5 Essential Steps For Your Retirement

A good wealth management strategy

There are 5 main steps of a good wealth management strategy.

1. Insurance
2. Investments
3. Long Term Care & Disability
4. Guaranteed Income
5. Estate Planning

Insurance

Depending on age and general circumstances, this could consist of universal life, whole life or term insurance. For the younger planner, perhaps Universal Life is more suitable while whole life insurance or term life insurance could be used in other circumstances.

Investments

Investments will consist of different types, changing as people age and returns rise or fall on different types of holdings. A varied portfolio will possibly include investment funds, bonds, stocks, investment trusts and the like. This element of wealth management strategy is the most volatile and demands the most attention.

Long Term Care

Many people save aggressively for their retirement, working on getting the best possible return on their money. But they tend to forget that they need to protect and insure this wealth, by protecting themsleves against disability during their working lifetime.

And then, after retirement, to provide for their long term care in the event of a serious illness which may involve institutional or home care.

Guaranteed Income

While during your lifetime, you work hard to gather together funds for your retirement, so you need to protect that nest egg with iron safeguards.

And the way to do that is with annuities, perhaps with both registered and non registered funds. An annuity locks an insurance company into paying you, and your spouse if included, a regular monthly income in the same way the government pays you a old age pension. There are no ifs or buts; you get a cheque deposited to your account every month.

And why an annuity? Because it is the only vehicle guaranteed to pay you for your lifetime. Bonds and stocks won't, any more than investment funds or trusts. While registered and non registered annuities have different tax and guarantee scenarios, each guarantee an income for life.

One big difference is that you can leave a continuing legacy of monthly payments to a beneficiary with a non registered annuity plan.

Estate Planning

Gathering together all of these and other financial elements of your life is what estate planning is all about. Perhaps you have a house or cottage and cars to be divided between beneficiaries, which is probably more difficult to do than splitting annuity payments or life insurance proceeds. Your Last Will and Testament binds all the details together.