IN THE KNOW
Monthly Newsletter
April 2021
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In this month's newsletter, we have a helpful article about the key elements of a successful retirement plan. We also take a look at what happened if an investor missed the first week of rebound after last year's market downturn. And finally, we have some great reminders about actions to take with your benefits after any important life events. We are continuing our employee spotlight and introducing you to advisor, Scott Adair. As usual, we are sharing helpful COVID-19 resources from our parent company, Maxwell, Locke & Ritter, and relevant investment articles and videos from Dimensional.
We are hosting a virtual webinar on the topic of Social Security on May 6 so be sure to register below!
We are a firm that understands that managing your assets is about more than money. It is about empowering your future. At ML&R Wealth Management, we focus on you.
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Running out of money is often cited as one of the most significant concerns of a retiree. It can be difficult to make the mental transition from saver to spender when there is no longer a regular paycheck coming in. Then, add in occasional market volatility (I’m looking at you 2020!) and the stress can be overwhelming. To provide some sense of control and peace of mind, a meticulous and comprehensive retirement plan strategy becomes essential. An ideal plan should address both the saving and the spending phases to help weather the storms.
Understand the Different Phases of a Retirement Plan
It’s important to recognize that a comprehensive retirement plan encompasses very distinct phases with different strategies, tactics, and measures of success. For instance, in the accumulating phase, you are generally successful by saving as much as you can, starting as early as you can, AND making smart decisions with your money. Many investors are successful in this accumulation stage but drop the ball at the 10-yard line and don’t give much thought as to how they will spend their assets in the most efficient manner possible.
Now that we are a little over a year out since hitting market bottom last March, I thought it would be interesting to share the performance difference if an investor missed the first week of the rebound. It’s pretty remarkable and a clear reminder of the importance of maintaining discipline despite the dire events that may be transpiring around us. We will undoubtedly encounter another “once-in-a-lifetime event” again, but if history has taught us anything, we should tune out the noise and maintain our focus as disciplined and long-term investors.
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Throughout your life, you will go through many stages which can affect your benefit plans including your retirement plan. At least on an annual basis, you should do a thorough review to make sure no changes need to be made.
You got married. Don’t forget to update your beneficiary for your retirement plan as well as any life insurance that you might have. In most cases, your beneficiary will be your spouse unless you elect otherwise for your retirement plan. For a retirement plan, if you do elect to have a different person as your 100% primary beneficiary, those elections must be authorized by your spouse and notarized. You also have a limited window to add a spouse or new dependents to any health insurance you may have through your employer or conversely to be added to your spouse’s plan. Lastly, this is also a great opportunity to do some long-range planning to incorporate your new spouse into your budgeting and saving for retirement plans.
You got a divorce or suffered the death of your spouse. As stated above, make sure to update your beneficiary for your retirement plan and any life insurance that you may have. For your retirement plan, your beneficiary will not change unless you elect otherwise. If you were covering your spouse on your health insurance, make sure you do not need to fill out anything to drop your former spouse from your policy. If your spouse was covering you or your children, make sure that you opt in to your employer’s coverage during the allotted timeframe or secure other health care coverage. If you are divorcing, you may have a domestic relations order where your children or your former spouse are entitled to a portion of your benefits or vice versa. Your retirement plan provider will be able to review that order to help you determine the next steps in processing.
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Employee Spotlight
We are excited to spotlight Scott Adair this month! Below are some fun facts to help you get to know him better! |
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Birthday: September 27
Tell us about your family: My parents and sisters and nieces and nephews are all within 3 hours of me, and we get together frequently, which has of course made this past year much easier. My 5-month-old pup Ringo and I are moving into a new house this summer and he's excited to have his own backyard and dog park nearby!
Favorite movie? It's tough to pick just one! I like mafia movies like Goodfellas or Godfather I & II, or westerns like Unforgiven. I also love The Fugitive and Shawshank Redemption, as well as classics by Hitchcock and others on Turner Classic Movies.
