Retirement You TV: Episode 1

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Video Transcript

Cynthia De Fazio – 00:24

Hello, my name is Cynthia de Fazio and I am sitting here with Brian Quaranta. What a last name. Well, you can just call me Brian Q. Viewer stay with me That one’s a little bit tricky. We’re actually talking about retirement and the name of your company is secure money advisors, Brian. So how are you? I’m doing great. How are you today? I am doing great, too. So your last name? It’s a tough one, isn’t it? I just have to say from this point forward, can I just say Brian Q?

Brian Quaranta – 00:53

Yeah, absolutely. It’s the easiest way to do I can remember my grandfather is known as Mr. Q. My dad’s known as Mr. Q, because nobody could ever say our last name. So it’s perfectly okay.

Cynthia De Fazio 01:03

That’s awesome. And so it’s a little bit of Italian as well. Right. So

Brian Quaranta – 01:06

yeah, it actually actually Quaranta. Quaranta comes from the Italian language, it means 40. Right. And there’s a long history behind that. But in the Spanish language, cuarenta is 40. And then the Italian language quanta is 40. So, you know, I’ve had friends to call me, you know, Brian 40. But that doesn’t go well. Brian Q’s a lot better.

Cynthia De Fazio – 01:26

Yeah. Yes, I do. I like Brian. Yeah, that works out really? Well. Yeah, that’s right. Well, it’s amazing to have you here today to be on the show together. Cuz we’ve been talking a lot about about retirement and how people can properly plan for that. So the television Avenue is kind of new, you actually had the radio show as well, correct?

Brian Quaranta – 01:43

Yeah, we do to retirement you radio every Saturday and Sunday on 94.53, Ws, which listeners can still hear us there every single weekend. And we’re very proud of the show. But yeah, TV is kind of new for us. But we really feel very passionate about trying to get good information out to the marketplace. Because in today’s marketplace, there’s so much noise about what to do in retirement planning. And so people are very confused. And when you have a lot of noise in the marketplace, you’re getting an opinion from this person, or that person or this person. And retirement planning really is very, very simple. The problem is, is that because there are so many voices out there telling you what to do, people get very confused. And a lot of times my industry is at fault of speaking over people’s heads. And a lot of times they use industry lingo that means nothing to the average consumer. And so when we really break it down to very simple things, which is exactly what we do at secure money advisors is we make the process, very easy to follow and very simple to understand. And that’s important because a confused mind says no, and the worst thing that anybody can do moving towards retirement is not taking any action at all. And a lot of times, that’s what happens, there’s a paralysis by analysis, I mean, in at least in my marketplace, and I know across the country, if you’re 55 or older today, you probably could go out to eat every single night of the week on a financial advisor that’s doing another seminar. And the problem is, is you go to these different events, and one might be talking about Social Security, Medicaid, 401(k), there’s so much information that these people go out to try to get information about what to do. And they actually come back more confused. And so our mission really is to bring simplicity back into the retirement planning process, because people deserve a good plan. And they deserve a plan that they know is going to work. And that’s easy and simple for them to understand.

Cynthia De Fazio – 03:35

Absolutely. And Brian, for the viewing audience, can you explain your role as a fiduciary and what that means? Sure, it’s

Brian Quaranta – 03:41

in the fiduciary responsibility is a big responsibility because it is the highest standard in the industry. And it’s critical that anybody working with a financial advisor today work with a licensed fiduciary it’s very, very important. And we’re just held at a higher standard. I mean, we have to work with the client and do what’s in their best interest. We’re not beholden to any specific company. So we truly sit down with the client, understand their goals, their objectives, and give them a true written plan. And I think that’s the most important thing for viewers to understand that and I teach it all the time on on on the radio show over the weekends, where even when we’re out doing our educational events is that people need to understand it’s not about financial products. But yet so many things that we see whether it be a commercial or, or an individual might be talking to us about financial planning, they always start with a product and products don’t get it done. What gets it done is a financial plan. Once we understand what the plan needs to look like we understand what the goals are, the objectives are, then we can go out there and we can find the right product to solve that problem. And that’s all we’re trying to do is what is the problem, we need to identify it and then we you need to use the proper measures to solve for that problem. And that’s how simple it really is too many people though. Start with product, you know, they sit down with somebody and somebody says, Well, you should buy this XYZ mutual fund, or you should buy XYZ annuity. And it’s not about mutual funds. It’s not about annuities, it’s truly about the plan, having a written plan is critical, then only then once you understand what the plan needs to be only then do you actually go search the marketplace for the right product that’s going to help solve those problems.

