Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Allen Masri, Founder of Safe Money Income & Insurance, Discussing Achieving Peace of Mind in Retirement

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

Allen Masri’s wife, and 2 children have called sunny South Florida home for 55 years. As a federal employee benefits consultant and previous host of the Safe Money Income Retirement radio show, Allen is a financial educator who has helped people from all walks of life to be well prepared for their retirement years. Allen has made it his mission to educate retirees and those nearing retirement to achieve a secure financial future by protecting their hard-earned money from losses, fees, and inflation. Not one of his clients has ever lost a penny due to market downturns.Learn more: https://safemoneyforincome.com/Disclaimer: This material is for educational purposes only and not meant for any financial or tax adviceInfluential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-allen-masri-founder-of-safe-money-income-insurance-discussing-achieving-peace-of-mind-in-retirement

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of Influential Entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have with us, Alan Mazri, who's the founder of Safe Money, Income, and Insurance. And we'll be talking about achieving peace of mind in retirement. retirement. Alan, welcome to the program. Well, thank you for having me. Nice to be here with you.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to talking with you because I think whenever you see like a title of a conversation, you know, achieving peace of mind, seems like people just want to take a deep breath and go, yes, I want peace of mind. You know, I'm tired of worry or doubt or fear. So I'm excited to hear your perspectives on how you guide your clients in achieving this peace of mind in retirement. But before we dive into that, Alan, give us a little bit of your story and your background and how did you get into the financial services industry? Sure. Well, I'll tell you my story.

I actually grew up in the antique furniture business. I'm third generation. And it was very successful at it. I really enjoyed it. But it wasn't something I was really passionate about. And, you know, like everybody else, I had my money in the market. I was riding the highs, you know, chasing the gains. And then, you know, the lows actually hit.

And the, you know, I realized that how much I didn't really know about financial safety or security. So, you know, we had a downturn one year and I lost a lot of money. And, you know, I had this one client. He would come in and purchase furniture from us. And we became, you know, friends because, you know, he was in there a lot, spending a lot of money. And obviously when someone spent a lot of money, you want to pay a little more attention to them. Yeah. And, you know, he was.

very wealthy and I said to him I said you know man I lost a lot of money in the market in this downturn did you lose any money and he's like no I didn't lose any money and I was like you know thinking of myself how how is that you know so a little time went by we had another dip in the market and he happened to come in and asked him the same question I said you know I lost a lot of money with this dip that's going on I says it's not affecting me so I got really curious and I said you know what I want to know what is it that you're doing where you're not losing any money money. He said, well, you know what? He invited me into his office. I made an appointment with him. I didn't really know what he did, to be honest with you. Yeah. I'm just thinking he had a lot of money.

He was spending it. And I went into his office and what happened was we sat down and he started showing me financial products that I've never ever heard of or ever seen. So the first question came in mind is why, why hasn't everybody heard about this? And number two, why wasn't it common knowledge? And he saw my, you know, he saw my enthusiasm. He saw, you know, how much I really enjoyed learning these things. And, you know, he asked me if I would like to learn how I can help others who are conservative like myself about these different types of financial products. And I said, yeah. And at that time, to be honest, we had, we had a housing crisis.

obviously when you're selling high-end durable goods for homes, we were very affected by it. Yeah. Kind of downsized a few times. But then during that time, I was learning from him and I got my licenses and the things I needed to do, do what he does. And I started learning from him. And I really loved it, man. And I'll tell you, when I sit down with clients and I see the faces and I see when they have that aha moment, when they realize, you know, there's things out there.

that they have a right and they should know about. And that's exactly what happened with me. So I like to share that with others. And that's where my passion comes from for this business. And that's, you know, I love it. And there's nothing better than personal experience. You know, like when you felt that angst, like, man, alive, how are you not losing money?

And I am. And then he finally shows you. And it didn't feel weird or it wasn't any offshore this or anything strange. you're like, oh, well, that makes sense. And now all of a sudden, you're like, well, this makes a huge difference for me. How can I help other people? And I think that's just so huge because no matter what, if you pick a day or a week or a month in the market, you just don't know it's going to be up down and all around.

And that volatility can just be crazy, which is potentially just fine in your 20s. But when you start getting to another certain age where you start to see, retirement on the horizon, maybe in your early 50s, let's say, you need to start battening down the hatches. So how do you work with your clients to make sure that they are insured to have that guarantee income? Because I know that there's some of the smart ways you learn to help them lock in, you know, guaranteed income for life. And I think that's such a strong word, guaranteed income. So let's start off with that question. How do you serve your clients and teaching them in that realm? That is a very strong word.

