Retirement Ready

March 23rd, 2024

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Worried about protecting and preserving all youhave built health is here. Learn how
to secure your future with legal andfinancial planning with wguy's retirement Specialist Dave Kopek
and legal host Lou Pierro and AaronConnor for a free dinner seminar in April
sixteenth at the Crown Plaza, Albanyat five thirty pm. Space is limited.
Sign up at wgy dot com orcall five one eight six two eight

(00:23):
four two five five. That's wgydot com or call five one eight six
two eight four to two five fivelive from the wgy iHeart Studios. Welcome
to Retirement Ready with your host DaveKopek from the Retirement Ready Show. Every
week, Dave and his team discussthe ways they can help people make informed
decisions about a wide array of retirementplanning information that can support you and developing

(00:48):
a more certain financial future for youand your family. Now it's time for
Dave Kopec, WGYS retirement planning SpecialistHigh Noon the Sheriffson Town. Good afternoon,

(01:33):
I'm Dave Kopek, WGY's retirement PlanningSpecialists. A great show by Low
and his team. Hopefully you listeningfrom eleven to twelve because you get a
lot of great information. You're goingto get a lot of great information.
On April sixteenth, we're doing aseminar workshop with Lou and his team over

(01:53):
at the Crown Plaza, which usedto be the Desmond. If you haven't
called, you better do it soonbecause it's filling up quick. It's from
five thirty registration probably last until seventhirty eight o'clock. A lot of data,
a lot of information, and afantastic dinner. Five win eight six

(02:14):
two eight four two five five fiveeight six two eight forty two fifty five.
I'll give that out a couple oftimes today. But I don't have
to tell you how good louis.That speaks for itself with his content of
the show. And with that beingsaid, I have four bambidos at my

(02:34):
house, Zach. Four guys showedup. They're laying down, drinking my
beer, eating all my stuff inmy house. My four nephews, Logan,
Griffin, Brody, Noah. Hey, sounds like a good time.
I think, why are you home? I'll get there soon. I'm only

(02:55):
teased. They're you know, youngkids, they're my nephew. We love
them. And Uncle Dave is goingto go to some basketball games today and
I look forward to it. We'regoing to see Griff play Logan is Gov.
I don't know he's going out intothe sunset with one of his buddies,
but I'm gonna be with my buddyBrody, Noah and Griff and then
I'll see I'll see Logan a littlebit. The Janis Boys, the Janis

(03:20):
Boys from Bolston Spa. You know, I'm going to talk about a topic
today. This is a topic specificshow and anything that I'm discussing, if
you want to partake, if youwant to participate, that's fine, love
to hear from you. But todaywe're going to talk about a topic that

(03:40):
a lot of you are going tohave to make some decisions in your lifetime.
And many people with a retirement plan, and most of you are with
a retirement plan through your employer,are going to have to choose between a
lump sum benefit, right or you'regoing to have to choose a pension option,

(04:06):
which is typically an annuity provided byyour employer. And there's a whole
bunch of different options that are availableto you with that. But what that
does the pension benefit. As we'reall quite well aware, it basically commits

(04:26):
the employer to act in a fiduciarycapacity, to make additional contributions, if
necessary, to a pool of moneythat is set aside in order to fund
payments to you and whoever you designateas a beneficiary spouse non spouse for the

(04:46):
rest of your lives. Daunting task. Most of the individuals that I know
that are running qualified plans do notdo a defined benefit plan anymore. They
don't want the responsibility, the fiduciaryresponsibility of managing assets, possibly for decades.

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So this morning we're going to talka little bit about understanding pension plans,
Understanding why it's important for you tomake selections, to make selections that
you think out, rather than doingit just because it's time to go get
it. I'm going to go getit. I'm going to get the maximumount

(05:28):
that might not necessarily be the bestoption. Just like solid security. If
you listen to the show, youknow I'm a big believer that social security
benefits. You need to plan itand you need to understand it, especially
with the COLA. Also understand what'snecessary for continuation for wealth replacement for a

(05:50):
surviving spouse. These are some ofthe things that we're going to be talking
about on the sixteenth at our workshop, but I'll briefly go over today because
I think it's imperative that people understandthat employer guarantees, employer guarantees with a

(06:11):
defined benefit plan are only as goodas the plan performance and the individuals that
are managing the assets, because there'sa whole heck of a lot of plans
out there right now that are underfunded, that have warning signs that are coming
out that basically say, warning,warning, warning, there might not be

(06:34):
enough money in the pot that willlast in order to meet the obligations that
the plan has guaranteed to future retirees. Now, I don't have to tell
you about the horrific situation in Schenectadythat speaks for itself, Saint Clair's Hospital.
You had all these fantastic people thatwork for decades over there and their

