Speaker 1 0:01
Stay tuned right now for Retire Smart Maryland, the radio hour from Elite Income Advisors, focused on helping you build a stronger financial future and make the best of your retirement years. Retire Smart Maryland covers income and investment strategies, opportunities to help you grow and protect your wealth, examining tax-efficient planning techniques and addresses legacy and estate planning considerations. Also, perspectives on the latest financial headlines and what you need to do. It’s time right now for Retire Smart Maryland with Elite Income Advisors.
Speaker 2 0:36
Welcome in everybody. So glad you’re with us for another episode of Retire Smart Maryland. I’m Mike Bauer here, as always, with Prashant Sabapathi of Elite Income Advisors, serving Ellicott City and also Annapolis, with an office located there as well. Available by appointment there. You can always find them online at eliteincomeadvisors.com. Prashant, we’ve got a busy show today, and I want to start things off with a fascinating story. Most people have probably never heard the name Ted Benna. Back in 1981, this guy found a loophole in the tax code. Boom. Fast forward, it’s the 401k. Used it to create the 401k. There was a lot more to it than that. But the same account that 70 plus million Americans use today, now more than 40 years later, the guy who invented the 401k is saying it doesn’t really work the way it should for a huge share of the workforce. He’s busy trying to build something new to fix it. So, long story short, the the guy who invented the 401k is now saying his own invention isn’t working. What’s your reaction? I
Speaker 3 1:34
think as cost of living has gone up, Mike, you know you’re asking people to save more and more of their earnings pre-tax, and with cost of living going up, with real wages staying kind of stagnant, it feels like I think a lot of people are just kind of up against the wall a little bit and feeling like maybe they can’t save quite as much for retirement as it was always counseled that they should. I mean, I even go back to some of the old advice from you know some of the most popular retirement and financial planning personalities. Let’s say on the radio that used to talk about investing 15% of your wealth just for retirement alone. I think more and more people in this day and age, as the cost of living goes up, are finding that to be a harder and harder task to try to accomplish. Now, certainly, folks that are in higher income brackets, whether it’s you know folks like doctors and attorneys and things like that, I think those people are certainly taking advantage of the 401k. But that, in and of itself, brings up a whole nother kind of can of worms to to talk about, which is the taxation of the 401k. But that being said, I think the average person in America today is finding it really difficult to scrounge up enough money from every paycheck to put 10 or 15% away for retirement, and I think that is a huge long-term concern, not just for the health of the individual’s retire the individual’s retirement plan, but as the stock market as a whole. I think there’s concern surrounding people not investing into the stock market at the same rate that they used to, say, 20 or 30 years ago, so a lot of different layers to this onion. But that being said, generally, I am very concerned about the state of the younger generation’s ability to save for retirement.
Speaker 2 3:32
Prashant, in your book, Fiscal Health Retirement Wealth available for free for anybody listening online at retiremaryland.com. In chapter three, you break out some of the 401k, and you know just specifically you were just talking about stocks, and and you have a fast fact in there, and I’m sure the number is slightly updated since publication. But of the 3.7 million 401k plan participants in 401ks, 94.3 hold equities or stock market investments again, Prashant. I’m reading your words from your book in fiscal health, retirement wealth, available for free from our listeners at retiremaryland.com. So that that’s an astounding number to me. It is.
Speaker 3 4:10
It kind of just speaks to the fact that when you have a 401k, a lot of people have a set it and forget it mentality. You started investing into this 401k years ago when you started with your employer, it sat in stocks because that’s where everybody told you the best place to invest your money was, and then maybe after 1020, 30 years, hopefully you’ve accumulated a significant balance for retirement. The question then becomes: Has your allocation or has your strategy changed at all? The closer you got to retirement, and by the way, I think that there is this misconception that solely because you are getting close to retirement, you should inherently take less risk. I am actually a believer that that one size fits all advice. Is not appropriate. I don’t think that just because you’re getting older that you should take less risk. I think that that decision should determine should be based really on several determining factors. One of them being how much income you need when you retire. Another is of course your age. Another one of them is just your risk capacity. Like, how do you feel about investing your money in the stock market? And so, if you have an old 401k plan that hasn’t been revisited in 10 years or 20 years, maybe you’re not even sure how much money is in there. That can be a good thing in a way because it shows that you’ve just kind of systematically committed to the process, but the closer and closer you get to retirement, I think you have to take a deeper dive. You got to be a lot more sensitive to losing money in those accounts, and so having a very equity or stock-based allocation, heavy allocation, may not be the right thing for you at this stage of the game. If you’re not sure, I always say it’s worthwhile to have a conversation where you could have a professional fiduciary look at this and give you expert advice, and you know we’ll do that. We always open up our phone lines if you wanted to schedule one of those visits. The phone number for today’s program it’s 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387. Dial that number. Schedule a no cost, no obligation retirement review. Let’s dive into that 401k and see what you have and whether or not it’s actually working for you the way that you had hoped. All
Speaker 2 6:32
right, Prashant. So we started off the segment talking about the gentleman who who came up with the idea for the four 1k back in 1981, saying essentially, and he’s got he’s got some plans that he’s working on. He’s putting out there, but for our listeners, the bigger the bigger thing here is okay. Even if the guy who came up with the 450 says the system doesn’t serve everyone well, what should somebody already deep into the 401k take away from this, or somebody who you know maybe is looking for options the way that the founder of the 401k is now proposing
Speaker 3 7:03
to me, the 401k is a really powerful tool, but really it is just one tool. Okay, it was never designed to be someone’s entire retirement plan by itself. And how we know that is when you look at your 401k statement, Mike. It doesn’t tell you anywhere on that statement how much income you could withdraw, how much of a paycheck you could create for yourself, or when your money is scheduled or projected to run out, it doesn’t tell you what your tax rate is likely to be when you take that money out. It doesn’t tell you how much money there might be left over for you to pass on as a legacy, and so, investments are important. Four one Ks are incredibly important in the modern day and age of retirement planning. But it’s just one piece of the puzzle. And in order to make your retirement plan as efficient as well rounded as possible, I think you need all of these different puzzle pieces to fit together at the same time, we need taxes to be a piece of it. We need investments. We need income. We need estate planning and legacy planning. And so, folks, if you’re not sure where that 401k puzzle piece fits in into the broader retirement plan, it’s a great opportunity to schedule that no cost, no obligation visit with me and my team here at Elite Income Advisors. Phone number for today’s program: 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387. Schedule that no cost, no obligation retirement review. Let’s put all these puzzle pieces together, and let’s make sure that you’re actually on track for the retirement that you deserve after three or even four decades of really hard work.
