Allison Demurs: Welcome to today’s CT Buzz. I’m Allison Demurs. Ben Fuchs, founder of Fuchs Financial, is here to talk about retirement myths. You know the saying, you don’t know what you don’t know. Well, now we’ll know. In addition to being a certified financial planner, Ben is also a certified private wealth advisor professional. Ben, walk us through some of the myths that people should be aware of, particularly when they start thinking about financial planning for their retirement. Ben Fuchs: I think there’s a lot of myths. I mean, myth number one is that my expenses are going to drop in retirement. People like, “Oh, I’m not going to be buying work clothes and I’m not going to be driving to and from work, so my gas cost will go down.” And that’s great, but you’re also going to be retired with like that whole eight hours of not working. And you also are going to want to do things. And we want you to do things. We want you to enjoy your retirement and have a good time. And I think that’s really important. So myth number one is that your expenses are going to drop in retirement. Not the case. Allison Demurs: Yeah, we want to do things. Also, what’s the next myth? Myth number two. Ben Fuchs: Well, a lot of people believe that Social Security is going to cover all their income, right? It’s going to be all that they need. And what we find is that it’s really not the case. We’re looking at more like maybe covering 30 to 40% of what your actual needs are. So we need to plan and create that gap. This is important for people. If we figure out what you’re spending and we figure out how much Social Security is going to cover, the rest we have to get from our investments. And that’s where we come in to help you generate that income to cover the gap between what you’re getting from Social Security and what you need from your investments. Allison Demurs: All right. Seems like something many people believe is true that Medicare will pay for everything here. Again, the reality is very different though, isn’t it? Ben Fuchs: Right. So, we have somebody that is full-time in our office that just does Medicare. Mainly because I don’t want to do it. But there are different plans that different people need based on their health, based on their history, based on their prescription drugs, based on their doctors. And let’s be clear, like that’s not my world, but it is somebody in our office’s world. That’s what they do. That’s what they cover. And no, I mean, nursing home costs are not covered. Prescription drugs unless you get specific different plans. Dental is not covered. So, we need to get things that are—we need to make sure that everything that you need is taken care of and covered and find the most cost-efficient way to do it. Allison Demurs: That’s right. Okay, let’s move on to myth number four. People often say, “If my expenses are higher than anticipated, I can always just work longer to fill any gap and put off my retirement for a while.” Is that a realistic expectation? Ben Fuchs: That’s tough. Not by your eyes closing. Yeah. No, I’m closing my eye, but the camera didn’t catch it, so it’s fine. So, when we talk about that one, that’s a little more depressing because there are things that come up that keep people from being able to work longer. Sometimes it’s their health, right? Their health keeps them from being able to do the same job that they’ve been doing. A lot of times it’s parents, right? I think there’s a lot of people we talk about in the sandwich generation who are taking care of their kids and their parents, and it leaves less time to actually focus on the work that you were doing. And then the other factor is a lot of people don’t have control over getting laid off. What we find is that a lot of people are getting laid off at 59, 60, 61, that time when they were still planning to work another three to five to six years to really save and catch up in retirement, and they’re unable to do it. So just working longer isn’t necessarily an option. We have to plan ahead of time. Allison Demurs: Yes, absolutely. So let’s get to the last of the top five retirement myths. Ben Fuchs: Yeah. So the idea that financial planning is only for the wealthy. And the reality is that if you want to get wealthy, you better start financial planning. Understanding where to put your money, how to put your money, the different investments that you choose. I mean, when I first met my wife, I looked at her 403b. She was a teacher. And I’m like, what are you doing? So, I don’t know. It’s all supposed to be safe, right? No, we’re not going to touch this money for 40 years. Like, we’re going to make that more aggressive. But understanding where to put the money, why to put the money in different places, whether to do a Roth, whether to do a traditional, how do we save money on taxes, where does our money go when we’re not here—those are all the things that financial planning will help you take care of. But you got to give us a call to figure it out. Allison Demurs: Absolutely. Well, thank you, Ben, for dispelling some of those myths that can get in the way of the secure retirement that people are striving for. Your offices are located in Middletown, West Hartford, Mberry, and Mystic. And your initial consultation is complimentary, no obligation. Ben Fuchs: Yeah, people can go to our website taxesandincome.com or call 860-461-1709 to set up an appointment. We’d be happy to help. Planning without pressure. Allison Demurs: Thank you for joining us for today’s Connecticut CT Buzz. I’m Allison Demurs. See you next time.
