December 31, 2013 –  According to the recently published Fidelity 2014 New Year Financial Resolutions Study, 54% of you are making financial resolutions for the coming year.

While we can’t help you save more, spend less or pay down debt – the top three financial resolutions cited in the study – there are two specific areas where we CAN help you take command of your own financial future.

Retirement Annuities

Retirement account balances have rebounded, America is getting older and nobody wants to risk losing money again as happened to many during the Great Recession.

Add to this the fact that people are happier and feel more secure when they know they are receiving guaranteed lifetime income and the stage is perfectly set for a conversion of some of those ear-marked funds to a lifetime annuity.

Through the first nine months of 2013, $167.6 billion worth of annuities were purchased according to Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA).

While every annuity channel experienced increased activity, we concentrate on helping clients with low-to-moderate risk tolerance with their Fixed Annuity and Indexed Annuity choices to meet their retirement planning needs.

Structured Attorney Fees

Contingency fee-based attorneys have a unique opportunity to defer recognition of earned fees into a future year for a distinct tax advantage.

So strongly do we believe in this popular money-saving strategy which accounts for about 25% or more of our business in any given year that we maintain a companion website dedicated to the topic:

MyStructuredFee.com

And even though she wasn’t specifically talking about structured attorney fees, InvestmentNews columnist Darla Mercado helps illustrate the case for this option in today’s article “Getting a jumpstart on 2014 tax planning” by urging . . .

” . . . certain high earners might want to manage their income stream in order to keep themselves from drifting into higher tax brackets.”

So if your New Year’s resolution involves securing your financial future, we hope you’ll give us an opportunity to show you how we may be able to help you achieve your goals.