10.14.22: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

10.14.22: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Producer:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs, and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Producer:
Welcome to Prosperity Principles with your host, Ed Cruz. Each week, Ed and his company seek to educate Americans like you by providing real strategies for protecting and growing their hard-earned money. Get it for a full hour of financial information and economic news affecting your bottom line. Ed wants you to reach the financial freedom you've worked so hard for. So now let's start the show. Here's Ed Cruz.

Ed Cruz:
Welcome back to Another Week of Prosperity Principles. I'm Edwin Cruz And for 24 years now, I've been talking to many retirees and pre-retirees about what their challenges could be in the future. And it's my pleasure to always discuss the solutions to their problems. And of course, we know that there are a good number of issues facing us today, such as market risk and global economic concerns. And of course, we also realize that there are a lot of baby boomers coming forward here in the next coming years to retire. So there's a lot on our minds. There's there's a lot that we need to speak about today. And here to help me with everything is Matt McClure. Welcome, Matt.

Producer:
Hi there, Ed, How's it going?

Ed Cruz:
Going well. And of course, here we recently heard about Social Security boosting their. They're their payroll, they're by 8.7%. And so we know that inflation continues to be an issue. And obviously, we know that seniors are facing this the worst because they're on fixed income. So we have to find ways to help our seniors and our retirees. And for that reason, I want to bring up that for anyone out there that is that is facing any of these issues and and you're not sure how you're going to make ends meet here in the future. I want to bring up a solution. It's an A-plus carrier that most of our audience more than likely has heard about. And and they're offering up to their people that want income, a 20% bonus plus an 8% annual guarantee for up to ten years. I think that would help a lot of seniors today. What do you think about that, Matt?

Producer:
Yeah, you know, with inflation, as you say, being as as high as it has been and persistently and stubbornly so here, you know, those types of, you know, guarantees from that carrier. And of course, as we always say, the the guarantee is based on the claims paying ability of the issuer there for for us. We have to always have to make sure and make that point. But the guarantees that are, you know out there can be such a great thing when costs are going up. You know, you want to be putting the money that you've worked so hard for to work for you. And that's kind of the point. And that's really kind of the point of the whole show. You know, I mean, we've got a lot coming up here today talking about health care as the Medicare annual enrollment period is coming up as well. So that's a big biggie for a lot of folks and a lot more about the market turmoil, too. So people really are they're looking for these guarantees and, you know, they are out there.

Ed Cruz:
Yeah. And if you're if you're looking for a solution as such, again, a 20% income bonus, 8% guarantee, give us a call 386 228 5769. And not only will we talk about these solutions, but I also like to get plenty of information in in our clients hands. And so we have a special book that we like to give out. It's a very simple read. It's the Annuity 360 book, and I believe that education is number one before making any decision.

Producer:
Yeah, you know, knowledge is power and you don't know what you don't know, right? So if you would like a copy of Annuity 360 and like I had says it's got, you know, a lot of great information in there and it's not like we're asking you to read War and Peace or the entire Encyclopedia Britannica or something like that, cover to cover. I mean, I'm looking here, I've actually have my copy in my hands. And the it's including the citations, the references. At the end, it's 88 pages. So it's not like it's some, you know, gigantic read. But in these 88 pages is crammed. A lot of helpful information for you by the author there Ford Stokes. So if you want a copy of that annuity 360 book go to MyProsperityTeam.com. That is my prosperity team dot com or you can call 386 228 5769. That number once again 386 228 5769.

Producer:
And now for some financial wisdom, it's time for the quote of the week.

Producer:
So our words of wisdom this week had come from somebody who really knew what he was talking about when it came to money and investing. John or Jack, if you are so inclined. Bogle was an American investor and philanthropist credited with creating the first index fund. That's right. We're talking about that John Bogle of Vanguard fame. He was an avid investor and money manager himself. He really preached investment over speculation. And that is something that is very apropos for these days in the financial markets and in our economy in general. And Jack Bogle's quote from there for today, rather, is, quote, If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in a stock market, you shouldn't be in stocks. So, I mean, we can imagine it these days because it's been happening.

Ed Cruz:
That's right. I mean, if we look at the overall average loss today in the stock market, we're up over 20%. And to to think that we haven't even discussed being in a recession yet is somewhat troubling. But, you know, the truth is, if you look at the definition of it, we are there. And the problem is that we're seeing many economists and some of the top CEOs of some of these banks, like Jp morgan, say that we are headed towards a deep recession. So we could be looking at another 20%, 30% loss in the stock market. Well, where will that leave you? And so that's why we're so concerned and about our listeners here. And that's. We want to give you the education so that you don't continue to make that mistake. How would you like to participate in the market but not participate when the market goes negative? That's what we're here to discuss. That's how that's how we can help you in a tremendous way. And this is what will help you better your retirement in the future.

