Retirement Planning Strategies - May 2021

Retirement Planning Strategies - May 2021

Give us a call! 303-922-4304 federalbenefitsmadesimple.com Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M–F

MAY 2021

HEALTHY, WEALTHY,

&Wise

1 Denver Federal Center Building 45, Entrance E-9, Room 1050 Lakewood, CO 80225

RETIREMENT PLANNING STRATEGIES EXPANDS Our Merger With E.A. Buck

This month’s cover article has been a long time coming. It won’t surprise any of you to hear that I’m a long-term thinker — it’s a passion, after all. And one of the things I’ve been thinking about for years now has reached the “execution” stage of the plan, where we take active steps to secure the desired outcome. That’s why I am excited to announce that Federal Benefits Made Simple is expanding its capacities and merging with E.A. Buck Financial Services to do so. To most readers, this won’t come as news — we’ve notified all our current and prospective clients, and I’ve had the chance to talk to most of you personally. And it’s not like our name, location, or services are going to change. But it’s something I’m really celebrating this month, because it’s been in the works for a while. This move is a direct response to the requests of our wonderful clients, whose concerns about my own retirement regularly comes up. I understand that completely, and when someone asks me, “When do you plan to retire?” I know exactly where that question is coming from. The fact is that people don’t want their doctor to retire, and they don’t want their financial planner to, either! Am I planning to retire soon? No, I’m not. But like I said, long-term planning is what we do. And besides, if we are being honest,

retirement isn’t the only possibility. I realized that if something were to happen to me, my clients needed to feel secure about the future of their retirement plan, or their current, ongoing retirement. I can’t be a “bottleneck” just because Retirement Planning Strategies has been my brainchild and, as the founder, I’ve held on to a lot of the responsibilities that wouldn’t be easy to pass off to someone else. That just wouldn’t be fair to my clients. As a result, I’ve been looking for someone with a few more resources to partner with, and I found that with E.A. Buck. Like our firm, it’s a family affair: It was founded in 1980 by a schoolteacher named Ed Buck and is now run by Ed’s son, Jeff, and Jeff’s wife, Katie. They’re out of Hawaii, originally, but they have a lot of pull and resources stateside and are looking to grow here. Most important of all, E.A. Buck was started with the working class in mind — to provide financial knowledge and planning to people who might not otherwise receive it. That closely mirrors my own goals with federal employees, and after talking with the Buck family numerous times, I knew they were the right people to help us provide great services to our clients. Something else this expansion is going to do is provide my knowledge to more federal employees than ever. As I said above, as one woman, I can be a bottleneck.

I can only give so many presentations, after all, and I’ve seen that the interest in our kinds of services is high no matter where you live. Any place with a strong federal presence is going to need the help of people like us, and we’re not able to do that everywhere. With E.A. Buck, I’m going to be able to train professionals across the country and give more people access to that information than ever. I’m so glad to finally make a public announcement. Many of you have already heard from me, but there’s something wonderful about announcing it to the world at large like I get to here. I know this is the right move for me, and more importantly, it’s the right move to help protect my clients. People have kidded with me that most financial planners don’t expand after 20 years in the field, but they’re not wrong. It’s traditionally seen as a “young person’s game.” But as you know, through careful planning, almost anything is possible. I’m still not ready to retire, but now there’s a plan in place for when I do. Who knows? Through the people I train at E.A. Buck, I’m on track to help even more people after I retire than ever! –Ann Vanderslice

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AWord From Katie Buck of E.A. Buck

If you are reading this article, you’re likely aware that Ann Vanderslice’s amazing, federal employee-focused retirement planning firm is merging with E.A. Buck. As the CEO of E.A. Buck, I wanted to write a brief letter of my own to all of Ann’s clients so that you can better get to know me and the firm that will be helping add value to your relationship with Ann. I’m very excited about this merger, and I know that Ann is as well. We’ve worked a bit with Ann’s team in the past, and something that always struck me was how similar her approach was to our own. Like us, Ann is all about education and empowerment — and in this field, I can’t stress enough how different that is. Some advisors would rather have clients hand over their money and not ask questions about how that money is being invested and safeguarded. As you know, that “let the professionals handle it” attitude is simply not Ann — and it’s not E.A. Buck, either. Our company was founded back in 1980 by my father-in-law, Ed Buck, a Hawaii schoolteacher with a knack for numbers. Ed found that he could walk knowledge from the classroom to the financial services space, and as a lifelong believer in the power of education, Ed wanted to use his knowledge and abilities to help people get access to the kind of financial planning services that, at the time, only seemed available to the wealthy. As a result, and like Ann’s own company, E.A. Buck was born as a “generalist” firm. We handle a wide variety of financial services for a wide variety of people, but it’s all built on educating as many people as possible about financial planning. I remember the first time I sat in on one of Ed’s education sessions, over 20 years ago now. Ed had an honest-to-goodness chalkboard, and the room was full of teachers and nurses. The questions ranged widely. I saw that these weren’t people who could afford a different

financial advisor for every aspect of their lives, and I saw the benefit of Ed’s approach.

I also saw the relief Ed offered people. I grew up in a family that didn’t buy Nike stock, because we had to spend money on the actual shoes, so I understood immediately how wonderful Ed’s brand of education really was. In the four decades and counting that E.A. Buck has been helping people plan, we’ve assisted over 25,000 families using the same principles Ed set out for us back in 1980. We educate people on those principles with simple, innovative methods (like our color-coded tax savings tool), and we’ve grown in smart ways so that we can better help people here in Hawaii and on the mainland as well. Ann’s firm joining our family is the latest stage in that growth, but in practice, it just means you’ll have access to more — more advisors, in more places, so that more of your questions can be answered. We’re not here to shake things up, but to build on what’s already here.

