Retire Smarter with Kevin Kroskey, CFP® & Tyler Emrick, CFA® CFP®

Ep 70: Free Money? More Stimulus Checks & Larger Healthcare Tax Credits

The government's money-printing machine is ripping. Here comes round 3 of stimulus checks and larger healthcare tax credits for many pre-Medicare retirees.
Hear Kevin discuss the 3 rounds of checks, income phaseout ranges, and planning strategies to get yours. In some cases, you may want to file your 2020 tax return sooner and in others, you may want to wait. For many retirees, we are modifying our tax-smart distribution plan midyear 2021, lowering our taxable income targets and reducing Roth conversions, to reap benefits. Otherwise, you may lose out on thousands.
As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. We're all paying for this in the long run. May as well try to get yours now.
 
Timestamps:
3:49 - Tax Season Is Upon Us
6:07 - Eligibility & Phase Out Threshold For All 3 Stimulus Checks
19:20 - Short Term Solutions
22:07 - More Changes To Be Aware Of
27:02 - Healthcare Tax Credits
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 69: Interview Questions To Ask A Financial Advisor

It's not easy to hire a professional service provider. Even the most astute consumer only scratches the surface of truly understanding a profession they are not part of. The information gap is huge.
So how do you ensure you find a competent and trustworthy advisor?
Hear Kevin nine questions to ask your advisor. He will unpack some of the industry gobbledygook, share disclosures from brand-name Wall Street firms that will surprise you, and help you become a more informed financial-advice consumer.
Whether you currently have an advisor or are considering hiring one, this episode is a worthwhile listen.
 
Timestamps:
5:05 - Questions To Ask A Financial Advisor
11:13 - Are You A Fiduciary Legally Acting In My Best Interest 100% Of The Time?
15:49 - How Do You Get Paid?
25:19 - What Are Your Qualifications?
32:44 - Planning Process
34:21 - What’s Your Investment Philosophy?
39:45 - How Many Clients Do You Have?
43:32 - How Will Our Relationship Work?
48:06 - Will You Require Me To Sell All My Investments To Work With You?
49:36 - Who’s Your Custodian?
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 68: My Journey As A Financial Planner

Fish mislabeling was once rampant in the US. Thought you were getting Red Snapper? Surprise! You get porgy or tile fish. Deceptive marketing for profits at best and exposing consumers to serious health risks, including food allergens and heavy metals in pregnant women at worst.
Sadly, many 'financial advisors' are similarly mislabeled and may cause financial harm. After all, you just need a 70% on a multiple-choice test and a high school diploma to become registered (and the high school diploma is optional.)
So how do you ensure you're hiring a true professional: one who is both competent and trustworthy?
Listen to Kevin Kroskey, CFP® and special guest Tyler Emrick, CFP® share a behind-the-scenes conversation on the training (or lack thereof) they received when entering in the profession. Hear Tyler describe his journey from starting a top-10 firm (in terms of advisor headcount) where sales were prioritized over clients, and then spending a decade at one of the largest custodians where having in excess of 500 customers precluded personal relationships and quality advice. And learn why being a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Professional is the minimum competency to be a professional, but is just the minimum and not indication the definition of a good advisor.
This inside-baseball-type conversation will shed light to help you become a more informed consumer and help you get your Red Snapper throughout your retirement.
Tyler's Bio: https://www.truewealthdesign.com/team/tyler-emrick/
 
Timestamps:
1:45 - Tyler’s Background
5:14 - Fish Mislabeling
9:09 - Large Firm Experiences
15:17 - Lack Of High-Level Planning
20:48 - Seeking More
24:46 - Biggest Surprise When Working With Clients
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 67: Beyond Diversification: Terminal Wealth Dispersion

Putting the odds of investing and retirement success in your favor should be a given as is being diversified. But what does diversification really mean? Ten stocks? One hundred stocks? Two asset classes or ten?
Building on the concept of standard deviation -- or degree of variability -- in investment returns, hear Kevin take the idea of diversification farther. Diversification is not just minimizing variability or owning the S&P 500. It's also reducing the risk of underperformance by owning the stocks and assets classes that will deliver higher returns and reducing the variability in dollar outcomes from your portfolio.
Miss just a few of the best performing stocks each year or abandon an underperforming asset class whose future returns are now higher, and your portfolio will deliver more disparate results that are more likely to put you into the poorhouse. And that's no way to run a retirement portfolio to last your lifetime.
The geek alert is sounded again for this episode but you don't have to be an investment geek to get significant value from this one.
 
Timestamps:
6:41 - Terminal Wealth Dispersion
11:23 - Reducing Risk
14:20 - Bill Bernstein’s Studies
18:32 - How This Impacts Retirement Planning
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 66: Proper Investment Expectations & Standard Deviation

If your head is in the freezer and your feet in the oven, on average you may feel quite comfortable despite suffering from two extremes. San Diego type weather on the other hand will leave you consistently comfortable over time.
Averages are commonly used to discuss investment returns, but they are an oversimplification. You don't receive average returns. Compound returns drive your dollar growth and the variability in returns -- or standard deviation -- causes the compound return to always be less than the average return.
Listen to Kevin discuss this core building-block concept and how it relates to your investments, risk, diversification, and retirement planning success. You may hear the geek alert on this episode, but having an understanding of standard deviation can help you be a better, more disciplined investor and put the odds of retirement success more in your favor.
 