Producer:
Yeah. Participate in those gains and not the losses. I think a lot of folks are saying, especially right about now. Boy, that sounds pretty good to me. So I know it would to to me as well. But yeah, so that wisdom there from John Bogle, very apropos for these days when we're talking about Wall Street and Main Street really forgot to mention something a moment ago here. Add in. This is something that folks really need to do that we would encourage them to do. In addition to going to the website, MyProsperityTeam.com, or giving a call to Ed at 386 228 5769 for that free full retirement plan consultation which we'll tell you more about later on in the show. You can also go check out our past episodes and subscribe to Prosperity Principles as a podcast. So you never miss a new show. You'll get the notifications for it. You'll know when one comes out each week and you will. You'll never be behind. You'll always be right on top of things here with prosperity principles. So do that and reach out to us as well. We love, love, love hearing from our listeners.

Producer:
It's time for this week's Problem Solver.

Producer:
Yes. As you can tell by our very dramatic introduction there for this segment, it is time for the problem solver. And this is the part of the show where I present Edwin Cruz with a problem and he, as he so often does, solves it. And this one is actually I love this one because it's it's a real world problem solver. And actually some recent clients here who were 80 and 83, an older couple right there in the middle of their retirement. And I love that they look that they see it that way. They're not like, oh, we're at the end of our retirement at 80 and 83, right? They said, we're right in the middle of it, so that's great. But they started to develop a fear of spending their money here recently. And and upon inspection, they were actually overinvested in bonds. They had lost 25%, one quarter of their portfolio since the start of the year. And they didn't know that they could update their annuity. So what would the solution be for this particular couple?

Ed Cruz:
Yeah, and sadly, we see this too often. You know, if we've only seen it five times, it's still too often. I say, So what did we do? We did an annuity x ray and what does that mean? We're able to completely look at all the ins and outs, fee structure, what they had four options inside of their inside of their indices. You know, we're able to to show them how they can upgrade to a more suitable annuity for them. We select the best option that nearly doubled their annual annuity payout from from 32000 to 61000. And the better than all that we're able to to to eliminate and reduce fees in that portion of their portfolio. They will receive an income that they can start using right away. They don't need to worry about as much spending anymore because they can they can pay for it at this point. Right. We have planned for them to be able to to do these things and not worry. So for a couple in their eighties, this is a big deal and we're happy to have help that family.

Producer:
Yeah, absolutely. So I think a great solution for them and being able to give them some peace of mind and, you know, and it's a it's a great thing that you're able to do not only for this particular couple, but really for anybody who has an issue like that. And, you know, as you say, you see it a lot these days that people don't necessarily know that they have the options that they have to, you know, maybe update an annuity or change a particular product from one product to another or, you know, something like that. When they're looking at their portfolio, they might think that they're stuck in one place. That's not really necessarily the case for them.

Ed Cruz:
I actually faced that question earlier today by by someone that I'm working with at this point, not knowing, you know, how much they can spend, what they can spend. They've never been given that that education, that that that outlook. So I was able to sit down with them, give them a a good view into what their future would look like. You know, we find that too many couples in retirement fear spending their hard earned money. You know, I, I see some of these seniors, they're dressed a certain way and I'm saying, gosh, you know, you got three fourths of $1,000,000 sitting around in accounts, but you're afraid to spend any. And with this, with the economic conditions, with inflation, they look at the stock market, they're thinking that they're going to go down to zero. And and I try to ease that for them. And so the one thing that we can promise people is that, you know, investors in annuities, you know, they don't lose a not even a penny due to the market conditions. If we look back at the financial crisis of 2008 and even prior to that 2001, we have shown people that regardless of what market conditions are out there, that if you're invested in these fixed indexed annuities, you're not going to lose a penny. And I think that's comforting to know that, you know, the market could be down 20, 30, 40, 50%.

Ed Cruz:
It doesn't matter what it's down, you're not going to lose. And in fact, I tell people, whenever the market goes down this way, there's a reset in indices within these annuities that actually plays to your favor, because after that you see a huge jump. So not only did you not take the losses of 20, 30, 40%, which I tell where I ask people, why are you subjecting yourself to those losses when you don't have to? They say, well, the market will come back. I say, the market will come back, but how many years will you lose in growth because of that? So it could be five, six years like it was the last go around. Why not start earning as soon as the recession is over, deep recession, whatever it may be, We help clients do this. And again, if you're looking for this type of solution, just like this couple in their eighties, again, we have an A-plus carrier offering a 20% income bonus with 8% guarantees for ten years. Take advantage of that. That doesn't come around often if and who knows if we'll ever see it again. But we have these solutions to help you. All you have to do is call us 386 228 5769.

Producer:
Yeah, that number once again 386 228 5769. Or the website is MyProsperityTeam.com. It's my prosperity team dot com and yeah and from what you were just talking about there, the way that I sort of like to wrap my head around it is, you know, if you're invested in the stock market, right, and you lose, say, 50% of your investment portfolio, right. Your losses total 50%. Right. And then a little while later you gain 50% and you say, oh, boy, I've I've recouped my investment losses there. No, you're now at 75% of where you were before. You would have to gain 100% of your investments to get back just to the baseline of where you were before those losses. But it's not that way with when you're invested in something like a fixed indexed annuity, because when, as you say, the markets go down your investment account or your account, your annuity, that that particular product does not go down with the market. It stays at zero. That's why we say zero is your hero right.