Speaker 4 8:49
Hey, if you want to retire soon, then here’s something that you may not realize until it happens: taxes. They can affect almost every part of your retirement income, your IRA withdrawals, your Social Security required minimum distributions. It all starts working together once retirement begins. That’s why Elite Income Advisors-they help people build retirement income plans that also take taxes into account. Because the goal isn’t just creating income; it’s helping you keep more of it. Call today for your complimentary tax reduction review at 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387.
Speaker 1 9:30
At some point, it’s natural to wonder: Are we on the right track? Will our investments provide the income we need? When exactly should we start Social Security? When do we get started when it comes to estate planning? And even if you already have investments, it’s not always clear how all of the pieces work together. Because retirement planning today isn’t just about one decision; it’s about how income, taxes, investments, and long-term planning should connect together. That’s why receiving a second opinion can be so valuable-not because something is wrong, but to understand what’s. What may need attention and what better opportunities could exist going forward? Elite Income Advisors works with individuals just like you to evaluate their current retirement plan and help bring clarity to those moving parts. So call Elite Income Advisors today to schedule your complimentary second opinion retirement review. 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387, or visit the website eliteincomadvisors.com.
Speaker 2 10:27
Welcome back to Retire Smart Maryland. Thanks so much for spending part of your week with us. I’m Mike Bauer, joined as always with Prashant Sabapathi of Elite Income Advisors. You can reach them 833-856-1387. If anything we talk about today appeals to you, and you think you know what? I really do want to sit down for a conversation with Prashant, and that’s really what that is. It’s a it’s a visit. It’s a conversation. It’s not it’s not anything high pressure when you meet with Prashant Sabapathi of Elite Income Advisors, the headquarters in Ellicott City, also a satellite office in Annapolis, always available online. Elite Income advisors.com. Prashant. I want to I want to talk to you this segment about something that almost every retiree eventually faces. A lot of people put off, and it has to do with the house, and specifically what to do with the house. The home that obviously made a lot of sense while you’re raising a family. Maybe it was close to work at the time, but does it make sense when retirement changes that picture? Downsize, relocate. Some never move anywhere. Dig into exactly where they are. There’s a lot to that decision. So Prashant, for most people, as a matter of fact, the house they’re living in when they retire isn’t their forever home. Why is this such a hard issue for people to tackle when you have this conversation with folks?
Speaker 3 11:43
Well, housing is usually a retiree’s single largest asset, at least in their mind, it is because it’s something that we live in. We can put our hands on it every day, and and quite frankly, deciding to downsize or relocate or stay put, it carries not just massive financial consequences as it pertains to cash flow, taxes, long-term care, just general day-to-day standard of living. But I think it also carries a lot of emotional weight, doesn’t it, Mike? When you live in the same house for 2025, 30 years, making that decision to move is is really a big deal. You’re really kind of separating yourself from 20 or 30 years potentially of memories, and so I think there’s an absolutely an emotional component that goes into it. And you know, current events as it pertains to interest rates and so on and so forth. All those types of things also carry some sort of a financial weight as people go to make the decision. So it’s something that increasingly we’re seeing our clients want to downsize. I mean, certainly you want less stress in retirement, not more. And and what we’re finding is that with these larger houses that are inherently more expensive that come with high tax bills being in the state of Maryland, as you know, I think a lot of our clients are just starting to move on from that, and it’s a really interesting thing to watch year after year. You
Speaker 2 13:10
know, Prashant, I think it’s interesting you brought up kind of the emotional side of things too, because I’m sure that there’s a lot of folks that don’t want to sell the home that has you know the notches on the door frame of the kids growing up, or the shed that you built with your own bare hands out back-you know-that’s that’s got to be a kind of an interesting and difficult element. In addition to all the p’s and q’s you talked about in terms of taxation and and cost and all of that, that emotionally, a lot of folks are tied to that home.
