Blog

A Simple Question

Jeff Woodard

Sunday, February 20, 2022

I often ask Clients the question: “Do you think taxes will be higher in the future?” Everyone says “yes!”. Then I ask, “where are the majority of your future assets located?” I will see a lot of...

What I Believe

Jeff Woodard

Sunday, January 16, 2022

This is what I believe to be true.

Locking up your money

Jeff Woodard

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The truth is: You Do NOT Control the Money in Your 401(k) or IRA, or Any Similar Plan. You Control Your Money in a PRA Strategy

access to capital is the greatest living benefit of permanent insurance.... It's the only product that will guarantee what you want to happen will happen, whether you are there or not. An account that allows you to accumulate money

How to access your 401k prior to 59 1/2 without penalty

Jeff Woodard

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

I get this question regularly. It reminds us again how restrictive these accounts can be! About 31,000,000 Americans have tapped into these accounts for funds during 2020. This reduction in future assets can be a real hindrance for...

We operate upon three beliefs when it comes to tax-free income in retirement. The first is that tax rates are likely to be dramatically higher in the future than they are today. Possibly much higher. Mathematically speaking, we are...

If Not the Stock Market, Then What?

Jeff Woodard

Monday, October 25, 2021

Investments and Savings Opportunities. “The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” Benjamin Graham The stock market has been the default investment for a generation. And it has...

Most Americans will owe taxes on their retirement income withdrawals. Up to 85% of their Social Security distributions also will be taxable. Many don't realize this nor understand how to minimize these taxes. This can equate to 15, 20...

With just one mistake, Dennis Buchholtz lost a quarter of his life savings... Today, I want to share Dennis' unfortunate story with you. That's because many honest, hardworking folks just like Dennis are about to make the exact same...

The Best Place in the World to Save and Distribute Money

Jeff Woodard

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

The World's Best Account What would you say if I told you the life insurance industry is the world’s safest industry? What if I shared that the life insurance industry can provide a strategy that yields 20 to 30 times the safe...

“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Henry retired on New Year’s Eve 1999. As an investment banker on Wall Street during an economic boom, he’d spent the previous 10 years working...

You know something that would be no fun… retiring broke. What would be even worse is thinking you’re doing all the right stuff… and still retiring broke. For a lot of folks, it’s becoming a scary and...

Is a 529 Plan the best choice for university savings?

Jeff Woodard

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

A 529 Plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs. But are they the best tools for college savings? Let's look at the pros and cons vs permanent life insurance.

Will You Outlive Your Money?

Jeff Woodard

Monday, June 21, 2021

In 1928, U.S. life expectancy was about 57 years. Today, according to the Social Security Administration, folks turning 65 this year have an average life expectancy of 84.3 (men) or 86.6 (women). What’s more, people are living...

Life Insurance Celebrities

Jeff Woodard

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Now that Biden is expected to roll back the gift allowance, the wealthy are even more interested in owning permanent life insurance (PLI). Here are just a few of the reasons why: Owning PLI equalizes estate planning so that the estate...

With the recent release of the US Census we are getting a picture of the upcoming demographic time bomb facing the country. The 2020 census revealed that there are 331 million US residents, which represents a 7.4% increase since 2010....

If you think the next 10 years in the market will be similar to the last 10… it’s time to change your expectations. That means if you’re currently retired and living off your savings, or close to your retirement age...

Popular speakers in the financial and retirement space like Ken Fisher and Suzy Orman have made annuities rather unattractive. The major objection has to do with the supposed fees of the product. But did you know many of the annuities...

Rule #1: Don't lose money

Jeff Woodard

Saturday, April 17, 2021

To successfully plan, you must focus on how you can lose money. You must focus on risk. Once you've taken care of the risk, you can move on to the fun stuff... making money. The thing is, amateur investors are almost always thinking...

Is The Fed playing Monopoly with your future?

Jeff Woodard

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Our politicians have turned our financial system into a game of Monopoly. Can there be any real question that with all of the money printing and out-of-control stimulus spending… The next meltdown in our financial system could...

Biggest Tax Hikes Since 1993 President Biden and Vice President Harris are gearing up for a grand cross-country tour in the coming weeks. The two are embarking on a series of public speaking events in an effort to help sell the...

If I can show you a way to help you avoid taxes would you give me 30 minutes of your time?