Ed Cruz:
That's correct. Zero is your hero when you don't have to recoup those type of losses that we've seen here over the past couple of times. And I believe what's ahead of us right now, you just come out so much further ahead. I've had clients. With market accounts and with annuities that I offer. And we look at it after the recession and they'll just look at me and say, I should have done more. You know, I shouldn't have stayed where I'm at. Or if we look five years down the road and they say, well, you know, I finally started making money here. I'm finally above where I originally was five years ago. But boy, your annuities already up 40, 50%. And that's the difference that every time that there is a market rebalance, if we want to call it that, the annuities just continue to pull away more and more and more. And so understanding the concept is step one. But taking action is is the real deal. And that's what we're here to help you do.

Producer:
Yeah, absolutely. And once again, folks, the website is My Prosperity Time.com. If you would like to do just that and take action on really securing your financial future. Well, so big times, big busy times in the health care market in the U.S. right now, Ed, we've got the annual enrollment period for Medicare Open. It opened back on the 15th of October. It runs through December 7th. It is the time of year that all of our our friends who are in the Medicare business are just really, really busy trying to help folks out, making sense of their choices, their options, should they stick with what they have, should they change those options there? And so what we thought we would do this week, folks, is take a look at our smart health plan. Right. We did a few weeks back. We did a series, our Smart Retirement Plan series. Right. And part of that was smart health. Well, let's take a little review of this of our previous discussion of Medicare, just to refresh everybody's memory, since we're in the annual enrollment period now, we need to recap this because it's really, really important. So let's start off here by taking a look at Medicare and kind of making sense of all the different parts and and the options that are available. And first off, talk to us about just the sheer size of Medicare. How many Americans are actually currently enrolled in Medicare?

Ed Cruz:
Well, that's a big number. More than 61 million Americans are covered by Medicare health plans right now, and that's by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. 18 and one half percent of our population is on Medicare. That's a big number. And again, if you remember us telling you that by 2030, 20% of our population will be over the age of 65. That number is just going to continue to balloon. And so that continues to put pressure on our on our health care system. Almost four out of ten Americans are on Medicare or Medicare. Consumers are also enrolled in Medicare Advantage. Plans for 2022. Medicare beneficiaries have access to 39 Medicare Advantage plans. I remember when those Medicare advantages, Medicare Advantage plans first came out, you had a had a few choices here and there. And it's just hard to believe that we we are up to 39 and who knows how many more in the coming future being that the population is growing and 89% of Medicare Advantage plans offered in 2022 include prescription drug coverage. And obviously that's one of the the big deals in this, all because you see or I've seen it, but you also hear about so many seniors that don't take their medications because they just can't afford it. So it's nice to know that there are plans out there that include this.

Producer:
Yeah, definitely so, because everybody really needs all the help that they can get, especially those, as you say, living on a fixed income in your retirement years. You need help in paying for those drugs because the out-of-pocket costs can just be astronomical there. So, okay, so it's a little bit of alphabet soup when we look at Medicare, right? Because people. Okay, part A, part B, part D, part C, part GFG you know, I, J, K, Z, whatever. We were like, okay, my.

Ed Cruz:
Kids when they were growing up. Yeah.

Producer:
Right. I feel like I'm watching an episode of Sesame Street here or something, you know? So what, what are the basic parts of Medicare here and what do people need to know? I guess let's start at the very beginning with part A.

Ed Cruz:
Sure. Part A is known as the hospital insurance covers, inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing facility care, hospice care, and some home health care.

Producer:
Very good. Well, see, and that is kind of the basics there. The part that. Is, you know, sort of automatic, one of the parts of Medicare that that just goes into effect. And people are, you know, if you think about it as hospital care, nothing, nothing long term because there's no, you know, long term care coverage in Medicare. But if you think of hospital insurance, like if you if you get sick and you have to go to the hospital, you have, you know, something like that, an inpatient hospital stay or like a, you know, rehabilitation in a skilled nursing facility, that kind of a thing. That's what that's talking about. Okay. So that's part A, What about part B? This is something that might look pretty pretty familiar to folks, I guess.

Ed Cruz:
Right. And that's the part that most seniors pay for. Unless you have one of those one of those advantage plans or an HMO type plan. But Part B, also known as the medical insurance, it covers your doctor services, outpatient care, medical supplies and preventative services. Some people automatically get part B, but others have to enroll. You could be subject to a late enrollment fee if you don't sign up for part B when you first become eligible. So things to to pay attention to. And I know some people that have actually been a little late to the to the party. As I say, my wife's uncle just recently, he was turning 65. And I told him months in advance, go and go and take care of these these issues, because if not, he could face some consequences. So he listened. Well, he took care of it.

Producer:
Yeah, well, there you go. That's that's why you like it when they listen. You know, you got to got to stay on top of things. And that's one example of exactly when you got to stay on top of things, because otherwise you could pay that late enrollment fee and you don't want to have to do that. Okay. So for now, we're going to skip letter C, right? We've done part A, Part B, We'll get to see in a minute. I know I told you it was alphabet soup, Right? But what about Medicare Part D?