Speaker 3 13:37
Well, that’s exactly it, isn’t it? And I think the the challenge is at what point does one side of that equation outweigh the other side, right? Like at what point does the stress associated with higher taxes and more upkeep and more maintenance does that get outweighed by the fact that hey, I’m just I’m just kind of ready to to go or I want to stay, right? So, like, there’s this balancing act that I feel like not just our clients, but people heading for retirement or in retirement are thinking. The way I kind of think of it is, your family home is like you’re hiking up. It’s like a heavy hiking backpack almost, right? Like you’re you’re hiking when you were raising kids. You were commuting to a job. You needed this massive backpack that was loaded with all your stuff that you might have needed on that long hike. But when you retire, the commute disappears. Your lifestyle changes. Kids leave the house. Your responsibility is really just hopefully to yourself and maybe to your spouse, not necessarily to your kids or anything like that, and so continuing to haul this giant expensive backpack around just out of habit-that’s the type of thing that can exhaust you. So there’s some really interesting data that came out here. Hire Helpers 2026 Retirement Migration Study found that the median retirement. Environment age move was just 11.7 miles. So think about that. I think a lot of people think that hey, we’ll move to the tax free state or we’ll move for warmer weather. But what we’re finding, and we we even see this with our client base, is that people are just moving five or 10 miles down the road just into a different type of living situation. Actually, one of my longest tenured, one of my favorite clients is moving within the exact same town that her con house is in. She’s she’s moving three and a half miles down the street, but she’s going from like you know a 2500 square foot house down to like 1000 square foot condo, and that’s because you know, unfortunately, her spouse had passed away seven or eight years ago. She’s finally to the point now where it’s just too much to upkeep the old family home. She doesn’t need five bedrooms and four bathrooms anymore when it’s just her. So very interesting dynamic,
Speaker 2 15:59
and and everybody has their own individual dynamic. We talked about the emotions that maybe you’re attached to that home, but in that situation, maybe the emotion of being somewhere where now you’re missing a lost loved one becomes even more difficult to stay there. So if you’re staying or you’re going, either path can affect your income plan, your taxes, and your long-term care picture, as well as whatever emotional elements are undoubtedly part of that, and that’s why a complimentary written retirement plan from Prashant Sabapathi and Elite Income Advisors is built to help walk you through that very difficult and important decision. You can set that up. It’s not going to cost you anything. Leave your checkbook at home, but have your calendar ready because you get right on Prashant’s calendar when you call 833-856-1387 that number again 833-856-1387 or [email protected]. So Prashant, what does it actually take to make a home work for aging in place? If somebody’s you know keeping the roots not moving. What does it take to make a home work like that?
Speaker 3 17:04
Well, as we know, like most homes weren’t built with aging in mind, right? Like there’s a lot of modification that could really be necessary if you want to age in place in the in the current housing situation that you’re in, but that could mean anything from things like a stair lift to wider doorways, walk-in tubs in the bathrooms, better lighting, and as you know, Mike, I mean these upgrades they can range. I mean I’m going through like a little bit of a renovation in my basement right now, and the cost of materials is high, the cost of labor is high. I feel like contractors have a lot of work that they’re getting through, so you never know. Like, are you getting the best price or whatever? So when we talk about upgrading property, especially in this area in Maryland, you could see huge variance in cost. So I think it’s worth planning for them well before they become urgent. Like you’d always rather, I think, update things too soon than have to do them too late, right? And so I think that’s a a big deal. And so whether or not you stay in your home or you modify the home by and stay in it, or you end up moving, I think you should have some sense of what that’s going to look like and what the financial impact of either scenario is ultimately going to be on your plan. What we found, though, when we’ve had clients come over and maybe they’ve been with other advisors and they come over to our firm, I’ve had so many people over the years tell me things like, “Hey, we never planned for this or planned for different scenarios proactively. I would have a scenario, and I would say, hey, now I need to downsize, and then our advisor would take us through that scenario. But we didn’t understand what the options were, whether we downsized or not, or if we stayed, what it would look like. If we downsized, what it would look like. So basically, what I’m saying is, I think you just have to do the the homework ahead of time so that you know what your options are. You don’t want to wait till you’re ready to make the decision to evaluate the options. You should know years ahead of time approximately what that could look like. Yet, so many advisors I feel like are not running these scenarios for clients, and my question is, why not?
Speaker 2 19:24
Yeah, and and Prashant, I mean, you know, you’re specifically talking about options. There are there options outside of selling a home in terms of okay, maybe we’re not want to don’t don’t want to relocate, but a way to maybe access home equity without moving. Is there something out there that other than putting the home on the market and moving, that people can can explore can learn from from you about their options.