(06:59):
pension benefits vaporized. Why it's abig mystery. I have my own personal
feeling about it, which I won'tmention because I don't want to end up
in court. But the bottom linegets down to is that there is somewhere
out there in your future, aselection that you're going to have to make

(07:19):
in order to select ultimately either apension benefit, a defined benefit plan,
or your four to one K plan, which is called a defined contribution plan.
Simply put, you put money inpre tax as you're quite well aware,
a lot of times the employer willmatch that contribution up to three,

(07:42):
four, five six percent. Thecompany's liability ends ends when the contributions are
met. That's why a lot ofpeople are now in define contribution plan and
no longer in defined benefit plans.We all know the four one K plan

(08:07):
is the defined contribution plan. There'ssteps right. A lot of people that
are self employed have steps keyos right. Profit sharing plans go through the whole
laundry list. But a growing numberof private companies are moving to the defined
contribution plan because why because of whatI just said, they're off the hook.

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Once they make their contribution, theydon't have to worry about it.
So some companies offer both types fourone K profit sharing. I'm not going
to get into that. What Iam going to talk a little bit about
today is why a defined benefit planand a defined contribution plan. It's very
very critical on one to ten it'sa twenty that you understand these options.

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Specifically, a lot of you thatare listening to the show, you know,
we do a lot of work withteachers, firefighters, police state retirees
that have defined benefit plans, teachers, and you need to know exactly how
much retirement income is going to bethere once you retire. I can talk

(09:18):
about pop up survivor benefit, butthe big thing is is that when we
solve for income at the retirement planninggroup, what are we solving for.
We're solving for the ability for peopleto have quality of lives, adequate amount
of income for the go go years. We also want to make sure that

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there's adequate amounts of money there forthe surviving spouse surviving spouse, and then
if it's important, if it's importantto you, do you want a legacy
a transfer of wealth to the nextgeneration for your children, Because typically in
a defined benefit plan with the whetherit's ABC or X y Z corporation,

(10:03):
when when you die, the pensiondies either you or your spouse. If
you select a spousal benefit and there'sno legacy, there's no transfer of wealth.
That is not true. That isnot true with some planning options that
you can do for define contribution plans, which we'll get into a little bit,
and it's definitely not true for definecontribution plans. Your four oh one

(10:26):
k that pool of money. Thatpool of money is yours. You own
it. So when you go offinto the sunset of retirement, how you
allocate that money. The types ofinvestments that you make are critical in order
for what I said, quality oflife and also the ability to pay your
bills, adequate amounts of money forwealth replacement for your spouse and loved ones,

(10:50):
and if it's important to you,the transfer of wealth to the next
generation. So anything that I'm talkingabout, you can interjecte to WGY.
I'm here, I've in the studiowith my main man, Zach one eight
hundred talk WGY. That's one eighthundred eight two five fifty nine forty nine
of your right back after this quickmessage the eighty six percenters, Do you

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know that eighty six percent of thepopulation has no defined benefit pension plan.
For most of us, we haveto take our life savings and create a
paycheck for the rest of our livesin retirement. What is your plan for
retirement income distribution? How you manageyour assets during the most critical years of
your lifetime. Nobel Prize winning economistWilliam Sharp has called retirement income distribution the

(11:33):
nastiest, hardest problem in finance.He points out that investment, uncertainty,
and mortality can derail the most carefullaid out retirement income plan. Call our
offices today to start the process ofbuilding a retirement income distribution plan. After
forty one years of being in thefinancial services business, you need to start
taking action to start building your ownpersonal retirement income distribution plan. How do

(11:56):
you do that? To take actionfive one eight five eight zero one nine
nine. That's five one eight fiveeat zero one nine one nine or RPG
retire on the web. Don't procrastinate, motivate and start building your retirement income
distribution plan five one eight five eatzero one nine one nine. Worried about
protecting and preserving all you have built? Health is here. Learn how to

(12:16):
secure your future with legal and financialplanning with WGY's retirement specialist Dave Kopek and
legal house Lou Pierre and Aaron Connorfor a free dinner seminar in April sixteenth
at the Crown Plaza, Albany atfive thirty pm. Space is limited.
Sign up at wgy dot com orcall five one eight six two eight four
two five five. That's wgy dotcom or call five one eight six two

(12:41):
eight four two five five cops doingdoctor such a mother, then down the

(13:01):
moment, then showing me a changeways over the All right, we are
back kicking it up. Let's go, get up, got shovel to snow,

