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| Sharon Daniels, President Weiss Capital Management |
America is facing a retirement crisis today.
If you’re retired, or soon will be, then you are probably concerned about making your wealth last through the golden years.
Of course, you want to be prepared financially so you won’t have to make any lifestyle compromises down the road.
[Editor’s Note: Go here now to sign up for a special Webinar: The Weiss Breakthrough Retirement Solution]
But if you’re like many investors I speak with on a regular basis, you simply may not be ready to enjoy an entirely worry-free retirement. You might be anxious about your investments in today’s volatile markets … or about the rising cost of living … or more likely, both.
And let’s face it, there are fewer reliable options available to help secure your retirement and grow your nest egg today. As a result, many investors are searching for new solutions to help safeguard their retirements, and perhaps you are too.
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Be Our Guest in Las Vegas … On Wednesday, May 12, 2010, Weiss Capital Management will be attending the 2010 Las Vegas MoneyShow … and YOU are invited to attend as our special guest!
We are hosting a live seminar designed to help you find a solution to meet your retirement needs:
Who Is Most Qualified to Manage Your Annuity?
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The retirement crisis we face is, in many ways, no fault of our own.
We followed the right steps: We worked hard … saved for the future … and made every effort to invest wisely. But the very foundations that once helped assure us of a comfortable retirement are crumbling all around us.
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That comfortable retirement based on the “three-legged stool” of Social Security, pensions and personal savings is teetering precariously. TWO of these legs — Social Security and corporate pension funds — have been kicked right out from under us. At the worst possible time … as millions of Americans approach retirement!
Shrinking Social Security: Social Security is becoming a cruel joke that offers very little financial security now and probably even less in the future. The system is unsustainable. Politicians in Washington are afraid to admit it … but you and I know the truth.
- Despite promises that Social Security benefits would be there for us for decades, last year the Congressional Budget Office claimed that Social Security wouldn’t post its first annual shortfall until 2017 — WRONG!1
- NOW they admit Social Security will go into the red THIS YEAR, paying out nearly $30 billion more in benefits than it brings in.
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So how does Washington plan to “fix” Social Security?2
[Editor’s Note: Register now to hear our solution for the retirement crisis.]
Most likely, the only way to “fix” it is to reach deeper into our pockets with a combination of payroll tax hikes AND Social Security benefit cuts. Mark my words — more tax increases are on the way, and they’re likely to hit us sooner rather than later.
Public and Private Pensions Threatened: Defined benefit pension plans, both public and private, are in a sad state too …
- Unfunded liabilities (or deficits) in the nation’s state and local pensions are a staggering $728 billion today.3
And it’s about to get even worse …
- Research shows that these pension deficits will rise to nearly $1.2 trillion in the next four years … public servants beware!4
But those expecting to collect from corporate pension plans should also be wary …
- Among Fortune 1000 companies, aggregate pension deficits are $225 billion today, and deficits could grow even larger, because corporations are expected to contribute one-third LESS money to pension plans this year than they did in 2009!5
With Social Security shrinking … and pensions under attack … we’re forced to rely more than ever on our own personal savings. But to add insult to injury, even as we try to save more for our retirement, Uncle Sam is around the corner to pickpocket us with higher taxes.
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Tax Hikes Erode Savings: At a time when most of us need to save more, another round of tax hikes threatens to eat up those very same savings.
- Tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003 are set to EXPIRE beginning Dec. 31! The highest marginal tax rate will jump next year to almost 40 percent!6
- The estate tax is coming back from the dead too, with a 50 percent haircut to the value of your estate beyond the $1 million exemption.7
- Taxes on both capital gains and dividend income are going WAY up too. Next year, cap gains rates jump by ONE-THIRD — and dividend income will be taxed at TWICE the current rate for the highest tax brackets!8
[Editor’s Note: Join us as we unveil a tax-advantaged retirement solution that could help you secure your retirement.]
Significantly higher taxes on unearned income — in the form of dividends and capital gains — will deliver perhaps the biggest blow to your retirement portfolio.
So how can you help protect your assets
from IRS pickpockets … and what can you do about
sheltering more of your retirement savings?
Now may be the best time to consider moving your assets into more tax-efficient investments.
Of course, the most obvious tax-advantaged vehicles are IRAs and company-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans.
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But if you have already maxed out these traditional savings options, then you may want to consider other tax-advantaged savings solutions — such as annuities — to help shelter even more of your portfolio from rising taxes. Here are a few steps to consider now.
[Editor’s Note: Go here now to sign up for a special Webinar:
The Weiss Breakthrough Retirement Solution]
First, take a good look at your current investment mix to make sure your most tax-inefficient assets are held in tax-advantaged accounts. Tax-inefficient assets tend to deliver most or all of their returns in the most heavily taxed ways.
Here are a few general guidelines to help you identify tax-inefficient investments in your own portfolio …
- Most fixed-income securities pay ordinary income, which is taxed at higher marginal tax rates. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and high-yield bonds (or bond funds), for example, are often the most tax-inefficient securities.