Speaker 3 19:48
Look, I think there’s a lot of talk in the past about things like reverse mortgages. You know, formally there are home equity conversion mortgages, which allows you to access your home equity as. A standby line of credit without selling the house or taking on traditional monthly payments. But here’s the thing: it’s not the right thing for everybody. It could be beneficial for some retirees, as you know, could act as a buffer that helps protect the rest of your portfolio during a market downturn. But these things oftentimes have a lot of moving parts. They oftentimes have pretty steep consequences if they’re not thought through and planned for appropriately. So before you do something like a home equity conversion mortgage or reverse mortgage, you want to evaluate your portfolio as a whole. I think what it comes back to more than anything, I think the single biggest driver of retirement success is to look at a client’s income. I’ve said for years that the higher the income is in retirement, the better the outcome tends to be. And so, with your house being potentially one of your largest assets, you want to make sure that you have consistent, reliable income built into your plan through things like dividends or annuities or pensions or Social Security. You want to make sure that those things are in place so that you don’t have to make a rash decision or a huge decision like a reverse mortgage. But that being said, there are several ways to think through your income in retirement. I think you should explore all those ways before you figure out what the best is for you.
Speaker 2 21:28
For a lot of folks, it’s a lifestyle decision, but for everybody, it’s a financial decision. And if you want the real numbers, not just a guess, if you’re weighing this decision of relocating or downsizing, give Prashant Sabapathi and the team at Elite Income Advisors a call 833-856-1387. You can always go online to eliteincomeadvisors.com. Set up a scheduled meeting with them in Annapolis, or you can always drop in at the headquarters, Ellicott City, Maryland. Obviously, is where they hang out most of the time. Prashant, you know we talked a lot about emotion, but specifically financially, let’s talk taxes. When somebody is looking at relocating or downsizing or changing their living arrangement, however that may be, what is the first thing they need to consider? They need to ask you when it comes to taxes.
Speaker 3 22:17
Two things come to mind. Number one is: Are there actually going to be taxes when you sell the house? Okay, just because you’re selling a primary residence does not automatically mean that it will be excluded from taxation. You’re only allowed to exclude a certain amount of gains on your primary residence. So number one is: Are you going to owe taxes if you sold your house? You have to answer that question and understand that answer first and foremost. Secondly, if you are moving, where you move to will absolutely impact your tax situation. If you’re going to move to a state that has zero income tax at the state level, that could be beneficial. But at what cost? Is cost of living higher or lower than your current situation. The second thing I’d look at, Mike, is it’s not just about selling your primary residences. We’ve had so many clients who have invested into rental properties over the year, and now they’re considering that the rental property is too much work, and so they want to sell that property as well to free up some additional cash flow, get some additional equity out of their situation, but there could be taxation associated with selling an investment property. So, look, folks, if you’re staring at a house that’s become too much work, if you’re wondering if you know selling a house could free up some cash flow that you need for potentially healthcare, travel, what I want you to do is not make an emotional decision. Let’s sit down. Let’s think about this from the standpoint of how it impacts your plan as a whole. If you don’t know where your where to start, or if you’re not sure if your advisor is even the right person to help you through a big decision like this, the phone number it’s 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387. Schedule your no obligation and no cost retirement review today.
Speaker 4 24:08
Call the team at Elite Income Advisors for your free portfolio review and risk assessment at 833-856-1387. You know the market feels a lot different when retirement starts getting closer. When you’re younger, a bad market year feels annoying. But when you’re thinking about retirement income, it can feel very, very personal. A lot of people right now are wondering if they’re taking too much risk or if their investments are really lined up for this stage of life. That’s why the team at Elite Income Advisors they offer a free portfolio risk report and a protection review to help you understand where you stand. Call Elite Income Advisors today at 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387, or visit Elite Income Advisors.
Speaker 1 25:02
Some financial representatives are required to work within a corporate system, and others have the flexibility to work beyond it. In some environments, advisors may be limited to certain tools, products, or approaches, often shaped by the structure of the organization they represent. It can influence how recommendations are made and how strategies are built over time. Independent financial advisors may have the ability to evaluate a broader range of options based on a client’s specific situation. When you’re planning for retirement, that flexibility can play a role in how your income strategy, tax planning, and investment decisions come together. Because your financial life isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, and the strategy built around it shouldn’t be either. Elite Income Advisors operates as an independent financial advisory firm focused on building retirement strategies around your goals, your timeline, and your financial situation. Elite Income Advisors’ objective is to provide guidance that is clear, objective, and aligned with what matters most to you, so call Elite Income Advisors today from Retire Smart Maryland and schedule your complimentary retirement review. 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387, or go to their website Elite Income advisors.com.
Speaker 4 26:17
Call the team at Elite Income Advisors for your free written income plan right now 833 850-613-8071. of the biggest fears people have about retirements-it’s pretty simple: running out of money. Because retirement today could last 25 or even 30 years, and people wonder all the time whether their savings will really support them throughout all those years, including the health care costs and everything else that life throws at you, the team at Elite Income Advisors they help people create income-focused retirement plans designed to help bring more confidence and clarity to the future. Call the team at Elite Income Advisors today 833 850-613-8071. more time 833-856-1387 or. visit eliteincomadvisors.com.
