Access to income in retirement is a hot topic. Have you heard the “gold watch” retirement parable?
It’s partially about the tradition of companies giving their life-long employees a gold watch upon retirement. This is back when people used to work for the same company their whole lives.
Lately, it’s been used to tell a different kind of retirement story: the one where retired folks in gold watches are back at work.
What is on their wrist indicates they should be retired, but rather, they’re greeting you at the grocery, processing your pictures, or delivering your packages.
No one likes to see people who have clearly worked their entire lives back at work.
Now, I’m not talking about the people who take a job just to get out of the house.
I’m talking about the mounting number of retirees who are being forced back to work because of market conditions and inflation.
If you are still in your working years or even nearing retirement, the very best thing you can do to avoid this scenario is identify the ways you will access your income during retirement. Make sure you have multiple sources of income, with at least one or two being tax-free.
Access to Income in Retirement
Like most, putting in a shift when you should be enjoying retirement is not the goal.
The goal is to have enough income to enjoy life regardless of a down market or cost of living.
Most people invest for retirement traditionally, using 401ks, IRAs, the stock market, and other equities.
All of these are affected by the market and/or interest rates.
When things are down, you do not want to touch these assets. Why?
Because taking money from an account that’s on a downswing – with no ability/plan to replace that money – means your nest egg will have a costly negative impact.
It isn’t able to recover from the market downturn, and begin earning income again.
There is no faster way to go broke than withdrawing from your equity investments in a down market.
So, how are retirees supposed to pay for things if they can’t pull from their retirement accounts?
I hate to say it, but it’s actually pretty simple:
Draw from your buffer assets.
What is a Buffer Asset?
They are the kind of assets to utilize when your other accounts should remain untouched while their values recover. Buffer Assets are investments less affected by market downturns.
My area of expertise is Premium Financed Life Insurance, where you utilize your life insurance (an asset) as an investment vehicle to grow wealth for retirement.
Just like contributions you make to a 401k or IRA, you can contribute to your insurance policy and overfund it.
This instantly gives the policy cash value for which the insurance company pays interest. Best of all, that interest grows tax-free.
Policy holders have access to the income generated by this interest at any time. It works just like a high yield savings account in the sense that it has no fees and no taxes/fees upon distribution.
Again, I liken it to a 401k because it’s ideal for saving over a long period of time enabling that interest to grow, grow, grow.
The best time to look into Premium Financed Life Insurance is early in your professional career. However, starting where you are is ALWAYS better than not starting at all.
Whether you’re in your 20’s or 60’s, PFLI may be a great addition to your portfolio to help ensure you have access to income in retirement.
Can Anyone Invest in Premium Financed Life Insurance?
There are parameters around these kinds of policies. Recently, the premium financed life insurance investing niche has become more accessible.
On the positive side, the 1% are not the only ones over funding their policies to invest more and receive higher returns. For instance, one of the minimum EFS requirements is a household annual income of $200,000 per year. Typical investors who invest in PFLI want:
Lower-risk assets
Pay 0% taxes on growth and on retirement income
Secure tax-free legacy for your beneficiaries
Exploring new ways to broaden investments
If you’d like to learn more, consider discovering ways Enhanced Funding Solutions can work with you.
Learn more about how we can help make your money work smarter for you. Reach out any time: jeff@enhancedfunding.com or 773-318-9608.