Hosts: Judith Sanborn, CFP®, AIF® andNancy Hecht, CFP®, AIF®
It is an Ask the Expert weekend here on News 96.5 WDBO. My name is Kirk Healy, good to have you along with us. This is On the Money, brought to you by Orlando’s oldest and largest — Independent. Independent firm of certified financial planning professionals, that being the Certified Financial Group in Altamonte Springs. With us today we have two of the twelve certified financial planning professionals with us. Good morning to Judi Sanborn.
Good morning.
And author of the Hecht Effect and A Man is Not a Plan, Nancy Hecht is back in the studio. Hi, Nancy.
Hi, how you doing?
Well, I couldn’t be better. How about you?
Doing okay.
Good to see you.
It’s the estrogen hour.
Yes it is.
So, you’re going to get really, really good, solid advice.
I feel like a rose between two thorns. Oh, wait a minute.
Oh, yeah.
I think it’s the other way around.
Oh, okay.
You keep deluding yourself.
Okay, okay. Well, Judy, tell us in case anybody may be new to this 25 plus year old program, what do you all take calls about?
We’re here to take calls about any financial information or questions you might have, your 401k, your IRA, life insurance, long-term care insurance, mutual funds, stocks, bonds maybe, but more about how do you properly prepare for your financial future. So, anything that has to do with that, we’re here. As Joe likes to say on Saturday, we do that complimentary, and during the week if you come into our offices we have a complimentary consultation. Otherwise, we do it for a fee.
Here are the telephone numbers if you want to get a hold and talk to Judy and Nancy. Ready to write this down? 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. Or, you can send a text, a short text, at 21232. Or, if you’re so inclined, you can let your voice become part of the program. Just use the open mic feature that you’ll find on the News 96.5 app. And that News 96.5 app is free to everybody <Inaudible>. Yeah, it is really good to have everybody back in the studio now that all the conventions are done with and everything.
All downhill from here.
Aw, man, we’ve got under 100 days until the election. Holy cow, it’s so good to have them behind us, but you know, there are some beliefs out there about which political party is best for the markets.
Yes, and I think it’s pretty interesting because I actually have had a couple of clients who have called and asked me the question what are you doing in preparation for the election for one party or the other getting in? And I’m thinking well, nothing different unless something has happened for you. So, I think it’s pretty interesting because basically beliefs about which political party is best for the markets, although you might think that’s going to have a big impact, the reality is is whether the GOP or the Democrats claim the presidency historically has not been the deciding factor in how — and we’ll just use an example — a $10,000 investment made at the beginning of an election year looked 10 years down the road. So, these two statistics I thought were interesting. The S&P was up 7.4% a year for the 10 years ending June of 2016, and a decade ago it was up 8.3% for the 10 years ending June 2006. Now, during that time we had three democratic presidents and two GOP presidents. So, the reality is if you have a long time horizon, and that’s certainly part of the caveat, that it doesn’t matter. It’s really more dependent on the strength and the resilience of our economy rather than which candidate holds office.
And another week ago I had done a piece on what brought the most profits to the market, and it really ended up being a balance of power. If the House and the Senate was a good check and balance to who was in the White House, that brought the most favorable, positive returns. So, I think really, more importantly, and I know all of this emphasize this to our clients, it’s more important what is occurring in your life because that is what you have control over to make decisions about when to make changes in your portfolio based on your own personal goals.
Yeah, but we all know, as Joe says, when Congress is in session, anything can happen.
Oh, of course.
Right.
We have no control.
Monty in Orlando has a question for you. Good morning, Monty.
Good morning, guys. How are you guys doing?
We’re good.
We’re good, how about yourself?
I’m doing well. I’m doing well, thank you <Inaudible>. I had a simple question and it’s one of those little things where — how do you save correctly in this economy as far as where things are at and is there a certain amount that you can possibly start with and just work up to a certain goal?
Well Monty, how old are you? Do you mind me asking?
Sure. 31.
31, okay. Well, first, I commend you for thinking about it at 31 years old. Do you work for a corporation that perhaps has a 401k plan?
No, I don’t.
Okay.