Speaker 2 27:06
Hey, thanks so much for listening to Retire Smart Maryland. I’m Mike Bauer, joined with Prashant Sabapathi of Elite Income Advisors. Always great to have him on the program. You can reach him in Ellicott City. They also have a satellite office in Annapolis. Elite Income advisors.com is the website, or you can always just pick up the phone. Give them a call: 833-856-1387. That visit, a sit down conversation with Prashant, isn’t going to cost you anything. 833-856-1387. Prashant, last segment we were literally just you wrapped up. You were talking about taking emotion out of financial decisions, it is quite literally a conversation we have often on this program. But there’s there’s a smaller and and kind of quieter emotional struggle that might affect a huge number of retirees and folks listening right now, and that’s the hesitation to actually spend the money they worked their whole lives to save. Prashant, do you do you find that you specifically have to give people sometimes a license to spend in retirement, if you will, to to go James Bond on you? I
Speaker 3 28:10
think this is one of the neatest things about what I do every single day, because when we do these retirement reviews with existing clients, so folks that have come on with us, and we’ve created a plan, and now we’re servicing and doing maintenance on those plans. So many of our clients are stuck in the savers mindset. They were used to saving money because they watched their parents maybe struggle or go through the Great Depression or whatever it was. Grandparents, parents, they did a really good job saving money, and I think that that saver’s mindset is one that’s really difficult to shift from saving to spending. And so I don’t like to refer to it as a license to spend, Mike, because at the end of the day, it’s their money,
Speaker 1 28:58
yeah,
Speaker 3 28:59
and they should be able to do with it whatever they want. They certainly don’t need my permission. But that being said, what gives people confidence to be able to spend the way that I think that they deserve to is being able to have proof that their spending is not going to derail them. How often do advisors and and if you’re listening in the car right now, maybe your advisor said this to you. If you’re listening on the podcast, has your advisor ever said to you, “Yeah, you have enough money. Go ahead and spend. Go ahead and take that trip and travel. And then for some reason, it doesn’t land for you. You don’t believe them, or you’re still scared to do it, even after they tell you that it’s okay. Why do you think that is? To me, Mike, I think it’s because taking someone’s word for it is not good enough. If it was me, I would want to see proof. Yeah, meaning I want to see analysis that’s supported by. Real data-that’s projected analysis based on the investment portfolio that I have, or that the guaranteed income streams that I have-that spending that 10 or 20 or $30,000 on a dream trip is not going to affect me. Yet, I think so many advisors do not deliver proof. They effectively take an attitude of, “Hey, I’m the expert. Take my word for it. Well, even if you are the expert, what I found is taking taking somebody’s word for it is just not good enough in this day and age. Which is why we like to deal with facts, we like to deal with data, and we like to be able to support people’s emotional decisions in being able to spend money with real, real hard data, and I think that’s really important in this day and age.
Speaker 2 30:49
If you’re out there listening and you’ve had that conversation with your with your advisor and you said, “Hey, can I go on this vacation? They say, “Yeah, sure, you’re good, or you’ll be fine, or no big deal. Enjoy the trip, and then you actually asked a huge follow-up question, Prashant, which is why or how? Why should I do this, or how can I do this? And they don’t come at you with analysis and real data, then that is absolutely worth a phone call because that question will be answered a lot differently by Prashant Sabapathi and the team at Elite Income Advisors. You ask that question: Will I be good? They’re going to give you analysis and real data and show you why, not just the the the nice little warm blanket of you’re going to be fine. 833-856-1387 is the number to call. You can always go online eliteincomadvisors.com. Build a complimentary plan with Prashant and the team. Now, Prashant, you talked about when I asked you, you know, about, and I apologize for using license to spend, but somebody walks in the door with confusion. You provide clarity, and they walk out with confidence. I think that’s what you’re talking about when you say this is one of the coolest parts of your job, or one of your favorite parts of doing what you do.
Speaker 3 32:00
Well, there was this Corbridge Financial study. I thought this was really interesting. This study came out that said this was Corbridge Financial’s 2026 decumulation survey found that 38% of retirees have spent less than they wanted to specifically to preserve the size of their retirement nest egg. That same survey found that 70% of retirees, seven out of 10, consider it very important that their nest egg not shrink at all during retirement. And so these are real problems that people are having a hard time solving. They’re either not spending enough because they’re concerned, or they’re not spending enough because they don’t want to see their balances go down. Both, I think, very legitimate types of concerns. But what would it mean to you if you had a plan, or you could look at one sheet of paper and know that your income would always be what you needed it to be. Okay, and I’m not saying that that is possible, by the way, for every single person. But if you’re sitting at home listening, thinking my advisor’s always just told me it’s going to be okay, but I’ve never actually been able to verify it by looking at something concrete. What would it mean to you if you were able to look at something concrete. How much stress would that alleviate in your financial life? What would that do for your mental state of mind? What would that allow you to do with your money so that you could actually enjoy retirement and not have to worry every single day about hey, am I growing or am I shrinking or hey, do I actually have enough to retire? I think that’s really what this comes down to, Mike. At the end of the day, you can visit with any number of different advisors, and look, there’s four advisors in my building. Okay, but that being said, I think the people that are a good fit for us and are and we’re good fit for them, it tends to be because they’re looking for something that they haven’t gotten yet, and that ultimately comes back to proof. And so, if you find yourself in that 70% that thinks it’s very important to make sure that your nest egg not shrink, and you haven’t figured out how to do it just yet, you’re going to call this phone number 833-856-1387 and schedule that appointment. Let’s just have a conversation about whether or not you’re actually on track.
