ASIC’s Post

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, passed in December 2019, aimed to enhance retirement security for Americans. One significant change the SECURE Act created is the elimination of the "stretch IRA" strategy, which allowed beneficiaries of inherited IRAs to stretch distributions over their lifetimes, thereby reducing tax burdens. Now, most beneficiaries must withdraw the entire IRA balance within 10 years of the original owner's death, potentially accelerating tax payments. Overall, the SECURE Act aims to address the evolving retirement landscape and promote greater retirement savings and financial security for American workers, though it also brings about changes that necessitate careful planning and consideration for retirement and estate planning strategies.

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, passed in December 2019, aimed to enhance retirement security for Americans. One significant change the SECURE Act created is the elimination of the "stretch IRA" strategy, which allowed beneficiaries of inherited IRAs to stretch distributions over their lifetimes, thereby reducing tax burdens. Now, most beneficiaries must withdraw the entire IRA balance within 10 years of the original owner's death, potentially accelerating tax payments. Overall, the SECURE Act aims to address the evolving retirement landscape and promote greater retirement savings and financial security for American workers, though it also brings about changes that necessitate careful planning and consideration for retirement and estate planning strategies.

The telegraph paints a gloomy picture for my generations retirement hopes...! certainly brings home the need to look after your own plan at an early stage as it seems what has gone before will not continue. better get reviewing my own plan for once #futureplanning #JCWealth https://lnkd.in/eeP5Wa6a

For David, protected income was a lifeline when he faced an early retirement. If you can’t count on a pension like David, an annuity is one of your only other sources of protected income for retirement. Hear David's story now: https://lnkd.in/gBvEbqDJ

As of September 2024, the two-pot retirement system will be implemented. Retirement fund contributions will be divided into two pots – a savings pot and a retirement pot. As an employer, it’s crucial for you to reassess existing retirement provisions to ensure that they accommodate the two-pot system. To avoid compliance issues, you must navigate complex legal landscapes to ensure that the existing system is in line with labour laws, tax regulations, and industry standards. Don’t worry, Growth Vista is here to help. Let us handle these complexities to mitigate any potential compliance issues you may face. - - - - - #GrowthVista #twopotretirementsystem #southafricaninsights #retirementsouthafrica #assetmanagement #wealthcreation

REGULATION UPDATE: We hope and expect the DOL’s forthcoming rule will close those loopholes to ensure that all financial professionals are required to provide advice that is in retirement savers’ best interest and that any conflicts of interest do not taint their advice. It is important that this standard apply regardless of the type of financial professional the retirement saver turns to or the type of product that a financial professional recommends.

Bad retirement advice is a global issue. The UK used to default people into annuities but, 10 years ago, decided to give everyone choice of how to use their super in retirement. Recently their regulator did a 'thematic review' of financial advisers' processes and found "Some firms are getting this right and making a real difference to their customers. However, others are not even getting the basics right and putting their customers’ futures at risk." - Not all advisers are considering the sustainability of income withdrawal in retirement effectively - Many don't use cashflow modelling (what!?!) or do not use it appropriately - leading to poor decisions - Some don't assess the customer's 'capacity for loss' - i.e. identify the level of returns/lifespan that would see the client's income reduce to levels they cannot withstand - Deficiencies in fact finding needed to get this advice right An issue is that drawdown accounts in retirement (known as 'account-based pensions in Australia) look great.... if you ignore long term risk and ignore the client's capacity for loss. https://lnkd.in/eqjTmJke

Retirees who maintain a relationship with a financial professional have more savings, less debt, and greater financial security, according to a research brief by the Insured Retirement Institute.   Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) Frank O'Connor #InsuredRetirementInstitute #IRI #research #financialservices #financialguidance

Your ~weekly reminder that helping people make better decisions around claiming Social Security retirement benefits may have a “bigly” potential impact on retirement outcomes. In this piece for the Alliance for Lifetime Income, I specifically take a defined contribution (DC) perspective around Social Security retirement benefits and look at both the potential benefits of delayed claiming and likelihood of DC participants being able to delay. An important note is that relatively few participants have, and are expected to have, enough DC savings to fully delay claiming (e.g., to age 70). This is important when thinking about allocating DC savings to an annuity, since funding both a Social Security bridge and buying an annuity is likely not an option for most DC participants (i.e., they are effectively mutually exclusive). To be clear, I’m not suggesting that most Americans can, or even should delay claiming (many aren’t going to have the choice!), rather that we need to help them actively weigh their options to make the best decision/s possible! Access the research here: https://lnkd.in/ef6TjCEm

GOVERNMENT PENSIONS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT TO FUND YOUR PARENTS' RETIREMENT! In my last post I explained that aging parents can use the equity in their own home to supplement their living and medical expenses. We discussed the use of a reverse mortgage to provide an additional income stream. See my previous post https://lnkd.in/gCMTje-q A new study conducted by National Seniors Australia and Challenger Retirement Fund, report that some 50% of retirees who rely solely on the Gov Age Pension are unable to fund a basic lifestyle. They would need an additional $10,000 to $15,000 per year to meet their living requirements. Read the full report here https://lnkd.in/gMHZBDCR In the light of this, the use of a reverse mortgage may represent a very attractive solution. If you would like more information on ways to potentially ease these financial concerns for aging parents in retirement please contact me [email protected]