Ed Cruz:
That's the that's the one that matches what it is, right? Drug coverage. All right.

Producer:
It makes it makes sense. It's crazy.

Ed Cruz:
Yeah. And there are many plans out there that do cover a wide variety of prescription drug coverage. So when you're when you're signing up, when you're looking at these plans, see if it covers your your your drug, your prescription drug coverage, That could be that could be something that would save you a ton of money. So just be aware.

Producer:
Yeah, Definitely got to be aware of exactly what is covered and what is not. And so let's look now at you know, when we look at parts A, B and D, there obviously there's there's a gap, Right? So let's look at what could sort of fill that gap in in our Medicare coverage. We've got Medicare supplement insurance or Medigap and Medicare Advantage. Talk about those two things and the differences between them.

Ed Cruz:
Yeah, like you said, these these two types of coverage are designed to fill a coverage gap in the part A and part B plans and just know that you cannot have them both. And about 81% of beneficiaries who have parts A and B supplement their coverage with Medigap Medicaid or employer sponsored plans. That's dying out. But I do know some out there that have employer sponsored plans. And if you have that, that's awesome. If you don't, then you have to look for these these alternatives between a supplement or an advantage plan.

Producer:
You know, it can be a confusing thing because people can say people might say, you know, okay, I can should I get a supplement plan or should I get a medicare Advantage plan? You can't have both at the same time. That's a that's a big thing. It's one or the other. It's not both here. And and, you know, just say about 81% of beneficiaries who have A and B parts A and B do supplement their coverage. So walk us through a little bit of the detail here about these two things. Let's start with Medicare and Medigap coverage. That one is one that people might be surprised a little bit, I guess, at the cost, Right?

Ed Cruz:
Right. And there's again, there's different levels of coverage when you're looking at a supplement with this type of insurance. It's it's it's more expensive, obviously, than than a medigap plan, but it covers any hospital or doctor that accepts Medicare. So that would be one of the big reasons that you would you'd want that there's no need for a prior authorization or a referral from your primary doctor. It's good for people who have specific doctors or hospitals that they want to use. But if you look closely or you ask your doctor, more than likely they participate in some type of an advantage plan. And you'd want to know that because if they do again, Medicare Advantage, also known as part C, Medicare Advantage plans cover hospitals, doctors and often include prescription drug coverage and other coverage. That's not included in part A and B, Medicare Advantage. They operate as a health maintenance organization or as most people know it as an HMO. And it does limit people who are covered by this plan to doctors and hospitals in their network. But as I said, most of these doctors already participate in these type of plans. So it just comes down to figuring out who's your doctor. You know, have you gotten a second opinion lately? Do you really like your doctor? If you don't look around, find who you like. But you'll you'll be able to figure out whether they belong to to one of these HMOs or or if if they don't and you really like them, then you need to go out there and shop around for a supplement supplemental plan.

Producer:
Yeah. And there you go. Well, and then, you know, people might listen to all this, right, and say, okay, well, there are some some of these things I have to pay for, you know, mentioned part B, having to be paid for drug coverage, having to pay for that part C coverage. Well, not part C, but Medigap coverage. Right. The Medicare supplement being more expensive. And so people say, okay, well, how can I make sure that I'm able to pay for this in retirement? So let's take a look at that. You know, if folks have some some ability to do this as far as their assets go, there are ways to actually make some guaranteed income come your way in retirement so that you do have the ability to make these payments. And so you're not without any aspect of your health care in those years.

Ed Cruz:
Absolutely. You know, when we sit down and provide you with that complimentary visit that we do, one thing that we go over is what do you need to cover your everyday expenses? And then what do we need to cover for all the extras that you want to do, Right? So and when we sit down and go over what you're going to need to cover all of your expenses, obviously thinking about health care is one of those. And we do have other supplementary income streams that we build for for emergencies. At some in some areas we just keep some some assets deferred for for those emergency needs. But some people will buy an annuity so that they can cover the cost of their Medigap plans or any co-pays or deductibles that they may have. And, you know, we can help you with that today if you want to cover those costs and and not have to worry about it. Ensuring that your health care needs will be met can give you peace of mind. And we know that take money from 401 K or from some savings and put it into an annuity. Use the annuity again to cover those medical costs once you turn over the age of 65 years old. So these are these are smart things that you can do so that you don't have to worry. And again, you always want some type of cost of living increase built into these income streams because the cost today will not more than likely be the cost tomorrow. So we want to plan for that as well. So again, do your research know, get a couple of options and and make the smart decision.

Producer:
Yeah, and that's very, very important, especially these days. Right. Some guarantees in the future of some some guaranteed income there and that's a biggie for a lot of folks these days with all of the the market turmoil, as I say, the upheaval in a lot of people's investment portfolios. And, you know, when we're thinking about health care and using something like an annuity to be able to pay for your health care in the future, it's doing a little bit of work now for a lot of peace of mind in the future, right? So go to MyProsperityTeam.com, folks. That's my prosperity team .com, to get in touch with Edwin Cruz to learn more about all of the things that we've been talking about today. You can also give them a call at 386 228 5769. That's 386 228 5769. It's absolutely free of any cost and any obligation.

