Insurance companies are still able to offer competitive interest rates on fixed annuities. Depending on your objective, annuity contracts can be as short as one year or as long as ten years. The longer the contract, the higher the interest rate, but all of the current annuity rates are competitive.

Not only are fixed annuities able to offer competitive interest rates, but they also have the ability to generate an income stream, while preserving your initial deposit. This concept utilizes multiple annuities to create income, and includes one annuity that will grow tax-deferred back to your beginning balance. This allows you to take advantage of an income stream while still passing your original principal to your heirs or keeping it intact for later use.

Income riders offer another strategy for generating income from your annuity. These riders can be attached to your annuity contract to guarantee a steady stream of income that you cannot outlive. They also have the potential to produce increasing income to help you keep up with inflation, rising healthcare costs, and other cost-of-living increases.

Don’t be fooled by myths! Insurance contracts can offer a lot of flexibility. Some may offer complete liquidity with a return-of-premium feature, while others may offer waivers for nursing home confinement, terminal illness, and unemployment. With so many options available through insurance contracts, there is no reason to lose sleep. We can create a plan that is certain to meet your needs!

Whenever you feel like doing something, but do not have the time… take a notepad and write it down! Save this notepad away… this will be “100 things to do after I retire” list. Many times we forget to record our desires, and so end up forgetting them. Don’t let it happen to you!

Pursue your passions: Paint sunsets, sculpt , sing, learn Tai-chi, buy a telescope and explore the skies.

Read books on your interests, explore different genres like Science Fiction or Romance. Read on different topics like History or Geography .

Experience Nature: Walk less traveled paths, watch the moon, feel the wind on your face. Meditate on the sun-soaked grass. Have a picnic.

If you follow a religion: Devote your time to it, study and enhance your spirituality.

Have fun with you little ones: Your grandchildren will be your afterlife to you after retirement- you’ll live through them. It is worth taking out some of your valuable time for playing with them, watching them grow, helping them learn.

Take proper health care: Some of your time may be spent at the cardiologist or the podiatrist, depending on how healthy you are. Look after yourself.

Join special groups meant for your age group: You’ll find many people there passing through similar experiences. If you have problems they will provide you with support, and guidance.

Clean up the slate: It is best to resolve any misunderstandings, or resentments that might exist in others. You don’t want to die being misunderstood.

Write an autobiography: With your long years of experience, you will surely have a lot to share which will be immensely helpful to others. Even if you feel you have nothing to share, just start writing one, and you’ll be surprised at how freely the words will flow.

This may seem like a silly question but the reality is that most Americans do not keep their beneficiary information up-to-date on their life insurance policies. The real tragedy lies in the timing of the discovery and the lack of ability to do anything about it. Think of the effect of monies being mis-designated because of simply forgetting to update the beneficiaries on your life insurance policy. Some studies indicate at times there are no beneficiaries listed at all- this poses an obvious problem, to the policy owner and to the intended beneficiaries.

When is the last time you reviewed your policy with your family? Times are changing at an alarming rate. The family dynamic is constantly evolving and growing. It seems that every day a new baby is welcomed into a family, a son in-law, a granddaughter, or even a strong desire to leave a living legacy to a charitable organization. Will you be prepared for what lies ahead? Will all of the planning you have done for your future and the future of your family count when it’s needed most or will you act too late?

The good news is the solution is simple. Clients should keep their changing relationships and commitments in check with their policy to insure when the time comes loved ones are taken care of; after all isn’t that one of the main reasons for buying a death benefit? A good rule of thumb is to look back at your beneficiaries at least every two years to ensure you have captured and updated your policy to reflect the goals you have for your situation. Keeping your designation of funds in check can save your family from a lot of tears, heartache, and worry—will you insure your family/charity is taken care of as you would have them to be?

