July 28, 2025 • 6 mins
Dan Lauraine with Drake and Associates joins us for a Talk of the Town!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Talk of the Town on news radio with thirteen
hundred and one oh six nine FM at Steve Kelly
and Brett Pikata from West Michigan's Morning News. Here with
Retirement Ready radio shows and Drake and Associates Dan the
Rain once again, Dan, thanks for doing this today.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome. I appreciate it, guys, thanks for having me on
again to.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Get a hold of the folks at Drake and Associates
six one six, six hundred seven two four seven. Between
ups and downs of markets, the risk of inflation rising prices.
Planning for retirement can feel like an endurance test, right
can your retirement plan stand up to that stress? Today?
Dan of Drake and Associates will break down some of
the biggest stressors on your retirement plan and share actionable
(00:41):
steps to help you stay on track. Dan, So many
things can take a toll on a retirement plan. What
are some of the biggest financial stress people should be
aware of?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I think probably the biggest stress that people need to
be aware of when it comes to their retirement plan.
You know it starts with taxes. Tax Is are going
to be a problem for most retirees. A lot of
people like to think that taxes are going to be
lower in retirement, and while that may be the case
the first few years in the retirement, that's not necessarily
case throughout. You know, other stressors are poor investment decisions
(01:14):
and obviously the healthcare expenses and things that come along
with that.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
How about market swings, Dan, We've certainly felt those and
Steve and I watch are four to one case and
then don't when we feel like it's going to swing
the other way. But how can retirees or those near
retirement handle that.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
That's a really great question, and we have seen a
lot of volatilty in recent months, and I think it's
critical for anyone that's investing in the market to understand
what their risk comfort zone is and have an understanding
of whether or not their investment portfolio is correlated with that.
I mean, knowing how to manage their investments within their
risk comfort zone is critical to making good decisions. You know,
(01:54):
if they're taking too much risk above their comfort level,
then they end up making poor investment decision is because
they'll panic in times of high volatility and usually make
a bad decision. So it's it's having that investment portfolio
matching up with their risk comforts and is critical.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Again to contact the team and drake An Associates six
one six six hundred seven to two four seven. So
DAN inflation is a big concern. It's been coming down
likely likely lately, but there's no telling when it could
go back up. What's the best way to protect retirement
income from rising costs?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
That's a great question again, I think when it comes
to dealing with inflation, things are going to cost more
as years go on. We all know that having a
customized income distribution plan is critical to be able to
manage how inflation is going to impact that retirement income
need and being able to maintain their lifestyle for twenty
thirty years into retirement. You know, understanding what buckets to pull,
(02:50):
what accounts to pull from in what order you know,
and how to maximize you know, your growth and the
income distributions and minimize taxes is critical to you know,
battling some of the inflationary concerns.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
What about economic downturns, I mean, how can retire reease
feel financially steady during tough times, whether it's inflation, whether
it's they thought they were going to maybe do a
part time job in retirement and all of a sudden
those jobs aren't available. What would you say there, Dan.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, I think you know, one of the best strategies
to kind of mitigate some of those things like economic
downturns and market fluctuations is having what I like to
call a growth and a safe bucket strategy. Having a
growth bucket allows you to invest for the long term
and grow the assets. But that safe bucket is that
safety net where you draw income from when we have
(03:37):
times of economic downturns. And I always like to tell
the families we serve, you know, if we're doing our
job right, you're safe whether the economic economy is going
well or the economy is not going well and you're
not paying attention to what the markets are.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Doing, if you're just tuning in. We're talking about major
stressors on retirement plans with Dan the Rain of Drake
and Associates. You'll hear their Retirement Ready radio show on
WHAT Radio Saturday at seven am. Dan, you've talked about
putting a retirement plan through a stress test. What does
that mean?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, when when we look at the overall plan and
try to, you know, put different stress tests in place,
we're we're really trying to, for lack of a better word,
break the plan. We want to see at what rate
of inflation is the income level not going to sustain
and fail? And at what point, you know, from a
rate of return standpoint on your assets growing, is that
(04:29):
going to you know, if we draw that way down
and you don't get as much growth as you maybe
have been used to, is that going to cause you
around of money. So we're trying to stress rate a
return inflationary pressure things like taxes, long term care expenses,
and even the death of a spouse to see how
does the plan react when any of these things happen,
(04:50):
because we never know when we're going to be.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Faced with those and that takes it one step further.
