Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Darryl and Alicia Pryor With DNA Financial Associates Discussing The Intersection of Gender and Retirement Planning

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

This is Darryl. As a financial well-being strategist, His goal is to remove the complexity of financial planning by provide coaching and mentorship, accountability, and a “let’s get it done” mindset which he gained through years of self-less service as military, government civilian and private industry servant helping the “good guys” find the “bad guys”His true passion however has always been in helping others pursue financial, personal, and professional success. This passion is fueled by the recognition that any success he has achieved in life has been through the support and mentorship of family, friends, and close associates. Although he is “just a common, hardworking ordinary guy” who like most has experienced life’s “ups” and “downs,” He attributes the successes he has had to the advice and guidance of those who have poured into me financially, personally, and professionally. It is this level of commitment He will pour into you.He has been in the financial services business for 13+ years, working primarily with families and business owners. He uses a unique approach that helps people find money they’re currently transferring away unknowingly and unnecessarily.Below are a few of the areas he enjoys coaching and advising individuals and small businesses with by offering creative and customizable 360-degree solutions tailored to fit their needs:Retirement planningWealth ManagementCollege planningAccounting/BookkeepingTax planning and consultationIncome tax resolution with IRS and StatePersonal/Business insurance consultation and product selectionLearn more: https://www.dnafinancialassociates.com/Podcast DisclaimerThis podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or tax advice. The views and opinions shared by the host and any guests are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect those of any organization. All investments carry risks, and past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Before making any financial decisions or implementing any strategy discussed, please consult a qualified professional who can address your specific situation. The content in this podcast is not a solicitation nor an offer to buy or sell any financial products or services.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-darryl-and-alicia-pryor-with-dna-financial-associates-discussing-the-intersection-of-gender-and-retirement-planning

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 back with us, Daryl and Alicia Pryor with DNA Financial Associates, and we'll be talking about the intersection of gender and retirement planning. Darrell and Alicia, welcome back to the program. Hey, Mike. Thanks for having us back. Hey, so I'm excited to learn about this topic because I can only imagine that this means there is not one cookie cutter plan for every single person out there that you just go, here you go, here you go.

You've got to have a customized plan and sometimes gender will play into that. So let's start with the big picture. why is it so important to understand the difference between how men and women approach retirement planning? Mike, that's a great question. You know, we consistently see studies that men and women have distinct behavioral patterns when it comes to money management. You know, men typically, you know, are much more aggressive with their investment strategy. And consequently, we are often more willing to take more risk. and even if it means more lost and now to just to achieve that potential return.

Yeah, because typically let's speak about that, Daryl, I'm a guy, you're a guy, and maybe there might be a little bit more of an aggressive stance. And the problem is with a more aggressive approach that comes with potential risk. And so here's then the women going, I don't want to risk anything at all ever. So there's some differences there. Yeah, as a general, absolutely. We are much more aggressive when it comes to taking risk for that big return. Absolutely.

That's right. Just hearing that makes me think, let's say that you two as a couple sat down with a husband and wife and they're talking and you start sensing that one or the other. Now, sometimes women could take more risk and men might be. So we know that it's not always that case. Where do you start talking about that? Like if you start hearing hints that one is more aggressive than the other, how do you guide that conversation to make sure that they're doing the best thing for them? Well, it's important that both of them are being heard,

particularly the woman is being heard, excuse me. Because oftentimes, you know, they may take the shrink back posture, you know, as the man is leading the conversation. But it's important that both are being heard. and that they both have the opportunity to, you know, that her concerns are being addressed as well. So long as we have the opportunity that both concerns and careers are on the table, I think that that would work for a successful meeting opportunity. Yeah, oftentimes, when we meet with clients, you know, initially they won't want to meet the husband or the wife says,

well, I'll meet my husband can't make it or my wife can't make it, whatever. We'll meet and we can get some information, but it's imperative that we meet with you both. And then when we sit down and have the discussion, oftentimes, you know, the guy has their way of having a discussion. And the wife oftentimes sits back and just looks and listen. And we kind of look. We look at them and observe. And then Alicia is good at eliciting, you know, responses and get the wife or the other person who's quite involved in the conversation. conversation because it's so important that they begin to understand that each one of them may look at the money or look at the way they handle money a little bit differently and they have different reasons for that.

You bring up a good point about reasons. What are some of those factors that would lead a man to plan the way that they do? And then conversely, a woman to plan the way that she does because I think that it's not just the decision. it's the thing behind the decision that drives it. Oh, I think men in general are raised to be the provider, and it has a lot to do, maybe perhaps with their ego and the need to make sure they're providing security and comfort for their family. And so they're willing to take, again, more risk and be a lot more aggressive

in terms of trying to create that stability and comfort and create that wealth. Right. You know, Alicia, I'm sure you have the other perspective. You want to share it? I agree. Right. On a woman's perspective, you know, we're not risk takers. You know, we're more on the side of being careful and cautious, right?