Timestamps:
3:54 - Re-Cap On Topics From Episode 65
6:28 - Bell Curve
10:49 - Health Analogy
15:00 - Proper Expectations
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 65: Should You Continue To Hold An Underperforming Investment?

Inevitably you will have some investments perform better than others in your portfolio. A normal, human response is to seek pleasure and avoid pain or sell the underperformer and buy what has done well. But does that make investing sense?
Listen to Kevin discuss critical concepts of diversification and probability and why process matters more than outcomes. Hear an example of this being applied in professional basketball and playing probabilities in blackjack.
In sticking to a good process, good outcomes are more likely to result. In focusing on outcomes, you are more at risk of stampeding over the cliff with the uninformed herd and wrecking retirement.
 
Check the four-part Your Investing Process Series, mentioned in this episode:
https://www.truewealthdesign.com/your-investing-process-part-1/
https://www.truewealthdesign.com/your-investing-process-part-2/
https://www.truewealthdesign.com/your-investing-process-part-3/
https://www.truewealthdesign.com/your-investing-process-part-4/
 
Timestamps:
0:43 - Defining Underperforming Investments
2:12 - Is The Investment Or Asset Class Underperforming?
4:32 - Metrics To Consider When Choosing Investments
6:57 - Getting Rid Of Underperforming Stocks
8:35 - Terminal Wealth Dispersion
12:32 - People Don't Invest Rationally
14:47 - Using Probability In Your Favor
20:38 - Planning For Different Outcomes
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 64: Investment Lessons To Learn From 2020

What a year 2020 was. Pandemic. Contested elections. Civil unrest. Rollercoaster investment markets.
As Churchill wrote, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Listen to Kevin discuss investment lessons you can learn from 2020 to be a smarter investor and keep your retirement on track for years to come.
 
Timestamps:
2:04 - What Stood Out In 2020?
8:02 - The Market Is Forward Looking
11:53 - Make Sure You Are Diversified
13:22 - Politics & The Market
21:57 - Sticking To The Plan
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 63: 3 Ways To Tax-Optimize Your Charitable Giving

Most Americans donate to charity and many have distinct goals in their retirement plan to meet annual charitable donations. Most also give cash ...the easiest but also least tax-efficient way to give.
Hear Kevin discuss three ways to tax-optimize your charitable giving. Whether through in-kind transfers of appreciated stock, using a donor-advised fund, or via Qualified Charitable Distributions, each can help you gain a bigger tax break and meet your charitable goals in the Retire Smarter way.
 
Timestamps:
6:48 - Making Direct Gifts Of Stocks, Or Shares Of Mutual Funds
10:58 - Navigating Donor-Advised Funds
22:05 - Using IRA Money
26:29 - Two More Considerations For QCDs
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 62: Pension Lump Sums: 2021 May Be The Best Year Ever

Pension lump sums will be much higher in 2021 than 2020. Listen to Kevin discuss timing considerations on how to optimize your pension benefits by understanding the key variables that determine your lump sum. Company pension plans specifically discussed include Akron Children's Hospital, Bridgestone, FirstEnergy, Goodyear, Mercy Health, and Rockwell Automation.
Whether you have a pension from your company or not, you'll benefit from this episode. Why? Anyone can invest money with an insurance company and receive a lifetime income in the form of annuity payments. So these considerations are universal in crafting your retirement income plan.
Want more information on pension claiming strategies? Listen to Episode 38. https://www.truewealthdesign.com/ep-38-pension-lump-sum-or-monthly-payment/
 
Check out Episodes 12 & 13 for more details about annuities. https://www.truewealthdesign.com/episode-12-behind-the-curtain-of-annuities-and-free-steak-dinners/
https://www.truewealthdesign.com/episode-13-beating-up-on-variable-annuities/
 
Timestamps:
2:58 - What Has Changed With Pension Lump Sums?
8:56 - Why These Changes Matter
10:33 - Segment Rates
16:11 - What To Expect In The Future
20:39 - Spreadsheet Story
25:04 - Closing Thoughts
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Ep 61: The True Wealth Team Is Growing - Welcoming Ron Wyatt

We're excited to make a big announcement on this episode of Retire Smarter. Kevin is joined by True Wealth Design's newest partner, Ron Wyatt, who brings more than 25 years of financial planning experience to the firm. A lot of existing listeners will be hearing from Ron for the first time, so we'll spend some time today getting to know his background and professional journey. And new listeners will also get to learn more about Kevin's experiences.
The two will also cover why they've chosen to join forces now, and why it's going to be a benefit for all current and future clients. Join us as we celebrate the growing of True Wealth's footprint from northeast Ohio and southwest Florida to Pittsburgh!
 
Timestamps:
1:11 - Introducing Ron Wyatt
2:21 - Ron shares a little about his background
5:58 - Kevin gives a brief review of his background, including his time as a high school physics teacher
8:23 - Kevin tells us about one of his first clients, Tom, and the lessons learned from an emotional meeting in 2009
10:55 - Ron explains why he and Kevin are joining forces at True Wealth Design
16:56 - How does this impact clients? How will their experience change or remain the same with this transition?
24: 53 - Big picture: becoming a "bigger small firm"
 
Contact:
True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/
Call: 855-893-7526
Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth