Transitioning into retirement could feel just as sunny and relaxed as a perfect summer day, but like spending a day in the sun, you’ve got to plan for all weather factors when it comes to retirement or risk feeling a little burned.
Today on Relax, It’s Retirement, Josh Leonard and Pete Belcastro delve into part two of financial literacy for your golden years with a focus on government benefits and tax planning. In addition to managing required minimum distributions and the timing of Social Security benefits, the conversation also navigates through estate planning and the considerations for relocating or downsizing in retirement. Listen in to empower yourself with the knowledge and strategies needed to embrace retirement with confidence and intention.
Josh and Pete discuss:
Maneuvering the complexities of required minimum distributions (RMDs) and their impact on your taxes
Strategic insights into optimizing Social Security benefits based on individual working and earning scenarios.
The importance of updating beneficiaries and how simple changes can drastically influence estate planning
Navigating the decisions surrounding relocation or downsizing in retirement, including tax implications and quality of life considerations
Are you struggling to navigate the complexities of charitable giving and tax planning for retirement?
Let us introduce you to Daffy!
Josh Leonard and his guest, Adam Nash, co-founder and CEO of Daffy.org dive into the world of donor-advised funds, money decisions, and much more on this engaging episode of Relax It’s Retirement. They address how Daffy can help simplify your giving and give you more control over your charitable donations. Take the stress and guesswork out of charitable giving, allowing you to support causes you care about with ease while maximizing your tax benefits. Find out how Daffy can revolutionize your approach to giving and tax planning.
Josh and Adam discuss:
What donor-advised funds are, and how do they benefit individuals
How Daffy.org is reshaping charitable giving with cutting-edge technology and innovation
The importance of setting financial goals for charitable giving
The impact of automating contributions on financial planning
Benefits of setting giving goals and embracing a donor-advised fund for smarter tax planning and impactful philanthropy
Adam Nash is co-founder and CEO of Daffy.org. Adam is a proven advocate for development of products that go beyond utility to delight customers. At Dropbox, he led the teams responsible for growth, product strategy, product management & product analytics for a platform with over 600 million registered users with responsibility for all of Dropbox self-service revenue (~90% of all company revenue in 2019).
Before Dropbox, Adam served as the President & CEO of Wealthfront, where for four years he championed the creation of a new category of automated investment services. While Adam was at Wealthfront, the company grew its client base by over 60x, and grew assets under management 45x from less than $100m to over $4 billion. During his tenure, Wealthfront delivered industry-leading innovations including Direct Indexing, the Single-Stock Diversification Service, and the first automated 529 College Savings Plan.
Prior to joining Wealthfront, Adam was Vice President of Product Management at LinkedIn. Adam led LinkedIn’s Platform & Mobile products, including the launch of LinkedIn’s open developer platform and their highly successful native applications and mobile web experiences. Adam was the founder and architect of LinkedIn Hackdays, a seminal program for driving the innovation culture at the company. He also was responsible for leading LinkedIn’s search & cloud efforts, as well as forming and leading their user experience & design team.
Prior to joining LinkedIn, Adam held a number of leadership roles at eBay, including Director of eBay Express, an innovative new site focused on new, fixed-price products. Previously, Adam also held strategic and technical roles at Atlas Venture, Preview Systems and Apple.
Adam holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as BS and MS degrees in Computer Science with a focus on Human-Computer Interaction from Stanford University.
Adam was born and raised in Silicon Valley where he lives with his wife, four children, and a golden retriever.
Are you looking to maximize your tax bracket and secure a stress-free retirement?
You might want to consider adding Roth conversions to your retirement plan.
Josh Leonard and Pete Belcastro dive into the world of Roth conversions, discussing three key scenarios when converting to a Roth IRA might benefit your retirement plan with a focus on reducing taxes, maximizing income, and securing a tax-efficient legacy for your family.
Josh and Pete discuss:
Maximizing your tax bracket by strategically converting to a Roth IRA to save on taxes in the future
Using Roth funds for emergency or unexpected expenses to avoid high tax implications when tapping into traditional IRAs
Creating a tax-free legacy asset by inheriting a Roth IRA and providing your heirs with a tax-efficient asset
Balancing tax diversification by considering a blend of traditional and Roth IRAs based on your unique financial situation and long-term goals
Tax time is near. Nobody wants to pay taxes, but we have to, so let’s talk about how we can maximize our tax savings.
In this episode, Josh Leonard and Pete Belcastro, Financial Planner at Leonard Advisory Group, talk about tax planning. They share tips for filing taxes this year and some ways to help reduce taxation in the future and be more tax-efficient. Josh and Pete cover the importance of reporting interest from savings accounts, accurately reporting capital gains from stock sales, and the benefits of qualified charitable distributions.
Their conversation also includes strategies for making HSA and IRA contributions to reduce taxable income and the significance of conducting a thorough tax analysis for future savings. Additionally, Josh and Pete explore the pros and cons of traditional versus Roth 401(k)s, tax diversification, Roth conversions, and managing capital gains and charitable giving. They also discuss handling sudden income increases and the use of donor-advised funds for tax-efficient charitable contributions.
Josh and Pete discuss:
Importance of reporting interest earned on savings accounts and capital gains from stock sales for tax purposes
Qualified charitable distributions as a tax-efficient way to donate to charities
Tax implications of qualified accounts and making direct contributions to charities from these accounts
Opportunity to make HSA and IRA contributions before the tax filing deadline to lower taxable income
Benefits of traditional 401(k) versus Roth 401(k) contributions
Strategies for managing capital gains and charitable giving as part of comprehensive tax planning
Importance of proactive tax planning and practical advice for optimizing tax strategies
Is your retirement plan set for a successful future? When was the last time you reviewed your plan and ensured it has been adapted for any life-changing events?
