Before 1975, most Americans had two financial powers working for them as they headed up the financial mountain to retirement. 1. Accumulation 2. Actuarial Power in the form of pensions.

Today, less than 10% of workers have a pension to look forward too and most of those are government workers. WHY you ask - because governments can afford the pension because they can tax the Populous to pay for them! Did you catch the part about 1975? That is when the IRA and 401k came entered the scene.

That means that the primary retirement vehicle for most people is less than 50 years old!!! So - 50 years ago, people had Two Financial Powers they could rely on for retirement. They would give up some of their potential salary in return for a pension.

The pension company would professionally manage the investments and you would get the FIRST FINANCIAL POWER - Interest rate and/or rate of return. At retirement, the pension company would pay the retiree an income based on their actuarial mortality - ACTUARIAL SCIENCE. Pension companies spread out the risk of income payouts over a large POOL of pensioners and paid income based on actuarial based mortality tables, not on investment returns.

Today, most people rely on the 401k that they manage themselves They still get the opportunity to have a rate of return BUT when it comes time to take income from your 401k - you are ALONE in the RISK pool. You don't have anyone to share the risk with and therefore you must be very careful with how much you DRAW. This is where the 4% Rule comes from.

How can you bring both financial powers back to your retirement plans? What financial institutions specialize in ACTUARIAL SCIENCE? Got questions about maximizing your retirement income, saving for retirement, life insurance, or estate planning? Send me an email to kraig@kraigstrom.com.

I am always willing to see if i can Help!