hwa 2q14 newsletter
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Securi�es offered through Cetera Financial Specialists LLC (doing insurance business in CA as CFGFS Insurance Agency), member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory
services offered through Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Financial Planning services offered through Holis�c Wealth Advisors, LLC is a State of New York
and State of Maryland Registered Investment Advisory Firm. Cetera en��es are under separate ownership from any other named en�ty.
HOLISTIC NEWS
“Financial freedom is
available to those
who learn about it
and work for it.”
- Robert Kiyosaki
In This Issue
• Social Security & The
Value of Waiting
• Wish Lists for
Retirement
• Our Annual BBQ
CONGRATS STACY! Stacy Clifford, President of Holistic Wealth Advisors, was recently honored as one of
Cetera Financial Specialists’ top advisors at the firm’s annual Connect conference held at
the Wynn in Las Vegas, Nevada. This year’s conference celebrated advisors’
accomplishments and was packed with top-rated keynote speakers, dynamic breakout
sessions, fantastic special events, and endless networking opportunities with exhibitors and
fellow Cetera Financial Specialists’ advisors. The entire HWA team attended this event as
we believe in continuous professional growth of our employees; our team took advantage
of these top-notch education courses to increase their knowledge of the financial industry.
“Being recognized among the top advisors is certainly a testament to our loyal clients. The
conference was a great experience as we celebrated last year’s successes and gained fresh
insight into the markets and our business to help us serve our clients at unparalleled”, said
Stacy Clifford. “New ideas and new connections are everywhere. It really speaks to the
value of Cetera Financial Specialists’ model, the idea that advisors can be independent,
entrepreneurial, while also having access to the resources, ideas, infrastructure and
guidance of our firm and Cetera.”
The conference also featured a keynote presentation from Dr. David Kelly, Chief Global
Strategist and Head of the Global Market Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Funds,
which shed light on investment outlooks and opportunities for 2014. Kelly shared J.P.
Morgan’s perspectives on everything from the job market and economic growth, to
consumer confidence, to the implications of monetary and fiscal stimulus.
Enrique Vasquez, President and CEO of Cetera Financial Specialists, opened the 16th
annual conference with top advisor recognition.
“It is a pleasure to recognize the best in the business for their outstanding performance
during 2013,” said Vasquez. “As proud partners in their success, I believe we all left
Connect inspired and ready to continue raising the bar.”
Stacy, and her team, manages approximately $60MM in client assets, fulfilling the financial
needs of individuals and businesses in the New York Capital Region and has 13 years of
experience in the financial services industry.
As a member of Cetera Financial Group, Inc., Cetera Financial Specialists is able to offer all
the benefits of a large, well-capitalized broker-dealer, including innovative technology,
leading wealth management and advisory platforms, and comprehensive broker-dealer and
Registered Investment Advisor services, with the personal relationships often found only at
a boutique firm.
What’s New at Holistic Wealth Advisors July, 2014
2014 Referral
Raffle Contest!!
For each referral you send to
HWA you will be entered into
our end of year raffle draw-
ing for a $100 gift card!
Do you have a friend,
neighbor, colleague, or
family member that is:
- Retiring?
- Moving?
- Tired of D.I.Y.?
- Ready to invest?
- In need of professional
wealth & retirement
planning?
- In need of Long Term
Care Insurance?
- Selling a business?
If so, please forward our
office number and email
or call our office with
your referral infor-
mation. We will gladly
set up an appointment
and review their person-
al situation.
Please remember your
personal data will always
remain private.
Social Security: The Value of Waiting* Nearly 75% of workers take their Social Security benefits early. It’s one of the first things you notice
when sifting through the mountain of government data – which, by the way, we wouldn’t recommend to
anyone not living in permanent isolation.
What isn’t so clear is why people are claiming early, permanently reducing their benefits in the process.
The most obvious answer is they have to. They need the income. We get that.
But what about the others? The overlying thought is that many are afraid they’ll die young, and forfeit
too much of the money due to them after decades of work. But that risk is overstated, according to the
evidence.
The largest increase in our population today is people over age 85. To take that a step further, about
55,000 people over the age of 100 are collecting Social Security retirement benefits. Sounds like a lot of
us will be around way longer than we realize (and that’s not a bad thing!).
When you think about retirement as a 30-year process, it’s easy to see why claiming early may not be
the best decision. In fact, one of the simplest strategies you and your friends can use to increase
retirement income over the long term is to wait until beyond Full Retirement Age (FRA) to claim – as
long as they can afford to do so.
The reasons why are obvious. For every month after FRA your friends wait to receive benefits, the
amount they will receive increases (up to age 70). This amounts to 8% per year, a nice bump when you
consider what their money could do
elsewhere.
The advantage is even clearer when you
look at it in terms of real dollars. Let’s say
you have a friend who turns 62 tomorrow,
and could immediately begin collecting a
monthly check from the government for
$1,500. That’s hard to turn down. By the
time they turn 92, they will have collected
about $540,000 in retirement benefits.
But let’s say that same friend decides they
can afford to wait until age 70 before taking
benefits. Eight years later, their monthly check will have grown to $2,640, and their total benefits at age
92 would be about $699,600 – nearly $160K more than their total if they claimed at 62.
*Article supplied by Transamerica and written by William Wilson.
* Annual rate of return based on 15-year average annualized returns of S&P
500 TR, Barclays US Treasury TR (USD), and Citi Certificate of Deposit 6
Mon USD as of 12/31/2013. You cannot invest directly into an index.
