A Family Saved from a Retirement Shortfall

Life is full of uncertainty. We don’t know what’s ahead of us and we certainly don’t know what the future holds.  Though we don’t want to think about it, unexpected illness or death of a providing family member can turn a financially stable situation into a crippling one. Thankfully, there are ways to protect yourself and loved ones, as one couple fortunately figured out.

Lance and Diane Wilson of Tustin, California, were well on their way to retirement with a 401 (k) plan and a teaching pension when they realized it wasn’t going to be enough for them to retire in their home town in Orange County as they had originally planned. They began to discuss their options, which included postponing their retirement and moving to a more affordable location, none of which they wanted to do. Not happy with their solution, they chose to meet with retirement planning expert Steve Sousa to see if anything could be done. As managing director of Advanced Savings Concepts in Tustin, Steve created a financial plan that not only maximized their current retirement funds, but also reduced any market volatility and reduced taxation.

Under Steve’s financial plan, the Wilson family significantly increased their retirement income. Not only were they able to retire with more income, but they also were able to retire earlier than first thought, all while remaining in Orange County! When Lance announced his early retirement, his co-workers couldn’t believe the difference the new financial plan had made in his retirement.

Not long after announcing his early retirement, Lance suffered a health diagnosis that would prevent him from working any further. Had the Wilsons not taken the steps to improve their retirement when they did, their financial stability would have been in jeopardy. Without the ability to work, they would not have been able to retire when they did and where they did.

The Wilsons credit Steve Sousa with the success of their financial stability. By creating a plan that resulted in significantly increased retirement income, reduced taxation, and reduced market volatility, the Wilsons were able to retire at a time when they needed it most. They are forever grateful to Steve and the financial security he provided their family.

"If it weren't for the financial strategies developed by Steve Sousa, we would not have been able to retire in Orange County near our children and grandchildren" - Lance & Diane Wilson

It pays to be prepared. With so much uncertainty in this life, it’s a relief knowing that you and your loved ones are financially cared for. 

If you are approaching retirement and are concerned about how market volatility or rising tax rates may affect your retirement, please call or schedule an appointment to learn the unique strategies that we have developed to help you protect and accelerate the growth of your retirement savings.

Steve Sousa has been helping Southern California families protect and grow their retirement savings since 1978. He was motivated to help friends and family innovate and enhance the way they saved money for things like real estate, college tuition, weddings and retirement. He also has wanted to see his friends and family pass more of their wealth onto their families. Watching families lose money in the market in 2001, 2002, 2003 and finally in 2008, inspired Steve to develop the most innovated strategy yet. This strategy not only protects families from losing money to stock market volatility, it also eliminates the burden of paying income taxes when you want to access your money. To learn more about this revolutionary strategy, schedule a free consultation. 

Cut the government out of your retirement savings

Most investors would agree that the sooner you eliminate the government from taxing your investments, the better. First, there's the danger of inflating tax rates. Secondly, it cost a lot less to pay taxes on the seed money than it would be to pay taxes on the growth and withdrawals. Unfortunately, there are very few investment choices that protect investors from future taxation. In fact, the only one that allows investors to avoid taxes on earnings (with the ability to pass money onto their heirs tax free) are those designed to conform to IRS code 7702(a).  This type of asset class provides safety, liquidity and competitive returns.

What is a 7702(a) Plan?

In the 1970's, the financial industry wanted to find an investment that would allow their clients the opportunity to grow their money tax-deferred, withdraw it tax-free, and transfer their money to their heirs tax-free. The stock brokerage house E.F. Hutton came to the conclusion that the only IRS approved way to accomplish this was through a life insurance contract.

Peter W. Mullin
Founding Chairman of
Mullin Barens Sanford Financial

Realizing the opportunity to provide his clients with a tax free retirement savings vehicle, Peter Mullen approached Pacific Life with a concept that is known today as "over-funded life insurance."
Peter solved the income tax problem of the "buy term and invest the difference." Over-funded life insurance would allow clients use a similar concept without the liability of income tax on the growth and distribution. These policies were primarily sold as fixed UL and variable UL products through the 1980's and 1990's with average returns of 11-12%. With billions of dollars being deposited every year, the financial industry continued to adapt the products around the changes in the market and in legislation in order to maintain the benefits to their clients.

In the early 2000's when the market suffered the longest downturn in history, the industry began looking for a way to add more guarantees to the concept. The industry turned to new product called Indexed Universal Life. The IUL offered the security of an indexed account that had a minimum guaranteed return (such as 1%). This  product allowed investors the ability to continue using "over-funded life insurance" concept without the risk of suffering losses in a down market. Although the contract limited earnings with a cap (such as 12%), it solved the volatility problem that eventually saved investors from the stock market crash of 2008.

Cutting the government out of your retirement savings is not as simple as buying a life insurance policy from an insurance agent. This is a concept that needs to be properly designed and managed by someone who specializes in designing life insurance policies for the purpose of accumulating cash for retirement on a tax free basis.

Find a life insurance agent that understands how to properly design and manage these investments. You will be shocked to see how much money you  can save for you and your family.

Learn how to cut the government out of your retirement savings and substantially increase your returns