services
the rules of retirement
In The Metro Los Angeles Area
The communities in the L.A. and Orange County areas don’t need to be told how important their finances are. Living in one of the most expensive regions in the country, even the wealthiest families can feel pinched every time inflation takes an ugly turn. A financial advisor is there to do more than just encourage you to save or to make recommendations about the so-called hottest investments.
At the right boutique retirement firm, you can work with a professional who will learn your story. At GBOF Financial, David D. Lee treats every client like the individual they are. From your relationship with risk to your ideal retirement lifestyle, this is an opportunity to go over your entire portfolio before mapping out the best plan. You’ll learn more about how estate planning, tax planning, income planning, health care planning, and investment strategies all converge together to fund your golden years and the legacy you’ll leave behind. Here, every dollar is accounted for, so you don’t leave anything to chance.
No matter where you are in the process, there are only a few specific rules to remember:
1. Determine how much you need to live, both now and after you retire.
2. Allow David D. Lee to manage your remaining wealth (ideally toward aggressive growth).
3. Give you and your loved ones the gift of financial freedom.
Retirement Income Planning
Retirement income planning has been a cornerstone of financial planning for decades now. Despite this, the public continues to push the idea of saving for retirement. While saving is undeniably important, it shouldn’t be the only item on your to-do list. Instead, retirees need to explore how they can bring in as many streams of income as they can. At GBOF Financial, advisor David D. Lee can tell you more about how to do it.
Secure Income Planning in Los Angeles
The basics of secure income planning are simple to learn. The goal is to build a monthly budget and then use secure income streams to pay for your expenses, much like you do with your current paycheck. For instance, you might get a third of your income from Social Security, a third from a part-time job, and a third from your pension. You’ll still need savings in case of an emergency, but the goal is to limit the use of those funds, however and whenever possible.
If you’re wondering how to plan your retirement income in Orange County or the Metro Los Angeles area, it starts with asking fundamental questions about what you want. For instance, rental properties can be one of the most reliable strategies to generate new income during retirement. However, not everyone wants the responsibilities or liabilities that come with the territory.
No matter what your retirement age is, the question of how much do I need to retire is a complex one. Some people will only have to pay for themselves, being entirely content to live as modestly as possible. Others may want to fund the education of their descendants or first-class travel around the world. No matter what the future has in store for you, you can find ways to finance it when you work with the right individual. Lee can ask questions that drive to the heart of the matter, so you feel comfortable about how to get from one place to the next.
Wealth management
Managing your finances can feel like a maze at any point in your life. Once you reach a certain level of wealth, though, the landscape gets even more complicated. If you’ve had trouble controlling your assets, a financial advisor may be the right person to help.
How Does a Financial Advisor Manage My Wealth?
The basic principles of wealth management are relatively easy to understand. If you want a stable portfolio, you need to diversify. The downside is that a diversified portfolio is inherently harder to keep track of. The more allocations you make, the more likely you are to overlook one of them. Diversification can also lead to disorganization, with investments being made with no clear objective. This can lead to either stagnation or even loss.
A financial advisor shows you how different financial strategies, including tax planning and investment management, can blend to help you build a more comprehensive and, ultimately, more lucrative portfolio. If you’re looking for a partner you can trust, David D. Lee helps people in L.A. and Orange County rest easy about the state of their wealth.
It’s unfortunately common for wealthy people to overlook the inefficiencies of their financial decisions. This is not necessarily because they don’t understand the implications, but more that they don’t have the time or wherewithal to study the markets or predict the major economic changes. A financial advisor can answer specific questions about your accounts. Instead of getting general advice, they can explain when it’s time to open a trust fund, why it makes sense to do a 1031 exchange, or how a long-term care insurance policy might affect your retirement plans.
Amassing a high degree of wealth is an incredible accomplishment for anyone. If your goal is to maintain and grow your wealth, though, at some point it becomes a full-time job. If your time is already accounted for, a financial advisor at a boutique retirement firm may be just what you need to bridge the gap.
long-term care
Your health is not just a collection of decisions you make every day. From genetics to random chance, illness and injury can strike anyone at any time. Unfortunately, recovering from these incidents can wreck a person’s retirement plans, with costs eating into goals that took a lifetime to build.
Long-term care is a type of insurance policy that may be able to prevent financial loss should you suffer a serious health crisis. If you have questions about its terms and carriers that provide it, the right advisor can tell you whether the policy is a good fit for your golden years.
How Long-Term Care Insurance Works
Long-Term Care Insurance covers non-medical costs related to medical emergencies. So, if you were in a car crash and broke several limbs, you could hire an at-home aide to run errands, make meals, and help with basic hygiene needs. On average, people with long-term care insurance spend up to six times less on these expenses than those without it.
If you’re asking how to best prepare for the unexpected, the answer depends on your current portfolio, your family health history, and the lifestyle you envision by the time you retire. While long-term care insurance can rescue you from bankruptcy or financial devastation, it’s also an expensive premium with a lot of rules. Because the costs of at-home care or assisted living can run so high, carriers have been less generous than they have in the past.
