From the category archives:

MFTA Life Insurance

New York’s Shell Game

June 28, 2010

Your Retirement Shouldn’t Be a Guess

Recently, New York came under fire for what many are calling a “shell game” as it jostles money about within its pension fund to pay the nearly $6 billion it currently owes in annual payments — by borrowing from the very same fund.

The New York Times reported:

“Pension costs for the state and municipalities are soaring, a result of enhanced retirement benefits for public employees and the decline in the stock market over the past two years. And, given declines in tax revenue and larger budget shortfalls, the governments are struggling to come up with the money to make the contributions.”

New York is not alone in this financial dance. States, counties, cities, even corporations across the country are shuffling and tapping their way through these meager times, often coming up with less-than-fail proof ways of meeting their responsibilities.

The biggest downside is that the employees who have counted on those pensions and funds for their retirement may be facing a future without them.

The uncertainties of the future are exactly why we must do what we can to make our futures certain for ourselves.

We have seen that we can’t necessarily trust the government, employers or even some financial institutions to do what they’ve said, when they said they would do it.

Take your retirement into your own hands. Learn more about how you can safeguard yourself against the ups and downs of the market, while still enjoying a safe, liquid way to save for your retirement.

Discover how you can optimize your assets and put your serious money in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts.

We’ve seen how this approach can help clients approaching retirement — teachers, police officers, and others who otherwise would have relied solely on government-funded pensions — find a secure path to a comfortable retirement.

You work hard for your money, and you deserve to rest well during your retirement, with the peace of mind that your retirement dollars will be there when you need them — even if your former employers’ plan wouldn’t be.

Find out more, now.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?®

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Facing “Unretirement”? It’s Not Too Late to Protect Your Future

June 22, 2010

Over the last couple years, the economic upheaval has siphoned off critical value from many retirees’ 401(k)s, IRA(s) and stock portfolios.

People who had planned on riding off into the sunset are finding they might not have enough gas to get close to that twilight on the horizon.

In fact, many retirees are facing the fact they need to “unretire,” as a recent Fortune magazine article put it. The article provides advice for those forced by financial strain to return to the workplace:

“Having to go back to the office when you dreamed for years about puttering in your garden or volunteering can be frustrating, even depressing. But retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either.

“For most productive, well-educated men and women, an average of 25 years of ‘leisure’ can be terribly isolating and boring; returning to work may turn out to be a blessing after all. Remember that work is good not only for the cash flow but also keeping the mind and spirit sharp.”

While this is a positive approach to a disheartening situation, how nice would it be NOT to have to make that transition back to the workplace?

For many people who optimized assets and put their money in savings retirement vehicles like maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts, their retirement savings has been secure — in fact, for many it’s even seen rates of return as high as 8, 14, 16 percent — during this economic downturn.

If you’re approaching retirement and want to make sure you’re able to stay retired, it’s not too late.

You can start now to optimize your assets and take advantage of retirement savings vehicles that are safe, liquid, offer a rate of return — and provide tax advantages — like MFTA contracts.

Even if you have substantial amounts tucked into 401(k)s, IRA(s) or other traditional accounts, you can perform a “strategic roll-out” to move your serious cash to a seriously smarter place.

Even if retirement is something farther out for you, it’s never too early to start. The Missed Fortune series of books can help everyone along the age continuum.

Invest the time to explore these topics in Missed Fortune 101 or The Last Chance Millionaire, because you deserve to invest in yourself and your future.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?®

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Congress Versus Wall Street

June 15, 2010

Everyone can agree that America suffered financial ruin due in part to actions on Wall Street. But not everyone can agree on how to repair Wall Street.

As financial reform passes the Senate and makes its way through the House, the debate rages on.

Too much oversight and regulation, and America’s financial institutions will be stymied – which could kill America’s fledgling rebound. Too little, and practices that led to the collapse could repeat themselves.

A New York Times article reported:

“Despite the outcry from lobbyists and warnings from conservative Republicans that the legislation will choke economic growth, bankers and many analysts think that the bill approved by the Senate last week will reduce Wall Street’s profits but leave its size and power largely intact. Industry officials are also hopeful that several of the most punitive provisions can be softened before it is signed into law.”

If you’re heavily invested in the market, you’re likely heavily invested in the outcome of this legislation. You also likely suffered more loss than you could have ever anticipated over the past couple years, and you’d rather not experience that again.