(13:22):
snow to shovel, Get the shovelout and get the snow going.
Who would have thought we can gothem with Florida. It's eighty degrees,
Sonny, driving down the road,the tops down here I am looking at
snow and ice. I'm back nextweek though, to see some clients.
So I look forward to that,seeing some friends. My wife and I

(13:43):
are gonna take a few days.So Florida, here I come, talking
about some of the decisions that you'regonna have to make in your retirement.
We're here, We're alive. Youhave any questions, give me a call.
Love phone calls w G y oneeighth at eight two five fifty nine
forty nine. Don't forget about ourseminar if you want to attend myself Lupiro

(14:05):
Aaron conners over at the U tryingto think it's used to be the Desmond.
Now it's got a new name,and I apologize. Five one eight
six two eight forty two fifty fivefive one eight six two eight forty two
fifty five five point thirty registration getsyou in there, have a great meal,

(14:26):
Q and a a lot of information. If you're pre or posts the
presentation will be for both. Whetheryou're pre retirement or post retirement, there'll
be a lot of great information.We're talking about companies that provide retirement plans.
That's our topic today. They're referredto as planned sponsors or that magical

(14:48):
word that everybody uses today. Fiduciariesand RISA are good friends that the government
requires each company provide a specific levelof information to eligible employees. So big
thing, of course is vesting.How long does it take tick tick before
you're going to get your money?Right, So employees must understand the vesting

(15:13):
schedule, the amount of time tobegin to accumulate and earn the right two
pension asset investing is the number ofyears of service and other factors that the
money is yours. That is notonly true with a pension benefit to find
benefit. But it's also true withfour oh one K plans, the employer's

(15:35):
contribution Okay, yours is invested,invested, vested from day one, dollar
one. So when you enroll ina defined benefit plan the four O one
K, a lot of times thecompanies will do it automatically. Now and
when you leave a company before retirement, you may result in losing some some,

(15:58):
not all, but some of yourpension benefits based off of that vesting
schedule. So with define contribution plans, the individual's contributions are one hundred percent
vested. Like I just said,define contribution plans for one KS four O
three b's, you're one hundred percentvested. As soon as they are paid

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in your money, they can't takeit. So it's important. Vesting terms
will vary from employer to employer.So if you're working for ABC and you
go over to XYZ, that doesn'tnecessarily mean that your terms will be the
same. Make sure wherever you're sittingdown with and they're going to the paperwork,

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typically it's the human resources department,you need to understand what your current
vesting terms are with your new employer. Now here's the thing that I want
to go over because I think it'scritical. I'm actually going through this right
now. My wife's a teacher atthe Shen School District, and my wife

(17:07):
will be retiring in June, andwe have all the paperwork, and we're
going through her paperwork right now,not only in regards to her pension benefits,
her health care, and then ofcourse ultimately what the benefit will be
at certain times for her. Soyou need to make sure you understand that

(17:27):
paperwork before you turn on the benefitbecause the longer you wait sometimes the more
the benefit will be. It's justa question what other resources do you have
in order to facilitate income during thattime frame, such as we are big

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believers at the Retirement Planning Group inorder for you to bridge bridge to higher
benefits that are guaranteed for life thathave a cola such as what solid security.
So if you've been a good saver, you have hundreds of thousands of
dollars, if not seven figures insideyour qualified plans, maybe it makes sense

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for you to delay a little bitand utilize those dollars in order to bridge
to a higher solid Security benefit.Because, as we're all quite well aware,
from age sixty two to seventy.There is a major difference with that
benefit. Major difference. Widows canget benefit at sixty sold security starts at

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sixty two caps out at seventy.So if you look at the dollars you
get your statement. You got tofigure out baseline income, which we talk
about all the time. Baseline incomewhat do I need in order to satisfy
my bills on a monthly basis?So we want to do a pro format.
We want to do a spreadsheet.Where are we we use the money.

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The software package that I just throughFidelity, it basically gives us what
we call the dashboard, the dashboardof your life. You can put as
much information into it or as littleas you do. You can put your
investments, your credit cards, yourlife insurance, whatever it may be,
and there it is. There's yournet worth on a day to day,

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month to month, semi annual,annual basis. So when we go through
the dashboard of your life, wewant to make sure that you understand not
only when an event happens, whenthe first spouse passes away, how much
is still coming in the pot guaranteedincome what we call baseline, your past

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work, your wages, your fourto one K your IRA money that you've
received from an inheritance, non qualifiedassets, real estate? What are you
receiving in real estate? As faras cash flow, had a bunch of
people in this week that have realestate holdings in the Capitol District region.