And so for us, you know, we don't make that much money. There's always still a pay gap compared to a man and how much they make. We live longer than men. So, you know, we don't have that much. We have a longer time. to make up, but we don't necessarily have that. We don't make up that much. And then this is the gap and even understanding how to invest.

You know, we don't understand the whole investment situation. So we're lacking in that aspect. Also, we become caregivers, right? So we're taking care of everybody else. We're not learning how to invest. We're living longer and we got that pay gap. So there's just so many other things that are, that come into. to play for women as we're trying to navigate this whole area of finances.

I often joke with Alicia and say she's my retirement plan. We have to plan for her retirement, you know, because women generally, you know, we get sick and the women provide and they take care of us, you know, perhaps at the end of life or whatever it is, but oftentimes, you know, they don't have that available for them when they're end of life or other crises come up. And so we have to make sure that we're planning for that also, that they're planning for that also. You know, you bring up two really powerful points, number one, the wage gap, which is crazy because if one person does the same job, why aren't they getting paid the same thing? That's a whole other conversation. But there is the wage

gap and then also there's that life expectancy gap which is documented both of these are documented they're not just perceptions they're not just oh well it's this way women are statistically living along with them and so how does that help you or how does that cause you guys as financial coaches and financial professionals giving guidance to your clients your husband and wife to go hey here's the plan and we're making some of these recommendations because It changes things. It's not a cookie cutter templated plan.

You need to make recommendations knowing that probably the woman's going to live longer than the man and these now cause decisions to be made. It's really about having that straightforward conversation like we're having here.

Identifying statistics and what's the reality of it all so that they're able to make some informed decisions based on that. Yeah. You know, when we look at a very certain scenario, the husband or the one spouse may be more aggressive than the other. And it's oftentimes important to make sure we have the conversation that they're also laying in some foundational type of retirement planning. By that, I mean that that's guaranteed income. You know, there are certain products out there that will allow our clients to ensure or build their own retirement. So you have a 401k, you have your TSP, you can. contribute to those. They may be at risk or whatever it is, but then there are other products out to some

insurance-based products that allow our clients to begin now layering in that foundational retirement income that goes with their Social Security, maybe some of that TSP or pensions that come in also. When I say insurance products, I have talking about such things that possibly like a whole life product that might be a have some cash value that they can take that money out tax-free because that figures into the big picture. Another great product, especially from a woman's perspective from time to time. You want to make sure that you're providing that sustainability and that growth, but you have

growth, but you have that guaranteed income. So there's such things as annuity. So you really have to look at each scenario on a case-by-case scenario to figure out what's best for that client's unique financial DNA or those clients are unique financial DNA. and tailor that strategy with the appropriate products to build that long-term retirement income. And more importantly, to ensure the long-term health. I mentioned the insurance products earlier, but part of that is because a lot of the insurance products, now a lot of people don't understand that when we talk just life insurance,

they're not your grandparents' life insurance. It's a life insurance product that you have what they call living benefits now. And that allows you to access the cash value, the value of your death benefits, should anything happen, if you have a chronic critical terminal illness, now they can leverage those products in that crisis when they need it. So, again, it's just having a much larger conversation with both the husband and the wife present and really trying to make sure that we're planning through retirement and not just to retire. You know, that makes me think of a couple questions there. Have you ever had instances where you talk to a couple and you just tell one of them, whichever one, is a little bit more risky push and pushing for some riskier options? But like you said, Daryl, with having a solid foundation, do you ever find where you can make

some recommendations to say, hey, let's take X percent of your retirement funds and put in this, you know, safe, secure, guaranteed income, whatever all that might be? and then, hey, let's take this amount of money and let's allocate this over to some a little bit more riskier things because you kind of want to see where that goes, but you know, given where their portfolio is, that it's just a little bit of fun money almost. And if it actually did go down, it's not affecting their overall plan, but you need to make sure you've got the most solid part in the safest investments. And I would venture to say that that kind of ties into your point about layering in different

recommendations. Absolutely. I use two products. There are many products out there to consider, but I just use those because, again, it's so important to make sure that we layer in that foundational planning. And yes, we do have a lot of clients once they build that foundation of retirement. Let me give you an example. Some clients have a military pension, have a government pension, and they're working, they got a third career as a contractor, say. So that's three sources of income that they'll have in retirement. Then on top of that, they'll have their Social Security. And so they may be willing to take a little bit more risk with some of their money

because they have a lot of foundational retirement in retirement when they're ready to retire. But they're also the people out here who make good money, but they don't have a great retirement plan. And so all they can do is make contributions to their 401Ks or TSPs. And then they have to start layering in some of that secure retirement. And you and I both know that, you know, Social Security, we call it Social Security, but the security in itself is kind of unstable because we don't know that's going to be around 16 years now. So what we do is we have that conversation with them about the appropriate products to build that retirement and ensure that

guaranteed income for retirement. And if they want to have some of that extra money out on the side, investing it and taking much more risk, that's fine. But we also have a conversation about how much of it they want to keep at risk because it's important to rebalance. Perhaps they want to take some of it out off the table. And they put it into some more of that foundational retirement and that the rest of it continue to grow until they reach a point where they can take

more of it out. and build that foundation. And it might even depend on their age, you know, and I'm certain you would say someone in their 30s, you might have a little bit more, you know, tendency to take on some more riskier things than someone in their 60s. So it all depends on many factors. Absolutely.