Speaker 2 34:24
Okay, I don’t want to get into psychology too much here, but I mean we’re kind of programmed, and you talked about this. We’re programmed 3040, years of working. You look at your account balance; that paycheck hits, it goes up. You open up the app on your phone. You’re hoping for green numbers on the stock market that day with your investments or whatever it is. I mean, you know, even if you’re maybe you’re like me and and you dabble in some sports wagering every once in a while, I want to check my bet and see that it won. Now, when money’s coming out in retirement, that’s not a bad thing. You’re not losing money. It’s part of the plan, right, Prashant? I’m sure there’s a psychological. That’s hard for those of us who are hardwired to go for the high score, like we’re playing, you know, Donkey Kong, and then to actually psychologically shift to the money’s coming out. It’s okay. It’s part of the plan.
Speaker 3 35:12
Well, when asked directly, most people say they’d rather die with money left over than run out while they’re still alive, right? I mean, that’s kind of makes sense, and that instinct is precisely what drives a lot of the caution that we see with retirement spending. But I think it’s worth asking the follow-up question, which is, what would you regret not doing while you had the health and the time to do it? And look, both sides of of the equation, both of these risks are real, but I think the mark of a good plan is that it accounts for both scenarios, not just guards against only one of them. I think there should be a scenario where you can do the things that you want to do and not set yourself up so that you’re just constantly sacrificing for the rest of your life, only to die with a couple million dollars, like that doesn’t seem right to me. But by the same token, if you end up living to be 100 years old, like my grandmother who passed away earlier this year, she was 100 years old. You want to make sure that you have enough money to make that scenario work out as well. So a good practical first step is to separate the emotional reaction from the actual numbers. When you’re able to look at one sheet of paper and know what your income is going to be, if you’re able to look at one sheet of paper and make sure that you understand your net worth or your taxes, I think that is what gives people confidence. A plan that lays out guaranteed income, a sustainable rate of withdrawal, having a cushion for the unexpected. Those are precisely the types of things that can turn a vague fear into specific, data-driven, testable plan with answers. Okay, so if you’re not sure how to do that, if your advisor hasn’t done that, maybe you’re a do-it-yourselfer who doesn’t know how to test this phase of your financial plan. 833-856-1387. Schedule that review in Ellicott City. It’s about a one-hour visit. It’s totally free of cost. We’re going to talk about the things that are specifically important to you when you make that phone call and schedule that appointment. You are not agreeing to do business with us. You’re not agreeing to become a client. All you’re doing is scheduling some time to sit down with a pro to talk through what’s important to you and to figure out whether or not we’re even the right match for each other. 833-856-1387.
Speaker 4 37:47
Call the team at Elite Income Advisors today to claim your free tax reduction review at 833-856-1387. A lot of people spend years focused on growing their retirement accounts, but once retirement starts, the conversation shifts pretty quickly. The taxes because what matters isn’t just how much you’ve saved; it’s how much you actually get to keep. Elite Income Advisors they help people build retirement income strategies that look at taxes, that look at withdrawals, and also long-term planning together instead of separately. Call the team at Elite Income Advisors today at 833 850-613-8071. more time: 833-856-1387. Or visit eliteincomadvisors.com.
Speaker 1 38:30
Have you noticed how much more everyday costs seem higher than they did just a few years ago? Whether it’s groceries, gas, dining out, healthcare costs, or even home and auto repairs. Many people are feeling those increases in their day-to-day lives. Even though national inflation rates may move up or down over time, the cost of living tends to build up gradually, quietly, year after year, like climbing the stairs. And when you’re no longer earning a paycheck, rising costs can slowly reduce what income is available to purchase for you. So, does your current plan account for rising costs? 10 years, 15, or 20 years into retirement, will your income keep pace with increasing expenses? Are your investments positioned in a way that may help offset higher costs over time while protecting what you’ve saved? Elite Income Advisors works with individuals to build retirement income strategies that take inflation into account, helping align income, investments, and long-term planning needs. Call Elite Income Advisors today from Retire Smart Maryland to request your complimentary retirement income review. 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387, or go to their website eliteincomeadvisors.com.
