Income Planning

Retirement Income 

The foundation of Retirement Planning starts with your Social Security benefit. There are 567 ways to claim your benefit. Knowing which is best you and your family is significant. You have one chance to get it right. After 12 months, there are no “do-overs.” 

Closing the Gap 

Although Social Security is the foundation of retirement income, it will not likely cover all of your expenses. Which of your assets, e.g. personal investment accounts, IRA’s, 401K’s, 403B’s, etc. should use and in which sequence to obtain the most tax effective income? 

Quality of Income 

The dependability of your income is determined by the you of asset type you choose. Some stocks pay dividends, but what happens if your dividends get cut? 

The interest that bonds pay may or may not be taxable. Just because a bond is “tax-free” does not mean it is the best choice for you.  

When planning your income, you should consider not just how much income you need now, but how much will you need in the future. This means looking at inflation, taxes, and longevity. 

Your Legacy

How Do You Want To Be Remembered?

This is a key question. Do you want to leave your estate to family, friends, charity, etc?

Wills and Trusts

Have you put a plan in place? Are your documents current? What types of documents are appropriate for your estate?*

Life Insurance

Life insurance policies, especially those owned by trusts (TOLI) are facing a crisis. 45% of life policies purchased between 1982 and 2003 were non-guaranteed universal life policies. Of those polices 23%-25% are projected to lapse prematurely. Premature lapse undermines estate plans, harms those relying on the proceeds from those policies, and potentially triggers suits against trustees who have not managed TOLI properly. 

Unless reviewed and restructured, many universal life policies will expire before their insureds. With an estimated 90% of TOLI policies managed by non-professional individual’s, policies may deteriorate beyond remediation because no one noticed in time. The non-professional trustees are often a child of the settlor/insured who created the trust and plan acting with little or no guidance from the professionals otherwise involved in the family planning. Rarely does the non-professional trustee retain advisers. 

We can assist you in reviewing and determining the appropriateness of your current coverage an help in obtaining more appropriate coverage where and if necessary.

*BMA Advisors and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction or activity.