Cynthia De Fazio – 05:22

Sure. And would you agree, Brian, that retirement is not one size fits all, like every person that comes in to sit with you, you’re going to have a different plan in place for that specific individual?

Brian Quaranta – 05:31

Absolutely. And that’s why I mean, it’s why we take so much pride in spending the time with the people that we do, because you really have to understand what they’re going what’s going on in their lives and what they specifically need. And it’s it’s it’s custom, everything we do has to be customized to their situation. You know, it’s not a turnkey program, we wish it was because it would be a heck of a lot simpler on us. Because we’ve got a lot of moving parts that you know, Mr. Mrs. Smith might need this, Mr. Mrs. Jones might need this. But that’s the fiduciary responsibility we have is to make sure that we’re understanding each and everybody’s specific situation, and designing and tailoring the plan to their specific needs and objectives. And, and that’s important, because, you know, a lot of times what we’ll see in the marketplace is, you know, people will come in, and, you know, you know, we might review their portfolio. And, you know, we might see, you know, 1015 people over the course of the month from the same firm, and they all have the same investments. And that’s just not a good thing, because we know that they’re not in the same situation. Sure. So it’s very, very critical that we customize and tailor the portfolio to their specific goals and objectives.

Cynthia De Fazio – 06:45

And Brian, what can they expect when they come in to sit with you? What does that experience like in the office for them?

Brian Quaranta – 06:50

Well, you know, I’ve really, I’ve worked hard to make the Office of very laid back kind of welcoming environment, because let’s face it, financial planning itself can be a very intimidating process, especially when you’re opening up something to somebody like your money situation, sure, a lot of people might feel embarrassed that they’re not exactly where they need to be, you know, they might feel that they’re going to be criticized about products they’ve purchased or whatever. And, you know, one of the things that we do really well, at our office is number one, the team of people that we work with, that I’ve hired at the office, are all really there to make everybody’s time when they come to the office as stress free as possible, right? Because people need to feel that, truly, we’re on their side, we’re not there to criticize anything, they’re done. We’re not there to judge anything, we’re truly there to say, okay, what’s happening up to this point, and how do we make it better? So it’s a very laid back very welcoming environment. And as a matter of fact, you know, if it wasn’t for TV, I wouldn’t have this suit jacket on. Because you know, at the office, we’ve got a rule, you know, blue jeans and a shirt. That is I want to go to work comfortable, right? I can remember when I started in the business 20 years ago, I’d have to be clean shaven, white shirt tie every single day. It was too stuffy for me. So we’re very laid back very welcoming. It’s we really wanted to make it like you were walking into your mom or dad’s house, right? We’re just just very comfortable. Very, very comfortable. That’s the way it should be. It should. That’s absolutely our tradition.

Cynthia De Fazio – 08:19

Most definitely. What Brian I can’t believe this. But I think we have to go to a break already. Because we’ve been talking so long. And it’s been wonderful to be together. We viewers, please don’t go anywhere. When we come back. We’re gonna have more with Brian with some wonderful questions as well. But I also wanted to give you an idea of what’s ahead, we’re going to be talking more about your 401k and also for the next 10 callers. I want to actually offer you the opportunity to come in and sit with Brian for your own very uncomplimentary financial plan. So please stay tuned, we’ll be right back.

