your spouse also can receive that guaranteed income check for life similar to a Social Security benefit. [00:18:30] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:18:30] Speaker D: And since most of our pension plans are tied to an index, there's opportunity for there to be cash value left behind. Whereas the traditional pension is that income dies with either the spouse or with you. But these, like Madison said, these private pensions are way more customizable for you to achieve those goals. [00:18:49] Speaker C: Yeah. Potential death benefit amount to pass on to the next generation and all of that. So yeah, great, great option there. So not the employer's not doing it, but you still to have potentially better options than you would have otherwise. So there we go. At least more options than you would have otherwise. All right, number two here is this. You can delete fees on the bonds you currently hold by replacing them with an investment that offers market like gains without the market risk. [00:19:16] Speaker D: That is right. And so we've been working with this alternative asset class for many, many years. And what it does, two things right out of the gate is it eliminates risk. So you take that off the table. And secondly, to be in these vehicles, you don't pay any management fees, any, any fees for that to be, to be reallocated every year. And so what you're able to do then is provide market like growth, but no market like risk. [00:19:46] Speaker C: Yeah. So you protect that. And I love the way that you've described this concept previously. Madison is like, you know, you put a new, every time that that growth is credited to this particular investment, then that's your new floor. You can never go below that. So if you were to look at a, at a chart of performance over time, it's like stair steps going up instead of the roller coaster going up and down like you see with the stock market. [00:20:11] Speaker E: Right. And there's not a lot of other options for that. So we've seen a lot of people trending towards those sorts of of plans rather than stocks and bonds being the majority of your portfolio. [00:20:24] Speaker C: Great. All right, well, number three here in this edition of Right or Wrong is this. When it comes to things like your IRA, your 401k or other retirement plan, the best strategy is to set it up, forget about it and just keep saving. [00:20:38] Speaker E: That is wrong. So I understand the feeling that people get sometimes where you Kind of just don't want to look. And if you don't look, then it's not real. Or perhaps you've had some decline in your funds. And so it's a little bit tough to, to check up on it. But if we're not checking up on it, then we can't make changes in order to put ourselves in a better position. So. [00:21:03] Speaker D: Right. And it's human nature to want to avoid pain. So if you're hearing on the news that the market's down this and that. We've had clients tell us they haven't logged into their company 401k in months and maybe sometimes even years because they're afraid to see what has actually happened in there. But, you know, retirement, your way says that's not what you should do. [00:21:23] Speaker C: Yeah, that is absolutely not what you should do. Because as you always say, Madison as well, what you can track, what is the statement? [00:21:33] Speaker E: What you can track, you can change. [00:21:34] Speaker C: You can change. [00:21:35] Speaker A: That's right. [00:21:36] Speaker C: She always says it. And I see these guys are just, they're much smarter. [00:21:39] Speaker E: One more time. [00:21:40] Speaker C: What you can track, you can change. And if you're not tracking it, you can't change it because you don't know what you have. Right. So you've got to know, like knowledge is power. There's another cliche that I can put out there there that you've got to have the knowledge of what you actually do, have to then know what changes need to be made or could be made to make your situation better. All right, one more here to go in this edition of Right or Wrong. And it is. You won't learn much in a first appointment with a financial profession that is wrong. [00:22:07] Speaker D: So we come with 17 years of experience working with pre retirees and retirees. And our approach is educational. So the first visit, you're going to ask us questions, we're going to ask you questions. And by the end of it, hopefully you feel a little bit better about the direction of your retirement. [00:22:23] Speaker C: That's right. I mean, it's, it's when you lead with education, that means obviously you're going to learn quite a bit in that first appointment with a financial professional. And we want to encourage you to get your first appointment scheduled. [00:22:36] Speaker A: As always, you can give Bradley and Madison a call. 386-977-9684. That's 386-977-9684. You can also plan retirement your way dot com. That's plan retirement your way dot com. [00:22:52] Speaker C: Covered a lot of ground so far on the show today. A few more minutes to go here. And really what I want to, to sort of hone in on or stick a pin in is, you know, what maybe is a big takeaway. This has been an eye opening show, I think, with all the statistics and different bits of information that we've been sharing with the audience. Right. Because you know, there have been a lot of sort of surprising stats of the number of people who don't have a financial professional, the number of people who kind of want to live to be 100 but they don't want to work into their 70s. It all calls into the, the into focus, the need for a plan. But aside from that, what would be maybe one big takeaway from, from you guys from this episode. [00:23:34] Speaker D: So one big takeaway I think is that retirement actually does last a long time. You know, you may live, as you mentioned, up to 100 years old. And if you started retirement at 65, that's 35 years of being in retirement. So one of the main points I want to address is the fact that Social Security was only intended to