I’m a self-employed nail tech <?> and I’m just consistent <?>, so I’m just trying to figure out is there a certain number because — I try to put at least $40 or $20 of pay away, but life happens and you dip into that pot when you’re not supposed to. Is there any advice you could probably give on that?
Well, I think the main advice is if you can put anything away on a regular basis.
Yes, yes. And in your family dynamics; married, single, kids, no kids?
I’m married with kids.
Okay, alright. So, what would be most important in my mind for you is making sure you have a good, solid emergency fund, and it’s going to be something that’s going to be a savings account. It’s not going to earn much for you, but it would be the type of thing that we just went through a refrigerator dying or your A/C going out, or a medical emergency that you have the cash on hand that you can take care of that emergency and not have to worry about using a credit card or something. So, my advice to you is make sure that you have a comfortable emergency fund. If you could look at two or three months worth of your hard expenses, that might be nice. Then after that, start trying to save longer-term. The fact that you’re putting aside a little bit of money every single day is phenomenal. When it comes to spending it, you have to ask yourself is this a need or is it a want? And if it’s a need, then of course you have to spend the money. If it’s a want, then you really have to think twice about it. But as Judy said, mazel tov to you for starting at such a young age. You have many, many, many years ahead of you. Five years from now, you’ll look back and say I can’t believe how hard I thought it was at 31 to be saving money, but I’m so proud of myself that I’ve done this.
Awesome. Thank you, I appreciate you guys.
Thank you for calling.
You can join us as well. The number is 844-220-0965. Let’s talk next to Jon in Brevard County. Good morning, Jon.
Hey, good morning. How are you all?
Great. What’s up?
Hey, I have a question. For the past three years, I’ve been spending a ridiculous amount on bills. We’ve had like two cars that we were paying for and we just got that taken care of, and now we have an extremely high amount of extra income and we wanted to invest it in another way besides 401k.
Okay, I think one thing that Nancy mentioned to our previous caller was the first step that we always encourage everyone to have is an emergency fund. So, I would ask you do you have an emergency fund that would cover three to six months worth of expenses.
Yes ma’am. My grandpa, he got me started on that. We have about four months for bills, all bills, and that was actually with the car payment, so now we’re probably a little bit higher than that. We have a fun money account. We have an emergency account. We’re set up as far as a savings account goes, but I’ve always — I didn’t really like the fact that a 401k you have to be 59 and a half to touch. We both see ourselves retiring earlier than that and we would love to set something up that is earning some type of interest.
Okay, do you mind me asking how old you are and your wife?
Yes, ma’am. I’m 25 and she’s 30.
Okay. Wow, lots of young callers. I’m very impressed.
And Jon, are you both taking advantage of a 401k or something like that at work?
I am. She works at a private office. They offer benefits, but not 401k.
Okay. Alright, and are you funding your 401k to the fullest extent that you can.
Yes ma’am, I am. They match. It’s Merrill Lynch. It’s two to one up to three. I put in 10 just because I’ve been used <?> to it.
Okay good.
I don’t even look at it anymore. It used to bug me.
So, it sounds to me as if you’re asking is there something to invest in for a shorter term goal than retirement. Is that correct?
Correct. Yes ma’am. I’ve heard of different types of bonds and CDs, but I really don’t like the return on those. They’re really low.
Okay, well I think what we would recommend is if you are going to be able to leave your money for 5 to 10 years, a longer term type of investment, that perhaps you can go to somebody like Vanguard and set up an account for you and your wife, and start contributing to that on a regular basis. Choose a mutual fund and let your money grow. If it’s a shorter term goal, and by that I mean if you think you’re going to need this money in two years, three years, I wouldn’t recommend that you expose it to the market. That you put it in something in boring like a CD that gets you a little bit more interest.
Now Jon, as Judy said, if you have five years or more you can go for some mutual funds. You want to go equity or something that’s a little more stock based because you have many, many years ahead of you. If you do open up, it’s going to be a non-retirement account, probably jointly titled between you and your wife. You want to add onto that a transfer on death designation and name whomever you might want to get the assets after you and your wife are gone.
Okay, now what is Vanguard?