Common riders in most annuity contracts do offer “nursing home waivers” that waive any penalties to access your money if you are confined to a nursing home, but be aware, these waivers are not considered qualified under these new guidelines. In order for your annuity contract to be considered for treatment under the PPA, it must satisfy specific requirements set forth by the IRC Section 7702B(b), and that the care is pursuant to a specified plan as well. This can be overwhelming to decipher, but your licensed insurance provider can assist you in navigating through these contracts so that you can decide if one is right for you!

When comparing annuities with the optional lifetime income benefits, consider the duration you expect to live off the income generated. Perhaps you have other streams of income to supplement a higher, constant dollar amount from your annuity. If you feel your annuity is providing a bulk of your income, you may be drawn to increasing options within your annuity.

The increasing options available through these riders vary. One insurance company offers a lifetime income annuity that ties your income payments to the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI). Each year, the insurance company looks to see the change on the CPI and your payment can move by that indicator proportionately. Another increasing option can be found directly on an index, such as the S&P500. For example, your income payment moves with the index on your contract anniversary. Should your annuity realize a 4% increase that year, your payment will also increase by 4%. The best part is, if the index is down that year, your payment will not change, it has been “locked in”.

If the uncertainty of the CPI or an index gives you pause, and you prefer predictable income adjustments, there is also an annuity for that. The insurance company can determine your income payment with a guaranteed percentage increase each year, generally about 3%. It is important to explore these options and speak to your insurance advisor to determine if an income increasing benefit is right for you.

Decorate your house by bringing the outside in, use pinecones, pine tree limbs, holly berry branches and acorns. Trim your tree the old fashioned way. Pop some popcorn and string it up, add some cranberries for a touch of color. Many grocery stores are offering great deals during the holidays, some are even giving away food, or cash! Read the paper every week for your local deals, or if you don’t

subscribe to the newspaper, pick up the free ad flyers at the store. Visit GrocerySavingTips.com website for hundreds of free tips on saving money at the grocery store, with or without coupons! Ask family members to do a holiday potluck where everyone contributes their favorite dish.

Taking the entire family to the movie theater can be very pricey during the holiday break. This is the perfect time to catch up on the latest DVD rentals or start a holiday movie marathon tradition. With Netflix you can avoid the holiday crowds and have movies delivered right to your door!

Another inexpensive way to entertain through the holidays is to take a drive around your town, or another town nearby to see their Christmas lights. Have a snowman building contest with decorative props

(scarves, hats, corn cob pipe, etc.) and pair up relatives for a fun team building event! Get out your old board games and playing cards for a friendly little competition between friends and family. Check out a holiday book from the library and read it together as a family. Or, decide on a story and have everyone contribute a chapter to create a new holiday book of your own.

The holidays are about spending time with family and friends, not expensive purchases you will regret later.

Are the beneficiaries listed on your policies current? Are there any additional beneficiaries that we should add? Has your life insurance policy been reviewed? What will your CD renewal rate be? Should you look at moving your funds from a CD into an annuity? Annuities typically offer higher interest rates than CDs in exchange for a slightly longer term to hold with the insurance company.

Has your income plan been reviewed lately? Are your contracts still on track to return the necessary amounts to reach your income goals? Have your income needs changed over the past year? If so, your plan may need an adjustment. These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself and speak to your insurance professional about any questions or concerns you may have.

Insurance companies have weathered the test of time; some insurance companies have been here for hundreds of years. When choosing where to place the assets you have worked hard for, I encourage you to review the financial strength of the insurance carrier. When depending on income to last through your Golden Years, it is imperative to ensure that your income stream and retirement dollars are with a strong and stable company.

Now, more than ever, our assets should be protected from turbulent times and sheltered for certain and dependable income or legacy planning. Tell us what you need and we can guide you there.

One way is by generating income through a laddering system of annuities. This allows advisors to structure income streams that will increase over time. This is a very common approach to not only protect yourself from inflation, but also preserve your nest egg for future generations.

Another option would be to begin an income stream that would increase your payments by a flat percentage each year. This option may not be available in all states so it is important to seek the advice of an insurance professional.

There are many strategies available, and your Tarkenton Financial representative has many resources to create plans based on individual needs; call today. Your income provides a map of how you plan to live through retirement. Shouldn’t it be protected from erosion as well?

