Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Annuities, annuities the safest investments, no better investment, No Risk Investments, Norhill Financial, retirement planning, Safe Investments, Safe Money, safe money strategist, the best investment, Warren Elkin, what is a good annuity, what is an annuity
By Warren Elkin, Norhill Financial
Annuities are one of the most misunderstood investments in existence and what you hear from typically well meaning folks that don’t having the foggiest idea what they are talking about runs the gamut and ranks up there with the top Urban Legends.
Over the past 30 years I have spoken to many people about annuities and I feel pretty qualified to help dispel the myths.
Here are just a few common objections:
• “I’m too old for an annuity”
• “I’m too young for an annuity”
• “Annuities won’t protect my beneficiaries”
• “Annuities are terrible for estate tax purposes”
• “I’m forced to pay taxes on the gains all at once when my spouse, parent, friend, passes away”
• “When I die my money goes to the insurance company and not my family”
• “All annuities are illiquid”
• “All annuities have surrender charges”
• “Annuities are too expensive”
• “All annuities pay huge commissions to the people who sell them”
• “The additional rider cost for insurance inside of annuities is far too expensive”
• “Annuities aren’t a real investment”
• “Taxes are too high on the income you receive because you’re taxed at ordinary income levels versus capital gains”
• “The insurance companies are all getting rich off of these products and that’s why they sell them”
• “You can’t be a real financial professional if this is what you offer people – I watch Suze Orman (or Clark Howard) and she told me so”
When you “drill down” and their statement is properly vetted then translated sounds more like this, “Someone extremely unqualified to render an opinion about annuities told me I this.” Why do some people who don’t know what they are talking about regarding a particular subject matter love to weigh in as if they do? Do they diagnose their friends and families with various illnesses and recommend prescription drugs and perform mini surgeries in their basements? Only a licensed physician should perform this type of activity and the same goes for annuities, i.e. only someone highly trained and well versed on annuities should be rendering advice. All 3 of my children have owned annuities since near birth (we had to wait for them to be issued a social security card is all) and I know of no better investment, plus their annuities can remain with them throughout their lives.
The fact of the matter is that whoever gave these people this advice should have worded it differently. What they should have said was that annuities are very complicated and complex and you should consult an investment professional who is extremely knowledgeable on them before you either purchase or rule them out. The fact of the matter is that most annuities are not worthy of your investment dollars, but that doesn’t mean they’re all bad and is say they’re all bad is to generalize and we all know that is dangerous. The bottom line is although there are many annuities that I would never put my money is there are also many that I would and I consider them to be great investments. Think of an annuity as a custom tailored suit and the tailor as the annuity expert. This is anything but a one size fits all industry.
Warren Elkin of Norhill Financial is your safe money strategist. When it comes to your hard earned dollars, he can keep your money secure as it grows. Warren Elkin can be reached toll free at 877-476-5051- or by email at elkininc@aol.com. To learn more about him check out www.warrenelkin.com.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Annuities, annuities the safest investments, no better investment, No Risk Investments, Norhill Financial, retirement planning, Safe Investments, Safe Money, safe money strategist, the best investment, Warren Elkin, what is a good annuity, what is an annuity
By Warren Elkin, Norhill Financial
Senior Confidence in Social Security Wanes
according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, 60% of 1020 adults surveyed believe that Social Security won’t be able to pay benefits when they retire. This is the same percentage of 18 to 34-year-olds. But surprisingly, the number of retirees who think their benefits will be cut has jumped by 24 points since 2005. The facts are the Social Security surplus is expected to last until 2037. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported a year ago, that the program would be operating at a deficit by 2010-2011. While most Americans are not holding their breath waiting for Congress to fix Social Security, recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute last month discovered that 40% of Americans aged 65 and older depend on social security as their only source of income.
The Great Recession is Over?
Washington is falling all over themselves declaring that the great recession is over. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote a recent editorial in the New York Times entitled, “Welcome to the recovery.” Yet most of the economic data is grim. The four-week average of initial employment claims increased to a nine-month high of 487,000 over the last week. Housing is also a disaster.
