Share Your Summer Journey With FJP
You’ve worked hard to enjoy the life’s journey you imagined for yourself and your family. This can include big adventures, milestones met, and memorable moments.
Your experiences are inspiring! We invite you to share your Summer 2019 moments with us in our Financial Journey Partners Photo Contest!
It's time for the summer to begin and we look forward to seeing your photos!
Elaine, Scott and Linda Attend Conference in San Francisco
Elaine, Scott and Linda attended the Financial Planning Association conference for Northern California (FPA Norcal) in San Francisco on May 28 and 29, 2019. Over 500 advisors attended to hear from a wide range of speakers. Some of our key takeaways included:
- Keynote speaker Mike Robbins shared that his years of research has shown how important it is for leaders to be honest, real and genuine. Effective leaders set a high bar for performance, they clearly define it and they recognize it passionately when it occurs.
- Michael Kitces shared the key trends shaping our industry. Technology is evolving rapidly and we are implementing the best technology we can find to provide a high lever experience for our clients and to make our team more efficient.
- Brock Long is the former Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He reminded us that FEMA has limitations on the assistance they can provide, so it is important for us all to do everything we can to be prepared for natural disasters so we can minimize their impact.
Estate Planning Seminar Highlights
On May 9, we had special guest, attorney Kelly McHaffie, explaining why it is important to do Estate Planning. She explained the differences of what happens when a person does or does not have a living trust. Here are a few of the key takeaways from the seminar.
- When a person has a living trust, they can keep their affairs private and avoid the potentially longer settlement times and higher costs that occur when an estate goes through the Probate court due to not have a living trust.
- Estate planning includes planning for events before a person passes with a power of attorney and a health care directive for situations where a person becomes incapacitated.
- It is important to periodically update your trust as your situation changes and when your account numbers change.
Social Security Seminar Highlights
On April 25, 2019, we had an excellent Social Security Seminar with special guest speaker Jennifer Taboada, Vice President at BlackRock. We learned a lot to help our clients select the best time for them to start taking Social Security. A few key takeaways we had from the event included:
- After age 62, the amount a person gets for their Social Security payment goes up a small amount for each month they wait. You can get a higher payout by filing on the 2nd of the month or later and people should avoid filing on the first of the month.
- While the payout a person receives for Social Security goes up each month from at 62 to age 70, in some cases when a person considers their entire situation, they may be better off taking Social Security at a younger age. It is very important to look at each different scenario in your financial plan before making your final decision.
- The Social Security Administration can provide you with a matrix of your possible payouts. This is called an Informational Certified Earnings Record (ICER).
- You can find out a lot of information about Social Security System at their website, SSA.gov.