The Pros and Cons of Working During Retirement

Are you still retired if you return to work? For an increasing number of retirees, working for a paycheck after retirement is not an option – they need the extra income. For others, working after retirement is a personal choice. Some retirees “don’t do retirement well” and find themselves bored after a few months. Whatever the reason, returning to work does have a practical impact on your finances that you need to take into account. Let’s take a look at how working after retirement impacts your retirement nest egg, Social Security, pension payments and your health benefits.

Your retirement nest egg – By working after retirement you can reduce the amount of income you need to take from your nest egg. This can be especially important if you retire during a bear (down) market. The combination of the drop in the value of your nest egg plus withdrawals to meet your living expenses can significantly shorten the expected life of your portfolio. Instead of lasting 25 or 30 years, you may find yourself running out of money in just 15 years or less depending on the severity of the bear market.

By earning a paycheck for a few years after retirement you can reduce the amount of income withdrawn from your nest egg. This can extend the life of your portfolio significantly. For example, if you retire and work part time earning just one-third of your pre-retirement salary for 5 years, you can extend the life of your portfolio by as much as 40% (i.e. in our example, from 20 years to 28 years).

Your Social Security benefits – If you retire before reaching your full Social Security retirement age, working may result in a reduction in benefits. When a worker retires they have the option of taking a reduced benefit as early as age 62. But if they return to work while taking the reduced benefit and before reaching their full retirement age (age 65 to 67 depending on the year you were born), the benefits may be reduced. In 2008 earnings above the threshold of $13,560 will result in the benefit reduction (the threshold increases each year). For every $2 you earn above $13,560 you will lose $1 in Social Security benefits. Note that special rules (and a higher dollar limit) apply in the year you reach your normal retirement age. Once your reach your full retirement age, there is no reduction for work earnings – no matter how much you earn. If your benefits had been reduced due to earnings over the threshold, you will be entitled to an increase in the month you reach full retirement age.

For purposes of the benefit reduction only earned income is taken into account – wages from work or from self employment (if you start your own business and have net earnings, your benefits may be reduced).

A second consideration is the amount of Social Security benefits subject to income taxes. As your income increases, more of your benefit is subject to Federal income taxes. For an individual, Social Security benefits are subject to income taxes if their income is over $25,000; for couples the threshold is $32,000. Earnings from work may push you over the threshold and deliver a double whammy – a loss of Social Security benefits and additional taxes on the benefits you have remaining!

Your pension and 401(k) plan – If you retire from one employer and receive a pension, going to work for an unrelated employer will not impact your pension at all. On the other hand, if you continue to work with your present employer beyond the normal retirement date in the pension plan, or if you retire and begin receiving a pension and subsequently return to work for the same employer, your pension payment may be impacted. It may, for example, make a difference if you return as a part time employee or as a full time employee. Your employer’s plan may encourage “phased retirement” allowing you to work part time while receiving at least a portion of your pension payment. It is important that you meet with your plan administrator about how working past the normal retirement age or returning to work may change your pension payment. For example, will working part time reduce your final average pay amount under the pension formula, reducing your pension?

Similarly, check your profit sharing, 401(k) or other retirement plans to understand your options if you work past the normal retirement age. Will you be eligible for a lump sum distribution? If so, you may want to consider a rollover to an IRA. Will employer contributions still be made to your account if you work part time?

Your health benefits - Currently, there is no early benefit under Medicare. Coverage begins at age 65 (or earlier but only if you are disabled). Some employers allow coverage under its health plan for part time workers – this is especially important if you are under age 65 and do not have access to health care coverage of a spouse. But not all employers provide such coverage so your only alternative before age 65 may be an individual policy or COBRA. COBRA is a federal law that permits you to receive continuing health coverage under your former employer’s plan. But it is expensive and may not provide sufficient coverage (it only lasts 18 months).

Working past retirement may be necessary or just rewarding. Either way, understand how it impacts your retirement income and health coverage.