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Some are keeping them, some aresaying see you later, alligator, we're
out of here. And they're sellingthem and they're moving to the green pastures
of somewhere else. So big thingthat you have to be aware of is
any time that you're in a pensionplan, pension plan XYZ corporation, when

(20:27):
a define benefit plan is made upof pulled not your money, pulled contributions
from employers, unions, individual companies. Right, you've got to understand that
that is called a pension fund.How strong is it, what kind of

(20:51):
a rating does it have, Whatis the expectation of what's going to happen
with that pool of money over thenext five, ten, fifteen, or
twenty years. We all heard horrorstories. We all know what's happened to
individuals where pension benefits have gone away, where pension benefits were decreased. So
most of these investments are managed bywhat we call technically professional fund managers on

(21:18):
behalf of the company and its employees. State in New York right, New
York State Retirement system managed for yourbenefit. So pension funds can control billions
of not trillions of dollars of capitaland basically on Wall Street they're considered to

(21:38):
be the largest institutional investors on theboard. Their actions, what they do
on a day day basis, candominate, can dominate the financial markets as
they are invested. You hear allthe stuff that's going on today with ESG,

(22:00):
all the other things that are outthere in regards to some of the
demands that are being put on pensionfunds. Some pension funds are mandated that
they have to have to have acertain percentage of their portfolio allocated to fixed
income bonds. It's a pre setpercentage that's set up by the investment committee

(22:22):
that the fiduciary, the person that'sactually mannaged the portfolio, has to abide
by. What's the percentage that's investmentgreat, what's the percentage that has to
be treasuries, what's the percentage thatcan be in high yield, what's the

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percentage that can be in private equity, private debt? Go through the whole
laundry list derivatives. So it's importantfor you to make a logical and educated
decision if you have the option todo either the pension benefit or the lump

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sum benefit with your employer. Asan example, National Grid, they have
a cash balance account and they havea four to one K account. The
cash balance account is a account thatis accumulated over their working years for their

(23:29):
benefit by the employer. That poolof money can go with them as a
lump sum distribution if they elect.They also have the option if they elect,
to take the annuity that is paidto them by the employer for a
lifetime benefit for both husband and wife. Who's managing the money? Who has

(23:56):
control of the money. Do youunderstand what happens when you pass away?
Is there a legacy? Is therea certain amount of money that goes with
you? Typically in that situation,you and your spouse, you have an
early demise. Accept it happens.You get sick or ill, you go
out, take a boat ride,the alligators come and get you. It's

(24:17):
goe. All those hard working yearsworking for XYZ Corporation, they're gone.
Some people don't like that. Sounderstanding the options that are available to you
with a define benefit plan versus adefined contribution plan are critical. Your actions.

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The selection that you make a lotof times are a one time option.
Oops, I screwed up. Thatdoesn't work. Oops, I screwed
up. Too bad. There's nothingyou can do about it. The horses
out of the barn. So whatwe want to do is to make sure
that that you're educated, in formed, you understand the selection that you're making,

(25:03):
and not only for yourself, butyour spouse, your loved ones,
and of course if it's important toyou the legacy that you wish to leave
your children, grandchildren, et cetera. Also, how does that affect you
as far as taxes, taxes,pre tax money is pre tax money is

(25:23):
pre tax money always taxes ordinary income. And we're going to go through that
when we come back after the breakhere. But again i'm live. If
you have any questions or comments,I'm in the studio one eight hundred.
Talk to WGY at one eight hundredeight two five fifty nine forty nine.
Don't forget. When we come back, we'll tell you a little bit more
about our seminar that we're going tohave Loupiro and we'll be back right after

(25:47):
the local and national news. I'mDave Kopek. This is retirement ready and
we'll see on the other side,worried about protecting and preserving all you have
built health is here. Learn howto secure your future sure with legal and
financial planning with WGY's retirement specialist DaveKopek in Legal House, Lou Piero and
Aaron Connor for a free dinner seminarin April sixteenth at the Crown Plaza,

(26:10):
Albany at five thirty pm. Spaceis limited. Sign up at wgy dot
com or call five one eight sixtwo eight four two five five. That's
wgy dot com or call five oneeight six two eight four two five five.