Jeff Woodard

Sunday, March 14, 2021

If you have money in a tax-deferred retirement account such as a 401(k), IRA or 403(b), you're sitting on a tax time bomb. I'm going to explain the tax traps you face and show you how to move toward a 0% tax bracket in retirement...

Warren Buffett minced no words in his most recent annual shareholder letter (which came out in early March) when he told investors that “retirees face a bleak future.” Buffett was referring to the pitifully low interest...

Jason is 53 years old and just changed jobs. He's facing two retirement planning dilemmas... 1. He has $830,000 in his 401(k) from his previous job and wants to move it where it gives him more guarantees that he and his wife, Julie,...

The Stunning Problem With The 4% Retirement Income Rule

Jeff Woodard

Sunday, February 28, 2021

Risky Years Are you in the “retirement risk bubble”? This is called a 'systematic withdrawal' approach to retirement planning. Risk of the 4% rule. Sequence of Return Risk

Amid the strong rise in commodities over the last few months, gold has underperformed dramatically. Since August of 2020, copper, platinum, and palladium are up 48%, 32%, and 10% respectively, while gold actually dropped 10%. Gold is...

Plan Like a Fighter Pilot

Jeff Woodard

Friday, February 19, 2021

He's one of history's great military strategists, but you likely haven't heard of him... Colonel John Boyd was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and joined the Army Air Corps in 1944, while he was still in high school. After graduating from...

Editor's note: No matter your situation, you should consider owning some bitcoin... As I've explained, even skeptical investors should consider making room for "the ultimate store of value in the current environment." For most, just...

Facts: Why the Antelope Valley? The Antelope Valley (AV) has made a commitment to becoming the first Net Zero city of its kind. Meaning the city will be totally self-sufficient and not reliant on any external energy companies such as...

A party is raging right now – perhaps the biggest bash ever seen. But, you simply haven’t been invited. Worse than that, you’re unknowingly footing the bill. The tab is so high, in fact, your children and...

Why You Should Plan To Live Past 100

Jeff Woodard

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

More People Are Afraid of Going Broke Than Dying Do you want to live to 100? If you're like the majority of Americans, the answer is yes. In 2017, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that 65-year-old Americans can...

Protect Yourself from America's Free Money Free-for-All

Jeff Woodard

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Did you hear the news? Joe Biden wants to give you $1,400. That’s on top of the $1,200 and $600 checks that Trump signed, sealed and put into your mailbox. All told… that’s a lot of money. It’s pushed stocks,...

The basic premise of the Power of Zero is that due to the fiscal irresponsibility of the U.S., tax rates will have to rise dramatically over the next few years just to keep the country solvent. Combine that situation with a...

The chance of your house burning down or sustaining other damage is 1 in 1200. The odds you will use your auto insurance for a claim on your car is 18%. The odds that you’ll need long-term care are 72 in 100, but less than 30% have it

Do You Manage Your Risk?

Jeff Woodard

Monday, January 4, 2021

To successfully plan, you must focus on how you can lose money. You must focus on risk. Once you've taken care of the risk, you can move on to the fun stuff... making money. The thing is, amateur investors are almost always thinking...

Dual Compounding: A Case Study in Maximizing Your Gains

Jeff Woodard

Thursday, December 17, 2020

With Income for Life (a.k.a Private Reserve Account, PRA), we put our money into a high-quality indexed universal life insurance policy from a solid company. And we set it up a specific way to supercharge the growing cash balance in...

Losses are Optional

Jeff Woodard

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Safety Is Just One Key to a Prudent Retirement Vehicle Mark Cuban almost lost his fortune in the stock market. And it would have been bad… If you are a retiring corporate executive, this could apply to you, too. Let me explain...

Bond Basics

Jeff Woodard

Saturday, December 12, 2020

The basics of corporate bonds... Corporate bonds are debt instruments issued to the public by companies. They're typically issued in increments of $1,000, known as the "par value" or "principal" of the bond. Unlike a share of stock, a...

Effect of provisional income on effective marginal tax rate According to David McKnight, author of the Power of Zero, the name of the game in retirement is to get yourself into the zero percent tax bracket, as tax rates are likely to...

October 2020 was an ugly month for the U.S. stock market. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all declined more than 2%, registering their second down month in a row.Some will attribute this market weakness to pre-election jitters....