If you just go to vanguard.com, it’s a mutual fund company and you can open up an account and start depositing small amounts of money. It’s basically self-service, but they have all different kinds of reporting. If you click on one of the funds, you’ll get what’s called a Morningstar report which is independent mutual fund reporting information, and you want to look for something that’s three, four, or five stars. Look at the assets that are in there. One’s filled with companies that you’re very familiar with.
And if you would like to call the office next week and I would be happy to give you a little bit more guidance on that.
What’s that telephone number?
407-869-9800.
Or Jon, you can go to financialgroup.com.
That’s probably a better way to find out.
Yeah, it’s easier to remember when you’re driving. Financialgroup.com. Thank you very much for calling.
Financialgroup.com.
Right.
Alright, we’ve got to break for Dave Wall in the News Center. He’s got some big stories he’s going to tell you about. Oh yeah. And we’re going to come back and take some of your phone calls. I have some texts here as well if you’d like to text the program. The number to text is 21232, 21232. The number to call is 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. In the studio; Judy Sanborne from the Certified Financial Group along with Nancy Hecht, author of the Hecht Effect and A Man is Not a Plan. Nancy’s got a Social Security workshop coming up. We’ll tell you about that.
This hour was paid for by the host and does not reflect the opinion of News 96.5.
Yeah, it is an Ask the Expert Saturday morning on News 96.5 WDBO. My name is Kurt Neely and this is On the Money brought to you by the Certified Financial Group. In the studio with us; Judy Sanborne and Nancy Hecht. And if you’d like to speak about, well, any pocketbook issue you may have concerning your retirement and how to make it last a lot longer, wait until you hear this stat coming up here. This is going to floor you. You can call us right now. Here’s the telephone number 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965.
Or you can text us —
At 21232, 21232. Check this out. This week’s must read.
Yes. We have, as Nancy mentioned earlier, we have a website, financialgroup.com, on which there is a tremendous amount of very good information and we have a must read every weekend. This week, the must read is the average retirement savings by age for 2016. So, before I tell you a statistic, I want to, again, commend the two callers we had earlier as beginning to think about this at an early age. Because the average American between 55 and 64 today have accrued 104,000 in savings.
Now, hold on now. Compare that to what you have saved, okay. Compare that to what you have in your savings for retirement. Now, the average person has what now?
$104,000.
Between the ages of 55 and 64.
64.
That doesn’t sound like a lot, you know.
That’s right.
That doesn’t seem like a lot.
And then that they’re close to retirement or thinking about retirement, right? So, I think to put it in a better perspective, if you were to buy a life annuity, which means you give that amount of money to the insurance company and they’re going to give you a monthly stream of income for the rest of your life, that would equal $310 a month.
That would not even cover my utility bills, not cover my water, all that kind of stuff.
It is. So again, to the young people who called in, I commend you. For those who are closer to retirement age, encourage you to begin looking at what is it that you have in savings and how prepared are you, in fact, for retirement.
When Judy says savings, she’s not just meaning the savings account at the bank. She’s meaning savings for all kinds of retirement plans, everything.
And that doesn’t even include Social Security, which you’d still be below the poverty level with 300 added to your Social Security. You’re still below the poverty level.
Probably, yes.
Speaking of Social Security. Nancy?
Yes.
You and your colleague, Denise Kovach, are the go-to people for Social Security and you have a workshop coming up, don’t you?
We do. It’s in October. When in October is it?
It’s on October 20th, which is a Thursday, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. And earlier I saw a text question come through. The person is 70 and a half and wanted to know if they could continue to contribute to their SEP-IRA and the answer to that is yes. You can continue to contribute. However, and this is very important, you still have to take a required minimum distribution. So, if you have other retirement accounts, an IRA perhaps, outside that SEP, then you have to combine the market value of the IRA and that SEP-IRA at the end of each year and calculate your required minimum distribution. Then you have to make a withdrawal. If your SEP is the only money you have in a retirement type of an account, then you have to look at is it beneficial to make a contribution and turn around and have to take, perhaps, the required minimum distribution.
