Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: 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.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQ community protect and grow their hard earned money. Get set for a show full of education and insights with your host and advisor, Matt McClure. We recognize every family is unique. The goal of the show is to help you achieve financial freedom so you and your loved ones can have the retirement you've always dreamed of. A retirement you can take pride in,
[00:00:48] Speaker C: no matter who you are, where you're
[00:00:50] Speaker B: from or who you love.
So now let's start the show. Here's Matt McClure.
[00:00:58] Speaker C: Hello there and welcome to another edition of Take Pride in retirement. Matt McClure here with you, your host, your advis, your pal and your confidant. Yes, I am all of the above.
This is the show where we talk about LGBTQ plus issues, planning for retirement. I get you to and through retirement. That is my goal, at least not only here on the show, which I do, you know, of course for to spread the word about all of these different things that you might not have thought of and to really educate you. That's, that's what it's about is for educational purposes here on the show, but I also do that daily working with my clients one on one or one on two or whatever the the situation might be because there are so many different decisions that go into planning for retirement so that it can be one that you can take pride in, that you deserve guidance that's going to steer you in that right direction. You know, I operate in a fiduciary capacity, so that means I am not going to steer you wrong. I am someone who is bound to operate in your best interests when we work one on one or one on two, whatever the situation might be.
So that is what I do, that's my goal each and every day, is to get people to and through retirement and that that retirement turns out to be something that you can take pride in. Well, last time on the show, if you were listening and if not, go back and listen please. We talked about Medicare mistakes and lifetime healthcare costs kind of laying the groundwork for a healthcare discussion in retirement be one of the biggest expenses that you've got. And so today we're shifting the focus here a bit from the awareness about situation which is the main focus. Last time to action. Like what can you do about it? This is about control. Again, I always say, control the things you can control. And so that really is what this episode is all about. Controlling your future health care, controlling your health care costs and protecting your dignity as you age.
Before we dive in, go to take pride in retirement.com. click on get your plan if you want to get your plan.
And I would be glad to work with you one on one if that is what you would prefer. Or at least just get a second set of eyes on what you've got going right now and see if that plan is actually something that can work for you.
You know, I'd be glad to go through everything with a fine tooth comb and really just say, okay, here is what you're doing well, here is the part of this plan that is going to work for you. Here's part of the plan that might not work so well. So here's where we need to make some changes or, or we need a complete overhaul or hey, you're in a great spot. And that's, that's awesome. That's what I mean by there's no pressure, there's no obligation because if you're, if you're doing well, I'm going to tell you that that's part of me working in that fiduciary capacity like I said. And so I want what is best for you and I will operate in that when you give me a call. 855-246-921-1855-2469211 or if you go to take pride in retirement.com take pride in retirement is that website alright? So also, hey, by the way, while I'm on it, if you're watching on YouTube, I'll say it again, like this video. Subscribe to the channel. I'd appreciate it. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. That's my last pitch for that. Okay, so while we are on the subject of talking about health care over these couple of episodes here, one of the big things that you can't ignore even if you think, even if you are of a certain younger age right now and you think, oh, it's not going to be something that I'm going to need, I've got relatives to take care of me or oh, my family's always been healthy and nobody's had to go into a nursing home or to a long term care facility, anything like that, even if you think those things are the case, you got to consider the distinct possibility that you're probably going to need just, just statistically speaking, some form of long term care in retirement. And it really is one of the most misunderstood retirement subjects here. Retirement topics. Nearly 7 out of 10, statistically speaking, nearly 7 out of 10 people turning 65 today are going to need some form of long term care. We've seen that actually in kind of, you know, study after study that it's usually about 70%, they say, of folks will end up needing some type of long term care. If you're turning 65 today, now, with longer lifespans in the future, perhaps, and even higher medical costs in the future, that number could be even higher. If you're living longer, chances are some more things are going to break down over that lifetime and then you're going to need to go into your long term care facility. You got to have the money to pay for it because this is the big thing that a lot of people miss. Medicare does not cover long term care. I will say it again, Medicare, does it cover long term care? No, it does not. And so that is one of the biggest sort of misunderstandings or misinterpretations of things because people say, oh, well, Medicare covered when, you know, my dad had this health scare and then had to go into a nursing home for a short period of time for like a rehab sort of a thing before coming back home. Well, yeah, Medicare could cover that. It may cover those short term sort of rehab stays, but long term, ongoing assistance with daily living and all that kind of thing. No, Medicare is not going to cover that. And the cost really can be staggering. I mean, nursing homes can easily exceed six figures on a yearly basis. You know, you can be over the $100,000 mark per year for a nursing home, like 24 Hour Nursing Care. Yeah, it's going to be expensive. And even home health care can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year. Where's that money going to come from? Right? Especially for LGBTQ plus folks, this conversation is super, super important because a lot of people in our community are likely to age alone.
