Ray LeVitre - 20 retirement decisions you need to make right now

I f you are reading this book you are likely retiring right now. So, congratulations are in order. CONGRATULATIONS! From now on every day is Saturday.

I have spent the past twenty years helping people successfully make the financial transition from the workforce into retirement. This book is a culmination of my experience with my clients.

During my time in the financial services industry I have worked for some of the biggest and most well known financial institutions in the United States. While I am grateful to each of these firms for the employment opportunities they provided, I think that their business models are severely flawed. They seem to be much more concerned with making money for themselves rather than making money for their clients. You should be aware of the conflicts of interest that exist in the financial services industry as you seek financial advice and buy financial products at retirement. Making a mistake now could negatively impact the way you live for the next thirty to forty years. Here are some words of warning and some advice to follow as you make the financial transition from the workforce into retirement.

Most people have the need for a financial advisor to help them make money decisions at retirement. The problem with this is that most financial advisors work on commissions and have a hidden agenda to sell something. While most are well-meaning, keeping their jobs ultimately means theyve got to make a commission. In their intense efforts to meet sales quotas and pay their mortgages, they wind up pitching loaded financial products (mutual funds, annuities, and life insurance) to make a quick buck. If this occurs you will wind up with investments and insurance that are best for your advisor and his/her firm and not necessarily what is best for you. Read chapter 3, Fire Your Broker!, to see how to find objective advisors who are more interested in your goals than in theirs.

The investment and insurance products sold by commissioned advisors are expensive. When you buy loaded (i.e. commissioned) financial products, the product sponsors simply build in additional up-front, back-end, and annual expenses so they can compensate your advisor. Since these fees are often hidden, most investors never really know what they are paying. You can read chapter 18, No-Load Means Lower Costs, to learn how to avoid excessive fees.

Because commissioned advisors are under such extreme pressure to make money for their firms, they have to keep finding new clients and selling more expensive products. This is a problem. When an advisor is focused on acquiring new clients, little time remains for existing clients. The bottom line is that most people receive poor to no service from their advisors. Unfortunately, this is accepted as the norm, thus advisors are not held to higher standards. As an investor you should know what you are paying in fees (both those seen and those hidden) and make sure your advisor is providing service equal to the fees you are paying.