(26:45):
All right, you're back almost April. Guys, we're almost through the
first quarter of twenty twenty four.Can't believe it, but we are.
As are doing well, bonds aredoing well. Fairly bullish and what's happening
here. But today we're talking aboutmaybe one of the most critical critical decisions

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that you're going to have to makein your lifetime, pension selection. Whether
it's take the money, manage ityourself, lump some distribution, or take
the pincher from the company. Let'sgo to Chris and Albany Morner. Chris,
morning, are you so? Ihave a question? So I just
retired on disability from the state,and I have an adult child that has

(27:33):
special needs, and I haven't chosethe type of disability retirement I want to
take yet Now am I able toif I were to do like a pop
up for my adult you know,special needs son. Is that something that
could be left into a trust forhim? Absolutely? And I'll tell you

(27:53):
what that's a phenomenal question. Onone to ten, I'll give you a
twenty on that one. I'll tellyou what you should do. You should
go to our presentation on the sixteenth, because that would be something that lou
in his team could address for youspecifically that night. But the answer is
that is a very slippery slope.You want to make sure that you're doing

(28:14):
it correctly because if you elect todo it wrong, you will jeopardize your
son's benefits. Okay, So eitherthat or call in next week lose on
from eleven to twelve, or wehave a presentation as we just heard,
as you just heard, the sixteenthof April at the Crown Plaza, which

(28:36):
used to be the Desmond would bemore than happy to pull aside. We
can sit and have a chat afterwardsor before. But I think that's something
you definitely want to dot your eyesand crush your teeth on that, man.
Okay, okay, that's why.Yeah, okay, Okay, God
bless and please please give either loua call next week or come to the

(29:00):
presentation and you'll get a lot ofinformation. Okay, thank you very much.
You got to be very careful withthat, very careful, because you
can jeopardize the benefits for the child. Let's go to John in Clifton Park,
Warren John, Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for taking my call.
And I hope you don't call me. That's the stupidest move you can

(29:27):
make. Dave or John. I'msorry, what hell day get from?
Here's the idea. Whatever your nameis. Okay, you're not hey,
John, you're not drinking already?Well I might be after I tell you
this. I work to the sayalmost thirty five years. I've got like

(29:52):
eighty dollars less than seven thousand dollarsa month coming in every month, and
that's my pay and my Social Securitycombined. So that's guaranteed for life.
So I'm thinking about eighty three thousanddollars a year guaranteed. I have no
doubt. I've got a three hundredthousand dollars home. I just did one

(30:15):
hundred thousand dollars renovation. I've gotI bought a brand new Harley Fat Boy
last year, and I've got sixhundred and fifty thousand dollars in New York
State deferred comp. Now I don'thave it protected, and I know that's
a big thing, and I couldbe wiped out in a matter of minutes.

(30:37):
You know, I'm over estimating that. But you know what I'm talking
about. What I'm thinking of doingis I worked so hard to get that
money and build that money up indeferred com that by the time setting I
hope I lived to eighty, I'llbe happy to live to eighty with normal
as and pains, and I hopelonger. But but you know, I'm

(31:04):
just thinking, using eighty as anexample, by the time I'm eighty,
I want to have everything I want. So I want to go out and
start spending all that money. Youknow what, Why have something happened to
me and then have a nursing home. Just take it all away. From
me, And is that a crazyidea? No? How old are you?

(31:26):
Just out of curiosity? John?What's your current aide I'm sixty I'm
sixty three. You're sixty three,and you're getting eighty five thousand a year
ballpark. You got almost seven hundredthousand in cash shitting in New York State
deferred comp Why don't you just turnthat into another income stream and just you
know, balls to the wall andthe way you go and whatever happens happens.

(31:48):
Well, that's what I was goingto do. You know, I
know that four percent rule, butI want to go up to four percent
is not going to make a differencein my life. You know, a
couple of thousand dollars extra month,it's not gonna it's gonna take me year
to build up to buy something.I want to go up into eight ten.
You can, and you can.And the thing is is that you're

(32:08):
a candidate for an investment that wouldbe based on your age. You care
about legacy or transfer? You careabout legacy or transfer of wealth to the
next generation. No, no children. Unfortunately all my families passed though.
It's just me. Well, youcould probably put yourself in a position that

(32:29):
you get probably, well, I'mthis is a guest in it, but
it's going to be pretty close.Forty thousand dollars a year, guaranteed for
the rest of your life, andwhatever's left in the pot goes to your
beneficiaries. If there's nothing left inthe pot, you're basically creating another pension
benefit. And the thing is isthat if you slip, if you slip
on a banana peel and something happensto you, you know you're making eight

(32:51):
you're making eighty five thousand. Nowif I if I give you another forty,
that's abuck twenty five ten thousand amonth, and you're be fat,
dumb and happy. You get onyour fat boy. You get on your
fat boy, and you're right outinto the sunset. Well, the Corvette
is next, That's all right,Go get a car. I got a
quartte that's when. That's my nextyou know, midlife crisis toy that I'm

(33:14):
going to get to Go to Rillas. Go to Verrillo's on Route nine.
I've already checked it. They've gotthe exact car that I want. But
they're wrong. Color. You can'tspend that kind of money to not be
happy with the color. I'll tellyou this much. Talk to Joe.
He'll get you the color you want. He's known nationally for his expertise in
that arena. But listen, thisis what I'll say. What I would