Well, this person being 70 and a half, their first withdrawal is going to be 3.65%. So, if they contribute more than 3.65%, then they’re going to be ahead from a tax standpoint.
Alright, listen, we’ve got to go to Dave Wall in the News Center. Then we’ll have more — we’re going to tell you more about some of these workshops coming up, so stick around. Oh hi, live radio, don’t you love it? It’s an Ask the Expert Saturday morning on WDBO. My name is Kurt and I’m with the lovely Judy Sanborne and the lovely Nancy Hecht. Am I being patronizing to you?
No, and thank you –patronizing to you?
No.
No, and thank you.
We’re happy to be called lovely. If you were, I would just smack you.
But you know what? Besides the loveliness goes with the brains.
There you. As long as you add that in.
Certified financial planning professionals they be, and if you’d like to talk some pocket book issues — well Nancy, you tell us. What are you taking calls about?
Anything financial. We are more retirement planning-centric and working with people that are close to or at retirement, but if you have questions about mutual funds, stocks, bonds, life insurance, long-term care, any of the pocket book/retirement questions we’d be happy to answer for you or try.
Yeah, we were talking to you about your workshop coming up. There’s a bunch more coming up too and they’re all free. Hang on, hang on because Roberta in Seminole County has been so patient. We’d better talk to Roberta first.
Okay.
Okay.
Great.
Good morning, Roberta.
Good morning. How are you?
Great.
What’s your question, Roberta?
Okay, my question is I am 73 and a half years old, still working and contributing to a 401k plan. I also have an IRA with your firm and I wondered if I can transfer my money from my 401k over to my IRA without closing my 401k and continue to contribute to the 401k.
Well, I think that’s really more of a question that you need to ask your company.
Oh, okay.
There are some companies that will allow what they call in-service distributions.
Uh-huh.
So, there is a possibility there they would allow you to roll some portion of that. And you indicated that you’re with our firm in some way, so perhaps whoever you’re working with could help give you some further guidance.
Okay, now when I go onto the website for my 401k — and it does indicate — it says what’s available for withdrawals, and it shows the entire balance. But my concern was if I do that and transfer the entire balance, does that close it out or can I continue? But, I guess you’re saying that’s something I need to take up with that company?
Correct.
Okay.
I think your company needs to give you some guidance with that.
Okay.
I’ve seen in-service withdrawals that are somewhere around 50% to 55% of the account balance and generally not more than that, but I don’t know what your company rules are.
Okay, so it’s not just a blanket rule.
Correct.
It varies per company.
Yes it does.
Okay, alright. I thank you for your help.
Thank you, Roberta.
Thanks for your call.
And you can join us as well. Here’s the telephone number, 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. Or, send us a short text from your mobile device. That texting number is 21232. 21232. And you were going to tell us about some upcoming workshops.
I will tell you about the workshops. We have four upcoming workshops. The first on is September 27th, which is a Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00. It’s hosted by Gary Abley. It’s called Financial Basics for Life – Strategies for Success. We mentioned earlier the Social Security Boot Camp, which is Nancy’s and Denise Kovach’s workshop on Thursday, October 20th from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. Gary is hosting another workshop on Tuesday, October 25th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, When Can You Retire? Know Your Number. That kind of ties into what we’ve been talking about today. And then his Countdown to Retirement is Tuesday, November 8th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Jodie Murphy who is an estate planning attorney joins him at that workshop. As Kurt mentioned earlier, all of our workshops are complimentary, so you come to be educated and to ask the questions that you would like to ask.
And we found out something new, compliments of Aaron Berg had passed this on to all of us in reference to Social Security. We also encouraged people to go to ssa.gov to find out about your benefits, check to make sure your income records are up to date, even apply for benefits. So, they’ve added a new security twist, which is phenomenal. You have to have a text enabled phone, so when you put in your login, you put in your password, then you have to put in your phone number that they can text a code to, which is good for a limited amount of minutes. And then you put in the code and then you can access your record. So, this is a further security measure that has been put into place on ssa.gov and I think it’s fantastic.
That is great.
Alright, listen, if you want to find out more about these workshops, go to the website.
Yep. Go to the website, www.financialgroup.com and all of the workshops are listed there, and some description of them is there as well.