With the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at or near zero, you may wonder about your mortgage. Is it a good time to refinance or even pay off the debt entirely? After all, your mortgage is one of the biggest expenses you may...

Do you have a Hope? Or a Plan?

Jeff Woodard

Thursday, October 29, 2020

In early 1948, a group of US Air Force officers was working on a secret research project in the California desert codenamed MX981. The purpose of MX981 was to test how extreme gravitational forces from fast-moving fighter jets would...

Objects at Rest

Jeff Woodard

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

In the summer of 1687, after years of study and reflection, the legendary English scientist Isaac Newton published one of the most important works in the history of the world. He called it Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica,...

Tax-Free Retirement: Why Does It Matter? 🤔

Jeff Woodard

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Most people have not been planning for a tax-free retirement. They have been accumulating assets; they have not been thinking about distribution. They usually have accumulated assets in tax-postponed accounts. That tax will be paid at...

Unrealistic Expectations

Jeff Woodard

Sunday, October 18, 2020

When saving for retirement, it’s best to assume slightly lower returns than average to make sure you’re not relying on risky investments to save enough. Overly-aggressive return assumptions could well cause you to not have...

In the good old days (before coronavirus), many people could rely on working longer to wrangle a wayward retirement plan back on track. Not anymore. The devastating loss of jobs set off by the COVID-19 pandemic is depriving many folks...

The Oracle

They aren't making any more of it...

Jeff Woodard

Saturday, August 29, 2020

Folks didn't like this idea because it seemed too simple... Back in 2015, Neil Jordan proposed a simple way to save the cows in southern Africa. At first, experts in the conservation and biology fields took the scientist to task for...

By Andreas Antonopoulos In October 2008, on an obscure electronic mailing list, a participant using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto made an announcement. He said, “I think I have solved a problem in computer science. I have found...

Should You Retire Early?

Jeff Woodard

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Do you dream of life with no alarm clock, no commute, and no boss? Then you might be one of the many Americans who aspire to retire early. But for many, the dream of early retirement leads to a rude awakening when the reality of...

In the old days, they had this rule of thumb that your age should be your percentage allocation to bonds. So if you were 70 years old, you should have a 70% allocation to bonds. The reason is simple. When you’re close to...

Save like Dave Ramsey—just don’t invest like him!

Jeff Woodard

Saturday, August 1, 2020

I often get the question about Mr. Ramsey...here are my candid thoughts... “Ramsey is the pro bono financial adviser to millions of Americans who otherwise could never afford one.”—Politico.com There’s a gap in...

Lately, it can feel like each day brings a new headline about fluctuating market behavior. But amid the ups and downs of 2020, there may be some potential good news on the horizon. On July 16, 2020, the interest rate for a 30-year...

AARP published a report in which it found that 71% of Americans believe they pay no fees at all to have a 401(k) plan. (Put another way, more than 7 out of 10 people in America today are completely unaware that they are even being...

The Outrageous Effect of Taxation of Social Security Benefits

Jeff Woodard

Thursday, July 9, 2020

As you may be well aware, Social Security retirement benefits can be taxable to you, depending upon how much other income you have. What you may not be aware of is how this can seriously increase your taxes for small amounts of...

The CARES Act made a few changes to the rules surrounding retirement account withdrawals... Under normal circumstances, if you withdraw money from your qualified retirement plan – like a 401(k) or 403(b) plan – or...

An “eye-popping” $2 trillion in cash has been stashed in deposit accounts at U.S. banks since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the country in January.1This surge of money into banks has no precedent in history.Several...

Demise of 60/40 Portfolio

Jeff Woodard

Saturday, April 25, 2020

According to the Financial Times: “One of the basic rules of investment is coming unstuck, forcing some fund managers to rethink how they build their portfolios.” All to say the classic portfolio structure — 60%...

Qualified Plans: The Hidden Truth

Jeff Woodard

Monday, April 20, 2020

For many people, the term 401k is synonymous with retirement preparation, and sometimes represents the full extent of their preparedness. Such accounts are often included as part of a benefits package provided by employers, and...

This May Be the Best Time in Your Life to Become Tax-Free and to Diversify Your Assets

Jeff Woodard

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account that offers tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. Roth IRA rules dictate that as long as you've owned your account for 5 years and you're age 59½ or older, you...