Protected retirement trusts, the fiscal cliff, and 3 crises- advice from Steve Sexton

“Winning In Life” radio show is hosted by Steve Sexton and airs every Sunday morning at 9:00 on KCBQ 1170 AM. Steve is President of Sexton Advisory Group. In addition to this radio show, Steve also presents at many educational workshops to inform the community about smart financial planning.

Steve first noted how many of his listeners have been checking out the protected retirement trust information found on their website. The protected retirement trust is specifically designed for people with IRA worth about $400,000. People may think that it is worth the whole $400,000, but the reality is that it is $400,000 minus anything you pay in taxes. Steve shared that what the protected retirement trust does is that it enables you to transfer 2-5% tax per year so that when it does come to the time when you walk out on life, it all goes to your loved ones. Feel free to download information about protected retirement trusts at winninginliferadio.com and call at (1800) 560-2611 if you want more information.

On current news, Steve opened up with the rise in sales during this past holiday season. He says that it has been positive for retailers especially since there was an increase in sales and also in foot traffic by 2.5%  this year. The 2012 holiday season had the longest interval possible between Black Friday and Christmas so late procrastinating shoppers were able to finish their holiday shopping the weekend right before Christmas. Retail is up for the year which is a wonderful sign.

On a different note, last Wednesday, Dish Network trumped Sprint off Clearwire on a 2.9 million dollar bid. It’s interesting how Dish Network is going into the wireless industry. Right now, when a lot of companies are hurting, those who have a lot of cash to take over are stepping foot into specific profitable industries, this being just one of them.

Steve explained that the big thing about the fiscal cliff is that taxes have pretty much stayed the same. However, the area that did affect people is in their paychecks. Employment taxes have gone up from 4.2 to 6.2%. Second, with ObamaCare in 2013-2015, employers have to pay $65 extra per employee per month for those on health care for the next 3 years. People in big companies can be expected to have that $65 on your own bill as opposed to the company’s. On the other side, those who make $200,000 by yourself or $250,000 as a family will see the 3.8% Medicare tax. Those who make $400,000 by yourself or $450,000 as a family will see that your taxes are going up. Everyone else will stay the same.  For middle income people, it will be adjusted for inflation which is something great for you.

The big debate is coming with the crisis ahead, which are actually 3 crises.

1. If congress does not raise the debt ceiling, the treasury cannot increase net borrowing to pay the country’s bills. Then the treasury has to decide which bills to pay and which they cannot while continue paying interest on America’s debts.
2. Shortly after the treasury runs out of money, the fiscal cliff puts off $1.2 trillion in spending cuts divided equally between defense spending and domestic discretionary spending. This is called a sequester.
3. The September 2012 continuing resolution that authorized spending by federal governments expires on March 27, 2013. Failure to continue this resolution would mean that the federal government does not have any authority to spend any money. This is something that can actually shut down the federal government.

This is going to be a contentious issue and the stock market will continue going up and down. If you’re taking a lot of risk, Steve advises you to see if you’re comfortable with that risk going forward and to keep watch of your financial portfolio.

Catch Steve on SD Entertainment and Lifestyle TV which aired on January 13 on Channel 6 at 5:00 PM. It’s also linked here. Additionally, on Tuesday, January 15, he will be appearing on the Money Minute segment on the CW. Tune in at 9:00 AM to watch the show.