Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Dan Saccal, President of Vision Wealth Management, Discussing Major Issues Facing People in or Near Retirement

Episode Date: March 7, 2024

Dan graduated in 1988 with Honors from the University of Florida with a degree in Finance and has served clients as an independent financial advisor since 1994 providing peace of mind through guarantees so that they can enjoy their best years worry-free.Learn More: https://vwminc.com/Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-dan-saccal-president-of-vision-wealth-management-discussing-major-issues-facing-people-in-or-near-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 Dan Secal, who's the president of Vision Wealth Management, and we'll be talking about major issues facing people. that are in or near retirement.

Dan, welcome to the program. Thank you, Mike. I appreciate you having me on. Hey, I'm looking forward to learning from you and your perspectives and how you work with your clients. Before we dive into that, what is your background and story and how did you get into financial services? Well, I guess you could say I've always had an interest in finance. Even when I was younger, I always knew that I was going to do something in finance. It was either finance or law.

And I just really was always interested in finance from a young age. I got my degree in finance. And I've been helping people ever since. Awesome. Plus, finance didn't require another two or three or four years of grueling schooling. So that's another win there as well. That was a big factor. That's for sure.

Yeah, really. Okay. So we want to talk about how you serve your clients that are heading and facing retirement. And I like that you phrase this helping people. in or near retirement because a lot of times people feel like, oh, it's too late to make plans. I'm already retired. But I want to talk to you how you serve your clients that are preparing for retirement, of course. But then what about the ones that are actually in retirement? So what are some of those issues that face people that people are facing as they are starting to think about

retirement? Well, it's kind of like you said, they're very similar. And you remember those philosophically, those four age-old questions that mankind has contemplated for years, you know, the who am I, how did I get here, what's my purpose, what happens when I'm gone? Remember those questions? Yeah. Well, I find that there is four similar questions when we're dealing with people that are in retirement or near retirement. And those are, how old am I? What assets do I have? How long am I expected to live? And will my income and assets last as long as I do? And answering those questions successfully are I find the key to a successful retirement. You know, I love that and I want to clarify because I know that it's not a formula, because no one knows how exactly long I need my assets to last. But we can use some educated guesses.

And I suppose that probably part of it, your guidance with your clients is, you know, let's pick that number. Like, how long do we think that you're, you know, what's your family history and how old do you take care of yourself? Because these days, I think that we all are taking better care of yourself. So maybe that age, lifespan is kind of inching out. And maybe back in the day, you needed your money to last however long, well, now it might need to last a little bit longer. That's exactly correct. People are living very long, healthy lifestyles. And you're exactly correct. And they are unknowns. But what we do is we help people create knowns, if you will, for these unknowns.

And that's the space that we thrive in. So what happens when you discover that gap? You know, like I have X number of assets and here's the number we're suspecting that we're going to need to work toward. Well, here's the gap. You know, like I might not right this minute have enough money to close that gap. So I'm going to need to have a little bit more, you know, aggressiveness or I need to get some more assets. What does that conversation look like once you've kind of articulated that gap? Well, it's all about trying to find ways to create guarantees for people so that they have that peace of mind.

And where gaps exist, we try to go on traditional but still safe routes to close those gaps. So people have that peace of mind to know that money is going to be there as long as they are because of the guarantees that we use. Now, the word guarantee kind of makes me feel warm and fuzzy. That's awesome. I love guarantee. Kind of the antithesis of that or an accelerating factor of that on the opposite side is the word risk. So talk a little bit about risk and what's the right approach when you're advising your clients regarding risk? Because maybe there's times in their life in their 20s, 30s, 40s where risk is a little bit more, you know, palatable.

But then at a certain age, we need to start shifting gears, right? Absolutely. First off, being a finance background, one of the first things they teach you is what actually is risk. In terms of financially, risk is the probability that you might get a return that's different than you expect. So, for instance, if I have a CD earning 3%, not a lot of risk involved there. I have my CD and I'm going to get my 3%. And the only real risk is what's the interest rate is going to be? when that matures. On the other side of it, let's say I have a small cap stock. And for this year, I'm expecting the 17 or 18% return. Well, I might get 30% return and I might get a minus 30% return. That's the other end of the spectrum. So that probability that you might get a return that's different than you expect.

So now keep that in mind because that's the market risk that everybody faces. is not just seniors. But then people that are retired, they also have a few other risks that, you know, they have to contemplate. One that you alluded to to earlier is longevity. You know, people are living long lives. And, you know, when I was a kid, you know, parents didn't work out. You know, they smoke cigarettes.

They didn't go to the gym. Now, you know, seniors are, they're active. You know, they're exercising, you're walking every morning. They're living very healthy, long active lives. and so not only do you have a need to produce income from your investments, but you need that income to last for a really long time. And then that brings up our next category of risk, category of risk, which is inflation.

So not only do we have this need, okay, I need this income, and safely I need a plan to have that income for a long time because people are living for a long time, but then how do I make that income keep pace with inflation? because that's the other factor is not only need the income, but prices are going to go up. You know, I like to travel. Travel costs are going to go up.