Speaker 2 39:46
Thanks so much for listening to Retire Smart Maryland. I’m Mike Bauer. I’m more importantly, though, I’m joined by Prashant Sabapathi of Elite Income Advisors, and he’s available for conversation to visit with you. It’ll take about an hour of your time, and you can set that up. It’s not going to cost you anything as well. 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387 online at eliteincomadvisors.com. I mean, just imagine that if you go to the if you go to the mechanic and you ask that something’s wrong with your car, you want them to take a look at the sound that’s going on or the light is on. It’s going to cost you just for them to pop open the hood and take a look. It’s not going to cost you anything for Prashant to open up the hood and take a look at your income, at your tax planning, at your legacy planning for retirement. Give him and the team at Elite Income Advisors a call at 833-856-1387. Ellicott City is where the headquarters is. They also have that satellite office in Annapolis, so serving all of Central Maryland for Sean. And I want to go out to some of our questions from our listeners over the weeks. I’ve got one, and it’s I’m about six months away from retirement, but my company just offered me a buyout that would end my job three years earlier than I planned. Does that change everything, or could that actually be an opportunity? It
Speaker 3 41:06
could be either. Remember, a buyout isn’t automatically good or bad. It just creates almost a new set of decisions that you have to consider. And so, before you decide to accept the buyout or not, we really want to understand kind of whether or not that package strengthens your retirement plan as a whole, or if it actually, in in a way, creates a hole that has to be filled somewhere else. Like for example, if it’s going to force you into retiring three years early, how are you going to make up the income gap over that three years if you don’t have enough money saved, and maybe you do have enough money saved. Maybe you don’t, but these are precisely the things that you’ll have to look at. So you want to compare the buyout to the income that you’ll actually be giving up. You’ll want to evaluate things like healthcare costs, specifically if you are before the age of Medicare, which would be age 65, and then of course you want to review how taking that buyout potentially could affect things like your Social Security benefit in the future. Because if you’re having three less years of earnings, that could be a bad thing for your Social Security potentially. You got to evaluate how it’s going to impact your taxes, and then of course things like long term care. Right, if you’re losing out on income, does that impact how you would deal with a major health event in the future? Of course, the right answer is going to be buried in your plan, which is why you have to look at every component to the plan before you make a decision like this. But that being said, a buyout isn’t automatically good or bad. You just have to evaluate whether or not it’s the right thing at the right time for your specific situation, Mike. All
Speaker 2 42:48
right, Prashant, we’re bouncing around with questions from our listeners in this segment of Retire Smart Maryland. Here’s another one. Said, let’s see. I recently inherited some money from a parent. Okay, that sounds good. Should I pay off my mortgage, invested for retirement, or just leave it in savings? Apparently, you only have three options here, Prashant. So that’s what Jared put out there. Should I pay off my mortgage, invest it for retirement, or just leave it in savings?
Speaker 3 43:13
Well, it depends, doesn’t it? It depends on several things. It depends on how much you already have saved for retirement. So maybe you’re already set up properly for retirement, and you don’t need to invest it. Maybe it would be better suited paying off your mortgage because if the mortgage was paid off, you now don’t have this monthly payment, which now frees up a lot of cash flow potentially for you. Should I just leave it in savings? I mean, I’m a big proponent of using three buckets of money when you get to or close to retirement, having a bank bucket, which is good for liquid emergency cash, green bucket, which is for guaranteed income, and then a red bucket, which should be invested in the market. Well, if your bank bucket doesn’t have six months or 12 months of savings in it, maybe keeping the inheritance just in savings could be the right thing for you. So, look, it’s a great problem to have, but there is no automatic answer. And yet, so many advisors would take a question like this and just say, “You know what? You should automatically pay off your mortgage because having no debt is the most important thing. Well, that could be right for a lot of people, but for some people, having a mortgage and investing that money could be a better solution for you. So you want to consider interest rates, you want to consider taxes, you want to consider liquidity, you want to match up the money to your biggest financial need. I’ve said for years that every dollar in your plan needs to have its own purpose. Okay, some dollars are better suited for paying down debt. Some dollars are better suited for investment. Until you look at your plan holistically and understand what each dollar is actually supposed to be doing, it’s really hard to give cookie cutter advice on the radio. On a podcast, definitely sit down with a pro, evaluate everything, and then make an informed decision from there.
Speaker 2 45:08
And you can do that with Prashant and the team at Elite Income Advisors online, EliteIncomeAdvisors.com. You can also just give them a call. Get right on Prashant’s calendar: 833-856-1387. That number again is 833-856-1387. All right, Prashant. Next up, next question is: My employer is offering me a pension buyout, a lump sum instead of monthly payments for life. How do I know which option is better?
Speaker 3 45:36
Okay, at risk of going back to the default answer of hey, evaluate your whole plan. I think I’ve kind of said that enough. Here are the things you should consider. Okay, obviously, you want to look at the lump sum value and what that is worth. So let’s just use a hypothetical. Let’s say that they are going to offer you either a lump sum of half a million dollars, or they’re going to give you a guaranteed lifetime income of say $2,500 per month. I’m making up these numbers, okay, just approximately, just to make my point. You’re going to want to compare the lifetime income versus the additional flexibility that you get by doing the lump sum. Meaning, if you took the lump sum, could you create an equivalent or better amount of income by taking and harnessing that lump sum. So that’s number one thing to consider: compare guaranteed lifetime income versus lump sum investment control. Number two: evaluate survivor benefits and inflation protection. This is particularly important if you are married. So if you’re married and you do not take the lump sum. What happens to that monthly income? Is is your spouse going to get all of it, some of it, or none of it if you pass away? Secondly, on that point, is does the income increase with inflation each and every year? If the answer is yes, how much does it increase by? If the answer is no, is that a concern? Because 10 years from now, those dollars are not going to go quite as far as the cost of living goes up. And so, when you evaluate all these different factors, whether it’s income versus investments, whether it’s survivor benefits and inflation protection, you have to consider all this data before making that decision, because typically when you make a pension decision like that, whether it’s income versus lump sum, typically those decisions are irreversible. So you don’t want to be five years, 10 years, 12 years into retirement thinking, “Oh my goodness, I made a mistake when I retired. Make sure that you’re not going to make that mistake, which is why, which why I always say the one thing that you cannot make that decision without is confidence. You have to have confidence that you are making the right decision at the right time for you and your situation. If you’re going through this, and we’ve seen this with some of the defense contractors in the area around Fort Meade, we’ve seen this with some of the big communications companies. I’ll leave them unnamed, but we have clients at a lot of these firms. They’re they’re doing these offers, and so I’ve had a ton of these conversations in the last five years alone. If you find yourself in this situation, give us a call. Let’s just talk about it and figure out which option is the best for you.