Someone in their 30s, you know, certainly if we're talking as generalities, they probably would be okay if they were heavily concentrated in securities or equities because they can endure the ups and downs and volatility of the market. But as they get closer to retirement, they really need to begin pulling back on that risk a little bit to assure that if the market goes down, they still have that income and that security they need to carry them through retirement. Again, there's a host of products that we talk to our clients about. You know, I mentioned, you know, the use of annuities and insurance. You have precious metals.

There's so many different things. You know, we have a conversation with our client. And they've never thought about a lot of these different things. And so, again, that's a part of that financial literacy and that financial education that we like to give. So that both men and women understand what's available for them so that they don't, you know, they don't have to be overexposed in the market. Right. You know, Alicia, here's a good question for you when we touched on this before, but because women statistically live longer than men, I would venture to say that the statistics also that point to many of us, 60, 70 percent of us, male or female, will need some type of long-term care.

It's amplified for women who statistically live longer. What are some of the thoughts around those longer life expectancy and planning for long-term care in a retirement plan? Wow. That's, it's major for women because we are outliving the men. And, you know, sometimes it's concerned, you know, will the children be around to help us? You know, they'll take on their own lives and who will be around to help us? So yes, that is a major consideration. How do we fold that into our care, into our plan? And so there's different things that we can do. One thing that Gerald did mention were some of the riders that are part of a life insurance policies that we can implement. But we also want to talk about the long-term care options as well

to include so that they too can be assured that they are insured moving forward in their later years. So yes, that's something definitely because oftentimes people just don't stop to think about these things because they're so busy working or caring. for others, but you don't want to wait. You want to make sure that you have a plan in place because you'll look up and there you are. You're in need without a plan. Yeah. And if you're talking insurance product, go ahead.

It's very expensive, a very expensive place to be in for not having planned or prepared for it. Yeah. Yeah. And the earlier you start when it comes to long-term care, if you're talking insurance based products, they're cheaper it is. And so, you know, you really want to start having that. conversation earlier on to figure out, you know, what you plan to do and the back in the real life you need long-term care. And most people will need some form.

Some form. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And to your point about expensive and and planning early, I know that we've said it over and over, but there's not one recommendation or plan for everybody. So see what options are out there. But I know that standalone long-term care policies tend to be super expensive. And then if you have it for a year or two or three or four or longer and you never used it, then it's like, wow, that money just went down the drain. But like what you're saying is if you have some of these writers and provisions in some of these other products like annuity or whole life insurance and there's a provision for long-term care,

well, if you needed it, it's there. But if you don't need it, you haven't spent the extra money. It's just inside of that. So talk a little bit about having that double duty benefit there. Well, again, one of the key things is that, you know, you have what we call a fixed amount that you're paying, which is a premium when you talk about it in insurance policy. And then when you have those additional riders on it, not too expensive, but they guarantee you that the money's there when you need it and give you some peace of mind. That's one of the biggest things that we like to have that conversation with our clients. Because, again, we go back to that holistic picture.

you need long-term care, you want the money to be there without burning through all of your other assets. And so one of the great thing about the insurance-based product, and long-term care to a degree also, won't talk about long-term care products, but insurance-based products is, you know, you don't have to put your home at risk or your other asset at risk, assets at risk. Some people like to do what they call self-insured. And some people would make sense or whatever it is. But, you know, we feel that by being able to set aside a certain amount of money to ensure that you have a significant amount of money to cover your long-term health care needs. Why spend, you know, the resource that you could pass on as a legacy to your family. Or help you make a quality of life now,

a certain quality of life now. You know, that's a great point. And I think the whole bottom line is guess what plan for the worst and if it's not there then good you're you're ready if it is there you're ready and and if it never surfaced and whatever the issue was but you plan for it then you have extra funds that you can redistribute so I think that this has been so helpful to take a look at some of these considerations regarding the differences that male versus female make face absolutely absolutely because you know oftentimes people feel that they have time. Oh, I've got time. I'll get around to it. I have time. And before you know it, you don't, and time has run out. So, you know, it reminds me of the, remember that commercial

back in the day from Subaru where the guy walks out to the car and hands the keys to his daughter who's getting ready to head out and he sees this like three-year-old. Well, the point is, she's 16 driving, but he sees her, she goes to three-old and time just goes. Time flies. We know that. And you know what? Yeah, retirement's going to be here in 10 minutes. You know, it's just going to seem that way. So plan ahead. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, if anyone is listening to this going, how does, you know, planning look for us and let's plan ahead. What's the best way that someone can learn more and then also reach out and connect with you guys? They can visit us by coming to our website at dna financial associates.com or by calling us at 301 381 1040 awesome well guys thanks so much

for coming back on it's been a real pleasure talking with you again thank you for having 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.influential entrepreneursradio.com.