- Common stocks are taxed at lower capital gains rates if they are held longer than a year. But don’t forget, this rate is set to move higher, as mentioned above.
- Equity mutual funds can be either efficient or inefficient. Some funds generate small taxable distributions, while others regularly distribute short-term capital gains and even ordinary income. You can check a mutual fund’s distribution history on the fund company’s Web site, or on Morningstar.
When comparing mutual funds with similar performance, all things equal, a fund with lower portfolio turnover and less frequent capital gains distributions may be the more tax-advantaged choice.
Second, rebalance your assets periodically. You may want to consider changing your asset allocation so that your most tax-inefficient assets (bonds, REITs, etc.) are held in tax-advantaged accounts, like IRAs or annuities, instead of individual brokerage accounts.
Third, separately managed accounts, like the kind we offer at Weiss Capital Management, can be highly tax efficient, if managed with an eye toward limiting taxable gains.
When it comes to your retirement wealth, you may not be able to rely as much on Social Security, pensions or personal savings these days … but at Weiss Capital Management, we are carefully focused on these and other emerging economic issues that could potentially impact our clients’ portfolios.
To help our clients and other investors who are retired or nearing retirement, for the first time ever, my investment team and I have teamed up with Fidelity Life Insurance* to host an important Webinar briefing THIS WEEK where we’ll unveil a new Weiss Capital Management retirement solution. We feel it is an absolute breakthrough for our company and could help you rescue your retirement! And I want to extend this special invitation for you to attend …
The Weiss Breakthrough Retirement Solution!
Thursday, April 29 at Noon Eastern
Presented by Weiss Capital Management
For the first time ever, we’re teaming with Fidelity Investments* … one of the world’s largest retirement providers … to bring you this landmark video briefing. This coming Thursday, we’ll cover …
- A new way to harness the power of tax-deferred compounding and potentially grow your portfolio faster … without the drag of taxes …
- How we may be able to add value by professionally managing the asset allocation of your retirement portfolio — whether you’re already retired or soon will be …
- How you can make virtually unlimited contributions to this tax-advantaged retirement solution to help catch up on lost savings …
- And we’ll unveil a NEW Weiss Capital Management retirement solution that we feel is an absolute breakthrough for our company and could be a breakthrough for your retirement portfolio too …
Remember, this exclusive video briefing is FREE
And registering now takes only seconds
With your retirement savings under threat, I believe you can benefit greatly from this valuable, common sense strategy session. What you learn could make all the difference in helping you secure your retirement portfolio in the years ahead. That’s why I urge you to register now, so you don’t miss it.
Best wishes,
Sharon A. Daniels
President
Weiss Capital Management, Inc.
P.S. Go to this link right away to tell me you’re coming to our Webinar and we’ll reserve your place and make sure you get all the instructions for attending.
Weiss Capital Management (an SEC-Registered Investment Adviser) is a separate but affiliated entity of Weiss Research, the publisher of Money and Markets. Both entities are owned by Weiss Group, LLC.
The preceding editorial contains forward-looking statements regarding intent and belief with regard to the economy and the market in general. Readers are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from those statements.
* This event contains information on a Fidelity insurance product. Fidelity insurance products are issued by Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company ("FILI"), and in New York, by Empire Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company® ("EFILI"), New York, N.Y. Weiss Capital Management financial advisors are not appointed agents of FILI, EFILI, and/or Fidelity Insurance Agency, Inc. Any recommendation and/or information WCM provides about any specific Fidelity insurance product is done so in its capacity as a registered investment adviser. Weiss is not affiliated with any Fidelity Investments company.
1New York Times: Social Security to See Payout Exceed Pay-In This Year, 3/24/10
2Ibid.
3Center for Retirement Research at Boston College: The Funding of State and Local Pensions: 2009-2013, April 2010
4Ibid.
5Towers Watson: Financial Health of Top Corporate Pension Plans Improved in 2009: Towers Watson Analysis Finds Funding Shortfalls Still Much Greater than Two Years Ago, 4/7/2010
6Turbotax-Summary of Federal Tax Law Changes for 2009-2017, 4/6/10
7Ibid.
8Ibid.
About Money and Markets
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Money and Markets (MaM) is published by Weiss Research, Inc. and written by Martin D. Weiss along with Nilus Mattive, Claus Vogt, Ron Rowland, Michael Larson and Bryan Rich. To avoid conflicts of interest, Weiss Research and its staff do not hold positions in companies recommended in MaM, nor do we accept any compensation for such recommendations. The comments, graphs, forecasts, and indices published in MaM are based upon data whose accuracy is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Performance returns cited are derived from our best estimates but must be considered hypothetical in as much as we do not track the actual prices investors pay or receive. Regular contributors and staff include Andrea Baumwald, John Burke, Marci Campbell, Amy Carlino, Selene Ceballo, Amber Dakar, Dinesh Kalera, Red Morgan, Maryellen Murphy, Jennifer Newman-Amos, Adam Shafer, Julie Trudeau, Jill Umiker, Leslie Underwood and Michelle Zausnig.
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