Yeah, really. There’s a real good description. Again, this isn’t a product presentation or something like that.
No. Leave the checkbooks at home. They can come and see that we have an actual office and get some good, solid information and learn.
And it’s a great way to introduce you guys.
And learn a little bit about us.
Yeah.
Yeah, of course.
Alright, here’s the phone number again. It’s 844-220-0965. The text is 21232. The web address is financialgroup.com. That’s all you need to know.
Okay.
Let’s talk to Hector in Roisha <?> County. Good morning, Hector.
Good morning, guys.
Good morning.
I’ve got a question about 401k. Now, we — the company I work for just started 401k. I guess I’m like 100% vested right from the start.
With your own dollars, yeah.
Right.
Yeah — no, no, I get — no, he’s — with the company’s contribution also.
Okay, that can be different, but that’s great if they’re going to vest you immediately.
Okay, now, and the policy owner is matching dollar for dollar up to 4%.
Very nice.
Generous.
I’m trying to take advantage of it as much as I can and I’m investing in a — like an index 500 or something. I just wish I cold remember the name of it, but it’s like a moderate investment. I don’t know — I’m kind of scared of the market, whether it’s going to crash, maybe I should slow down to like a conservative type investing or — I’m scared I’m going to lose the little bit that we just gained and keep investing at the rate that I’m going and end up losing more money. Should I slow it down? Because they said I could slow it down to a conservative investment whenever I want to or more aggressive.
Hector, I’m going to interrupt you. How old are you?
44.
Okay. So, how many more years do you intend to work?
I’m going to try and work at least 30 more years.
Okay, so the short answer to your question should you slow it down, reduce your contribution, is no. And the little bit longer answer is you have 30 more years potentially to work, so you have 30 years to keep contributing to some type of a retirement program. And if the market has a decline, when you’re going in on a regular basis as you do in a 401k, you’re buying in at a lower price when the market is down. So, that money that’s in there has that potential when the market comes back up to grow more. So, I really, strongly discourage you from reducing any kind of a contribution.
Although, you may want to put just 10% into something more conservative than what you’re in. But, because time is on your side, then the equities, the stock, is where you want to be. And as Judy was saying, while you’re making deposits, you really want things to be on sale, so you want the markets to be down. I mean, everybody likes to see nice, big positive returns, but you’re in a buying mode. And you want to be able to buy on sale as much as possible. So, if your contribution hits and the markets have a down day then you should be cheering because you’re buying something of quality, but you’re buying it at a cheaper price. And who doesn’t like a sale.
Yeah. I got you.
Okay.
Alright.
Alright, thank you.
You’re doing a great job, Hector.
You’re welcome.
Alright, here’s a listener question. My spouse is 17 years younger than I. I recall reading that I need to take special steps when I calculate my required minimum distribution, that’s the RMD folks. Let me read that. I recall reading that I need to take special steps when I calculate my required minimum distribution from my IRA. Is this true?
Yes. And I think this is something that really many people don’t realize and we have many situations where spouses are 10 years apart in age. So, if your spouse is more than 10 years younger, you have to use a different life expectancy table to calculate that required minimum distribution. You won’t be required to take as much money, and when you think about that logically, it’s because if you pass away, your spouse can inherit this IRA. So, the government has said if they’re that much younger, they’re going to have that much longer where they might need the money. So, it’s very important to be aware of that, that you don’t take more than you have to. Your IRA administrator should be able to help you calculate that distribution.
Judy Sanborne and Nancy Hecht are both certified financial planning professionals with the Certified Financial Group and available for you right now. The phone number is 844-220-0965. Or text 21232. Dave Wall is in the News Center and he’s coming up in two minutes with the very latest news. There’s a 32 year old guy that was shot last night in Orlando. The Zika virus is the real deal now. Yesterday they made the announcement that they’re worried about Florida tourism now because four people have come down with the Zika virus contracted here in Florida. So, Dave might have some of that coming up. And also, of course, the weather forecast is straight again. But first, I want to get from Judy, if — you offer at Certified Financial Group — all 12 of the professionals offer a complimentary consultation, an initial free consultation. How does somebody set that up?