(33:37):
say to you is and I'm notgoing to sit here and you know,
pound the drum here. You shouldcome in and talk. You should come
in and talk to me. I'mright on Root nine and Malta's our corporate
headquarters. I'll show you some concept. I'm not going to go through it
on the radio because it would taketoo long. I've got something where I
can I think I can show yousomething that you would like that will facilitate

(33:59):
what you're looking Four. And ontop of that, you can go buy
your corvette. How's that sound?Is there a number I can call?
YEP five one eight five eight zeroone nine nine. That's our telephone number
and our Malta headquarters. We've gotsix locations now in the Capitol District region

(34:19):
and one in Florida five eighty nineteennineteen. You got a brother, and
listen, and who who should Iask for? You asked for me?
You tell them that you want tomeet with me face to face who's me,
David. I'm David. Well,I'm David. Why do you got
John on the board here? BecauseI didn't want to give my real name

(34:40):
though, And that's why I keepsaying David, because that's my nation.
And it caught me right off ofthat soon as I started talking to you,
and I said, oh, thisis going to go south really bad.
But I want to get my realThat's all right, I'm sorry.

(35:00):
Listen, it'll be easy. Iwill. This is what I'll say to
you five and eight or A onenine nine, And it's going to be
easy for you to remember, okay, right, okay, yes, yes,
very easy, okay. Thank youso much for for your honesty.
And I will be talking to you. You know, whether I hire you

(35:21):
or whatever, I just like youryour character and it comes across as being
honest. Well that's all I want, you know, somebody that's going to
be fair to me, and andand and if I hire your charge of
a fair price, and and andand that's all I'm looking for. Eight.

(35:42):
Our initials, our initials on ourdoor are A D, T R
T. Always do the right thing. I will. I'll be talking.
I'll be talking to you, John, Okay, I'm sorry, David.
David, I'll be talking to you. David, have a great day,
man, Thank you so much.I'm glad to make you laugh. God
bliss, I'm glad you made melaugh too. I watch watching basketball last

(36:05):
night and I was crying with theNC double A's just humngaloo. But that's
that's why we like telephone calls.It always breaks it up, always makes
it a little bit more interer.I mean, there are different ways that
he can do that that he canbest basically put himself in a great position,
a great position where he doesn't haveto worry about it. And uh,
he's going to give himself all themoney that he needs, no need

(36:25):
for legacy transfer of wealth. Andhe turns a complicated asset into a quality
of life thing, meaning that Iraise when you get older, you get
distributions when you least want him.He'll be sitting there at age eighty eight
the his mapo and wishing that hedid the corvette so we can facilitate the
corvette, David, not John.And I'm going to take a break because

(36:49):
this time for a break, don'tforget seminar at the Crown Plaza, Preserve
and protect myself, Lupiro, AaronConners five eight six, two eight four
two five five one eight four twoeight six two five five nice dinner.
Registrations at five thirty will get youout of there probably around seven thirty.
I've done it before with Lou.I guarantee that you're gonna get a lot

(37:12):
of information in a very short periodof time. Again, if you'd like
to participate five one eight, sixtwo eight forty two fifty five, call
my office for any reason. Youcan't get into that number. UH Retirement
Planning Group. But I won't giveout that number because I don't want to
complicate it. But you should beable to get in five one eight six
two eight four two five five andwe look forward to I haven't done a

(37:32):
dog and pony show for a longtime, and I really enjoy them because
I think it's a great way forpeople to get a lot of information.
Q and A always peaks the interestof a lot of people because questions are
asked that a lot of other peoplehave, but they're bashful, they're afraid
to raise their hand. So we'llsee at the seminar. Do it quick
because it's filling up quick. We'llbe right back your partner for success.

(37:55):
David Kopek, heir w G WISERetirement Planning Specialists the Retirement Planning Group,
We understand that retirees face many importantdecisions that can affect their long term financial
success. Some of these decisions revolvearound making investments that will help create a
hedge against outliving their assets, theimpact of inflation, taxation, and rising

(38:16):
health care couests. Most of ourclients like the time, the desire,
or the experience to manage their owninvestment portfolios. We consider it to be
an honor and a privilege to helpour clients make sound investment decisions that will
contribute to a secure financial future forthem. Because over ninety percent of our

(38:37):
clients or retirees with similar concerns,we are in the best position to approach
such challenges with experience and skill.Give us a call today at five one
eight, five eight zero one nineone nine five one eight five eight zero
one nine one nine or RPG retireon the web. Worried about protecting and
preserving all you have built? Healthis here. Learn how to secure your

(38:58):
future with legal and financial planning withWGY's retirement specialist Dave Kopeck. In Legal
House Lou Pierro and Aaron Connor fora free dinner seminar in April sixteenth at
the Crown Plaza, Albany at fivethirty pm. Space is limited. Sign
up at wgy dot com or callfive one eight six two eight four two
five five. That's wgy dot com. Or call five one eight six two

(39:22):
eight four two five five. Tonightwe read read a wrong Tonight we say

(39:44):
you all radio song risk you me? Should I come down at the study
to know? In trouble? Jen? All right? We be back.