Discover the seven key steps for achieving a fulfilling retirement with Josh Leonard. He touches on everything from crafting a budget and merging accounts to making savvy choices regarding health insurance and maximizing entitlements.
Josh discusses:
What is the first step in building a successful retirement plan
When should you start tax planning for retirement
Why is understanding Social Security important for retirement
The end of the year is the perfect time to take stock of your personal finances and make any adjustments that need to be made.
From catching up on retirement contributions to making charitable donations, you have a bit of time left to get everything in order before 2024.
In this episode, Josh Leonard explores end-of-year financial planning. He dives into assessing asset and debt issues, understanding tax implications, maximizing contributions to tax-advantaged accounts, and more. Josh also explains the benefits of gifting money to avoid estate taxes and the importance of financial aid planning for children or grandchildren attending college.
Josh discusses:
The need to look at taxable investment accounts and making end-of-year moves
The importance of taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) for individuals turning 73 this year
Tax planning strategies
The importance of maximizing contributions to accounts like HSAs and 401(k)s by the end of the year
The need to review insurance plans during open enrollment and update estate documents in light of any family changes or additions
The importance of considering financial aid planning strategies for college-bound kids
Getting stuck doing the things that you’ve always done just because you’ve always done them is one of the biggest atrocities of life. We have an opportunity each day to make something new and you should make the most of it.
In this episode, Josh Leonard brings on Jerome Myers to talk about one of the biggest lifetime transitions, transitioning into retirement. Jerome goes over the key areas of finding your next chapter in life and explains the significance of an “and” instead of an “or” lifestyle, the importance of prioritizing authenticity, how you can find your next mission in life, and how silence can help you find clarity.
Jerome discusses:
Why he started to help people with exit planning and transitioning into retirement
The key areas of finding your next chapter
The significance of an “and” lifestyle instead of an “or” lifestyle
Why it’s important to prioritize being your true, authentic self in all aspects of your life
How he helps people discover their next mission in life
How finding silence and peace can help you find clarity
Jerome Myers is an award-winning engineer, investor, mentor, and business strategist who helps founders navigate their Exit Paradox through his masterminds and coaching programs.
Prior to leaving his corporate leadership position, Jerome built a $20 million, 175-person division of a Fortune 550 company from scratch. He now uses his project management, engineering, and business expertise to advise business leaders on key areas such as leadership strategy, process improvement, sales and data analytics in real estate, financial services, business services, and health care to help his clients double their revenue, time off and charitable giving.
Jerome is also a general partner in a multifamily real estate portfolio and serves on the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.
In 2022, Jerome won the prestigious alumni achievement award for the North Carolina A and T State University College of Engineering where a fully endowed scholarship has been created in his family’s name. A noted media expert, Jerome has been featured in Business Insider, Black Enterprise, Entrepreneur, Biznow, CBS, ABC, and Fox.
Jerome has interviewed numerous newly exited operators (NEOs) on his top-ranked Dreamcatchers podcast which provides inspiration, education, and direction to his audience of founders who are building companies to sell after they exit the “Matrix”.
With the large number of clients under our belt, we pride ourselves in adapting and catering to any of our client’s needs, in any circumstances. This is why we work with trusted professionals, as well as other partnered firms such as AE Wealth Management and Morningstar Investment Management.
In this episode, Josh Leonard is joined by some of the key players from his team: Angela Ferrante, Desiree Hoosac and the founder of Leonard Advisory Group, Bill Leonard. They explain what you can expect while working with them as you plan your retirement. Additionally, they talk about some fun events you can look forward to participating in when you join the clientele.
The Leonard Advisory Group team discusses:
Everyone’s individual role within the business and how it all works together
How the Leonard Advisory Group started out
The importance of a close-knit environment among the staff
How we have helped clients no matter what step in their planning process they are at
William Leonard founded Leonard Advisory Group to fill in the gaps he saw when helping his mother plan for retirement. Bill focused much of his career on the insurance and annuity industry. As an independent advisor, he helped thousands of retirees and pre-retirees face the financial challenges that lie ahead with confidence. Since 1996, Bill has worked in a variety of capacities, gaining valuable experience with insurance. In 2007, he became an independent consultant, focusing on income protection and retirement planning. In his free time, Bill enjoys traveling, boating, skiing, hiking, biking, restoring antique vehicles, and spending quality time with family, friends, and clients. He has been married to his wife, Cindy, for almost 40 years. They have three children: Zach, Josh, and Zoey, as well as a crazy border collie named Sweep. After over 25 years assisting families transition into retirement Bill is excited to transition himself into retirement at the end of 2022.
Angela Ferrante is a 1987 graduate of Allegheny College with a degree in Economics and Finance. She started with Equitable Life as an insurance representative 2 weeks after graduation selling life and disability insurance to the medical community. By 2005 she was supervising 165 representatives in 4 states and running the brokerage side of the office which included the opening of accounts, research, trade placement, cashiering of upwards of $2 million per month, as well as her own client base. Angela became an Accredited Investment Fiduciary in 2015. Angela and Mark live in Somerset County where she enjoys skiing, hiking, biking and gardening.
Desiree Hoosac has worked for over 20 years in client service and administrative roles in the financial and medical industries. Her top priority is to provide exceptional service to clients. This includes assisting the team in preparing for client reviews, updating plans and various service items. Desiree resides in New Eagle, Pennsylvania, with her two rescues: Maggie, a Lab mix, and Mittens, her cat. She has a daughter, Deanne, and granddaughter, Eliza. Desiree stays active trying to keep up with her many great nieces and nephews and enjoys golfing with her dad, playing pinochle, reading, spending time with family, history and being outdoors.
