Retirement 360

2019 Best of Alan Mercurio by Alan Mercurio

This week Mercurio Wealth Advisors Founder and President, Alan Mercurio, and host Randy Cook, discuss the importance of knowing your Risk Tolerance. What is Risk Tolerance? It is the ebb and flows you feel secure taking with the swings of the market. Almost everyone feels secure when the market climbs, but what when it dips? How much of your investment are you to miss? Knowing your Risk Tolerance is paramount to your overall planning strategy. This sets a bar that will intersect with all other saving strategies. In addition to knowing the importance of your Risk Tolerance, is your planning up to date or is it obsolete? Listening to music on a CD used to be the standard, but now? Streaming. Do similar shifts in trends also apply to financial planning? Yes!

How do you know when it is the right time to see a financial advisor? Everyone who owns a car knows to bring it to a mechanic when it needs a tune up, so why not apply that same logic to your finances? Why are families hesitant to use the guidance of a finance professional? By meeting with a financial advisor, even for one discussion, you may open the door to new opportunities to learn more about your savings strategies, your planning strategies and even discover ways to make your assets work for you. Whether it is learning how to create a paycheck once your stop working, or lowering taxes, or finding ways that you may be overspending, working with an advisor will put you on a track to a successful retirement. Plan today, for a better tomorrow.

Is there such a thing as an average retirement? Surveys show that most folks will retire around 61 years old, and then experience 20+ of retirement! If we could know exactly how long our retirement would last - it would make for much easier planning. The average spend is $46,000 per household and that is mainly divided between monthly expenses of housing ($1,322), health care ($500) and food ($484.) But since one cannot predict the future - how do you plan? How do you take your savings and assets to get the most of your hard-earned work?

This week on Retirement 360, MWA advisor, Alan, and host, Tony Vanetti, discuss the importance of having a total team to manage and guide your retirement. Does your CPA speak with your attorney, and then do they both speak to your financial advisor? Alan tackles the importance of having eveyone meet to make sure your retirement is on trach!

Retiring harder today? by Alan Mercurio

If you could protect your wealth in turbulent times - would you do it? Or, would you ride out the waves of the stock market? Do the ebbs and flows match your risk tolerance? Are you concerned about future income should there be a downturn in the market? This week, MWA advisor, Alan Mercurio, and host Randy Cook, discuss the pressing questions of market volatility and how someone can still come out on top, or at least ride the wave.

As the markets move up and down, our office is fielding phone calls and meetings with everyone wanting to know - what do I do to control my savings? If you are considering adjusting your 401k and moving in to a different style account, what will that take? Will it spare you or add new fees? Will it adjust your taxes? Are there accounts that can offer protection and growth? This week, MWA advisor, Alan Mercurio and host, Randy Cook, discuss options to lessen the unpredictability of the stock market, and to consider exploring different options so you can continue to hold on to your savings and assets. Not every option works for every family, but there are different avenues to explore that might just be what your retirement needs!

Some say retirement is harder today than it was 5 years ago. People fear having to stop working. Families want to grow and protect their savings with little risk. Your income plan is not set and you are not sure where your retirement income will actually come from? Sound familiar? When there is fear, or a problem, there is often a solution. Meeting with an advisor if only once, or meeting with your advisor regularly, can ease the tension in knowing how your savings are doing, how to make your savings work for you, and how your savings match up against an ever changing stock market. Different strategies offer different solutions - and not one strategy is perfect, nor perfect for every family. This week on Retirement360, MWA advisor, Alan Mercurio and host, Randy Cook, discuss the fears, confusion, and solutions in assisting families as they prepare and transition to retire.

This week MWA advisor, Alan Mercurio, and host, Randy Cook, discuss securing your planning throughout a rollercoaster market. What is a Yield Curve? What are tools and strategies to protect your wealth? How does inflation affect my savings?

How many people do you in their 80's? 90's? Even living to 100? This week, MWA advisor, Alan Mercurio, and host, Randy Cook, discuss what it takes to make your assets last and have longevity. Many retirees know that once you stop workin, you ought to have a plan - does your income plan accommodate for family emergencies? Does your plan take in to account for market corrections? How can you structure your plan to sync all the facets of your retired life to make it last 20, or 30 years AFTER you retire?

Holiday shopping ramps up and the smart shopper looks for the best deal - while many online retailers like Amazon and Target compete for incentives like free shipping, others like Walmart are not. When it comes to "shopping" for a new advisor, Alan walks you thru what to look for and what (if any) incentives should come with that new relationship. The holiday season also means the year is coming to an end. Do you have your Year End Planning set? Are your beneficiary designations current? How are your asset allocations? When was your estate plan updated - was there a birth or death in your family this year? Or a marriage or divorce? Did you move to a new state?

