Now is the Time to Schedule Your Fall Financial Review

October is the financial planning month and a great time to meet with your financial professional to ask questions, review policy and portfolio performance, and make decisions that keep you on track with your goals. Regardless of your age, it may be a suitable time for you to schedule a financial review.

Reviewing your insurance policies and portfolio during the final quarter of the year is essential for many reasons. Fall tends to be when many people think about next year and what they want to accomplish financially in the future. With the disruptions that 2020 brought to our lives, there is no better time than now to review, update, and make changes, so you are ready for 2021. Have you checked the following with your financial professional?

Life Insurance Policies:

Beneficiaries- Has anyone in your family married, divorced, or changed their name? Was there a new family member born this year?  Update beneficiary names and include social security numbers for each to help ensure the death benefit pays quickly to your beneficiaries.

Death Benefit Amount- Have you acquired more debt, retired, or had assets increase in value? Review each policy to help ensure it will provide enough death benefits to cover all your beneficiaries’ financial needs. If you have a large estate, the death benefit may help to offset estate taxes.

Additional Policies- Was there a new family member born or did families combine this year? Life Insurance can benefit your new family member in future years. Consult your insurance professional to determine allowable coverage and if there are stipulations if you are not the custodian of the minor child you wish to insure.

Retirement Portfolio:

Allocations- Is your portfolio too heavy in one asset class? With today’s volatility, rebalancing and adding another asset class like annuities may help to balance portfolio allocations to align with your goals. Work with your financial professional to determine if annuities are suitable for you.

Risk Tolerance- Are you taking too much risk or not enough? Risk tolerance can be affected by changing jobs, being furloughed, or contemplating early retirement.

Performance– Reviewing your fund, stock, and cash performance during 2020 can help determine a future strategy. Although future performance cannot be determined, you and your advisor can plan for any market condition.

Taxes– Your tax professional and financial professional may suggest extra contributions or other tax-savings strategies for lowering your taxable income for 2020 after your fall review.

Make your Bonus a Bonus- Fourth quarter is when many companies announce an end of year bonus. If you anticipate a bonus, request it deposit into your pre-tax retirement savings account.

Plan for Next Year– Start the New Year with a financial strategy. Those with a written financial strategy are more likely to succeed when they work with their financial professional throughout the year.

The 2020 Financial Review

2020 has not been ordinary and has taught us to prepare for anything. Your financial future starts by reviewing where you are today and initiating a step by step plan to get you to where you want to be. Contact our office today to schedule your fall review.

Disclosure: Before any decisions are made regarding your client’s financial situation, your client’s individual circumstances and objectives should be discussed. There are many factors to consider. An annuity is a long-term financial product designed largely for asset accumulation and retirement needs. All guarantees of an annuity are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer.

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In conclusion, as a retirement income specialist and 38-year veteran of the financial services industry, August H. Velten understands what his clients need in order to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Augie is a former instructor for the Life Underwriter Training Council. He once occupied the legislative seat for the Maine Association of Life Insurers. At August H Velten & Associates, we know that it is your retirement, and you should have control over it. We offer our experience and knowledge to help you design a custom strategy for financial independence. Contact us today to schedule an introductory meeting!