(40:24):
Man, that's good music. Isaid this morning. I'll say it again.
When you're in the studio. Yougot these headphones and you got the
technology here. When you hear musiclike that, it's like the band is
playing right in front of you.I mean, I'm just like, you
know, let me lay on thefloor and just let it kick. But
there you go, Dave, there'ssome music for your new Corvette that I'm
gonna get you when you come in. All right, we're talking about pension

(40:49):
plans. We're talking about define benefits, define contribution. There's pros and cons
to both, depends who's managing themoney. That's the big thing. Right,
What was the big bugaboo for along time with G. Everybody's worried
about G's pension plan. I don'thave to tell you what happened over at
Saint Clair's in Schenectady. I don'thave to tell you what happened to en

(41:10):
Ron. You go through the wholelaundry list. A lot of companies have
taken their pension assets and given themto insurance companies so the insurance company can
ensure that they're going to have thosebenefits paid to them for decades. But
also the reason why they're doing itis that they want to get it off
their books. They don't want theresponsibility of managing this money for an extended

(41:34):
period of time. So a pensionplan, as I said, there's no
early read withdrawals a lot of timesat age fifty nine and a half fifty
nine and a half for defined contributionplans four one K plans, we start
taking money out of the four toone K, especially if it's substantial,

(41:55):
and start building the buckets of money. We take the money out early so
we can start building the buckets ofmoney. So when you walk out into
retirement, the assets that you've accumulatedare already set up to satisfy income needs,

(42:15):
and the remaining assets that you've accumulatedfrom fifty nine and a half until
you actually retire, we roll themin additionally, So pension plans versus four
on one case. When I saya pension plan, I'm also talking about
the employer that offers you the annuitythe annuity option. I am never,

(42:39):
ever, ever, one ever abeliever that you take the company's plan ever,
for a lot of reasons. Thebig thing is you've lost control of
the asset. Why would I workthirty or forty years for a company and
basically least say here, money isyours, pay me now for the rest

(43:02):
of my life, and oops,if I die prematurely, you get to
keep the money. That doesn't makea lot of sense to me, especially
in today's world where there's so manyopportunities in order for you to create your
own pension benefits with the alternative investmentsthat have been created over the last fifteen
to twenty years. And when Isay that they've been created to satisfy income

(43:22):
needs, it's an understatement. It'san understatement. So when a pension plan,
which is often primarily funded by youremployer. Right XYZ Corporation, four
oh one K is primarily funded byyou, the employee, and then whatever

(43:43):
the matching contribution is based off ofthe formula that they have through your employer.
So under a four one K planduring your accumulation years, you have
greater control of the retirement plan.What type of investments, kind of a
savings program. On the other hand, pension plans are more suitable for investments.

(44:08):
Right that out of side, outof mind. I want to know
anything about it, you know,blah blah blah, blah blah. You
know, I don't want to knowanything about it. Well, most of
our clients want to know about itand they want to make sure they understand
it so they have guaranteed income forthe rest of your life. And the

(44:28):
whole thing about the four one Kis what portability portability. When you leave
the company, you take your fourone K assets with you. See a
later alligator. I'm out of here. I'm going into the retirement years.
Whether it's fifty five, fifty six, fifth, some of your pension benefits
don't kick in until age sixty,sixty two, sixty five, depending on

(44:50):
the company. How much are youinvest in is your vesting schedule based off
of your age or the number ofyears that you were employed by the company.
So pension plans risk is placed onthe employer to guarantee and manage the
assets prudently. Income for life isguaranteed by the employer and how they manage

(45:15):
the assets. Employers have greater controlover the investments, the strategies that are
utilized, the investments that are utilized, and the vesting period is dictated by
the company four to one K plansright, besides the matching contribution by the
employer. Right, the risk ison you and the people that are helping

(45:37):
you manage those assets. A lotof times it's a much shorter vesting schedule.
And guess what now, with thechanges that are infect you can have
fiduciary help managing those assets by afirm such as ours, where we can