replace about 40% of your working income. And so many people that we see or it may experience a little bit of shortfall on that and they feel a little nervous, as do I have enough. And again, our theory is that income is the heartbeat of your retirement. And so if you do want to live to age 100, you want to keep that thing going, then the idea is you want to make sure your income is going to be able to last you for as long as you do live. [00:24:23] Speaker C: Yeah. And a lot of people might think too that, you know, if I'm retired, maybe my, my expenses will go down significantly after I retire. That might, you know, lower my, my tax burden. It might cause me to not have to spend as much. So if I have a little less in retirement, it is not that big of. But that's not always the case really. And I think for a lot of people, especially if you want to go and do and check those items off your bucket list, you need to make sure that you've allowed for that. [00:24:50] Speaker E: Right. And we definitely don't want to see you have to miss out in retirement. We want you to take those trips, see the family, do all the things you intended to do in retirement. And something we like to say is you want to have something to retire to, not just something to retire from. So if we know that in retirement our income is going to be steady, we're not going to have as much stress and we're going to be able to enjoy it more. And that's what you work your whole life for. [00:25:16] Speaker C: So I love that. And I, and I kind of just sort of mentally had this picture of like a financial gps. You know, it's like, because that thing that you're going to retire to, like that's the destination. You know, if you're going somewhere, what's the first thing you do if you've never been there before, you put in the destination, the gps. Right. So you got to know where you're going before you know how to get there. [00:25:37] Speaker E: Right. And based on your intended lifestyle, how long you're expecting to work. You know, we really go through and create that budget with our clients so that they know what to expect. Like you said, how their expenses are going to change or how they might increase in retirement, depending on your situation. [00:25:54] Speaker D: Right. And we always emphasize if you planned on traveling, do that as soon as you retire. You know, one thing we don't know is how our health is going to be in our later years. So don't put off seeing your family taking those trips, going on the cruises. And so, you know, we want to work to build a plan that allows that flexibility of spending without feeling that anxiety of am I going to run out of money? So, you know that that's one of the things we, we try to help people with. [00:26:22] Speaker C: Yeah. One of the sort of ways to, to frame that, that I've heard before is like, you know, those are those first years of retirement. Those are your go go years. You know, Exactly. It's the, the go go years. Then you, or get into those slow go years where you're not able to actually go and do. And then there are the no go years where you're really not able to go and do. But then you've got to also have a plan for that phase of your retirement years because an increase in healthcare costs and things like that. So yeah, getting a plan is absolutely just paramount. And having a plan where you're working with professionals to come up with that plan, People who've done this before, who do this every day. So just quickly here before we wrap up, if people do reach out to you for that initial consultation, what's that first experience interacting with you guys? What's that kind of like. [00:27:11] Speaker D: So that first visit is very informal. We want to get to know you and I want you to get to know us and we try to get a base, we want to understand what your vision is, what your goals are. Madison and I, we then go back and we do some analysis. We build a plan and we come back and we show you how to possibly be able to live retirement your way by collaborating with your ideas, our experience and coming up with that plan. [00:27:39] Speaker C: It all comes together and of course it all starts, as we say, with that initial consultation. And folks, if you would like one of those initial consultations, as you say, it's very informal, getting to know you kind of process and then the planning can start so that you can have a retirement your way. Well, I appreciate both of you as always sharing your knowledge and wisdom with our audience. Look forward to doing it again next time. [00:28:04] Speaker E: Thank you Matt. [00:28:04] Speaker D: Thank you Matt. [00:28:05] Speaker C: Thank you. And we look forward to seeing you next time for another edition of Retirement your Way. [00:28:11] Speaker B: Thanks for joining us for Retirement your Way with Amerilife of Central Florida. Our goal is to bring clarity and confidence to your retirement journey. Remember, Bradley and Madison Hardin are here to help you create a personalized plan for the future you deserve. If you'd like to schedule a no cost, no obligation consultation, give the team a call at 386-977-9684 or visit planretirementyourway.com and don't forget to tune in next week, same time, same place for more strategies, insights and support to help you live retirement your way. Investment Advisory Services offer through Brookstone Capital Management, llc, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Amerilife are separate companies but are affiliated through Common Ownership Insurance. Products and services are not offered through BCM but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents not affiliated with the United States Government. Bradley and Madison Harden do not offer tax or legal advice. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. These opinions are not intended to predict future procedures 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 the results obtained from the use of this information. The preceding program was sponsored by Amerilife of Central Florida.