Yes we do. You can go to our website, www.financialgroup.com, and there is a link to requesting a complimentary consultation. You can call or offices, 407-869-9800, and make that request as well. And anything that you might want to visit about in that first meeting, it is complimentary. It is the opportunity for us to get to know you, for you to get to know us, and at the end of that meeting to see if there might be something that we might be able to help with.
Now, I often have people asking me what they should bring when they come for their complimentary consultation.
Yeah, great question.
I mean, we have some basic data gathering forms that I send to people, but I always tell people to bring what they’re comfortable with and if it’s absolutely everything they have, fine. If it’s absolutely nothing, then that’s fine also.
Like a big box of something?
But, it’s a time to ask what — your questions and share with us your concerns and for us to show what we might be able to do to help you with.
Alright, again, check out the website and you can look at a picture of everybody.
Yes you can.
They’re current pics, too.
And then you’ll be patting me on the back saying hey, you’re right when you said the lovely.
Don’t you just love Ask the Expert weekends on WDBO? I do.
So do I.
In the hallway —
And the music.
Yeah, that too. In the hallway, I just ran into Tim Paneracke from Accurate Window and Door, and Bill Burt from S&W Kitchen. They’re coming up in the next hour on Florida Homes and Gardens. I’m going to ask them about outdoor kitchens.
In August.
Yeah. It would be nice to have an outdoor kitchen if the weather would cool off. And how to keep your patio or your outdoor cool during this heat. Also, I want to ask Tim Paneracke from Accurate about window and door about the affordable way to get your single pane windows replaces with some of those money saving double pane windows. You know what my electric bill was last month? And I keep my electricity at 74 constantly. I have windows <Inaudible> Tim Paneracke at Accurate Window and Door. $120.
Wow.
I was going to say, it better be low because that’s good advertising for them.
Wow.
I’m so excited. Hey, let’s talk to Mike in Sanford. Good morning, Mike.
Good morning, how you doing?
Good, what’s your question, sir?
Good, well, I just wanted to run something by everyone there. My wife and I are 55. We have been small business owners for years. We’re doing very well. Of course before 2008, a lot of real estate <?> and that kind of thing. That was primarily where my investments were. And of course the values of those were adjusted like everyone else’s. So, now I’m in a situation where really we’re trying to put together some sort of plan to be exactly where we need to be. The realization is my father is 85 and I could live to be 85, 90 years old.
Easily.
I don’t know how I could put enough money away at this point. Because, again, I just got property — I still have property that will never be worth what it was, but I managed to hold onto it. So, I’m trying to find an investment that — I’d love a solid 8% return.
Wouldn’t we all?
So would a lot of people, Mike.
It does not exist, I —
Well, we should look at average annual maybe over 10 years, then yes. Currently —
8% is not enough.
We’ve only got a couple minutes left, so what do you have to say to Mike?
Mike, has anybody ever done a financial plan for you? Looking at all your sources of income, all your assets liquid and illiquid, your living expenses, taxes, inflation, pulling it out through age 90 to see do you have surplus annually, how can you best re-allocate it, will you have deficit, how can we get rid of the deficit if possible? Has anybody ever done a comprehensive plan just for you?
No.
Okay, that is your first step and that is where we start. And any qualified, certified financial planner is going to start in the same place.
Right.
So, you need the blueprints, to stick with your housing theme, to be able to know what path you have to walk down. So, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to do some planning for you.
How does Mike get a hold of you?
You can go to our website, financialgroup.com, and request a complimentary consultation. You can call our office Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 5:30, 407-869-9800. We would love to meet you, Mike, give us a call.
We’re plumb out of time. Judy, nice to see you again this week.
Thank you.
Nancy, as always —
Happy to be here.
Come back to us quick. Stay tuned for Dave Wall in the News Center and then Florida Homes and Gardens here on WDBO.
The information presented on this program is believed to be factual and up to date but we do not guarantee it’s accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. Discussions and answers to questions do not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice, but is limited to the dissemination of general information. A professional advisor should be consulted before implementing any of the options presented. Certified Advisory Corp