And I believe strongly in Ann’s approach, because it’s our approach as well.

–Katie Buck

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Same as the Old Boss?

HOW WILL A NEW ADMINISTRATION AFFECT FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT?

By now, the Biden administration has settled comfortably into the groove of day-to-day governance, and we all have a better picture of what the new people in the White House have planned for the next 4–8 years. That makes it the perfect time to talk about change and how it’s going to affect people working as federal employees in the long run.

affect you: It would affect your coworkers after you leave. You’ve seen how this works: Budgets get cut, and when someone retires or moves on to another job, their position is not filled. Instead, their work is distributed to the federal employees who remain.

The bottom line? It probably isn’t.

That’s not to say there won’t be some big shifts — many federal employees may face the usual “stop working on this, start working on that” shake-ups that come with having new people in charge. In this case, one example that comes to mind is taxes. Biden’s team seems focused on changing the tax structure so that larger businesses and wealthier Americans face a decidedly less-friendly system going forward. But that’s not likely to change your career or retirement picture, unless you’ve got a lot more stashed away than we know about! Kidding aside, I do understand the concern. Even for people who have seen this before, the tone of modern politics is different than it used to be. Nobody can be blamed for wondering if maybe their job will be cut. But is that likely to happen? Even if it did, it wouldn’t

Is that a problem? Absolutely. Careers in the federal service used to be highly desirable, with fantastic benefits. But the private sector has caught up — and with budget cuts, federal employees find themselves overworked because positions remain vacant. But it only affects you in the sense that you might find yourself wanting to leave early or have options in case your own workload increases beyond a tipping point. Otherwise, no matter who is in the White House, I get up at the same time and go to the same job that I used to — and I suspect you do as well. So, don’t worry too much — we’re looking out for you so you can retire in low-tax comfort.

BRAIN! Train Your

Easy & Healthy Green Rice

Inspired by 101Cookbooks.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup tightly packed spinach leaves • 1 cup tightly packed kale leaves, stems removed

• 1/2 cup yellow onions, finely diced • 1/2 cup green peppers, diced • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced • 1 cup long-grain white rice

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock • 2 tbsp full-fat coconut milk • 1 tsp kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a blender, purée spinach and kale with vegetable stock, coconut milk, and salt. Set aside. 2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, sauté onions and peppers in olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. 3. Stir in rice and cook and toast for 1–2 minutes before adding the blended mixture. Increase heat to bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until liquid has evaporated, 15–20 minutes. 5. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

federalbenefitsmadesimple.com |3

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411 Give us a call! 303-922-4304 federalbenefitsmadesimple.com FAX: 303-416-4358 Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M–F We are an independent financial services firm helping individuals create retirement strategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and objectives. Securities offered only by duly registered individuals through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC (MAS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM), a Registered Investment Adviser. Insurance services offered through Ann Vanderslice. MAS and AEWM are not affiliated companies with Ann Vanderslice or E.A. Buck Financial Services. 868869- 4/21.

PO Box 260787 Lakewood, CO 80226-0787

issue INSIDE THIS We ExpandWith E.A. Buck PAGE 1

AWord From Katie Buck of E.A. Buck PAGE 2

New Administration, Same Retirement PAGE 3

99-Year-Old Betty White’s Keys to Longevity PAGE 4

HOW TO LIVE TO 99 Betty White’s Keys to Longevity

Beloved “Golden Girls” actress Betty White is still enjoying her golden years. The famed actress celebrated her 99th birthday this January. While she told People magazine that she’s “blessed with good health, so turning 99 is no different than turning 98,” she also had a few tips for folks looking to make it to their centennial birthday. KEEP LAUGHING “Don’t take yourself too seriously,” White says. “You can lie to others — not that I would — but you cannot lie to yourself.” White has undoubtedly provided many laughs to viewers over the years, but she’s not just playing it up for the camera. Laughter is part of what keeps her young. BE OPTIMISTIC White says a good sense of humor also helps her keep a good attitude and look for the positive rather than “dwelling on the downside.” Avoiding negativity also gives her energy. “It takes up too much energy being negative,” she told People magazine. STAY BUSY With nearly eight decades of acting under her belt, six Emmys on her shelf, and over 120 screen credits to her name, White is no stranger

to hard work. As she told Parade in 2018, “I just love to work, so I’ll keep working until they stop asking.”

EXERCISE YOUR MIND In addition to her busy work schedule, what keeps Betty White sharp? Crossword puzzles! She told Katie Couric in an interview, “I’m addicted. An admitted addict. I just can’t put ’em down.” FIND A CAUSE White is a lifelong animal lover. She calls her golden retriever, Pontiac, “the star of the house.” While pet ownership itself comes with proven health benefits, White has channeled her love for animals in bigger causes. She’s been a trustee and board member of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association for over 40 years and has done work to help protect endangered species in the wild. Funds raised from White’s official fan club, Bet’s Pets, all go to support animal charities. EMBRACE YOUR VICES White told Parade she loves vodka and hot dogs “probably in that order,” which just goes to show that you don’t have to forgo your treats to live to 99.

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