And I'll tell you, growing up with my family, you know, they come from Lebanon and they just have no concept of this type of stuff. And basically, they don't retire. They just keep working as long as they can keep working. So, you know, one of the ways that we do is, you know, we show people how they can have a guaranteed income for life by creating a reliable income plan. and, you know, that combines several financial strategies, and one of the most effective ways is through the use of annuities, specifically the lifetime income annuities. And what they do is they provide a regular payment for as long as the retiree lives. And, you know, they can be purchased through insurance companies. And that's a really big way to help people create a lifetime income. And, you know, one of the other things that we do, and I tell people, work with a financial advisor, you know, to determine how much income is needed each year and the best mix of income sources that, you know, you can create for when you do retire.

And another big one is to plan for inflation and the health care cost. You know, healthcare costs can erode purchasing power and drain savings real fast. And, you know, one of the things that I learned when I got into this. business is that there are products out there at no additional cost, believe it or not, that will actually double your income if you qualify, which is a big deal, you know? So that's one of the ways that it could be done. Yeah, that's really huge. And I think that, you know, you mentioned a few minutes ago, you know, it made me think of the phrase, you don't know what you don't know. You know, there's just some people out there. You just, you've never been exposed to this.

And so I have a feeling that there's a lot of people that think I got my job. I set up my 401k and signed a bunch of paper. So I'm dumping money in there. I guess I'm going to be fine. And then they get to retirement and start going, okay, well, I need X number of dollars per month or year. And they start pulling it out. Well, that's just kind of what they thought or assumed. And that sometimes most of the time is not the best strategy because you've got the taxes.

And what about pulling it out now? And, ooh, it's in a market downturn. So you've got that aspect. to deal about. So what are some of the specific strategies that you're recommending your clients during those market fluctuations? Like are there specific tools that you're recommending? I know you mentioned the annuity and guarantee. So talk a little bit about any other tools or strategies as well as how can that actually be guaranteed? Because not much in life is guaranteed. Very true about that. I wish life was guaranteed.

Yeah. Well, you know, principal protected products is what I say. And, you know, like structured notes, fix index annuities. And like you were saying earlier, not cannibalizing your principle. You know, people use this thing called a 4% rule, which is very common. But unfortunately, they're using it and having their money in the market, which it really doesn't work. because, you know, if you're pulling money out in a down market, like you mentioned earlier, you will cannibalize your principal and you will run out of money.

So what I tell people is that, you know, there are products out there that will give you a, you know, a dividend of at least 4% or a low interest vehicle, but at least you're getting the 4% and you're not cannibalizing your principle. So, you know, I would say shift to more conservative investments as a person nears retirement and during volatile periods. You know, this might mean reducing exposure to stocks and increasing holdings and safer assets. That's really one of the best ways to do it. Yeah.

And what age do you start telling people to make that shift? meaning, you know, my kids are in their 20s and they could weather a lot of volatility in the next 10, 15, 20 years. But at a certain age, you better stop getting out of the volatile market and start putting money into these safe places. What age are you starting to have your clients be thinking about that? Typically in their mid-50s is when I start making those recommendations. Because like you said, when they're young or in a person's young, you do have time to balance back. And you're still contributing. And if you have a 401k at a job, they're also matching a little bit of it.

You always recover somewhat. But when you start getting close to your retirement age, that's when you're really got to start protecting those assets and making sure that, you know, you move them into a place where you have, you know, some guaranteed growth, a good dividend, you know, very low risk exposure to the markets. and that's where I would start. I would start in the mid-50s, you know, and you know, under my circumstances are a little bit different, you know. So it really depends, but in general, the mid-50s is when I would start recommending that. And you mentioned, if at all possible, because, you know, there's never any guarantees in life or guarantees in, you know, financial markets.

But what you're recommending here is about as close as you can get because you're talking about products that are underwritten by top rated agencies, I'm sure, where you can say, here's the amount of money you're going to get every single month. But you mentioned depleting your principle. And I think that's something that's really powerful to think about because like you said, the 4% rule, it's not simple math of, oh, well, just deplete 4%, you'll be good to go because you've got inflation out there. You've got taxes out there.

What are you recommending as far as like a, maybe I don't know what to say distribution, you know, should you have all of your money in this one product, or are there some certain buckets that you recommend people having in so that they're making sure they're safe, secure, and not depleting the principle? Sure. Well, you know, and again, it depends on the person. Everybody's a little bit different.

Some people can afford to keep some money in the market and risk it and play the markets. It really depends on the individual. But the fixed index annuities that we do with some of the high-rated carriers that we work with, they do have an inflation and adjustment with the income. So, and the way it really works is like, let's say a person starts taking income, they may get a little bit less in the first few years, but then it will start to adjust 3% or 4% every year. And eventually, it will start keeping up with inflation.