** If born 1943 or later
If you, or any of your friends and family, have questions regarding the timing of your So-
cial Security benefits please do not hesitate to call and schedule an appointment. We can
review your specific financial situation and recommend a solution for you.
(518) 357-3858
Go Figure
$6.6 Trillion
The amount of mon-
ey American Work-
ers are short of what
they need to retire
comfortably.
2.1
The number of US
workers per every
retiree in 2035.
There were 16 US
workers for every
retiree in 1950.
49 Age of Julia Childs
when she wrote her
first cookbook.
65 Age of Colonel Sand-
ers when he started
KFC.
73 Age of Peter Roget
when he invented the
Thesaurus.
69 Age of Ronald
Reagan when he be-
came the oldest
elected President.
WHAT IS ON
YOUR BUCKET
LIST?
“Go Figure” provided by
Transamerica Investments
7 Items for a Retirement Wish List
When I heard from a few friends that they'd recently gone to Hawaii, my first reaction was jealousy. I wish I
was going to Hawaii. It sounds like a retirement dream. But after I thought about it, I decided I don't really
care that much about Hawaii. Especially since I don't like to fly, and there's really no other way to get there.
But it made me wonder: What are my dreams for retirement? Do they make up a bucket list?
The bucket lists I've seen revolve around traveling or doing something exciting, perhaps visiting the Pyra-
mids or parachuting out of an airplane. I wouldn't mind seeing the Pyramids, but there's no way I'll jump out
of an airplane. I don't even like roller coasters. I have wondered about taking a trip around the world. May-
be in a few years. Once I get to age 70 or so, if the plane goes down, I still had a nice life.
One problem with that dream: I mentioned it to my wife, and she wasn't keen on the idea. I don't know
why. She doesn't mind flying. Maybe it takes her out of her comfort zone to go so far away from home.
And I sure wouldn't go without her. So it didn't make my list. So what did? Here's the list:
1. My biggest wish is to go on this uncertain journey into the future with my life partner, in a relationship
that stays just as good as it is now. We've discussed this a little bit, and we're ready to march into old age
together. She will provide a crutch for me, and I will provide a crutch for her. We will suffer the indignities
of old age together, with love and no shame. And if we do some traveling, that's fine. If we don't, that's OK.
2. I want to stay healthy as long as I can. To that end I watch my diet, and I've joined a health club. I admit
I'm a few pounds overweight. But I did lose ten pounds last year and have managed to keep most of them
off. It helps my arthritic right ankle (old injury) and my arthritic left knee (old age). I've mostly given up eat-
ing red meat, in favor of chicken, fish, and pasta, and my wife makes sure I eat my vegetables. Now, if I
could just find the strength to cut back on ice cream.
3. Financial security. I'm not even sure that's possible in this day and age, but we're working on it, and I feel
that we're doing OK so far. We live a modest lifestyle, a little below our means. I also know that I can "do
without" if need be, without getting depressed about it. If I had to drive a clunker, it wouldn't bother me.
Actually, I kind of like the idea of not driving at all.
4. My two kids are important to me. I want to see them happy and successful. Neither one is married, and I
don't have any grandchildren. There's plenty of time for that a little further down the line. But, definitely,
grandchildren are on my wish list.
5. Everyone needs friends. And this retirement wish is one that does worry me. My old crowd is beginning
to drift apart as they retire. A few people have moved south and west. If my old group falls apart, where
will I find new friends? And if my wife and I move somewhere else, would we be able to find like-minded
people to hang out with? If we do ever move, we'll have to go someplace where they welcome newcomers.
6. I'd like to keep working in retirement. Is that an oxymoron? Right now I work about half time, and that
suits me fine. I could see scaling back more, maybe to a quarter time. But working gives me a sense of pur-
pose and a feeling that I'm worth something to someone besides myself and my immediate family. And, hon-
estly, it helps to bring in a little extra cash to supplement my fixed income.
7. Something new. I do have a list of books I want to read and classic movies I want to see. I keep thinking I
might take a class, but so far have not made that leap. I volunteered for the library book sale last year, and
I'm thinking I should do more volunteer work.
In any case, we're planning a trip to Hilton Head, S.C., later this month. I like to escape to the coast every
once in a while. Who knows, maybe one of these days I'll get as far as Hawaii
*Article provided by US News & World Report and is written by Tom Sightings.
Newsletter Courtesy
of Your Holistic Team
Stacy Clifford
Lakshmi Nagarajan
Sarah Blass
Sam Clifford
Raymond Kidalowski
Cynthia Anslow
Sue Donovan
Terence Ruso
H. Paul Thomas
Lillian Helmedach
Rita Young
Sue Miniter
Our 5th Annual BBQ
This past June, we celebrated another successful year with our clients and their
families. Every year we invite the entire Holistic family to Saratoga State park to
spend the day enjoying good conversation, great food, and lots of laughs. We had
a great turnout as we had over 100 guests attend. The kids sure had a blast!
Newsletter Ideas?
We would love to hear from you!! If you have any ideas for our newsletters or
topics you would like to read about please send your thoughts to:
We truly appreciate your feedback.
Contact Us Please contact our main office for more information about our services
Holistic Wealth Advisors
19 Clifton Country Road
Suite 3B
Clifton Park, NY 12065
(518) 357-3858