Producer:
Here's the cost cutter of the week.

Producer:
All right. So we've got a bit of an idea here for folks to be able to save some money. We've been talking a lot on the show today about Medicare. And, you know, people might they might get things set right and and say, okay, well, I'm I'm happy with my coverage with what I have, but it doesn't necessarily need to stay that way. And staying that way could mean that you're paying more money in the end. Right.

Ed Cruz:
Absolutely. It's know, I always tell people that that they should shop around for their house insurance, their auto insurance. And it's no different with with a medicare plan. You should shop it around at least every 2 to 3 years because you could be losing money, you could be overpaying. And you shouldn't do that. I don't know how many times I've changed my my auto insurance coverage, but it's because I'm getting the the same coverage for for less price. And why wouldn't you want to do that? By reevaluating new options each year, you'll more than likely find that you can save money on your Medicare expenses. And some people do a medicare coverage check every year just in case they have the opportunity to save some extra cash. And I always encourage my parents to do it. So why wouldn't you?

Producer:
Yeah, absolutely right. That's, you know, something that I think everybody needs to do. Just make sure that even as I say, if you are happy with your coverage, that doesn't mean that there's not something better out there or something that's very similar for, you know, a less expensive premium each and every month. So, yeah, definitely a good idea to be able to, you know, review things and just make sure that you are all set up and good to go and that you're not paying more than you have to. Well, speaking of paying, I didn't even plan this Segway here. But speaking of paying more than you have to inflation and interest rates, let's I did a little piece here for the show not all that long ago and talking about the Federal Reserve and interest rates, why they're doing what they're doing right now with interest rates and how high they could go. Let's take a listen to this and we'll talk about it a little bit here on the other side. And still, of course, plenty more of the show to to come as we continue on here. But this is a look at the Federal Reserve and interest rates and how they could affect you. The Federal Reserve keeps raising interest rates to combat inflation, but how could it affect your retirement? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement dot Radio Network. Powered by Amerilife.

Producer:
Supply chain issues, the pandemic, energy prices and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have all been contributing factors to runaway inflation to fight rising prices. The Federal Reserve has been using one of its most powerful tools raising interest rates.

Tibor Besedes:
So they started increasing the interest rates about. I guess, two meetings ago. So about three months ago when when they had the first increase of. Three quarters of a point percentage points to 75 basis points.Which at that point.Was the largest increase.In about 30 years.

Producer:
Tibor Besedes is an economics professor at Georgia Tech. He says it's surprising that the August reading for inflation did not see a decrease, especially given gas prices have been plummeting from recent astronomical highs.

Tibor Besedes:
Inflation is not going to stop all of a sudden. But what one is hoping for is that these increases start to decrease so that we start getting to levels that are a bit more manageable and. more pleasing to the eye. If nothing else, it was it was very surprising.

Producer:
That's why, Besedes says many analysts now expect the Fed to be even more aggressive with interest rate hikes in coming months. So what does this mean for you? Potentially higher payments on mortgages, other loans and credit cards.

Tibor Besedes:
Securing.Any sort of balance on any loan that.Doesn't have a fixed interest rate? Is it going to become more expensive?

Producer:
Besedes says it's important for consumers to cut back where they can to lessen the blow of inflation and interest rate hikes. And if you're in the market for a new home, it could be good to delay the purchase until rates or home prices come back down. So how do the Fed's actions on interest rates affect your wallet? That's a key question to consider as higher costs. Eat away at your hard-earned money with a Retirement dot Radio Network powered by Amerilife. I'm Matt McClure.

Producer:
You're listening to Prosperity Principles to schedule your free no obligation consultation visit MyProsperityTeam.com .

Producer:
So there you have it at a little bit of a look at the Federal Reserve and interest rates and you know we were we were chatting a little bit before we started the show today and boy, this latest report on inflation really just kind of cements the likelihood of another interest rate hike coming in the near future. People were under the impression that it was coming anyway. Right. But it's pretty pretty darn sure that it's coming now after that latest inflation number.

Ed Cruz:
Yeah. You know, we talk about all types of risk all the time, and obviously the risk of rising cost of goods and services just adds to the to the everyday lifestyle pressures today. And, you know, that does affect more than just the, the the interest rates for for homes auto we could go down the list but this inflation is just running rampant. The the Fed's decision to to raise rates the way they have it just keeps putting additional pressures and I mean you just put it together and there's. No, no, no Wonder why we are where we are today and the outlook that we have for for the future, which is, you know, in the near future, I should say, a little grim. But we shall recover, as I say.