Commercial Break – 8:52

How confident are you in your current financial plan? Do you know with certainty how the recent market volatility will affect your future hopes and dreams? How much are you paying in taxes? And how much are you losing to unnecessary high fees? You didn’t work to save this money so that you could spend your time worried in retirement. Now is the time to take charge of your finances so you can feel confident about your future call in during the next 30 minutes of today’s show only to set up an absolutely complimentary no obligation, full blown Financial Review that will result in your own customized written plan. This is a $999 value that we’re giving away complimentary to the first 10 people who respond. We’ll start with a full blown analysis of what you already have by running a report to untangle how much you are currently paying in fees, how you’re allocated for risk, and what it’s costing to work with your current advisor. Next will identify your goals. Where do you see yourself in the next five years? Where do you want to go? Who do you hope to go there with? Is your current financial plan set up to get you there without mishap? Let’s design a roadmap to create a financial plan you can follow with confidence, get the piece that so many people are missing from their retirement. Find out how having a written plan can make a difference to your retirement dreams. Call now to schedule your complimentary no obligation full blown Financial Review today.

Cynthia De Fazio – 10:27

Welcome back. My name is Cynthia de Fazio and I’m sitting with Brian Q of secure money advisors. And wow, the phone lines were going crazy when we went to break but don’t give up. If you miss an opportunity to get someone live on the phone. The number is 888-382-1298. What we’re giving you the opportunity to obtain today is actually a complimentary financial plan that Brian is going to set aside just time for you to come into the office to actually have that done. It’s a 15 $100 value. It’s yours complimentary. But please call 1-888-382-1298. Brian, wow, what a show we have today. And we’re going to talk about 401k we spend a lot of time just getting to know just you as a person as a fiduciary what it’s like to come into your office. But we’ve had so many calls come in with the radio show specifically asking about 401k. So you’ve got this great job, right. And part of this great job is that the company is offering you a 401k. So a good question that I think we get asked a lot is how much should a person contribute? Should they go to the maximum amount that their company is going to match? What’s your advice?

Brian Quaranta – 11:33

Yeah, you know, I mean, the 401k. I mean, wow, that’s just been an explosion in the marketplace. And you know, everybody wants to talk about the 401k. And we really have to reframe what this 401k even is, because it really is the driving force behind most everybody’s retirement. I mean, if you go back 3040 years ago, if you look at retirement planning, you know, 30 years ago versus today, things were a lot different. Because you probably work for an employer for 3040 years. When you retired, you got a pension, you also got a social security check. And you probably even knew exactly the day you were going to retire. Because you knew that if you were working for a company for 30 years, they would tell you well, you can retire on this date, and you knew you were going to be out at the same time collect Social Security. And, man, that’s when everybody would have retirement parties. So you know, you’d get a gold watch or maybe, you know, nobody gets Yeah, nobody gets that anymore. Because nobody knows if they can retire or when they can retire. You know. And so if you look at today, it’s a lot different because people were working for multiple employers, which means they have multiple 401k plans, right? Some a lot, a lot of people come in, and they’ve got investments splintered, and splattered everywhere, because they’ve been working, you know, they’ve worked for 234 different companies, and maybe they left that money behind. I always say, you know, when you leave a company, you grab everything, you grab the pictures of your kids, you grab your coat, you grab all your stationery, right? Even grab your stapler, but everybody forgets their money.

Cynthia De Fazio – 13:05

And gets their money, right. Jerry Maguire with the goldfish. Oh my gosh, that’s like the best thing.

