One of the best ways to stay financially healthy throughout your senior years leading into retirement involves retirement planning. The planning process should include assembling a group of qualified professionals dedicated to you--people who understand your financial situation and your long-term goals. Here are some of the experts you may want to add to your team.
Accountant
Accountants offer advice on tax matters and can help you prepare and submit your tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service. Accountants practicing as Certified Public Accountants must be licensed by the state(s) in which they practice.
Attorney
Some attorneys provide financial planning services, usually specializing in estate and tax planning. An attorney may also prepare the legal documents necessary to implement recommendations in areas such as wills, trust documents, or business ownership planning.
Estate Planner
Estate planners will offer advice on estate taxes or other estate-planning issues and work with you to develop a strategy to manage your assets at the time of your death. Although attorneys, accountants, financial planners, insurance agents, or trust bankers may all provide estate planning services, you should rely on an attorney to prepare legal documents such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.
Insurance Agent
Insurance agents are licensed by a state or states to sell life and health or property and casualty insurance products. A licensed insurance agent can offer recommendations about which existing insurance products will best meet your needs. Independent insurance agents sell products for two or more insurance companies; exclusive insurance agents represent only one.
Investment Advisor
Investment advisors include individuals or firms that provide securities advice for compensation as part of a regular business. They must register with the Securities and Exchange Commission or appropriate state securities agencies, unless specifically exempted, and investment advisors cannot sell securities products without a securities license. To purchase securities products, you must use a licensed securities representative, such as a stockbroker.
Stockbroker
Sometimes referred to as registered representatives, stockbrokers are licensed by the state(s) in which they practice to buy and sell securities products including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Stockbrokers must be registered with a company that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and pass FINRA-administered securities exams. They generally earn commissions on all of their transactions.
As you and your team of advisors consider your post-retirement expenses, one option to consider is a life settlement, which enables you to sell an existing life insurance policy you no longer need and receive a lump sum of cash that’s greater than the surrender value of the policy. You can then apply the proceeds to health care costs or other expenses you incur during your retirement years. Ashar Group has brokered life settlements in which the policy owner received as much as 8x the policy’s cash surrender value. You, or your financial advisor, can take our 7-question policy value quiz to determine whether your situation may qualify for a life settlement solution.
Ashar serves as an independent resource to the financial planning community by providing expertise in life insurance appraisals, life settlement services, and longevity analytics for advanced planning applications. We believe that life settlement decisions made by consumers are best served when they are represented by their own advisor or planning team. We invite you to contact us today to learn how we can be part of the process of determining what makes sense for your situation.