I just wanted to ask you that what conditions are
you testing in that stress test process? Are there other
ones besides the ones you just mentioned?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
You know, I think one of the things that we'll
do when you look at the stress tests beyond that
is we'll look at it in various market conditions. So
we'll run their overall plan through bold market history scenarios
like twenty thirteen, or we'll run it through twenty twenty
two when we had that down market in both equities
and fixed income was getting you know, penalized. We'll run
(05:23):
it through scenarios like we had with the Great Recession
and no wait in the dot com bubble burst in
the two early two thousands. So we're going to run
the plan through a lot of those various market stresses
as well to see how does the plan react. Are
we still going to be safe or do we run
out of money and we need to make some adjustments,
you know, kind of to mitigate some of those concerns.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
What would you recommend for anyone listening right now? Is
it sure if their plan could handle major stress?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
You know, I think they if they're not sure that
they're they're going to be able to handle these kind
of stresses on their retirement, The biggest thing is to
go get some help. And you know, one of the
things that I would say is take advantage of our
complimentary no obligation evaluation appointment. We can talk through a
lot of the concerns in each of the areas that
you know you're worried about and help understand you know,
(06:10):
what are you facing? You know, is there ways that
you can get some help? Is there ways that we
can help, and you know, if it's not with us,
then I encourage them to talk to somebody that they
know and trust that can help them kind of look
at these stressors and see if their plan is still
going to be successful.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
You may get a hold of Drake and Associates at
six one six six hundred seven two four seven, and
a reminder that Drake and Associates airs their retirement Ready
radio show here on Wood Radio Saturdays at seven a m.
Again six one six six hundred seven two four seven.
Dan Lorrain with Drake and Associates. Great stuff is always
(06:45):
thank you.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Thank you, Steve, Thanks Brett. Always a good time for
being on.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
This is Talk of the Town on News Radio with
thirteen hundred and one oh six nine FM.
It's Talk of the Town on news radio with thirteen
hundred and one oh six nine FM at Steve Kelly
and Brett Pikata from West Michigan's Morning News. Here with
Retirement Ready radio shows and Drake and Associates Dan the
Rain once again, Dan, thanks for doing this today.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome. I appreciate it, guys, thanks for having me on
again to.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Get a hold of the folks at Drake and Associates
six one six, six hundred seven two four seven. Between
ups and downs of markets, the risk of inflation rising prices.
Planning for retirement can feel like an endurance test, right
can your retirement plan stand up to that stress? Today?
Dan of Drake and Associates will break down some of
the biggest stressors on your retirement plan and share actionable
(00:41):
steps to help you stay on track. Dan, So many
things can take a toll on a retirement plan. What
are some of the biggest financial stress people should be
aware of?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I think probably the biggest stress that people need to
be aware of when it comes to their retirement plan.
You know it starts with taxes. Tax Is are going
to be a problem for most retirees. A lot of
people like to think that taxes are going to be
lower in retirement, and while that may be the case
the first few years in the retirement, that's not necessarily
case throughout. You know, other stressors are poor investment decisions
(01:14):
and obviously the healthcare expenses and things that come along
with that.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
How about market swings, Dan, We've certainly felt those and
Steve and I watch are four to one case and
then don't when we feel like it's going to swing
the other way. But how can retirees or those near
retirement handle that.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
That's a really great question, and we have seen a
lot of volatilty in recent months, and I think it's
critical for anyone that's investing in the market to understand
what their risk comfort zone is and have an understanding
of whether or not their investment portfolio is correlated with that.
