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Confidence Wealth & Insurance Solutions May 20, 2016 No Comments

[Financial Friday] Can You Get to a Million Dollars?

Often in life, you have investment goals that you hope to reach. Say, for example, you have determined that you would like to have $1 million in your investment portfolio by the time you retire. But will you be able to get there?

In trying to accumulate $1 million (or any other amount), you should generally consider how much you have now, how much you can contribute in the future, how much you might earn on your investments, and how long you have to accumulate funds.

Current balance–your starting point

Of course, the more you have today, the less you may need to contribute to your investment portfolio or earn on your investments over your time horizon.

Time (accumulation period)

In general, the longer your time horizon, the greater the opportunity you have to accumulate $1 million. If you have a sufficiently long time horizon and a sufficiently large current balance, with adequate earnings you may be able to reach your goal without making any additional contributions. With a longer time horizon, you’ll also have more time to recover if the value of your investments drops. If additional contributions are required to help you reach your goal, the more time you have to target your goal, the less you may have to contribute.

The sooner you start making contributions, the better. If you wait too long and the time remaining to accumulate funds becomes too short, you may be unable to make the large contributions required to reach your goal. In such a case, you might consider whether you can extend the accumulation period–for example, by delaying retirement.

Rate of return (earnings)

In general, the greater the rate of return that you can earn on your investments, the more likely that you’ll reach your investment goal of $1 million. The greater the proportion of the investment portfolio that comes from earnings, the less you may need to contribute to the portfolio. Earnings can benefit from long time horizons and compound rates of return, as returns are earned on any earlier earnings.

However, higher rates of return are generally associated with greater investment risk and the possibility of investment losses. It’s important to choose investments that meet your time horizon and tolerance for risk. And be realistic in your assumptions. What rate of return is realistic given your current asset allocation and investment selection?

Amount of contributions

Of course, the more you can regularly contribute to your investment portfolio (e.g., monthly or yearly), the better your chances are of reaching your $1 million investment goal, especially if you start contributing early and have a long time horizon.

Contributions needed

Now that the primary factors that affect your chances of getting to a million dollars have been reviewed, let’s consider this question: At a given rate of return, how much do you need to save each year to reach the $1 million target? For example, let’s assume you anticipate that you can earn a 6% annual rate of return (ROR) on your investments. If your current balance is $450,000 and you have 15 more years to reach $1 million, you may not need to make any additional contributions (see scenario 1 in the table below); but if you have only 10 more years, you’ll need to make annual contributions of $14,728 (see scenario 2). If your current balance is $0 and you have 30 more years to reach $1 million, you’ll need to contribute $12,649 annually (see scenario 3); but if you have only 20 more years, you’ll need to contribute $27,185 annually (see scenario 4).

Note: This hypothetical example is not intended to reflect the actual performance of any investment. Actual results may vary. Taxes, fees, expenses, and inflation are not considered and would reduce the performance shown if they were included.

Confidence Wealth & Insurance Solutions May 13, 2016 No Comments

[Financial Friday] Should I loan my child money for a down payment on a house?

For a lot of young people today, it’s difficult to purchase a home without at least some financial assistance. As a result, many young adults turn to their parents or other family members for help with a down payment.

If you plan on lending your child money for a down payment on a house, you should try to assume the role of a commercial lender. Setting the terms of the loan in writing will demonstrate to your child that you take both your responsibility as lender and your child’s responsibility as borrower seriously.

While having an actual loan contract may seem too businesslike to some parents, doing so can help set expectations between you and your child. The loan contract should spell out the exact loan amount, the interest rate and a repayment schedule. To avoid the uncomfortable situation of having to remind your child that a payment is due, consider asking him or her to set up automatic monthly transfers from his or her bank account to yours.

This type of loan documentation is also important for IRS purposes because there may be potential income and gift tax issues with these types of loans. For example, interest paid by your child will be considered taxable income, and if adequate interest is not charged for the loan, special imputed interest rules may apply.

If you don’t feel comfortable lending your child money, you may want to consider making a smaller, no-strings-attached gift that doesn’t have to be repaid. Currently, you can gift up to $14,000 annually per person under the gift tax exclusion. However, if you do gift money for a down payment, your child’s lender may still require him or her to put up some of his or her own money, depending on the type of mortgage chosen.

Keep in mind that lending money to family members can be a tricky proposition. Before entering into this type of financial arrangement, you should take the time to carefully weigh both the financial and emotional costs.

Confidence Wealth & Insurance Solutions May 6, 2016 No Comments

[Financial Friday] Projecting a Happy Retirement

A 2015 study found that 41% of households headed by someone aged 55 to 64 had no retirement savings, and only about a third of them had a traditional pension. Among households in this age group with savings, the median amount was just $104,000.¹

Your own savings may be more substantial, but in general Americans struggle to meet their savings goals. Even a healthy savings account may not provide as much income as you would like over a long retirement.