Brian Quaranta – 13:11

You remember the goldfish? You forget your money is the most important thing, right? Yeah. But it’s really challenging. Because today, today, we really rely on these 401 K’s as as this is how I’m going to retire. And it’s really scary. Because, you know, everybody, everybody’s working, you know, for multiple employers, they’re entitled to little or no pensions at all. I mean, 85 to 90% of the people that we meet at our office are not or do not have a pension available to them. So that means that their 401k has truly replaced that pension. Right. So now think about this for a moment that 401k is going to need to do something that you never thought that it was going to have to do because if you had a pension, you didn’t have to worry about that 401k is going to need to provide you with income for the rest of your life. That 401 K is your pension. Yeah, the scary part about it is though, if you look at any 401k with any employer, the only options available within that plan are risk investments. Now, risk investments are not a bad thing. It’s just again, what exactly do we need the plan to do? The majority of people that we meet meet at our office are going to need some type of cash flow or income on a monthly basis from that 401k. And they’re going to need to generate that without the worry of running out of money. And this is why one of the greatest things that’s available to us right now is what we call an inservice withdraw. And a lot of people aren’t even aware of this that at at the age of 59 and a half, you can actually take your money out of your 401k plan while you’re still working. So what’s really nice is we recently just helped a couple do this a couple weeks ago. We help people do this every single week but this specific case guys getting ready to retire in two to three years. He’s got money sitting in his 401k plan. He says, look, Brian, this is all the money I’ve got, I can’t afford to roll the dice with this, I need this for income, because the only thing my wife and I are going to have is Social Security checks. And that’s it. So we need money above and beyond what we’re going to be getting in Social Security. So I said, well, due to the fact that you’re over the age of 59 and a half, we can actually take the money from the 401k, we can roll that over, we can better set that up for retirement income, and your 401k will still remain open, which is important. Because with that remaining open, you can still make those contributions. And you can still also get that company match what you want. Because that’s technically kind of free money, it’s, but we really have to reframe what that 401k is that 401 K is your pension, and it needs to be treated like a pension, especially when you get to that special that magical age of 59 and a half. Yeah. And you know, at secure money advisors, if you turn 59 and a half in your client of ours, we have a real special birthday party for you, we send you a little birthday, cupcake, you know, a little 59 and a half card. No, we don’t do that. I pick chocolate, I always get around with the staff, it would be really cool. If we could send everybody that turned 59 and a half, a little birthday, you know, couple acres of that. We Yeah, we haven’t found a we haven’t found anybody to be able to deliver to everybody we need to but but again, it’s just important that people understand that you’re not stuck in that in that 401k plan, once you turn that 59 and a half age and that and it’s critical that you take advantage of that. Because really, again, if you’re one of those 85 to 90% of the people that I see that aren’t going to have a pension or retirement, this this year piece keeps falling out on me, but Okay, yeah, yeah, well, you know, it’s like retirement planning. There’s unexpected events that happen. Exactly. Learn to just roll. That’s right. So, but anyway, so so once you once you turn that 59 and a half age, it’s just really special that you get to be able to do that. And that’s important that people understand that they have the option to do that. And secure money advisors can help them, walk them through that process of what that looks like, and actually design a plan around them doing that distribution early, getting that set up for pension or for income down the road. Because what we’re trying to do really is turn that 401k into a pension. And people need to understand that the more monthly income that you have, that you know is going to be there for the rest of your life without the worry of right now, the more happy and more stress free your retirements gonna be?

Cynthia De Fazio – 17:26

Absolutely Yeah. And Brian, I can’t stress enough the difference between a statement and a true financial plan. So many times people receive a statement in the mail, and it shows them at the very bottom, the balance, yeah, but it’s not a plan on your day to day living and how you’re going to get by with paying your bills and your expenses. And so that’s how you help people is to really determine the best plan for them, we do. And that’s why for the next 10 callers,

Brian Quaranta – 17:50

we’re going to offer a no cost complimentary plan. Now this, this plan usually costs about 15 $100, we’re not going to charge you 15 $100. For that we’re truly going to give you a complimentary plan. And here’s what it’s going to do. It’s going to show you exactly how much risk you might be taken with your money it’s going to show you you know what fees you might be paying if you’re allocated the right way. But more importantly, just like I was talking about, is that money set up to generate income for you. So again, for the next 10 callers. We’re going to provide a no cost complimentary plan. And you can call us at 1-888-382-1298. Again, that’s 1-888-382-1298. Well, Brian, I

Cynthia De Fazio – 18:30

believe it’s time for us to go ahead and take a break. But viewers, please stay tuned. You don’t want to go anywhere where you have more questions for Brian about your 401k. And we’ve had some viewer questions call in. So please don’t go anywhere.