You know, you may not be married or you may be married to someone who you have a significant age difference with, or, you know, your chosen family may, may have to step in and fill those caregiving roles.
But are they going to.
And you know, who's to say something's not going to happen to them before it happens to you? Like there are so many different considerations. Right.
So for our LGBTQ plus audience as well, you know, legal protections and planning matter even more because of those reasons and others and even beyond finances, you know, it's about dignity too, about making sure that you keep your dignity in your retirement years and as you get older, you know, just making sure that you are, are taken care of in a way that is going to be according to what you wish and how you want to be taken care of. Not just, you know, what you maybe can afford or if you can't afford it, having to stay at home for a lot longer than you really need to and all of those things and then that's not healthy and then you, you know, end up falling or, or you know, not having care that, that you need and all of that. Like, it's just like the alternative to having long term care taken care of and taken into consideration for your retirement.
The alternative to that is no care. You know, it's maybe some short term care that you could afford, but then they're gonna, you can maybe your, your 30 days or whatever it is is up in some rehab facility and they're gonna say, okay, bye. They're sending you home now because Medicare is not paying for it anymore.
And you know, you're just kind of on your own.
And so planning early can give you more dignity and it can give you more options like where you receive care, who helps make those health care decisions for you and with you, how much control you keep over what happens to you. And some possible strategies for this include things like long term care insurance, standalone insurance plans that can cover those long term care costs. They're sort of these days kind of a little bit fewer and farther between. They do still exist. Uh, they're not as affordable as they used to be, but again they're much more affordable than the alternative. Um, generally, generally speaking, and maybe some hybrid life insurance solutions. There are life insurance policies and annuities out there that offer living benefits. So let's say an annuity, for example, if you are in retirement and you need to go into a long term care facility, there are a lot of policies that will give you double your usual monthly income from that policy. It'll give you double your monthly income as long as you are confined to a long term care facility. So that can help cover a lot of, if not all of those costs.
And then, you know, dedicated healthcare reserves. So taking an account and putting money away in it, it's, you know, somewhere safe. But that's hopefully going to get some growth. Right? That's not going to just sit there, that's not under the mattress, but putting it somewhere where you're going to See growth, but keeping that dedicated health care account separate from everything else so that you know you've got the money that you might very well need in your retirement years. And so look, if long term care is something that you have been avoiding because either it feels overwhelming or you think that, oh, it's not going to happen to me until it does happen to you, you are not alone in that. But it is one of the most important conversations that you can have and I would encourage you to have that early while you still have many, many options because the longer you wait, the options can kind of dwindle down. And so if you would like help exploring some of those strategies that I talked about, especially the, those that you know can, can take your guaranteed income that you already have and then double that during the time that you're in a long term care facility.
That's one of my favorites. To help people establish, go to Take Pride in Retirement dotcom. Take Pride in Retirement Dotcom or take pride in retirement.com/plan to get your plan. 855246, 92 11. Once again, the phone number is 855-246-9211.
And so another sort of major health care decision in retirement is choosing between what's known as Medigap or medical Medicare supplement rather or Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans. So at a high level, Medigap is also known as a Medicare supplement because it supplements original Medicare.
Medicare Advantage is actually something that replaces original Medicare with a private plan.
And so Medicare Advantage often has lower upfront premiums, but costs can show up later on through co pays, through network restrictions, things like that.
A Medigap usually has higher premiums up front, but it offers a lot better predictability. Usually some, you know, broader provider flexibility. They don't necessarily, it's not, doesn't operate as much like an HMO where you're like, oh, you have this one network of doctors that you can go see, there's some, some more flexibility there with Medigap and lower surprise costs as well. And so one may be great for you, one may not be great for you, but knowing the difference is, is really half the battle up front. And of course for LGBTQ folks, there's this extra layer added onto it because you may say relocate in retirement. You may want access to inclusive providers.
You may value flexibility if family is spread across different states.
And so you want to make sure that your plan is going to be adjustable for those different things. It's not going to be like, oh, if you are in Georgia, let's say, like I am. And you move to another state, New York, California, Florida, whatever it might be in your retirement years while that plan is in effect, what's that going to do to your coverage? You know, is that going to still be in effect? Is that plan going to be recognized when you move to a different state or what doctors providers are going to be there? All of those different things need to be taken into account.