Despite the challenges, about 56% of current retirees say they are very satisfied with retirement, and 34% say they are moderately satisfied. Only 9% are dissatisfied.²

– Develop a realistic picture

How can you transition into a happy retirement even if your savings fall short of your goals? The answer may lie in developing a realistic picture of what your retirement will look like, based on your expected resources and expenses.

As a starting point, create a simple retirement planning worksheet.

You might add details once you get the basics down on paper.

– Estimate income and expenses

You can estimate your monthly Social Security benefit at ssa.gov. The longer you wait to claim your benefits, from age 62 up to age 70, the higher your monthly benefit will be. If you expect a pension, estimate that monthly amount as well.

Add other sources of income, such as a part-time job, if that is in your plans. Be realistic. Part-time work often pays low wages.

It’s more difficult to estimate the amount of income you can expect from your savings; this may depend on unpredictable market returns and the length of time you need your savings to last. One simple rule of thumb is to withdraw 4% of your savings each year. At that rate, the $104,000 median savings described earlier would generate $4,160 per year or $347 per month (assuming no market gains or losses). Keep in mind that some experts believe a 4% withdrawal rate may be too high to maintain funds over a long retirement. You might use 3% or 3.5% in your calculations.

Now estimate your monthly expenses. If you’ve paid off your mortgage and other debt, you may be in a stronger position. Don’t forget to factor in a reserve for medical expenses.

One study suggests that a 65-year-old couple who retired in 2015 would need $259,000 over their lifetimes to cover Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket health-care expenses, assuming they had only median drug expenses.³

– Take strategic steps

Your projected income and expenses should provide a rough picture of your financial situation in retirement.

If retirement is approaching soon, try living for six months or more on your anticipated income to determine whether it is realistic.

If it’s not, or your anticipated expenses exceed your income even without a trial run, you may have to reduce expenses or work longer, or both.

Even if the numbers look good, it would be wise to keep building your savings. You might take advantage of catch-up contributions to IRAs and 401(k) plans, which are available to those who reach age 50 or older by the end of the calendar year. In 2016, the IRA catch-up amount is $1,000, for a total contribution limit of $6,500. The 401(k) catch-up amount is $6,000, for a total employee contribution limit of $24,000.

Preparing for retirement is not easy, but if you enter your new life phase with eyes wide open, you’re more likely to enjoy a long and happy retirement.

¹ U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Retirement Security,” May 2015
² The Wall Street Journal, “Why Retirees Are Happier Than You May Think,” December 1, 2015
³ Employee Benefit Research Institute, Notes, October 2015

Important Disclosure

Confidence Wealth & Insurance Solutions April 29, 2016 No Comments

[Financial Friday] What are some tips for organizing financial records?

Organizing your financial records is a cyclical process rather than a one-time event. You’ll need to set up a system that helps you organize incoming documents and maintain existing files so that you can easily find what you need.

Here are a few tips.

Create your system

Where you should keep your records and documents depends on how quickly you want to be able to access them, how long you plan to keep them, and the number and type of records you have. A simple set of labeled folders in a file cabinet may be fine, but electronic storage is another option for certain records if space is tight or if you generally choose to receive and view records online. No matter which storage option(s) you choose, try to keep your records in a central location.

File away

If you receive financial statements through the mail, set up a collection point such as a folder or a basket. Open and read what you receive, and decide whether you can file it or discard it. If you receive statements electronically, pay attention to any notifications you receive. Once you get in a routine, you may find that keeping your records organized takes only a few minutes each week.

Purge routinely

Keeping your financial records in order can be even more challenging than organizing them in the first place. Let the phrase “out with the old, in with the new” be your guide. For example, when you get this year’s auto policy, discard last year’s. When you receive an annual investment statement, discard the monthly or quarterly statements you’ve been keeping. It’s a good idea to do a sweep of your files at least once a year to keep your filing system on track (doing this at the same time each year may be helpful).

Think safety

Don’t just throw hard copies of financial paperwork in the trash. To protect sensitive information, invest in a good quality shredder and destroy any document that contains account numbers, Social Security numbers, or other personal information. If you’re storing your records online, make sure your data is encrypted. Use strong passwords, and back up any records that you store on your computer.

Confidence Wealth & Insurance Solutions April 22, 2016 No Comments

[Financial Friday] How long should I keep financial records?

There’s a fine line between keeping financial records for a reasonable period of time and becoming a pack rat. A general rule of thumb is to keep financial records only as long as necessary.

For example, you may want to keep ATM receipts only temporarily, until you’ve reconciled them with your bank statement. But if a document provides legal support and/or is hard to replace, you’ll want to keep it for a longer period or even indefinitely. It’s ultimately up to you to determine which records you should keep on hand and for how long, but here’s a suggested timetable for some common documents.

*The IRS requires taxpayers to keep records that support income, deductions, and credits shown on their income tax returns until the period of limitations for that return runs out–generally three to seven years, depending on the circumstances. Visit irs.gov or consult your tax professional for information related to your specific situation.

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