You know, I like going out to see shows. I like going to dinner about my friends. All that stuff increases over time. And then we also have the risk of taxes. You know, fortunately, right now we're in a time that even though it may not seem that way, historically, we're in some pretty low tax rates right now. and unfortunately though we have this looming debt out there in our nation you know we've got 34 trillion dollars in debt and right now we're approaching about a trillion dollars a year

and what that debt is going to cost us to service you know just to pay the interest on that debt and just a little step back to because i don't think that people truly have an appreciation for what a trillion dollars is I mean, we just throw these. It used to be billions. Now it's trillions. And if you were to try to put that in some perspective, you know, with the population in this country, $1 trillion represents about $3,000 for every single person in this country, not taxpayer, not household, every single person.

Every single person. So we have this trillion dollar debt. I don't think that, or I'm sorry, $34 trillion debt with annually trillions and deficits. And I don't really have a lot of confidence. I don't know that anybody does that Washington is going to work together to fix this. I think it's more probable that people are going to wind up paying more in taxes. Yeah, because the only way to fix it is to reduce spending. And I don't think that Washington, air quotes, is any.

good at reducing spending. So I think you're right. The only other alternative is we got to work at chipping it away by the only other way taxes. So that's a big unknown, isn't it? Yeah. And remember, we're in the business of trying to see those unknowns and help people prepare for them. So in sense it's such a great probability, that's definitely a risk. And then we have the risk of, you know, and it ties into longevity, long-term care. You know, people live in long lives and unfortunately as we get older, there is an increased probability that you may need care, skilled nursing care, whether it be at home or in a nursing facility, and those costs are enormous. You know, they break budgets and they erode assets. So if we take that back to that market risk

and we over that everybody faces, and we overlay that on these other four areas of risk that seniors face, then, you know, that's what risk is all about. And, you know, the old traditional 6040 portfolio,

you know, set it and forget it. You know, that doesn't work anymore. You know, in 07, 2008, yeah, go back to 07 and 08,

everyone remembers that. Pretty much every asset category, lost at least 30% or more. And you add to that, taking distributions, which most seniors have to do from their portfolios, and it compounds it even more. And now, my belief, and I think a lot of people feel the same way, we're in an environment now,

where the world and the markets are more volatile than ever. So back to the original question of the four, how old am I? How do I make this last as long as I do? You must address these risks with a planning if you want to enjoy a successful retirement. Yeah, because they're like almost like holes in the bucket, you know, that proverbial bucket with water in it. There's all these holes and water's flowing out. You might think, well, I need to pour more water in, like more money in.

Well, maybe or just mitigate or plug up those holes as much as possible. So that's what you're referencing here with these risks. I think that's been very clear and concise. it kind of makes me think about something too. Like how do you combat risk? And you said, well, you need to have a plan and a strategy and that's awesome.

Well, what's the difference between hoping that that plan is the right one and knowing that that plan is the right one? Well, that's a great question. And that's what we bring to the table. Too many people are relying on the old, you know,

just the, the old portfolio, the 60, you know, stocks over bonds. And, you know, that doesn't work anymore. And where we come in, and the difference between and hoping and knowing is if you would just have that traditional portfolio and you're just hoping for the best that

things work out and that money will be there as long as you are. But we help our clients implement planning and strategies that put safeguards in place so they have guarantees that guarantee to them that, hey, that income is going to be here as long as I am. And not only that, but that income, when things are going well, that income is going to increase. And then income is going to lock in for you so that you know that income is going to be there as long as you are. And we also have strategies for growth. You know, how do I not just grow my money, but grow it safely so that I'm getting gains when things are going well, I'm locking in those gains, and I'm not losing principal or my gains when things are going poorly. And

By implementing those strategies, I can look at a client and say, you know, we're not just hoping that things are working here. We know things are going to working here because we've put these strategies in place with these guarantees so that I can look in the eye and say, you can count on this no matter what. You know, it kind of makes me think, too, when you're mentioning these risks and you're planning for them and you're planning to have your money last to a certain age. If you are kind of like the old saying under promising but over delivering, if you're addressing all of those areas and only two of the risks pop their ugly head, but you plan for more than two or three or four, then all of a sudden you've got a little bit of margin there and a little bit of extra cushion. So I really like the fact that, hey, you know, this risk right here might not happen. But if it does, we've got it covered. Well, now if it happens, you're covered. If it doesn't happen, oh, good.

Well, now we've got a little bit more momentum. So I think that is such a safe approach that you're describing. Yeah, Chris, the ability to splurge or a heck of a funeral party for you when you're gone, right, Mike? Yep. Right. I would much, you know, it's kind of like I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. So that's just the way that I am. I think that's what you're describing as well.

I think that's so great, Dan. Well, let's wrap up with this conversation. I think it's been so great with setting that mindset of, you know, discussing some of these risks and issues people face in retirement, what's the best way someone can reach out and connect with you and learn more about what you do? Well, they can reach me directly on my phone at 561-3106904 or contact me and schedule time on my calendar through my website at vision wealth management. That's VWM Inc.com. Vision wealth, like vision wealth management, VWMNNNG Inc.com.

Excellent. Well, Dan, thank you so much for coming on. It's been a real pleasure talking with you. Thank you, Mike. It was my pleasure, and I appreciate your time. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders. To learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes, visit www.

www. www. Influential EntrepreneursRadio.com.