- Thread starter
- #21
- 168
Always? That makes me worry about bias in the course material... there is never one right answer for every situation. What assumptions were they using for the investments/income from investments?
I'm going to give my feedback at the point in the course I'm at. I've completed the first course of the 3, and am 2/3 of the way thru the 2nd. Of course, "it depends". There are a couple securities guys who claim that securities will always do better, and they've yet to be shown a scenario where an annuity solution will do better than a securities mix in the long run. The stats they throw around are that using a "safe withdrawal rate" (4%-ish, but not quite that simple), that almost 100% of the time all the principal is left in the portfolio after the retirement period is over, and the median portfolio has even grown to over 1.5 times the initial size.
Now there are a couple annuities guys who preach that at least some component of insurance is necessary for nest eggs in retirement. I was pretty impressed with several videos presented by Curtis Cloke about annuities, including a couple case studies he put together by using different types of annuities guaranteeing income for life for necessary expenses like rent, medical, etc.
They do focus quite a bit on more than the numbers, and get into the behavioral finance side of things. Stuff like: clients' piece of mind, why they do what they do, how to frame conversations in a way where they understand why the advice you're giving them is a better decision for them to make, etc. It's helping them prepare for the "lifestyle" of retirement, moreso than just the question of if they're financially ready. Lastly, they get into minimizing taxes as much as possible.
The biggest take-aways for me so far are the importance of maximizing social security, working as long as is possible, and minimizing longevity risk.