Existing home sales decreased to 4.1 million, by far the lowest level in a decade. Mortgage applications were only 4% above the record low. Foreclosures are running a rate of nearly 1,000,000 per month with about 10% of mortgage borrowers at least a month behind.
US equity funds have lost an estimated 12 billion or .3% of assets in August. This nearly rivals the outflow of $14 billion last July. The American Association of individual investors reported recently that 49.5% of investors were bearish in the latest survey more than double the 20.7% that were bullish. One interesting sideline to recent economic problems is been Ben Bernanke’s focus toward quantitative easing. This euphemism is Fed Speak for printing more money. Apparently the Fed feels much more strongly about preventing deflation than inflation. He said recently, “I believe that additional purchases of longer-term securities would be effective at further easing financial conditions.” It’s becoming more obvious that over the next few years the Fed is willing to print trillions of dollars to buy everything from treasuries to mortgage-backed securities, credit card securitizations as well as corporate bonds. Bernanke feels that he’s willing to spend whatever it takes from $2 trillion to even $20 trillion over the long-term. This strategy of monetizing even more debt can actually become more of a problem since we already have too much debt. It’s kind of like trying to get an alcoholic to quit drinking by offering beer instead of Jack Daniels.
The New Normal?
The reality is the economy is not struggling because asset prices are too low or interest rates are too high. Instead nearly all assets have a high-price and interest rates are unbelievably low. The economy is struggling because demand is weak. While 70% of the economy is based on consumer spending, consumers now are forced to live on their incomes rather than even greater amounts of borrowed money. That will cause decreased growth over the long-term and is very likely the new normal.
Warren Elkin of Norhill Financial is your safe money strategist. When it comes to your hard earned dollars, he can keep your money secure as it grows. Warren Elkin can be reached toll free at 877-476-5051- or by email at elkininc@aol.com. To learn more about him check out www.warrenelkin.com.
Filed under: America’s Safe Money Expert, No Risk Investments, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments | Tags: America’s Safe Money Expert, No Risk Investments, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments
By Warren Elkin, www.warrenelkin.com
If you have lost or quit your job you will need to make plans to deal with your 401k plan. Too often people are so overwhelmed by their circumstances to understand the full ramifications of simply withdrawing the money. If you withdraw the money you are automatically charged a 25% penalty on the total savings, plus there are additional tax ramifications. Why decimate your retirement fund if you don’t have to?
A smarter choice is to simply roll the monies over to another account, whether it is your new employers 401k, a roll over IRA or an annuity. Putting the money in an IRA offers you the most flexibility in terms of withdrawals and distributions. Annuities offer upfront bonuses and a guarantee of retirement income no matter how long you live. Either way you will want to consult with a financial expert who can differentiate between the different roll over plans and what you require daily.
Should you have any questions, or want to talk to me directly, please call me at your convenience at 877-476-5051 for a complimentary consultation or email me at warren@warrenelkin.com. You can also find more helpful information on my site at www.warrenelkin.com.
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By Warren Elkin, www.warrenelkin.com
Reverse mortgages are widely advertised, but when it comes time to research them, there is surprisingly little information about their impact on your financial future.
Reverse mortgages are meant to be a solution for Seniors who have faithfully built equity in their home and now find themselves without enough income to retire. A reverse mortgage allows you borrow against the equity in your home without having to make a monthly payment and without having to move.
There are several things to consider however.
Reverse Mortgages can be expensive. The generally have large closing costs and are always more cost effective over longer periods of time. If you are only planning on staying in your home for a short period of time you might want to consider other options.
There are possible tax implications from getting a reverse mortgage that can affect your eligibility for government assistance and your estate after your death. Make sure you know the facts before signing any mortgage papers.
Government insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) tend to be less expensive than private sector reverse mortgages. Talk to your financial advisor about the differences.
For more information on Reverse Mortgages, contact Warren Elkin America’s Safe Money Expert.
Should you have any questions, or want to talk to me directly, please call me at your convenience at 877-476-5051 for a complimentary consultation or email me at warren@warrenelkin.com. You can also find more helpful information on my site at www.warrenelkin.com.