Producer:
That's right. That's right. Absolutely. I have 100% faith that we will recover from all of this. And, you know, I mean, as I said in the in the piece there, I didn't say it exactly this way, but to to kind of paraphrase a little bit here, the you know, the goal is is a noble one that the Federal Reserve is taking that as to curb inflation. Right. But to do that. There's you know, it has a lot to do with supply and demand. I actually spoke with an economics professor from George Washington University not all that long ago about this very thing. It all has to do with supply and demand. Like, ideally, like in the ideal world, like if we were all living in, you know, Disney World and everything was just fine and we were the happiest place on earth, it would be on the supply side where things would, you know, really get fixed. All the supply chain issues would be no more. Everything would be great. The demand would still be high, but then the supply would be able to meet that demand. Well, the Federal Reserve doesn't really have the luxury in its toolbox of doing anything on the supply side to to tamp down inflation. And so they have to handle the demand side, and that's why they are increasing interest rates to try and tamp down demand to make things more expensive, to make it less likely that people are going to buy houses or cars or, you know, these things that get financed. And so that is why they're doing what they're doing in order to decrease inflation. And so far, it's been a hard thing to try and get a hold of, obviously, given, as I said, that latest inflation number.

Ed Cruz:
Now we take a look at. Housing interest rates and and they were in the low threes. And now we're looking at, I think the latest one. I saw 6.8% for a 30 year note. So yeah, things are on the rise.

Producer:
Yeah, definitely so. And if you want help folks sort of navigating all of this because it's a lot to take in. It's a lot to have to deal with on an everyday basis. If you're approaching retirement, I know that you are probably stressed out, to say the least, about a lot of these things that you see happening, especially if you have investments in securities, you know, in stocks and bonds and that kind of thing. You're seeing what's happening in the stock market right now. Well, those kinds of things, right, are not your only option. There are a lot of other options out there to invest for retirement and put your hard earned money to work hard for you in your retirement. So what we would love for you to do is call Ed Crews and set up that full retirement plan consultation. The number is 386 228 5769. And when people call the number and tell them exactly what is going to happen during the the initial conversation and also during that full more comprehensive retirement plan consultation.

Ed Cruz:
Right. You know what we like to say, First of all, just to make sure people are comfortable with all this, is that there is no cost to our listeners. There's absolutely no obligation to our listeners. You know, when you sit down, you talk to us or you call us, talk to us. We just want to give you just a unique perspective on what you're doing, what's working for you, what's not working for you. You know, let us analyze what's going on so that we can better help you. Let's discover if you're paying too much in fees, let's cut out any unnecessary costs in your IRAs for one case or any other retirement savings account that you may have. Let us closely examine annuities that you may hold. Annuities have come a long way. I've been doing this for over 24 years. And if I take a look back at the first annuities that were out there in annuities ten years ago and annuities today, over the last couple of years, we've seen such tremendous progress in those in those financial tools. And so let's review these things. Let me show you the differences. What's what was then and what is now? Let us help you with with income planning. You're going to receive Social Security. You're going to receive Medicare. Those are two automatic things. But there's nothing else out there unless you get a pension, that's going to be automatic. Let us show you how to create that additional leg of income.

Ed Cruz:
As I said earlier today, we have an A-plus carrier with a 20% bonus on your money, 8% guarantees for up to ten years, depending on when you start your income. Let us show you how that will greatly increase the income stream that you're going to have in retirement. Let us compare what your current situation looks like to what it could look like if you work with us. So there's there's a lot going on out there. If you haven't heard from your advisor, call us today. Get that second opinion or you may be already looking to to change from your advisor because you're not hearing from them or they're not keeping up with their promises. We're here to provide you with that insight. And should you want to speak to some of my clients to see how I've treated them over the last five, ten, 15, 20 years? Yes, I have. Clients have been with me for 20 years. Reach out to them. I'll give you a list of their names they approve with me to be contacted for that purpose, because there are so many people out there that you just can't trust just because they said it. Are they really going to follow through? I know how I treat my business, how I treat my clients, and I will respect you today, tomorrow and forever. So reach out to us and let us help you reach financial freedom.

Producer:
And that website to go to folks is MyProsperityTeam.com That's my prosperity team dot com. Or you can call 386 228 5769386 228 5769. Well, you mentioned it once again there, Ed, all about, you know, fixed indexed annuities and, you know, comparing annuities these days to the way that they used to be. Right. And yeah, you're right that they've come a long way They're not your grandfather's annuities anymore. And so one of the things that that you know folks do go to the website or give you a call at the contact information we just gave they can get as we mentioned earlier in the show, a copy of Annuity 360, the book that really does explain all about what annuities are and what they look like today, not those, you know, annuities that your grandparents or great grandparents might have had. Right. So let's take a look actually it or a listen, I should say to one of the chapters of Annuity 360, we've been talking a lot about fixed indexed annuities, as I mentioned there. Well, let's take a listen now to Ford Stokes, the author of Annuity 360 reading Chapter 13 of the book, all about fixed indexed annuities. I think this is probably going to give a lot of insight to our listeners about exactly what that type of product is. And folks, give this a listen. It's only a couple of minutes here and we'll chat about it a little bit on the other side and have more of the show.