So that's a really good way to do it. And again, I mean, if they have enough money to keep in the market and playing the market, that would be great also. So, yeah, that's how I typically. do it. And I know we've been talking about this peace of mind concept, but let's go a little bit deeper on that because I feel like if we can paint that picture of how having a guaranteed income portfolio really impacts of retirees' daily lives and overall happiness, I'm kind of envisioning, you know, you look at the news and you get all uptight because you see what the market's doing.

You open up your portfolio statements and you get uptight because you see red or blue or different numbers up and down. Talk a little bit about that overall happiness feeling when you have clients that come in and say, Alan, I used to have all my money in these distributions. And after you've made these recommendations, it's been so great because they can sleep at night. Oh, yeah. That's a big one. Yeah. Yeah. You know, reducing stress and anxiety, you know, knowing money will be reliable, you know, reliably coming in each month. It really helps for retirees feel more. secure and less worried about running out of savings. It improves the budgeting and planning.

Again, with a steady income, it's much easier to cover essentials like housing, food, and health care. And you can also plan for the fun things like travel and hobbies. And then another thing it does, it really boosts confidence and freedom. You know, retirees with guaranteed incomes feel more confident spending money, knowing it won't jeopardize their future, and that's a big deal. And this is a big one for me, you know, supporting a better health and health and lifestyle. You know, less financial stress often leads to, you know, like I said earlier, much better sleep,

lower blood pressure and more enjoyment of everyday life in general. Yeah. You know, I was thinking the same thing. I think that it seems like any ailment we have these days, you go to the doctor, and one of the first things is, you got too much stress in your life. And that might be true. I'm sure it is true, but I'm confident that some of the major issues we have health-wise are because of stress and worry and doubt.

So if you have this retirement piece really buttoned up well like what you're describing here and you're able to get that peace of mind, wouldn't that lead to even living longer? Oh, absolutely. I agree with that. I mean, you know, living longer is always in the man upstairs hand. We all know that. But yes, absolutely. But this is a big one too.

Providing peace of mind for the family. You know, the loved ones, your loved ones, they will also feel relief knowing that, you know, the retiree has a reliable income and won't become a financially burdensome. Burden. Yeah. That's also, it not only helps the individual, but it helps the family. You know, I think that's a, that ripple effect really is a big piece, you know, because if mom and dad are, you know, aging and running into money trouble aren't, are the kids just going to sit by and just go, well, I guess you should have planned better? No, the kids are going to help out. But now the kids have to plan and contribute money and maybe talk amongst themselves and maybe make trips up to the house and all these things that might go into that. So this piece of mind is more than just the retiree that goes, yes, I've got everything buttoned up.

It really fans out into their extended family. And I think that's another big piece that you're bringing up. Well, absolutely. It really does. I can't tell you how many, and I'm sure everybody's seen this in their family where, you know, they have an elderly, you know, a couple or a person in their family. And for one reason or another, they're skipping meals or they're skipping medications. and I mean that puts a lot of stress on people and then gets to the point sometimes where they just can't be on their own,

not because they can't physically, but because they can't financially. So it could become very burdensome on a family and on the individual knowing that they have to depend on the other people too because it's not easy. You know, we all have kids and we say, you know what? I'm not going to depend on my kids, you know what I'm saying? And there's nothing more true than that. that's a big deal for me because I've seen it in my family and it's not easy. Yeah. I'll tell you, Alan, this has been really eye-opening and helpful just to get a glimpse of how

you're helping your clients achieve that peace of mind of retirement with some good, safe and tried and trude recommendations. So if someone is interested in learning a little bit more and reaching out and connecting with you, what's the best way that they can do that? they can go to my email which is allan at safe money for income.com they can shoot us an email we also have a phone number they can call me this is my personal cell phone number it's a 954-270 8972 and they can also check out one of our websites maybe they can get some information from there and it is safe money for income.com I also have another website which is Allen. That's A-W-L-E-N-R retirevledge.com. It's a lot of great information there.

And we'd be happy to help anybody that gives us a call and take a look at their situation and see if we can help them benefit from what we know. And, you know, my thing is I love educating people. I'm a big believer in education. That's how I learned. I was educated. I was not sold anything. I was educated.

And I was able to make my own decision and do what I had to do based on what I learned. That's awesome. Well, Alan, thank you so much for coming on today. It's been a real pleasure talking with you. Thank you, Mike. It's a pleasure here, too. Thank you. You've been listening to influential entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders.

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