(45:57):
come in. Whether you're in yourtwenties or thirty, your forties or fifties
or sixties, we can help youmanage those assets by some new platforms that
have been designed over the last fewyears. Nico in my office yesterday was
working with a woman and she's inher twenties, she's in her twenties late
twenties, and he is helping hermanage the assets that she currently has in

(46:22):
her four oh one K program.So the key is this, and I'll
highlight this real quick because we're goingto have to say goodbye in about five
or six minutes. This is thequestion you have to ask yourself. If
you have the options available to you, such as National Grid, we'll use

(46:45):
them as the example. Should Itake the annuity or the lump sum?
I know I'm going to take mylump sum probably in my four to one
K, but my cash balance account? Am I also going to take it
as an annuity or a lump sum? At the retirement plan? We're going
to tell you to take the lumpsum, manage the assets yourself, have
control over the money, had thelegacy for your loved ones, and a

(47:07):
plan that meets not only the incomeneeds in your lifetime, but also what
is necessary for survivorship for your survivingspouse. Big thing, this is huge.
New York State gives you a fiveone hundred thousand dollars guarantee with annuities

(47:31):
that are issued here in New YorkState? Does the employer give you that
type of guarantee? Typically the answeris absolutely one pc. No, it's
basically it's whatever the performance is andit's backed by the company. This is

(47:52):
why you also have to ask yourselfbecause you do a little research on it.
Can your pension fund ever run outof money? The answer to that
is yes. But if your pensionfan doesn't have enough money to pay you
what it owes, there's a thingcalled the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation that will

(48:15):
pay you a portion portion of yourmonthly annuity. So for twenty twenty four,
the year that we're in right now, which is hard to believe,
the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation guarantees fora straight life annuity for a sixty five
year old retiree seven one hundred andseven dollars and ninety five cents. The

(48:39):
PGC maximum monthly guarantee for joint andfifty percent survivor options for a sixty five
year old is sixty three ninety seven. So the question becomes what's better,

(49:00):
What makes you sleep at night?What makes you feel warm and fuzzy.
If you look at a lumpsum,you're allocating the money based off of your
risk profile and the danger of youinvesting the money in going away in your

(49:23):
lifetime is probably slim to none asunless you're really getting aggressive and you're allocating
your assets improperly based off of whatyou're trying to achieve. There are products
out there that will guarantee you lifetimeincome. There are products out there that

(49:49):
will allow you to take a portionof your pension benefits and automatically get a
cola across a living adjustment on it. But the bottom line gets down to
this, it's your decision. Thereasonable approach would be take some, put

(50:09):
it in guarantees, take some,put it into growth, take some,
allocate it to fixed income cash soyou have a rainy day fund. That's
how we talk about it at theretirement Planning group as far as baseline income
growth with a safety net. Andthen third, make sure you have flexibility.

(50:32):
You have the flexibility to do thethings that you want to do.
So what's your age, what's yourcurrent health? This guy that just called
in, Dave has said his namewas John, but it's really Dave.
He wants to go to eighty.He's sixty three years old. He's got
seventeen years to really live his lifeand do the things that he wants to

(50:54):
do. Can we achieve that?Absolutely positively? What's your current financial situation?
What's your risk tolerance? Is thereany estate planning considerations? Do we
have a spouse or children? Itall adds up, it all goes into
a plot. The bottom line isthis. A pension plan is a retirement

(51:20):
that gives you the opportunity to haveX number of dollars guaranteed showing up your
doorstep. You also have that opportunitywith a defined contribution plan because you have
the ability to design the pangeah onguaranteed payods based on your goals and your
objectives. Anything that we're talking abouthere is of interest to you, we

(51:44):
offer a complementary consultation. We havefive offices now in Aubany Capital District region
throughout New York State. We haveone in Florida. Give us a call.
We'll be back next week for anotherRetirement Ready. Thank you for listening
to Retirement Ready, hosted by DaveKopek, w g WISE Retirement Planning Specialist.

(52:05):
If you'd like to talk with Daveor someone of the Retirement Planning Group,
call five one E five EID zeroone nine nine. That's five twenty
five eight zero one nine one nineduring business hours or visit rpgretire dot com.
The Retirement Planning Group has five convenientoffices located in Albany, Malta,
Glens Falls, Syracuse, and Oneana. Tune in again next week for retirement

(52:30):
planning strategies with Dave Kopek right hereon WG wise Retirement Ready. The information
or services discussed on this show isfor informational purposes only and is not intended
to be personal financial advice. Theinvestments and services offered bias may not be
suitable for all investors. If youhave any doubts as to the merits of

(52:51):
an investment, you should seek advicefrom an independent financial advisor.