I mean, knowing how to manage their investments within their
risk comfort zone is critical to making good decisions. You know,
(01:54):
if they're taking too much risk above their comfort level,
then they end up making poor investment decision is because
they'll panic in times of high volatility and usually make
a bad decision. So it's it's having that investment portfolio
matching up with their risk comforts and is critical.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Again to contact the team and drake An Associates six
one six six hundred seven to two four seven. So
DAN inflation is a big concern. It's been coming down
likely likely lately, but there's no telling when it could
go back up. What's the best way to protect retirement
income from rising costs?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
That's a great question again, I think when it comes
to dealing with inflation, things are going to cost more
as years go on. We all know that having a
customized income distribution plan is critical to be able to
manage how inflation is going to impact that retirement income
need and being able to maintain their lifestyle for twenty
thirty years into retirement. You know, understanding what buckets to pull,
(02:50):
what accounts to pull from in what order you know,
and how to maximize you know, your growth and the
income distributions and minimize taxes is critical to you know,
battling some of the inflationary concerns.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
What about economic downturns, I mean, how can retire reease
feel financially steady during tough times, whether it's inflation, whether
it's they thought they were going to maybe do a
part time job in retirement and all of a sudden
those jobs aren't available. What would you say there, Dan.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, I think you know, one of the best strategies
to kind of mitigate some of those things like economic
downturns and market fluctuations is having what I like to
call a growth and a safe bucket strategy. Having a
growth bucket allows you to invest for the long term
and grow the assets. But that safe bucket is that
safety net where you draw income from when we have
(03:37):
times of economic downturns. And I always like to tell
the families we serve, you know, if we're doing our
job right, you're safe whether the economic economy is going
well or the economy is not going well and you're
not paying attention to what the markets are.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Doing, if you're just tuning in. We're talking about major
stressors on retirement plans with Dan the Rain of Drake
and Associates. You'll hear their Retirement Ready radio show on
WHAT Radio Saturday at seven am. Dan, you've talked about
putting a retirement plan through a stress test. What does
that mean?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, when when we look at the overall plan and
try to, you know, put different stress tests in place,
we're we're really trying to, for lack of a better word,
break the plan. We want to see at what rate
of inflation is the income level not going to sustain
and fail? And at what point, you know, from a
rate of return standpoint on your assets growing, is that
(04:29):
going to you know, if we draw that way down
and you don't get as much growth as you maybe
have been used to, is that going to cause you
around of money. So we're trying to stress rate a
return inflationary pressure things like taxes, long term care expenses,
and even the death of a spouse to see how
does the plan react when any of these things happen,
(04:50):
because we never know when we're going to be.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Faced with those and that takes it one step further.
I just wanted to ask you that what conditions are
you testing in that stress test process? Are there other
ones besides the ones you just mentioned?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
You know, I think one of the things that we'll
do when you look at the stress tests beyond that
is we'll look at it in various market conditions. So
we'll run their overall plan through bold market history scenarios
like twenty thirteen, or we'll run it through twenty twenty
two when we had that down market in both equities
and fixed income was getting you know, penalized. We'll run
(05:23):
it through scenarios like we had with the Great Recession
and no wait in the dot com bubble burst in
the two early two thousands. So we're going to run
the plan through a lot of those various market stresses
as well to see how does the plan react. Are
we still going to be safe or do we run
out of money and we need to make some adjustments,
you know, kind of to mitigate some of those concerns.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
What would you recommend for anyone listening right now? Is
it sure if their plan could handle major stress?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
You know, I think they if they're not sure that
they're they're going to be able to handle these kind
of stresses on their retirement, The biggest thing is to
go get some help. And you know, one of the
things that I would say is take advantage of our
complimentary no obligation evaluation appointment. We can talk through a
lot of the concerns in each of the areas that
you know you're worried about and help understand you know,
(06:10):
what are you facing? You know, is there ways that
you can get some help? Is there ways that we
can help, and you know, if it's not with us,
then I encourage them to talk to somebody that they
know and trust that can help them kind of look
at these stressors and see if their plan is still
going to be successful.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
You may get a hold of Drake and Associates at
six one six six hundred seven two four seven, and
a reminder that Drake and Associates airs their retirement Ready
radio show here on Wood Radio Saturdays at seven a m.
Again six one six six hundred seven two four seven.
Dan Lorrain with Drake and Associates. Great stuff is always
(06:45):
thank you.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Thank you, Steve, Thanks Brett. Always a good time for
being on.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
This is Talk of the Town on News Radio with
thirteen hundred and one oh six nine FM.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.