The markets are up - spend! The markets are down - save! Almost daily you are bombarded from news shows, talking heads and various articles but when it is too much? And, who should you listen to? Many financial media outlets seem to operate on speediness and attention-grabbing headlines, but if you are ever concerned about your accounts, sit down with a trusted fiduciary who can explain how all the news may actually affect you. Alan and Randy also take on the concept of advisor loyalty and when it is time to consider a second opinion. Sometimes a change is needed, and sometimes its not, but it never hurts to have a second set of eyes to review your retirement plan.

FOMO: The fear of missing out. Whether you are caught up in the endless financial news cycle, or constant watching the stock tickers, it is easy to get swept in the hype of markets, products, and what your neighbor is doing. If you go down 9% this month, but grew by 239% over the last years, is there need to panic? Just because a talking head on TV is calling for fire and brimstone, the main thing to do is NOT panic and simply call a fiduciary. This week, MWA advisor Alan Mercurio, and host, Randy Cook, will dive into how to push away from the financial news cycle, how to contribute more to your retirement accounts, and how to avoid having FOMO.

Sometimes, we meet with families and they seem to know exactly when they want to retire - down to the day. While having a target date in mind helps, we still ask, "Are you ready to retire?" Retiring from work is more than just not going to your full time job every day, and it can involve much more planning than setting up your SSI. Are you a business owner? How will you transition out of your business? Have you planned for medical costs? If the medical costs outweigh your structured income, are you ready to go back to work? Are you keeping track of all the fees associated with your retirement accounts? When was the last time you had them reviewed? Planning now, so you can retire when you want to, is essential. Looking over all the aspects of retirement - income, insurance, long-term care, wills, estates, and taxes - is all part of our Retirement 360 Game Plan process. The holistic approach to planning your future.

The word "Correction' is circling the news, so what are you doing in case there is a pullback in the market? But other than worrying, learn what actions MWA Advisor Alan recommends in case there is the 10% drop. If you do not secure your accounts in the event of a correction, you will also want to consider preventing these mistakes at the 2018 tax season approaches. Alan and host, Randy Cook discuss the “6 Whopping Tax Mistakes that can Ruin your Retirement”: Retirement Tax Mistake #1: Assuming you will pay less taxes in retirement Retirement Tax Mistake #2: Not Planning for Social Security Taxation Retirement Tax Mistake #3: Forgetting about Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s while you have the chance And with so many things to think about - making the right choice, choosing the best path, planning for the best outcome - how do you make your retirement a priority? While it may seems easy to push off to the side, saving for retirement is necessary today so you will have something tomorrow.

What is a "Market Pullback" and what action should you consider? MWA Advisor, Alan Mercurio and host, Randy Cook, delve in to the details of what to look for, how to understand the highs and lows, and choices you should consider within your portfolio. Always speak with your trusted fiduciary before making any new plans. Should you make changes in your portfolio - do you know how the fees are assigned and how much you may pay over a lifetime? If you add up ATMs, checking, savings, IRA, 401k and other investing…the real number is closer to $369,000.00! Does this number surprise you? Alan and Randy tackle fees and how to cut back to put more money back in YOUR pocket.

When it comes to growing your money - should you play offense or defense? MWA advisor, Alan Mercurio and host, Randy Cook, tackle the pros and cons of both. A defense cannot earn more money, you cannot just save your way to wealth. They touch on 3 steps to playing a smart offense for growth: Set a goal. Determine your financial target. Income. Who’s got your money? Find where it is so you can get it. Earn it. Invest. Find something to invest in that will reproduce money. That said, playing a smart defense and setting up certain protections and insurances, should there be another market correction as seen in past Octobers, like Black Monday in 1987 where the DOW dropped 22% of its value in a single day, could also stave off losses. While you wouldn't necessarily gain anything, you might not lose anything either. Don't forget - November is approaching and that means Open Enrollment for healthcare. If you are signing up for Medicare for the first time check out THESE FAQs to help get you started.

Selecting the right tools, choosing the best date, making sure your funds are all set up to last and stay protected, making sure your will and estate plans are set....there are a number of items to check on your retirement to-do list. Where do you even start? And who is there to help you make the best decisions for you and your family? This week on Retirement 360, MWA advisor, Alan and host, Randy Cook, discuss the importance of paying attention to these items. While no two retirements will look the same, everyone should be following a few steps to success. And then once you can retire, the new life ahead will need planning as you adjust from your 9-5 work schedule to your new normal. Don't forget - November is approaching and that means Open Enrollment for healthcare.

10 years ago this week, the financial markets plummeted and we started the Great Recession. What have we learned? For the young, they learned that the market ebbs and flows. For the senior, they learned the value of preservation and risk management. While there might be a correction on the horizon, lessons can be learned from 2008 and new strategies can be taken to safeguard your wealth. Not only have strategies to protect your wealth changed - but so have options on how to draw out of those buckets. Is it better to take away from taxable accounts first and then withdraw from your tax-free accounts? Well, it depends. Alan will explain the "Tax Bucket" system and how to use it to your benefit. Lastly, for the biggest change to the lives of those around you - how will you plan for end of life, and eventual passing? Is it worth the cost to put into Long Term Care insurance? And, what are the key differences between a will and a trust?