Brian Quaranta – 18:48

Retirement Planning is just all about getting to know somebody. I mean, retirement planning is really about just building trust with people. I have a responsibility that when I wake up in the morning to be the very best that I can be because people are relying on me to take care of a lifetime’s worth of work that they’ve worked 3040 years for. I don’t take that lightly. That’s what drives me. That’s what I’m passionate about. You know, our clients really are our family of clients. We know their grandkids, we know their kids. We see them often throughout the community. We see them at the coffee shop, we see them at lunch. We really enjoy it. You know, we take pride in the quality of the relationships that we build with our clients. Choosing the right advisors starts with choosing someone that shares the same beliefs about money that you have. And secure money advisors. Our focus here is about building plans around principal protection. Low Risk investments are a great way to approach retirement. You know, when people have low risk investments, they’re not worried. They don’t have anxieties. They don’t have fears they don’t have to worry about what’s going on in the Stock Market, there are other options available, other than risk options that people need to know about when it comes to retirement. And that’s what we do at secure money advisors. There’s a lot of responsibility and helping somebody plan for their retirement. And that’s why we take the time to listen, we take the time to understand their concerns, their worries, their needs, so that we can put together a customized plan. You know, we believe in what we do, everybody that works for secure money advisors is on a mission to be the very best that they can be, and to serve our clients in the best way that they can possibly serve them. You know, we just are a simple company. And it’s the simplicity in what we do that makes everything so powerful. You know, you don’t need to make this thing complicated. Retirement should not be complicated. It should be simple, easy, predictable. And we pride ourselves on providing that to people.

Cynthia De Fazio – 21:12

Welcome back. My name is Cynthia de Fazio. It’s nice to have you join us. I’m with Brian Q of secure money advisors. And we have been having a wonderful show today. We’ve talked a lot about the retirement party that people used to have and what happens during the aspect of just getting ready to retire. And now the most important time that I love the most are the viewer questions. So we had the phone lines really start to light up. And the offer has been phenomenal that you’re offering the viewers today as well. Yeah,

Brian Quaranta – 21:40

a lot of responses. Well, it’s important that people take advantage of that, because it’s not very often that you get to sit down with a fiduciary and get a complimentary review like that. So take advantage of it, folks. I mean, it’s it’s really a great offer. And you’ll learn a ton when you come into the office. And it’ll really even help you as you go out. Even if you have to meet with a few other people, it’s going to give you the information that you need to ask the right questions as you go out there and sort out all of this retirement planning stuff. So

Cynthia De Fazio – 22:08

yeah, perfect. Well, we did have a call come in, actually, from a viewer and they have a question about starting a new job. Apparently, they have money that’s already held in one 401k. But they’re actually going to be moving into a new company, there’s a 401k being offered to them. Do you advise that they leave their money in their current 401k with their prior employer? Or what would you recommend on that?

Brian Quaranta – 22:31

Well, again, I mean, you know, these are tough questions, because I don’t know the whole situation. And as a fiduciary, in order for me to give advice, I have to know the whole situation. But let’s just say high level here, right? Typically, typically, when you are looking at maybe, you know, leaving one job and entering into another, the new, the new employer will always not not 100% of the time, but you know, let’s say 90% of time will give you the opportunity to move into their plan. Now, personally, if that were my situation, I wouldn’t do it. And here’s why there’s very limited options within the 401k plan. So if you move that to a self directed IRA, versus moving into your employer plan, you’re going to have a lot better access to a lot more financial strategies and products that you’re not going to have available within that 401k plan. Because typically, a 401k plan might only have maybe 20 to 30 options available within it. So

Cynthia De Fazio – 23:25

okay. Okay. And that’s a great segue to the next question, actually, because we have a viewer question that asks, Is it easy to roll over a 401k into a Roth IRA?

