retirement planning Archives - Flagship Financial Partners LLC

Small Business Retirement Plan – When and How

“Every beginning has an end”

Small business owners, after dedicating a lifetime to their business, are entitled to a hassle-free and comfortable retirement, which they often fail to work on, owing to several reasons. Despite understanding the pressing need of systematically planning for their retirement most small business owners are not seriously inclined towards it.

Small business owners must start thinking about retirement planning

According to SBA.gov, there are approximately 28.8 million small businesses in the USA out of which only a certain percentage have active retirement plans. This was demonstrated by The Kaufman Foundation report that revealed that more than half the small businesses are being initiated by baby boomers yet retirement planning is not on their agenda as their prime concern. The MANTA survey 2017 clearly showed that among the 1960 small business owners taken as case studies, only 66% had retirement savings plans.

What keeps small business owners away from retirement planning?

Managing a small business can be a full-time job for the owners until the ball of success gets rolling. Every intricate detail of the business calls for their attention until it is well- established. While raising their business like their babies, small business owners often forget to plan for the time when they would have to retire.

Time runs out and business owners often forget to plan their retirement properly

A recent study of 500 small business owners revealed that they had not drawn a personal salary from the business for several months so that they could put it back into the business. A large percentage of them even consider their business as their retirement.

When to begin planning for retirement?

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Experts estimate that ideal retirement savings for small business owners are at least 70% to 90% of their pre-retirement income. This retirement savings requires methodical and consistent planning. Small business owners are often well versed with numerous options available for them, but few choose to act.

Financial strategists assert that small business owners should begin contemplating on their retirement portfolio as soon as their business is over the initial setup phase otherwise strategically they will never be able to take out retirement savings from the business. Something else will always find priority!

How to plan for retirement?

Business owners who have been holding back on their retirement savings plan are usually skeptical about which retirement plan would be best for them and their employees, owing to costs and contribution limits. If you are one of them then you can discover an optimal retirement strategy by following the viable tips mentioned here:

Knowing your options: They should be well-versed with the retirement saving plans available. The plans facilitating retirement savings for small business owners are:

· SIMPLE IRA

· SEP IRA

· Solo 401(k)

· Roth IRA.

Legal heir or Successor: Small business owners should plan their legal heir or successor ahead of time. The assurance that their business would be taken care of by capable hands when they retire is also an important part of retirement planning.

Diversify Investment: Besides investing in retirement savings plans, small business owners should diversify their investment portfolio as part of their retirement savings strategy.

Diversifying Investment should be part of retirement strategy

Set the Date: Setting up a date to retire make retirement day more tangible. This allows the planning to start and move forward. It’s necessary for small business owners to set a date or else there is never a right time for the small business owner to retire.

If you are a small business owner and haven’t given a thought to retirement plans, well now is the time. Make your retirement planning a priority now to enjoy your golden years in peace.

If you are a small business looking for professional assistance with your retirement plan, contact the experts at FFPCT here and book a free consultation – FFPCT Business Finance Consultants.

Five Retirement Planning Tips for Business owners

The life of small business owners revolve around their business and their passionate involvement in it often leaves them preoccupied and casual about planning for the future According to most small business owners, their business is their retirement plan.

In a survey conducted by Manta, it was revealed that more than one-third of small business owners do not have retirement plans whereas another wealth survey by the BMO concluded that the 75% of business owners who are trying to plan their retirement have only $100,000 or less saved for it.

Five Retirement Planning Tips for Business owners

How should retirement be planned?

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you could do something about it now” – Alan Lakein

The first thing to clearly understand is that your business is not your retirement plan. Small business owners can work on several strategies to enable a smooth retirement. The most feasible and easy tips adopted by the entrepreneurs could include:

Plan on future living expenses

Planning for retirement can begin by some simple calculations. The calculations should be about the future living expenses of the business owners when they are no longer working. The questions they need to answer are how much they will need to live comfortably and how will they meet that requirement when they retire? Will they have saved enough until then?

Engage the skills of a financial planner

Financial planners are proficient at understanding the financial situation of a business and draw up a plan accordingly. By engaging the services of a financial advisor, small business owners can formulate plans for their present as well as their future.

Invest in retirement plans

The small business owner can begin by investing small chunks of money into retirement plans. The benefits are two-fold. One, it reduces tax burden for the present, and two it helps grow tax-deferred for future, until it’s time to retire.

Small business owners Should start investing money into retirement plans

Here are four simple and popular retirement plan types for business owners to start investing in:

1. SEP-IRA

2. SIMPLE IRA

3. Solo 401(k)

4. SIMPLE 401(k).

Diversify investment portfolio

Other than investing in the retirement plans, small business owners also have the option to invest funds in low-risk investment schemes such as investing in the stock or the bond markets. This shall not only diversify their investment portfolio but will also enable them to withdraw funds when the time is appropriate i.e. at the time of retirement.

Diversify investment to protect your retirement plan

Plan a business exit strategy

A well-planned business exit strategy can help small business owners to derive maximum remunerative returns from their businesses when it is time to retire or pass on the business as a legacy. Without a well-planned business exit strategy, the business owner may have sell their business short or make last-minute decisions that may not be as lucrative.

Small business owners should not procrastinate their retirement planning for it is only through their present efforts that they can safeguard their future. If you need professional assistance to start planning your retirement contact the experts at FFPCT and book a free consultation:
FFPCT Business Finance Consultants

Distribution Phase Planning – What it is and why you should start thinking about it NOW

We know that financial planning can be an intimidating process. There’s a lot at stake for you and your family, and getting lost in industry lingo can be frustrating. That’s why at Flagship Financial, we strive to equip you with the knowledge needed so that you feel comfortable making informed financial decisions for you and your family. In this article, we’ll break down Distribution Phase Planning, helping you understand what it is and why it’s important for you to start thinking about now.

Distribution Phase Planning – What is it?

Simply put, Distribution Phase Planning means planning how to best distribute your wealth during retirement. In the Distribution Phase of your financial life, you are no longer building wealth, but using the wealth you have accumulated throughout your life to fund your retirement.

In the distribution phase, you begin relying on personal assets such as retirement savings accounts, social security benefits, and various investments to support you financially. All the wealth you have accumulated throughout your life begins to be distributed.

Why it Matters

The landscape of retirement has changed drastically in America over the past few decades. In years past, you worked most of your life for a single, large employer, and then collected a pension. Your main concern during retirement was figuring out how to use your spare time.

That’s not the case anymore. Most likely, you will be living in retirement on money you yourself have saved and assets you have accumulated. You must know how to best distribute them.

If you are reading this, chances are you are getting close to retirement. You need to begin reviewing your retirement investments to ensure they are sufficient to meet your lifestyle requirements. In other words, you need to make sure you’ve established enough income streams to meet your needs during retirement.

retirement is closer than you think. Distribution phase planning is something to start thinking about now — begin taking stock of your assets and building strategies to maximize what you have accumulated

Distribution phase planning is important because you begin taking stock of your assets and building strategies to maximize what you have accumulated, helping you establish a predictable retirement income – guaranteeing you will never run out of money during retirement while protecting what you have for the next generation.

In our next blog, we’ll cover some tips and tricks for distribution phase planning.