Favorite hobbies? I love playing my guitar. I started when I was 15 and it is a very rewarding hobby. I like that I can do it solo and focus and see the benefits of practicing; but, I can also take what I've worked on and share it with friends and family. Music has always been an integral part of my life. I also love to read and learn more about history. These are great indoor hobbies, but I also love being outside hiking, kayaking or swimming with friends, and running.
Most adventurous thing you've done? By far the most adventurous thing I've done is ride a motorcycle in the mountains of Northern Vietnam in 2019. The scenery was stunning and I had a blast...until the fog set in and I could only see about 15 feet in front of me, with big trucks coming around blind corners on winding, muddy roads. I quickly took shelter at a small coffee shop (with a bunch of other travelers having the same idea) and waited for the fog to pass. The scenery, people, and food were all fantastic.
Where do you find inspiration? When I need a break and am looking for inspiration or clarity, I love going on a hike in nature or kayaking or running on Ladybird Lake and just being in the moment, no music or podcasts. That always does the trick.
What is your favorite part of working at ML&R? We have a great team of people who are great at what they do, and I am so happy we will all be able to start returning to the office soon!
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Upcoming Webinar Hosted by ML&R Wealth Management |
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ML&R Wealth Management knows that approaching retirement is an important life decision. Filing for benefits can be complicated and we want to help navigate and simplify the process for you and your family members.
We are excited to bring you Valery Maercklein, Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration, who will present the following:
- The different choices and rules for filing for benefits
- The different timelines scenarios
- Other considerations for family members who may also be eligible
We hope you will join us for this exclusive event!
**Feel free to forward this invitation to any friends and family who might benefit from this information as well.**
Thursday, May 6, 2021
12:00 - 12:50 p.m. ~ Program
12:50 - 1:00 p.m. ~ Q&A
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Do Downturns Lead to Down Years?
Stock market slides may lead investors to anticipate a down year. But a broad market index had positive returns in 16 of the past 20 calendar years, despite some notable dips in many of those years.
Mutual Fund Landscape
This annual report documents the power of market prices by assessing US-based mutual fund performance relative to benchmarks over multi-year periods. The exhibits include data visualizations of fund survivorship and outperformance, persistence of top-quartile funds, and the impact of high fees and turnover on manager performance. Returns data updated through 2020.
By David Booth, Executive Chairman and Founder
Early in my career, I was lucky enough to work on one of the first index funds. It was an incredibly exciting time, because before that the only equity option for investors was to pick stocks. The academic evidence from people like Gene Fama—my graduate school advisor, who would later be recognized as a Nobel laureate—showed there was a better way to approach investing, but no one had put it into practice yet. So we did. Forty years ago, we started Dimensional Fund Advisors because we believed there was a way to invest that was better than stock picking and improved upon index funds.
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As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread in the U.S. and across the world, our priority at Maxwell Locke & Ritter is the safety and well-being of our people, clients, families, and community. We are monitoring daily updates and recommendations from the CDC. Additionally, we are minimizing the impact that COVID-19 could have on our services and are staying abreast of all filing deadline adjustments. We understand that in this time of uncertainty you may have growing concerns for the financial health of yourselves and your businesses, employees and families. We have curated some helpful resources for you and will continue to update this page as new information and updates occur.
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Subscribe to our 401(k) Plan Services Quarterly Newsletter |
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Are you responsible for administering your company's 401(k) plan?
Would you like more insight and resources regarding the retirement plan services industry?
If so, please subscribe to our 401(k) Plan Services Quarterly Newsletter. You can check out the last few issues below.
See our latest Retirement Plan Services articles:
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What's Happening in Austin Next Month |
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About ML&R Wealth Management: |
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At ML&R Wealth Management, we take investing personally. Your ML&R Wealth Management advisor will work to develop a lasting relationship with you, keeping in touch to understand your changing goals and to provide an asset management strategy to help achieve them. Whenever you need sound financial advice, you have a direct line to a trusted advisor.
For over 20 years, we have served individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits with wealth management services, custom retirement and 401(k) plans, and portfolio management.
We believe in accountability and transparency and operate as a fee-only advisor with fees calculated solely on assets under management.
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