But what if you could have been spared the loss? What if you, like the people who optimized their assets and put their serious money in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged contracts, could have maintained their principal – even gained a rate of return of 12, 13 percent or more over the past couple years?

There are ways to prepare for your retirement, to secure your future with savings vehicles that provide safety, liquidity, rate of return, and tax-advantaged benefits.

Learn how to protect yourself, so regardless of legislation, or ups and downs in the market, you can move forward toward true wealth on a steadier, safer path.

Learn more about Missed Fortune strategies now, so you can be better off tomorrow.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?®

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Taking Back Control from Congress & the Fickle Market

May 30, 2010

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, June 1st at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “True Asset Optimization: How to Choose the Right Investments.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Who Determines Your Financial Fate?

The New York Times published an article last week entitled “As Reform Takes Shape, Some Relief on Wall Street.” The article reports on the financial reform bill working its way through congress, and says:

“Despite the outcry from lobbyists and warnings from conservative Republicans that the legislation will choke economic growth, bankers and many analysts think that the bill approved by the Senate last week will reduce Wall Street’s profits but leave its size and power largely intact. Industry officials are also hopeful that several of the most punitive provisions can be softened before it is signed into law.”

If you’re heavily invested in the market, you’re heavily invested in the outcome of this legislation. You’re left to the whims and power-mongering of Congress, the vagaries of the market, the inevitable rising of inflation.

In short, you have little to no control. You’re sitting on the sidelines hoping and praying that the changes won’t negatively affect your account.

Why not take back your control? Why not empower yourself and become immune from market volatility, guarantee your principal, outpace inflation, reduce your taxes, and increase your liquidity?

You can, with Missed Fortune Strategies. Meet with a Missed Fortune advisor to learn how.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Avoid Stock Market Trauma

May 11, 2010

Recently the Dow set an all-new record –- albeit not a record to be proud of –- when it plunged nearly 1,000 points in a single day of trading before it recovered to a loss of 348 points by day’s end.

Investors around the world watched the free fall in horror, catching their breath as the spiral finally slowed and trading improved.

As it turns out, the drop was in part due to technical errors which in turn triggered further losses, but whatever the cause, the roller coaster ride was enough to leave more than a few investors shaken.

This is just one more example that makes it clear: Serious retirement money can be better off when it is not directly invested in the stock market.

Too many soon-to-be retirees –- and those already in their “golden years” –- find themselves vulnerable to the sharp ups and downs the stock market can bring.

Similarly, those with their money in 401(k)s and IRAs can be significantly impacted by bad days on Wall Street.

On the other hand, these investors want solid returns that help their retirement savings gain momentum.

Safe but sluggish CDs, money markets and similar vehicles can take too long, with too little return to make a difference.

Ideally, it would be nice to find retirement savings vehicles that can benefit from the ups of the stock market, while being protected from the downs.

There is a type of investment that offers this safety and rate of return.

What’s more, it offers liquidity to protect you in times of need. And by properly utilizing indexing, you can take advantage of the up ticks in the stock market, while sparing yourself the agony of the down ticks.

It’s all available through maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts; they can provide a best-of-all-worlds solution to retirement planning.

Find out more today so you can feel secure, watching the world ride the ups and downs of the stock market, while you steadily take your journey toward your retirement.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?

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What Will the Government Nationalize Next?

May 9, 2010

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, May 11th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “True Asset Optimization: How to Choose the Right Investments.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Next Up on the Government’s Nationalization Agenda

A crisis is unfolding with dire consequences, though few Americans are aware.

The harsh reality of national insolvency is forcing the government to look for new sources of revenue.

What’s the most logical source? You guessed it: qualified plans, meaning 401(k)s and IRAs, where Americans have saved more than $13 trillion.

Lee Bellinger, publisher of Independent Living, recently published a report entitled “40l(k)/IRA Nationalization Quietly Moves Forward.” His comments are just common sense:

“As the government’s finances continue to deteriorate, the White House and a powerful network of left-wing think-tanks, Congressional activists, and the highly-influential Ford and Rockefeller Foundations are engineering a new regulatory and tax-incentive drive to herd and ultimately force Americans to convert their 40l(k)s and IRAs into government-directed retirement accounts…

“…the extreme tactics used to ram health care nationalization down the country’s throat are a blueprint for what could be the biggest asset grab in history: the nationalization of private retirement accounts.”

