In addition to educating our clients and helping them realize their retirement goals, we work hard to solve their problems. In the next few weeks, we’re going to highlight that aspect of our job. Our first featured problem solver is insurance specialist Matt Weyers. Matt, who is also a registered investment advisor representative, spends most of his time helping clients solve the growing problem of potentially outliving their money. He develops client-specific strategies based on risk tolerance, income level, age and retirement goals. He also takes advantage of the company’s independence to analyze products and policies. Because Winch Financial is not affiliated with a specific broker/dealer or insurance company, Matt is able to access a wide variety of options for clients and he also can provide an unbiased analysis. Recently, a client came to Matt with an annuity he had just purchased from an outside insurance agent. The client asked Matt to analyze the annuity to make sure it was the right product for him, Matt asked about goals and the man said he wanted easy access to his money. Knowing that annuities are notoriously illiquid, Matt noted that the client would only be able to withdraw 10 percent of his money a year without penalty, and would have to wait until the second year to even do that. Fortunately, the annuity’s grace period had not expired and Matt was able to extract a full refund for the client. Working together, they then reinvested the money in more liquid assets to allow him the access he wanted in the first place. In another instance, a client who had filled out his group health benefits packet incorrectly came to Matt to see what he could do. The client inadvertently checked the wrong box, which left his wife without coverage. The company’s HR department would not allow him to add her because the open enrollment period had passed. Matt was able to… | Read More »