Ford Stokes:
Chapter 13 The Annuity That is just right The fixed indexed annuity. Big idea. A fixed indexed annuity gives you a portion of market like gains without market risk. Your investment is tied to an index but not directly invested in it. How does it work? And fire gives the owners or annuitants the chance to earn higher yields than fixed annuities when the index they are tied to performs well. They typically will also provide some protection against market declines. The rate on an fire is calculated based on the year over year gain in the index or the average monthly gain over a 12 month period. Fire's often have limits on the potential gain at a certain percentage. This is known as the participation rate. The participation rate can be 100%, which means the account would be credited with all the gains, or it could be as low as 25%. Most FIIs have a participation rate between 80 and 90%. Benefits Guaranteed income stream. With Americans living longer and spending more time in retirement, many retirees are concerned about outliving their savings. In turn, they're searching for a product that can help ensure a steady income stream. Fas are designed with guaranteed lifetime income so you can never outlive your earnings. Diversification of Portfolio. A balanced portfolio is essential for managing risk and reward in the financial markets designed for the long term. Fas are a great retirement vehicle to ensure you are not putting all your eggs in one basket. Fas offer the ability to make some money without the risk of losing it. Secure principle. Even with market volatility, investors will not lose value on their fixed indexed annuities. Your savings aren't exposed to market fluctuations, so even in a negative market return, you will not fall below zero.

Ford Stokes:
You can never lose your interest once it is credited to your principal. Tax deferred growth fears offer long term tax deferred savings. As long as your money stays in the annuity, you will not be taxed on the interest earnings. Once you receive a payout, the annuity will be taxed just like ordinary income. Predictable earnings. Because FIIs offer predictable income, Americans feel more comfortable when withdrawing funds from these retirement vehicles as opposed to an IRA or 400 and K. Choosing an fire is an efficient way to plan for your future as your interest earnings rate always remains somewhere between the interest rate floor and the cap. No matter what happens to the market, you can still count on payments throughout your golden years. Potential drawbacks of fixed indexed Annuities Surrender Charges. A surrender charge is a type of sales charge you must pay if you sell or withdraw money from a fixed, indexed and even a variable annuity during the surrender period, a set period of time that typically lasts 6 to 8 years after you purchase the annuity, surrender charges will reduce the value and the return of your investment withdrawal limits. Almost all fixed indexed annuities play surrender free withdrawal limits within the annuity contract that generally range from 5 to 10% of the principal. While all annuities must be armed, friendly and provide for a penalty free withdrawal from a qualified annuity account equal to the RMD requirement for the client's age carriers limit the amount of withdrawal to enable them to grow the money invested for themselves and the client not suitable for short term investing. If you want to grow your money, but you also need access to 100% of your money, then a fixed indexed annuity may not be right for you.

Producer:
And that is listen to Ford Stokes, the author of Annuity 360 reading, one of the chapters from the book all about fixed indexed annuities and a lot of great info in there. And folks, if you want a free copy of the book, you can go to My Prosperity Team dot com or call 386 228 5769. And really, that's what we were talking about earlier. Ed, was giving yourself some peace of mind by actually taking part in market gains. You know, get a portion of those market gains, a good big chunk of them, but don't participate in market losses. I think that especially these days has got to sound great to a lot of people.

Ed Cruz:
And you know what's interesting, we traditionally say let's get a piece of what's going on in the markets. Right. And that's so very true. Think about this. If you have no chance of downside with a cap of 10%, be fair to receive. I think that's a fair rate of return. If we look at a capped option, but imagine that you don't have a cap and you have what's called a participation rate on that index and a 5% return now becomes a 12 and one half percent return, for example, that does exist. We have some incredible options available within these annuities and we could provide our clients with so much help know all you have to do is pick up the phone, give us a call. 386 228 5769 and we'll explain how all this works.

Producer:
Yeah, absolutely. And help you wade through it all because as you say, there are a lot of different options out there and different products and things that that you may not even know about. You know, some have, you know, bonuses that could be right for you. Some have, you know, different benefits than others. So, yeah, it's always you know, everybody's financial situation is different and there's a solution out there for everybody. So that's a great thing to do, is go to my prosperity team or give Ed a call. Well, this is as we get a few more minutes left here in the show, Ed, I think something that it will be music to the ears of a lot of our listeners, and that is we've got a little segment here on how to kick the IRS out of your retirement plan. Let's let's talk about this, because I think now that I've said that, I've piqued the interest of a lot of our listeners out there, I can I can see your ears poking up now, folks. So let's let's go into it here and talk about taxes and the IRS in retirement and get us started on this plan of kicking them out.

Ed Cruz:
Yeah. You know, I do ask my clients all the time, do you think taxes are going up or down in the future? And they look at me kind of strange and say, Well, I do believe they're going up and I and I say, I'm with you there. So most people do believe that their taxes are going to go higher in the future. So you may want to consider a strategy that kicks the IRS out of being your partner in retirement. Right. We really don't want that. Let's reduce future tax rate hikes or the rate hike risk by implementing a Roth conversion. And if you are a pre retiree, if you're still working, you can open up a Roth IRA. But if you're already retired or pre retired and you have an IRA plan, we could always do Roth conversions. And yes, you may have to pay the IRS today, but it's going to save you a lot more down the road. So that's what we're talking about here. And again, but we could always show you the numbers, what it looks like to do these Roth conversions. Smart retirees diversify their money into different tax buckets. And there are three types of investment accounts, right? We have taxable accounts that are brokerage accounts, investment accounts, bank CDs. We have tax deferred accounts like for one case and SEP IRAs, SEP annuities. We have tax free monies like Roth IRAs, life insurance. And you know, when we speak about tax free options there, there are only two types of tax free options available today.