Filed under: America’s Safe Money Expert, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments | Tags: America’s Safe Money Expert, No Risk Investments, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments
By Warren Elkin, www.warrenelkin.com
If you’ve been to a financial advisor in the past decade you probably at some time were encouraged to invest in mutual funds. You were probably told that mutual funds are a great safe investment that offers diversification. Then you were probably shown specific funds and shown a brochure that included a bio, sometimes even a picture of the fund manager, who on the brochure looks like the soul of responsibility.
Here’s what you typically don’t hear when you are being offered mutual funds.
Fund Managers are paid bonuses based on the performance of the fund. The shorter the timeline on their bonus, the more likely that your fund manager will take risks with your funds, in order to receive his bonus.
Mutual funds have hidden fees that are not included in their expense ratio. The more often a fund turns over, the higher the costs to the stock holder.
And, as for diversity, buying Mutual Funds does not guarantee diversity. In fact, because funds tend to gravitate to well performing stocks, you may find that a high percentage of your “diversified” mutual funds are actually invested in the same stocks as your 401K and other retirement investment.
Mutual funds have the potential to be a sound investment for some individuals but it is important to know all of the facts and to compare them to other investment strategies to determine what is right for you.
For more information about mutual funds or other investment strategies, contact Warren Elkin, America’s Safe Money Expert.
Should you have any questions, or want to talk to me directly, please call me at your convenience at 877-476-5051 for a complimentary consultation or email me at warren@warrenelkin.com. You can also find more helpful information on my site at www.warrenelkin.com.
Filed under: America’s Safe Money Expert, No Risk Investments, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments | Tags: America’s Safe Money Expert, No Risk Investments, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments
By Warren Elkin, www.warrenelkin.com
Twenty five years ago individual retirement accounts were the “new kid” on the retirement investment block. A quarter of a century later, most Americans are familiar with IRAs but would be hard pressed to tell you how the three different varieties can work for them to create a retirement nest egg.
The three main types of IRAs are Traditional IRA, Roth IRA and Simplified Employee Pension (SEP). Each one serves a different purpose and has its individual benefits.
Traditional IRAs are tax deductable in the year contributions are made. While this can mean a smaller tax bill, it also means that the funds will be taxed upon distribution.
Roth IRAs on the other hand offer no tax deduction in the year in which they are contributed, but there is no taxation upon distribution. This allows you to grow retirement funds tax free. However Roth IRAs have income restrictions. If you make more than $95,000 (AGI) as an individual or $150,000(AGI) as a couple, you are not eligible for a Roth IRA. Both Roth and Traditional IRAs have contribution caps yearly.
SEP Retirement Accounts are designed for the self-employed and small business owners. A SEP account allows you to contribute up to 25% of your yearly income (up to $46,000 for 2009). There are other restrictions on SEP accounts based on other criteria.
For more information on IRA accounts contact Warren Elkin, America’s Safe Money Expert.
Should you have any questions, or want to talk to me directly, please call me at your convenience at 877-476-5051 for a complimentary consultation or email me at warren@warrenelkin.com. You can also find more helpful information on my site at www.warrenelkin.com.
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Warren Elkin/ www.warrenelkin.com
Does your retirement fund need protection? It’s worth it to take a look at your current retirement portfolio and determine what steps need to be taken to protect your investments against further losses. There are many different choices you can make based on your current retirement savings status. The smartest thing to do is consult with a financial expert who understands the unique challenges facing investors about to retire.
One expensive but effectual way to prevent future losses is buying insurance on a portion of your portfolio called a put option. For a fee you can determine the margin beyond which you would like to be insured. If the stock were to go lower than that predetermined number and you were to sell it you would be guaranteed what ever amount you had insured for. This insurance can be cost prohibitive so buyer beware.
Currently one of the easiest and most secure ways to protect your retirement funds is to buy into a government regulated, interest guaranteed annuity. These funds provide peace of mind as they have a provision that ensures that you can’t outlive your money. The guarantee ensures that you are making money even in a weak market, but allows you to benefit in strong market as well. Isn’t that the kind of guarantee you want for your retirement funds?
Grow your retirement fund while protecting your investment, call Warren Elkin, America’s Safe Money Expert.