Speaker 2 48:21
833-856-1387 is the number to give Prashant a call. You can also go online eliteincomadvisors.com. Hey Prashant, one more here here, and I really think this is going to hit home with a lot of people listening, a lot of families. My adult child wants to move back home indefinitely while figuring things out, I want to help, but I’m worried it could delay my retirement. How do I handle that?
Speaker 3 48:46
Well, it’s both a financial decision and a family decision. Oh yeah, like helping family. I think we all want to do that to the extent that we can, but retirement has to remain financially sustainable. It’s it’s it’s a decision of trade-offs, right? Like, what is it worth to you from a family kind of standpoint if it meant delaying your retirement two or three years? And I’m not saying that will be the case for everybody, but if you did have to delay your retirement by a year or two simply to support an adult child who wants to move back home, is that going to be something that you’re willing to take on? So typically, when we run into cases like this with our clients, the advice is pretty pretty straightforward. Number one, set clear expectations and timelines. Okay, and understand the financial impact before blindly agreeing to it, and protect your retirement, and do so in a way that you don’t have to sacrifice having compassion. So maybe there are other alternatives that you can still be a part of that might not include your adult child moving home, but could still give you the opportunity to support the. In their life’s journey, I think about retirement choices like a complex domino setup on your kitchen table, right? And removing any one domino or accidentally hitting one down could set off a chain reaction that is really difficult to clean up after the fact. So if you’re facing that big life-changing decision now, whether it’s a company buyout, pension lump sum, maybe you’re scheduled to inherit money, or maybe you do have family needs and how to balance that with your own future. Don’t make an irreversible mistake in isolation. Retirement decisions are deeply connected, and so work with a professional to look at your entire picture and figure out what the right decision is for you. 833-856-1387 to schedule your no cost no obligation retirement review. 833-856-1387. Visit eliteincomeadvisors.com. Check out the events tab. Check out the resource center for a ton of great resource to help you through your decision making process.
Speaker 2 51:07
And you can always get your free copy of Prashant’s book, Fiscal Health, Retirement, Wealth, at retiremaryland.com. On behalf of Prashant Sabapathi and the entire team at Elite Income Advisors, I’m Mike Bauer. This has been retire smart, Maryland, and we’ll see you next week. A
Speaker 1 51:23
million dollars used to look like the clear finish line for retirement, but in today’s world, that target may not look large enough for today’s costs. With longer life expectancies, rising expenses, and potential tax considerations, the sum needed for retirement can look very different than it did years ago. The real question isn’t just how much you’ve saved; it’s how that money is structured to support you over time. Call Elite Income Advisors today to receive your complimentary written retirement plan at 833-856-1387. How will your investments generate income? How could taxes affect withdrawals? What about health care or unexpected expenses? At Elite Income Advisors, they focus on building comprehensive retirement strategies designed to help you navigate those decisions with greater clarity. So call Elite Income Advisors today to receive your complimentary written retirement plan at 833-856-1387. That’s 833-856-1387.
Speaker 4 52:28
Annuity guarantees are subject to the claims-payability of the issuing insurance company. If you withdraw money from or surrender your contract within a certain period of time after investing, the insurance company may assess a surrender charge. Withdrawals may be subject to tax penalties and income taxes. Persons selling annuities and other insurance products receive compensation for these transactions. Products are subject to fees and additional expenses. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income streams refer only to the fixed insurance products. They do not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products. Information presented on this program is believed to be factual and up to date, but we do not guarantee its accuracy, and it should not be regarded as complete analysis of the subjects discussed. Discussion should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the investments mentioned. Professional advisors should be consulted before implementing any of the strategies discussed. Investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment or strategy will be suitable or profitable for a client’s portfolio. Investment advisory services offered through Elite Income Advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor located in Ellicott City, Maryland. The firm only conducts business in states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered or exempt from registration requirements. Registration is not an endorsement of the firm by securities regulators and does not mean the advisor has achieved a specific level of skill or ability. Content should not be viewed as personalized financial advice. Insurance and annuity products are sold separately through Retirement Planning Services Incorporated. Neither firm is affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or the IRS. Social Security, Medicare, pension, and tax rules are subject to change at any time. Insurance and annuity products are sold separately through Retirement Planning Services Incorporated. President Ozer Culhagil, Prashant Sabapathi and Jonathan DeFeo receive commissions for the sale of insurance products as insurance agents for Retirement Planning Services Incorporated. Insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Morgan Patrick is not a client of or affiliated with Elite Income Advisors. However, he has a financial incentive to promote our services because he was compensated for his work on Retire Smart Maryland. The program is the paid production of Elite Income Advisors.