Brian Quaranta – 23:36

Well, yeah, I mean, into a Roth IRA. Yes, yeah. So you know, this is great, because this is a great topic of conversation here as Roth IRAs. Because I always ask people, you know, what’s the what’s the best tax bracket, you can be in retirement? And they’ll say, zero? And I say, you’re absolutely right. I said, Is it possible to be in a 0% tax bracket, and it is, it is absolutely possible to be in a 0% percent tax bracket, by utilizing the Roth IRA. And a lot of people don’t know that you can go from taxable accounts, like a 401k, or even a traditional IRA, and start to convert that money to a Roth IRA, which is really nice, because now all of your future growth, and your future income is all tax free to you. So imagine that you, you properly plan. You properly plan, you know, before you retire, too many people are hitting retirement and they’re just doing it right then. And I would encourage folks, that planning really starts five to 10 years out. So let’s say you’re starting to plan I’ll take my situation, for example. Okay, so every year, I convert a little bit more of my money to Roth. And the reason I do that is because nobody’s given me a pension. I have to create one, right? So secure money advisors, you know, security adviser is not giving me a pension, right? We’re just a financial firm. So I teach all my team members, everybody that works in my office, how to create a pension for themselves. And so for all the money that I put away, I get attacked. deduction on it. But then I’m going to solely convert that money so that when I generate income for myself in the future, all of that income will be 100%. tax free. So yeah, so it could be a good good idea to look into strategies like that. Absolutely.

Cynthia De Fazio – 25:15

And again, that’s something that they would be able to do just by coming in and sitting with you. Because I can’t stress enough, the importance of the show that we’re bringing to the viewers today is about really establishing that true financial plan, how it’s so very different from a statement that you would get in the mail. And a lot of times people are so afraid of the unknown, but you take that away, because you’re able to sit with them one on one being a fiduciary, and to really give them a comprehensive, written financial plan.

Brian Quaranta – 25:43

Yeah, and folks, again, this is why I tell you to take advantage of this offer, you’re going to get a complimentary view 15 $100 value that you’re going to get absolutely no cost. And we’re going to review a lot of stuff when you come in, we’re going to review what risk you’re taking within your portfolio is your portfolio set up for retirement income, are you in the most tax efficient positions that you can be in, and we’re going to review a lot and I’m telling you, when you come in, you’re going to see that is not an intimidating process whatsoever. It’s a very laid back process. And you’re going to feel really good when you leave that you finally have a lot of certainty of where to go with what you’re doing. Again, that’s a complimentary view, 15 $100 value that we’re going to give away today, come in, sit down with myself and my team. If you’d like to take advantage that you can call 1883821298. Again, that’s 1-888-382-1298 please take advantage of it. Not very often that you get a complimentary view from a licensed fiduciary and the experience that we promise you when you come in. Number one, there’s no pressure to ever do anything because we’re not there to pressure. We’re there to truly help you solve a problem and get you on the right track. The education you’ll get alone when you come into the office will be worth the trip up itself. And I think we even have some hot cookies there. Okay, I think so. Okay. All about the hacker case. Coffee. Okay. That is just perfect.

Cynthia De Fazio – 27:07

Yeah. And Brian, is it about a two hour meeting with you? Is it 30 minutes? What can people plan for if they’re trying to time their day? It’s

Brian Quaranta – 27:14

a good question. So it’s the meetings about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how many questions that they have. And then from there, we kind of take the next step of what it makes sense to move forward, but we can accomplish what we need to accomplish within an hour. Oh, yeah. And they leave their checkbooks at home. They leave their checkbooks at home. That’s right. Don’t forget that. Yes, yeah. Okay.

Cynthia De Fazio – 27:31

Well, it’s been an amazing show today, Brian, and I’m so excited to continue on this journey with you because now it’s amazing to have you on TV as well and excited to see you and it’s been a wonderful show. So viewers, please stay tuned. And don’t forget to keep watching as we are bringing you each week, something different, a new topic with Brian. So we will be back next week. Thank you again. We’ll see you very soon. All right.