As you might imagine, a long-term care policy from one provider may be very different from another, even if they ostensibly offer similar coverage. At GBOF Financial, a boutique retirement firm, David D. Lee can help you decipher the many clauses of long-term care. If there are financial incentives, such as the opportunity to recoup premium costs if you don’t use the policy, he can explain how those benefits work in the real world. If you live in the Metro Los Angeles area or in Orange County, it’s worth exploring whether it’s the right option for you.
maximizing social security
Social Security is a long-standing program, but it’s undeniable its original creators wouldn’t recognize it as it stands today. All the changes to the system have given it a poor reputation, with many people not even realizing that there are ways to maximize their benefit checks when they have the right strategy.
If you don’t want to leave money on the table, particularly after you’ve contributed to this program for your entire working life, a financial advisor can help you fill out the paperwork. The answers you provide can be the key between an average benefit check and a true source of income during your retirement.
How to Maximize Social Security in Orange County
Maximizing Social Security starts with understanding its importance to your retirement goals. A financial professional like David D. Lee will tell you that the goal is not to survive on Social Security checks, but to garner enough every month to cover a sizable portion of your monthly expenses. Along with other sources of revenue, whether that’s from your pension, a rental property, or a part-time job at a vineyard, Social Security is a reliable way to pay your bills.
Social Security is partially based on your age, income, and career path. Should you make an error on one of your forms, it can result in significant financial loss. (And while you can correct the mistake and receive back pay, you can imagine how long that might take to go through.) At GBOF Financial, a boutique firm, the goal is to first get the best possible benefits out of the program before examining where it fits in your retirement goals.
Your benefit check is a reflection of you, which is why you shouldn’t make assumptions about its worth. Before dismissing it as an inconsequential source of income, you should talk to a professional who knows the details. Lee has not only studied the terms of the program, but he can apply them specifically to your net worth and larger retirement goals.
efficient tax planning
For some, filing taxes is little more than inputting a few numbers, even if those numbers are incorrect or incomplete. For others, it’s a huge undertaking, one that involves several professionals and months of prep. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, though, far too many Americans spend too much on their taxes.
It can end up affecting their retirement in ways they don’t even realize. A financial advisor can open doors for their clients, showing them how to rearrange their assets, so it’s not such a burden. Whether you file once a year or once a quarter, you can start seeing every line item in relation to your long-term goals when you work with the right expert.
Tax Planning in the Metro Los Angeles Area
At GBOF Financial, David D. Lee understands what it’s like to live in Southern California. Whether you’re in LA or Orange County, you’re beset on all sides by the local, state, and federal governments. It can feel like you’ll never be able to save enough to fund your dreams. If you have an accountant, they can give you tips on what to deduct and give you a heads-up about new laws, but they won’t have the same scope as a financial advisor at a boutique retirement firm.
From asset exchanges to travel expenses to charitable donations, there’s a lot to know about your taxes. If you’re not prepared to look into the rules — and the exceptions to those rules — you can end up leaving the government a big tip. Since you can’t count on the IRS to return the money, an advisor will structure your holdings before tackling the paperwork.
It’s possible to have a streamlined portfolio, one that’s clear, concise, and managed. What’s more, it’s possible to have a portfolio that is directly aligned with your larger retirement goals, whether they’re extravagant, mid-range, or modest. Lee has the expertise and the experience to help you pay less to the government, so you can spend more on yourself.
life insurance
Life insurance in the industry is one of the more complex types of policies. Because this policy is both optional and can potentially cover people from all financial backgrounds, the range of coverage can be both overwhelming and confusing. A financial advisor can tell you more about how different policies affect your loved ones as well as your retirement goals.
Life Insurance in a Nutshell
If you’re wondering who determines the laws of life insurance, it’s state rather than federal regulators. If you live in Southern California, you’ll typically choose between term life insurance and permanent life insurance.
With term life insurance, you’re setting up a policy with a time limit, one that’s usually based on the age of your children. For instance, if you know your youngest child will be in school until they’re 25, you might set up the policy to end when they can get their first full-time job. Term life insurance is seductive because it’s affordable and it’s practical. However, if you get caught up in the initial prices, you can miss the long-term goals of permanent insurance.
A financial advisor will run through how a permanent life insurance policy can both help your loved ones and potentially save your portfolio during your retirement. Because some policies carry a savings component, they can end up being the fallback people need if they are hit by an unexpected or particularly catastrophic emergency. At GBOF Financial, David D. Lee can help you untangle the policy terms, so you’re clear on what you’re getting for the cost of the premium.
Most people don’t take the time to read through the fine print of their policy. When they have the right financial advisor, though, there’s no need. With Lee, you’ll make strategic decisions based on your retirement goals and the beneficiaries you hope to protect. Should the policy change over the years, particularly if your health begins to decline, Lee will be the one to answer your questions and determine the next steps.
Instead of depending on an insurance carrier to tell you the facts, one that likely has their own agenda, you’ll get unbiased advice from someone who knows your portfolio and your family. He’ll be able to put the policy in context, so you understand how it fits with the rest of your assets.