It’s only a matter of time. In March of this year, the New York Times reported:

“This year, [Social Security] will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016…”

Business Week reported that new federal regulations designed to “promote the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams” would help drive cash into government-controlled entities such as American International Group (AIG), “the insurer that has received $182.3 billion in government aid.”

Bob Chapman of The International Forecaster explains,

“The looting of retirement plans is still in the planning stage, and you’re seeing these trial balloons go up.”

Bottom line: Major congressional overhaul of retirement plans — to your detriment — is something you should be planning for.

Roll ‘em Out!

In light of this crisis, the wisest, most logical decision for you may be a strategic rollout — to transfer your qualified plan funds into maximum-funded, tax-advantaged life insurance contracts, which provide the following benefits:

Tax-free growth
Tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal
Tax-free transfer to heirs
Guaranteed safety of principal
Healthy returns that outpace inflation

If you think you’ll be in a lower tax bracket when you retire, you need to consider what the government is up to and think again.

Taxes will never be lower than they are today, and your dollars will never be worth more than they are today.

Escape the greedy clutches of government bureaucrats by meeting with a Missed Fortune advisor.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Set Up Your Family-Empowered Bank To Limit Taxes

May 2, 2010

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, May 4th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “True Asset Optimization: How to Choose the Right Investments.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Family-Empowered Banks Beat IRAs Hands Down

We know that in the next year income taxes will go up at least 5 percent. And the taxes to cover health care reform will be about another 3 percent.

Our clients realize that it’s better to pay taxes now rather than postponing them and paying 8 to 10 percent more if they don’t convert their IRAs and 401(k)s now.

The government currently has $62 trillion in unfunded liabilities. The writing is on the wall: Taxes will go up, as will inflation.

You need to learn how to use the internal revenue code to your advantage to create a family-empowered bank.

In a family-empowered bank using innovative life insurance contracts, your money grows tax-free, you can withdraw it tax-free, and it transfers to your heirs tax-free.

In these life insurance contracts I’ve averaged about 9 and a half percent returns for the last 30 years. About 1 percent of this pays for life insurance, which comes along for the ride and gets paid for by Uncle Sam.

This means I’ve averaged an 8.2 percent cash on cash return. Every $1 million I accumulate generates $70,000 per year of tax-free income.

When I die my family will receive millions of dollars of tax-free life insurance proceeds.

Meet with a Missed Fortune advisor to learn how you can set up your own family-empowered bank.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Your Next Home: Rent or Buy?

April 27, 2010

In this frustrated economy, is buying or renting a home better?

A recent New York Times article examined the issue, suggesting readers make the decision using the “rent ratio”:

“A simple way to do the comparison is to look at something called the rent ratio: the purchase price of a house divided by the annual cost of renting a similar one.

The number 20 provides a useful rule of thumb. When you do the math, you discover that a ratio above 20 means you should at least consider renting, especially if you may move again in the next five years or so. When the ratio is well below 20, the case for buying becomes a lot stronger.”

The article went on to note that areas like New York and Los Angeles have recently gone from rent ratios of 25 to 16, so more families are considering purchasing homes in those cities than before.

But there’s more to the decision than just rent ratios.

What many traditional real estate and financial advisors don’t understand is that your home can be more than a roof over your head – it can help provide for your retirement.

Your home’s equity can be separated out and leveraged for long-term savings in a safe, liquid environment with a rate of return. And this process can happen again and again as your equity increases.

By placing the money from your home’s equity in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged life insurance contracts, you can safely prepare for your retirement with clarity and confidence.

And in an economy like this, clarity and confidence can be hard to come by.

Make sure to consider all the advantages of buying a home – beyond just a low rent ratio. And find out more about maximizing your assets and protecting yourself in otherwise uncertain times.

Isn’t it time you became wealthy?

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Retirement Savings Alternatives

April 15, 2010

At what pace do you want your money to grow? Would you prefer it to crawl, walk, jog, or sprint toward your retirement goal?

American taxpayers have these basic options for the pace of savings:

Crawling

Certificates of Deposit
Money Market Accounts

Walking

Non-Qualified Annuities

Jogging

Typical IRAs & 401(k)s

Running

Roth IRAs & 401(k)s

Sprinting

Maximum-Funded, Tax-Advantaged Life Insurance Contracts

How those savings are taxed makes a huge difference in the pace, and thus in the amount you wind up with for your golden years.

