October is National Financial Planning month, and while every month is an opportunity to better serve your retirement, now is the perfect time to regroup, reflect and set goals.
“Retirement” is a loaded word, and it often conjures up two very different images. There’s the enjoyment of moving into that second phase, filled with family, vacations and lifelong passions. On the other side of that coin, is the dedication that makes those dreams possible. It involves paperwork, frugality and proper planning. But that second part of what makes retirement possible doesn’t have to be something you dread.
By having a few important conversations and making a handful of pointed decisions, the thought of retirement planning can become a source of joy rather than stress. At APO Financial, we believe that your retirement is our highest priority. We take pride in every person that we partner with, meaning we educate you at the highest level and shoulder the responsibility for your next phase in life as if it was our own.
Why choose APO financial? We believe strongly in unbiased guidance, a wide product selection and utilizing a diverse team to meet all types of financial challenges. Read on to learn five important ways in which APO Financial can partner with you to make retirement the best part of your life.
Strategic Wealth Building
The first rule of money is don’t run out of it. Easier said than done? APO Financial employs active asset management strategies that are consistent, steady and repeatable. What this means is that we proactively engage with your portfolio to ensure that we are working with low-risk, low-volatility assets that take a defensive approach to wealth management.
Learn more about retiring abundantly, here.
Retirement Planning: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Anything worth doing is worth planning for, but where do you start? Well, as Fiduciaries, we act in your best interest, always putting yours ahead of our own. This means that planning with APO Financial comes with a level of trust and commitment to excellence that you need when working towards something as serious as retirement. We’ll not only look at your current savings and find the best way to distribute and invest it, but we’ll also find ways to keep your taxes as low as possible. We’ll also suggest other ways in which you can grow your nest egg so that money will be the last thing on your mind during your second phase.
Tax Minimization Strategies
Taxes can be a minefield, and your assumptions about them could potentially change the direction of your nest egg come retirement age. For example, many people assume that they’ll pay less taxes in retirement. No regular paycheck, less taxes, right? Well, this isn’t always the case. The distributions you begin taking during retirement could actually bump you into a higher income tax bracket. Depending on the state you’re in, you may have to pay income taxes on your Social Security benefit as well.
This is why it’s so important to make tax strategy a large part of your overall financial planning. At APO, we pride ourselves in having a thorough knowledge of ways to minimize taxes so that you can keep more of your money.
Estate Planning
Traditionally, an estate attorney would develop your estate plan. While this is valuable, we believe stopping at that level of planning leaves you with a two-dimensional answer to a three-dimensional challenge. APO Financial can help you look at the bigger picture and work to establish a legacy that you and your family can build upon. Reducings taxes, considering life insurance, and maximizing wealth are just a few of the ways that estate planning with our team can work for you and your family.
Risk Management
Risk management is near and dear to us and one of our core values at APO Financial. We were initially founded in 2008 in response to the disastrous Great Recession, which limited and often destroyed the retirements of so many.
Nearly 15 years later, APO Financial remembers the havoc of that financial crisis. During that time, we’ve put together a number of strategies to ensure that your assets will be there for you when outside factors make things difficult. Market volatility, inflation, pandemics, or the death of a spouse can all work against your assets, but with proper planning and strategy, these issues can be greatly mitigated.
Final Thoughts
While every month is a good time to consider financial planning, we’re glad that October has been earmarked as a time to stop, collect ourselves and consider the long term implications of our current financial strategies.
At APO financial, we believe strongly in the above five tenets of financial planning. From experience, we know that if you take the time and tap the proper resources to go through these challenges, your financial legacy will be a successful one.
Take time this October to set yourself up for success and start today by reaching out to the APO Financial Team.
© 2022 APO Financial. All rights reserved. Disclosure: Communications such as this are not impartial and are provided in connection with advertising and marketing. This material is not suggesting a specific course of action or any action at all.. Prior to making any investment, insurance, financial or legal decision, you should always seek individualized advice from a financial, insurance, legal or tax professional that takes into account all of the particular facts and circumstances of your individual own situation Investment advice is offered through APO Financial Services, LLC (“APO") 10155 Westmoor Drive, Suite 175, Westminster, Colorado 80021-2627, an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration with the SEC should not be construed to imply that the SEC has approved or endorsed qualifications or the services offered or that its personnel possess a particular level of skill, expertise or training. Important information and disclosures related to APO are available at https://apofinancial1.wpengine.com. Additional information pertaining to APO’s registration status, its business operations, services and fees, and its current written disclosure statement is available on the SEC’s investment adviser public website at https://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Information relating to annuities is intended for educational purposes only and should not be construed as comprehensive or all-inclusive. Therefore, it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed and should not be used to make an investment decision. Annuities can be an important part of an overall portfolio but may not be appropriate for everyone. Before purchasing an annuity, it is important to understand the details of the product. Certain products may not be available in your state. The terms of each indexed annuity varies. It is always important to speak to a financial professional. about an annuity’s features, benefits and fees, and whether an annuity is appropriate for you, based on your financial situation and objectives. Participation rates, cap rates and/or index spreads may be subject to change by the insurance company according to the annuity contract provisions. If the insurance company makes such changes, this could adversely affect the return. Guarantees of an indexed annuity are backed by the claims-paying ability of the underwriting insurance company. The surrender charge period for a product may be longer, and the surrender charges may be higher than other annuity products. Indexed annuities are long-term investments. If the annuity contract is surrendered early, there is the possibility of a surrender charge being imposed and/or the funds may be subject to income taxes. The IRS may also impose a 10% penalty on withdrawals prior to age 59 ½, depending on the circumstances. With indexed annuities, there is the potential to lose money, depending on the product charges and minimum guarantee contract provisions. For additional information on annuities, reference the following websites: The FINRA (www.FINRA.org), the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.SEC.gov), Insured Retirement Institute (www.irionline.org), the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (www.NAIC.org) or your state's insurance department.