And one of the biggest differences is those networks, right? Some Advantage plans will restrict what doctors you can see. A Medigap with the original Medicare offers that more flexibility and timing matters as well. I mean, your initial enrollment window is often your best chance to get Medigap coverage or Medicare supplement coverage without medical underwriting.
And so the older you get, maybe that changes.
But choosing between Medicare Advantage and Medigap, that can be one of the biggest healthcare decisions you're going to make in retirement. And if you just want a second set of eyes on the options that you might have, what the costs could be, we've got Medicare agents that we work with. Be glad to connect you with them and also take a look at your overall plan and make sure you've got enough to pay for all of your health care in retirement. 855-246-9211 or go to take prideinretirement.com Again, no obligation at all.
And so I want to wrap things up here over these next few minutes with some talk about one of the most underrated planning tools that's out there. It's a health savings account.
You might say. Well, Matt, I'm working right now and I know that a health savings account is a thing that I have access to, but what is the advantage of continuing that through your retirement years? Well, HSAs offer what is often called triple tax advantages, right? Contributions may be tax deductible, growth can be tax free, and withdrawals for qualified healthcare expenses are tax free.
And so that makes them incredibly powerful tools for retirement health care planning. And many people use HSAs for the current medical costs, right? But they can also be long term planning tools. So after age 65, you gain some additional flexibility with those HSA funds. So you can use those for non medical expenses without penalties perhaps, and your regular income tax may apply, but you can use it without penalty.
Like you might have to choose that, like, like declare that as actual income, but you can use that without any sort of extra penalty on top of it. And For LGBTQ couples, HSAs can really play a strategic role here. Tax efficient planning for dual incomes Healthcare reserves for earlier retirees, flexible legacy options as well.
And so, you know, healthcare planning should be intentional. And if you want to have an hsa, that health savings account, be part of your plan, be intentional about it, make sure that you are covered in a tax efficient way. You know, we often talk about having a retirement plan that is tax efficient, fee efficient, market efficient. Those really are the three big ones that we talk about a lot.
And this is a big way to help you with that. Tax efficiency piece is a health savings account.
And so for LGBTQ couples, you know that tax efficient planning, super important health care reserves for those early retirees and flexible legacy options. Because health care planning should be intentional, not reactive. We want you to be proactive, not reactive, and definitely not driven by fear in any way.
So, you know, health care planning, it's not about those worst case scenarios that sometimes people try to kind of scare you with. It's about building a retirement where you feel prepared, where you feel protected, and where you feel confident.
And so when you bring healthcare into the conversation early, before you might have otherwise thought about it, right? You bring it in the conversation early, alongside income, alongside taxes and your investments, retirement then starts to feel like it's not nearly as uncertain as it otherwise would be when you take into account all of the things earlier than you might otherwise have, because it gives you extra clarity, it gives you extra time to prepare, and it gives you extra peace of mind when you do reach your retirement years. So if you would like help, you know, building a retirement plan that truly accounts for health care costs, all those different decisions that we've talked about with Medicare and all the things, the taxes, the income strategies, that's what I do for people each and every day. And so I would like to encourage you to schedule a complimentary consultation. You go to take pride in retirement.com that's take pride in retirement.com or call 8552-4692-1185-5246-9211.
Well, thanks so much for spending some time with me today and I really do appreciate it. As I say each and every time we get together, spread the word if you will like this video. If you're on YouTube, subscribe to the channel, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts as well. Help us Spread the word and build a movement where people are feeling more confident in their retirement as members of the LGBTQ community, allies and whomever. Because no matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, how you identify, or how much money you have, you deserve a retirement you can take pride in. Period.
Alright. So until next time, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you there.
[00:19:03] Speaker B: Thanks for listening to Take Pride in Retirement. Members of the LGBTQ community deserve to work with a fiduciary financial advisor who puts their needs first. To schedule a free no obligation consultation with Matt McClure and the team at Active Wealth Management, call 855-246-9211 or go online to takeprideinretirement.com investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC BCM a registered investment advisor, BCM and Active Wealth Management Inc. Incorporated are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
[00:19:43] Speaker A: Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not in any way refer to investment advisory products. Rates and guarantees provided by insurance products and annuities are subject to the financial strength of the issuing insurance company, not guaranteed by any bank or the fdic. Information provided is not intended as tax or legal advice and should not be
[00:20:03] Speaker C: relied on as such. You are encouraged to seek tax or
[00:20:06] Speaker A: legal advice from an independent professional. Registered Investment Advisors and Investment Advisor Representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our Investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure the ADV2A, item 4 for additional information.