Whenever you work to earn money, it is subject to income taxation. When you put your money to work, you can structure a savings plan that is taxable, tax-deferred, or tax-free.

A Utah couple filing a joint tax-return, with a taxable income this year in excess of about $68,000 ($34,000 for single filers), will be in a 32 percent combined federal and state tax bracket.

If they put after-tax money in traditional savings and investments, they are using 68-cent dollars.

If they put money into qualified retirement accounts, the IRS allows them to use pre-tax dollars, or they get to deduct the contributions from their gross income. Thus, they are using 100-cent dollars.

When they save money in non-qualified CDs and Money Markets, they are using 68-cent dollars and the interest they earn is usually very low and it is tax-as-earned.

If this couple invests in non-qualified annuities, they are using 68-cent dollars to fund their account.

Their account may be tax-deferred, but when they withdraw their money it will be taxed LIFO (last-in, first-out) meaning all the interest they earned is the first money being withdrawn according to IRS rules, so it is 100% taxable unless they dip into their principal.

If this same couple invests money in traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, they are using 100-cent dollars to fund their account, but when they begin to withdraw their money during retirement, it is 100% taxable.

Therefore, they will be jogging toward retirement with the wind at their back at the beginning of the race only.

If they invest money into Roth IRAs and 401(k)s, they are using 68-cent dollars to fund their account, but when they begin to withdraw money during retirement, it is 100% tax-free.

Therefore, they will be jogging with the wind at their back (100-cent dollars) at the end of the race.

I feel the best solution to the retirement saving dilemma is a strategy that guarantees safety of principal while providing competitive rates of return. It provides liquidity and flexibility.

I choose to put my serious cash in maximum-funded, safe, tax-advantaged (MFTA) indexed insurance contracts because they are the only savings vehicles that, when properly structured and funded, allow an investor to:

Accumulate money safely, tax-free
Withdraw the money later tax-free
Transfer money income-tax free at death

This is allowed under Sections 72e, 7702 and 101 of the Internal Revenue Code as I teach in my books. Many indexed contracts have averaged 8% the last 3 years.

Ready to start sprinting towards retirement? Meet with a Missed Fortune advisor today.

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The Folly of “Long-Haul” Advisors

April 4, 2010

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, April 6th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “Asset Optimization.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

“You’re In It For The Long Haul”: A Lame Excuse For Poor Performance

Many financial professionals have been saying in various media sources that we’re in a market recovery.

This latest “I told you so” rally is intended to prove that if people would just listen to them and wait out market downturns, everything turns out all right.

They point out that if people would have just “hung in there,” they would have received a 43% return since September 2008.

But let’s analyze this to see what’s really going on. We’ll compare this traditional advice to the Missed Fortune strategies.

Suppose you had $100,000 invested in the market at the beginning of 2007. Most people received an 8 percent return in 2007, which means that you would have ended the year with $108,000.

But in 2008, most Americans lost 31 percent of their investments. Your $108,000 would have dropped $33,480 to a balance of $74,520 by the end of 2008.

Now, following the “You’re in it for the long haul” advice, you keep your money invested in the market.

Assuming the traditional advisors are right and you would have earned a 43 percent return in 2009, you would have gained about $32,000, for a final balance of $106,563.

When you average out that three-year period, it comes to about a 2 percent average rate of return.

Now consider what you would have experienced had you followed the Missed Fortune advice instead.

You start with $100,000. In 2007 you would have earned 8 percent, for the same ending balance of $108,000.

However, in 2008 you would not have lost a dime — you’d still be left with $108,000.

In 2009 you would have made a 16 percent rate of return. This would put your balance up to $125,290.

Bottom line: Following the Missed Fortune strategies instead of traditional strategies would have made you an additional $18,727 in the same three-year period.

What’s more, in these first few months of 2010 our clients have already locked in another 16 percent, so in this example the account balance would now be up to $143,324.

But it gets even better than this. Why? Because you need to factor in taxes to the equation.

Following traditional advice, either this account would have been fully taxable, or at best tax-deferred.

But with Missed Fortune strategies, your accounts grow tax free and provide tax-free withdrawal.

So what’s it going to be for you? Poor and volatile returns with traditional advice, or steady and healthy returns with Missed Fortune?

Set up an appointment with a Missed Fortune advisor now to learn how to get off the traditional roller-coaster and onto the Missed Fortune gravy train.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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