December 2015

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, ate lots of turkey, and watched a ton of football! The weather sure was nice, and that beats the snow they were getting up in my home state of Wisconsin!

Like I mentioned last month, and the month before, big changes are upon us when it comes to insurance planning. Guaranteed annuity payouts are decreasing because of new mortality tables, and now is the time to lock in the best rates if you're in the market for guaranteed income! Each week we get another update from another insurance company stating that the guaranteed income roll ups and payouts will be decreasing next year. (For those of you that already have contracts in place, this does not affect current contract holders.)

On the bright side, for annuity contracts that don't have guaranteed withdrawal benefit riders, there are numerous companies that have raised their rates for the annual year end push. Here are just a few examples of a Fixed Indexed Annuity, and multi-year fixed annuity:

A) FIA - 12% premium bonus, S&P point to point with a 6% cap. That means you will make between 12-18% (prior to any applicable rider charges) in the first year if you take the bonus into consideration. You can take a 20% withdrawal with no penalty after the first year. Also, you can "walk away" with your original premium in year 4 if needed. Not too bad for a "safe money" option, as long as you're willing to park the money for a while.

B) Straight Fixed Annuity - 5 year guaranteed rate at 3.1%

These are just a few examples of what is available. For more information, just give us a call and we'll be happy to speak with you personally.

Also, make sure to keep checking our website for updates. We're in the process of adding links to a PBS TV show called "Mastering Your Money" done by Josh Mellberg. Josh is a good friend of mine and an incredibly successful young man. He's an author, educator, television & radio show host, and is one of America's premier retirement planning specialists. He's the owner of J.D. Mellberg Financial in Tucson AZ, and we're fortunate to be a part of his national marketing and retirement planning team.

JDS Wealth Management believes that these educational shows done with nationally recognized retirement planning experts will bring great value to folks planning for retirement. And you can get it done right here in Mooresville, NC at our office! Remember, "APPLIED KNOWLEDGE IS POWERFUL" and "THE PURPOSE OF THE MONEY DICTATES WHERE YOU PUT IT".

Enjoy this month's articles and we'll see you next month.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays,

James D. Stillman

Is This The Perfect "Investment"

Nobody Knows About?

Lake Norman Magazine, December 2015

Over and over we hear folks complain about how sick and tired they are of banks paying virtually no interest on your savings accounts, checking accounts, and CDs. You definitely need to have a certain amount of money safe and liquid, but it seems like you just can't make any reasonable return on that money. We often like to say that there has been a war declared on savers and conservative investors. And man, is it ever frustrating! Unfortunately, it looks like this is not going to change anytime soon. So, what are we supposed to do?

Well, the insurance industry has come up with a very attractive alternative that may be the ultimate "Christmas gift" for some of you. Imagine an account with the following benefits:

Your principal can be safe and guaranteed (subject to the claims paying ability of the insurance company).
Your account can be fully liquid at all times (100% access to your account).
You have a very reasonable expectation to earn 4% - 8% average return over time.
No income tax is assessed on earnings until you withdraw your money. Much like an IRA plan, the earnings are tax deferred.
Increased tax-free transfer to your beneficiaries at death (they pay no income tax at all)
Long-term care benefits can be included

All content is intended for informational purposes only. Any guarantees are for insured products only and are dependent on the claims paying abilities of the insurer. All investments carry some risk and you should be advised by your personal financial advidor before implementing any strategies discussed, as they are not suitable for everyone. James D. Stillman is an Investment Advisor Representative of JDS Wealth Management Corporation and Global Financial Private Capital.

JDS Wealth Management Corporation's outgoing and incoming e-mails are electronically archived and subject to review and/or disclosure to someone other than the recipient. We cannot accept requests for securities transactions or other similar instructions through e-mail. We cannot ensure the security of information e-mailed over the Internet, so you should be careful when transmitting confidential information such as account numbers and security holdings. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer."

This Month

Is This The Perfect "Investment" Nobody Knows About?

Why Didn't We See It Coming?

The Cost of Retirement Isn't Rising?