Life insurance policies are often part of a person’s retirement plan and they can be a nice benefit for you and your family. But that won’t be the case if you make a mistake that keeps the insurance company from paying out your claim. 

On this episode of Money Wisdom, Joel will take us through these different mistakes that we commonly see. They are all very preventable but you need to pay attention to every detail. Here is are the three mistakes we’ll key in on during this show. 

• People will think that they are covered with a life insurance policy but it lapses when they don’t realize it. We go through the process of analyzing each situation with clients to make sure everything is in place. 
• Make sure you’ve named a contingent beneficiary. Some people make the mistake of not updating a policy and the money ends up going by what your will says. Don’t waste dollars going through probate. Have a beneficiary.
• You need to be careful what you do in your free time. If you die in a high-risk activity and your life insurance isn’t aware, your claim might not get paid out. 

This is where our Money Map review can be such a valuable process to evaluating your situation and checking all of the boxes. If you aren’t familiar with the Money Map, we’ll walk you through it again on this episode.

We’ll also start the show with some thoughts on McDonald’s trying a new plant-based burger at select restaurants across the country. Even with the recent plant-based meat trend taking off, Joel said he’s still not rushing to invest in Beyond Meat stock. Instead, his strategy continues to be a conservative approach that keeps his portfolio from being poor rather than getting rich. Even for clients that choose to take a chance in newer stocks, our team strives to protect the nest egg. 

There are two mailbag questions we’ll get to before the end of the show. First, if your pension payout doesn’t change with inflation, how will this affect your planning. And the second is about the challenges you’ll encounter planning as a widow in retirement. We’ll explain how you’ll face a new tax bracket, one less Social Security check, and inflation pushing back. 

So let’s get started! Here’s the list of main topics you’ll hear on this episode of the Money Wisdom podcast (Just click on the timestamp to jump to the specific clip):

0:40 – In the news: McDonald’s is testing a plant-based burger. Are you ready to invest in shares of Beyond Meat?

2:05 – How we strive to protect clients that want to invest in new stocks. 

2:52 – The strategy behind a conservative approach that limits losses. Don’t try to hit a home run at the expense of your retirement. 

4:47 – Talking about mistakes people make with their life insurance. 

5:34 – You think you’re covered but in the end you aren’t.  

8:40 – Not naming a contingent beneficiary happens to people. 

10:10 – Two real life examples of how messy things can get without a beneficiary.

11:44 – You need to be careful about your hobbies and extracurricular activities.  

13:37 – Ultimately, it’s vital to pay attention to detail across your plan.

15:21 – Getting to Know Joel: What’s the hardest job you’ve ever had? Joel worked at a warehouse overnight unloading trucks. 

18:31 – Mailbag question: My pension doesn’t provide an inflation rate. Should I even consider taking the spousal continuation option?

20:16 –  My husband is 11 years older than me so there’s a good chance I might end up being a widow for a significant amount of time in retirement. What type of planning challenges does this present for me?

21:52 – What does the Money Map review process look like?