Should you have any questions, or want to talk to me directly, please call me at your convenience at 877-476-5051 for a complimentary consultation or email me at warren@warrenelkin.com. You can also find more helpful information on my site at www.warrenelkin.com.
Filed under: America’s Safe Money Expert, No Risk Investments, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments | Tags: America’s Safe Money Expert, No Risk Investments, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments
By Warren Elkin/ www.warrenelkin.com
Are fears about retirement keeping you up at night? You know you need a secure income for your retirement years, and the knowledge that you don’t have much time left is weighing on you. To complicate matters the market continues to barrage your current retirement savings. What are your options for retirement income? One thing is for sure, you need to make sure that you are diversified. 
Take a quick look at your current retirement situation. In all likelihood you will have some social security benefits coming to you, you might also have a pension or a 401k, do you have any IRA accounts? Mutual Funds? One smart way to secure income for your retirement years is a government regulated, guaranteed interest rate annuity. Annuities are a great way to diversify while giving you a safe investment with a reasonable rate of return.
Where else can you go in today’s market to get a guaranteed minimum 7% interest rate, more if the market performs better? Isn’t it time you put your worries aside and secured your financial future? Contact Warren Elkin, America’s Safe Money Expert today to find out how you can safely grow your retirement.
Should you have any questions, or want to talk to me directly, please call me at your convenience at 877-476-5051 for a complimentary consultation or email me at warren@warrenelkin.com. You can also find more helpful information on my site at www.warrenelkin.com.
Filed under: America’s Safe Money Expert, Retirement Investing, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warrenelkin.com | Tags: America’s Safe Money Expert, No Risk Investments, Retirement Investing, Safe Investments, Safe Money, Senior Citizen Careful Money, Senior Investing, Warren Elkin, Warrenelkin.com, Zero Risk Investments
By Warren Elkin/ www.warrenelkin.com
You may be mentally, physically and emotionally ready to retire, but are you financially ready to retire? Now is a great time to take a snapshot of your retirement portfolio to gauge if you are ready to retire. If you find you are on track, you will have renewed peace of mind. If you aren’t on track to retire you can correct course and ensure your financial security. In either case it is important to know your financial facts.
How much of your current income will you need in retirement? Important factors to consider are your mortgage payments, your health insurance status upon retirement and your retirement plans themselves. If your retirement plans include traveling the globe you might need more money than if your goal is to write the great American novel while gardening in your free time.
It’s important to weigh your retirement assets, 401K, social security, savings and IRAs versus your retirement liabilities, debts, inflation and living expenses. The best way to determine whether you are fiscally ready to retire is to consult with a financial expert in the field of retirement and retirement investments.
Warren Elkin, America’s Safe Money Expert, can give you the guidance you need to secure safe investments with guaranteed results and no risk. Call today to learn how you can ensure that you never outlive your money.
Should you have any questions, or want to talk to me directly, please call me at your convenience at 877-476-5051 for a complimentary consultation or email me at warren@warrenelkin.com. You can also find more helpful information on my site at www.warrenelkin.com.
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By Warren Elkin/ www.warrenelkin.com
The rule of 72 is a mathematical equation that estimates the time it takes for investment moneys to double using compound interest. According to the rule of 72 if you invest $20,000 dollars in a 4% fund your money will double to $40,000 in approximately 18 years. However the same money in a 10% interest investment will double in 7.2 years and at 20% it will take only 3 years to double in interest.
We all know time is money, but when it comes to retirement the equation becomes critical. Senior citizens face many investment challenges. As the number of years until your retirement dwindles, the need to make money grows in direct proportion to your need to keep your money safe. You want safe investments with guaranteed high rate of return to secure your fast approaching retirement. Where can go in this market to make money while guaranteeing that your investment is safe?
Warren Elkin, America’s Safe Money Expert, can advise you on safe money vehicles that give you a guaranteed interest rate no matter what the market is doing. Isn’t it time you used the rule of 72 to secure your financial future?
Should you have any questions, or want to talk to me directly, please call me at your convenience at 877-476-5051 for a complimentary consultation or email me at warren@warrenelkin.com. You can also find more helpful information on my site at www.warrenelkin.com.
Norhill Wealth Strategies 