Ed Cruz:
And so if that's something that you're looking to do and it's it's a very smart plan for for a younger person to invest into, let's get let's start talking about that tax free income for your future. Would you be interested in generating tax free income during your 30 plus years in retirement? For most of the younger people that I ask, the answer is yes. We have proven and better of all, there are legal strategies that help you do that because if if it's illegal, we're not going to discuss those things. Don't ask. I say the market is down this year, so now's an opportune time to convert tax deferred IRAs into Roth IRAs. So you know why why sit there and and wait for the market to come back up? Now's the time to do those conversions. It would be of best interest to you if that's what you're looking to do. Why would you continue to pay ordinary income taxes decades after you've stopped working? And so that's where we we're we'll sit down, we'll go over what your income looks like. But I also do go over what your taxable exposure looks like in the future. And by doing some simple conversions, you may be down to in a position where you're at a at a minimal tax bracket and that's what we want to help you do.

Producer:
Yeah. And folks, once again, if you're interested in it, MyProsperityTeam.com is the Web site. The phone number 386 228 5769. Yeah, that's a big one right? There it is. You know, why would you continue to pay ordinary income taxes decades after you've stopped working? I think people are like, well. You know. Yeah, it's. My employer has been taking taxes out of my paycheck for so many years. I don't want that to happen after, you know, it comes out of my retirement account when I'm, you know, retired, not working anymore. So great, great solutions there for folks to get the IRS out of their business in their retirement. And, of course, you know, you are the one to help them navigate through all of those things like Roth conversions and all of that, because it's it's not necessarily something that everyone or most people really could do on their own. It's this week in history. A lot of big moments this week in history that we wanted to talk about and highlight. And one of them. Boy, I love this show. I Love Lucy premiered a very first episode airing on CBS on October 15th. So just a few days back here. October 15th, 1951. I love that. I'm actually I'm hearing the theme music in my head as I talk about it.

Producer:
It's kind of kind of crazy to to have that going in my head. But that's just how iconic that is. And it's been on TV and I think I'm sure it still comes on and, you know, it's on streaming and everything now as well. So the show lives on. I would have to say, Ed, that my favorite episode of I Love Lucy, and there were 180 episodes of that show. By the way, I have to say that my well, I'd say two. Two favorites that I have that come to my mind right now. I would say the the vitamin regimen episode where she gets drunk on the on the product that she's selling because there's so much alcohol in it and she can't even talk. And there's the one where she and Ethel are working at the chocolate factory and they have ta ta, you know, stuff all the chocolates in like their mouths. And then they're stuck because the the conveyor belts coming too fast. Oh, yeah. It's just such a great show, such a classic. And you can one that you can still sit down today and laugh at. I think it's great.

Ed Cruz:
You know, it's amazing. I never watched much of that show because I was never a big TV person growing up. I just wanted to be out, play sports and do all that kind of stuff. But I will tell you that my wife, my mother-in-law, my daughter would sit there and watch those shows and the two shows that you mentioned, I definitely remember. So that's quite interesting.

Producer:
They're iconic.

Ed Cruz:
They are iconic. And I don't know how much more time we have, but I'll try to hurry through this. A historical moment. Back on October 14, 1947, US Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier, becoming the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. Yeager flew X one over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California. The X-1 was lifted to an altitude of 25,000 feet. Buy a B-29 aircraft and then release through Bombay, rocketing to 40,000 feet and flying at 662 miles per hour. Yeager was a combat fighter in World War Two and flew 64 missions. Over Europe and passed away at the age of 97 in December of 2020.

Producer:
Boy not that long ago that Chuck Yeager left us here. And what a moment. In history to. To celebrate and really a breakthrough there. Well, yeah. And just a few seconds left in the show, but I have really enjoyed it. Once again, sir, I think we've shared some great information with the listeners and I will talk to you next time around.

Ed Cruz:
Thank you. And thank you to all the listeners out there.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Prosperity Principles. You deserve to work with a financial and insurance expert who can offer strategies for protecting and growing your hard earned money. To schedule your free no obligation consultation, visit MyProsperityTeam.com Dot com or pick up the phone and call 386 228 5769. That's 386 228 5769.

Producer:
not affiliated with the United States government. Edwin Cruz does not offer tax, legal or investment advice. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. These opinions are not intended as investment advice, nor do they predict future performance of any product. All information provided is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of any statement. This information is intended to be educational in nature and does not provide a guarantee or a specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Amerilife assumes no responsibility or liability for the content of this message. The information contained herein is provided on an as is basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, timeliness, or of the results obtained from the use of this information.

Producer:
Remember, all of Ed's listeners receive a free financial consultation just for listening to the show. Visit MyProsperityTeam.com To learn more and schedule an appointment. Thanks for listening to Prosperity Principles and subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Producer:
High Inflation Got you down. This is your weekend. Pick me up. Thanks for listening to Prosperity Principles.

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