Maximize Social Security in 2026 with Joseph Jordan

Social Security is not just a government benefit. It’s a lifetime income decision that can define how retirement feels at 75, 85, or 95. We sit down with industry veteran Joseph Jordan to unpack why claiming rules feel confusing, why so many families miss meaningful dollars over a lifetime, and why the “take it at 62” advice often ignores today’s longevity reality. 

We talk about what’s really driving the pressure on Social Security and Medicare, starting with demographics: fewer workers supporting more retirees who live longer and need more expensive care. From there, we get practical about the new Registered Social Security Analyst (RSSA) training and the kinds of real-world scenarios it helps solve, including spousal strategies, survivor planning, divorce rules, dependent benefits, disability, and how taxes can change the net paycheck you actually keep. 

We also dig into Medicare IRMAA, why it surprises people, and why tax-free income sources matter more than ever in retirement income planning. That includes a clearer look at modern reverse mortgage planning, cash value life insurance, Roth IRA conversions, and the role of annuities as guaranteed lifetime income when markets and life expectancy are unpredictable. And we don’t skip the human side: retirement can bring a loss of routine, identity, and purpose, so planning has to go beyond spreadsheets. 

If you want to make smarter Social Security claiming choices and build a more resilient retirement income plan, listen now, then subscribe, share this with someone close to retirement, and leave a review. What question do you want answered about your Social Security strategy?

To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com 

Transcript

Welcome And New Studio Debut

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Welcome to State Money Radio with your host, Brad Pistol. Brad is a retirement income and tax planning certified professional, primarily serving clients in the Midwest, but he is sought after nationally for his expertise in helping people secure their retirement. Mr. Pistol is a licensed life insurance professional in approximately 20 different states, and he specializes in working with people who are near retirement and those who have already retired with wealth management, income planning, and asset protection strategies using life, health, long-term care, and annuity insurance products. And now, here to talk with you about securing your retirement, it's your host, Brad Pistol.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

Well, hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining us again today for another exciting episode of Safe Money Radio. And Joe, to me, our guest on the show today, this is a really exciting show because this is our first time ever in our brand new studios. You know, we expanded our office and took on six more office spaces, and we have two different dedicated podcast and radio rooms. And so this is our first one that whenever it airs in front of everyone, we get to have you on with us today. So Joseph Jordan, thank you so much for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Well, it's my pleasure to be with you, and I uh I'm really looking forward to this.

SPEAKER_03 1:39

Boy, it's gonna be it's gonna be good stuff. And so you're a returning guest. We've had you on the show before, and it seems like every day when I open the computer and and and look at LinkedIn is to catch up with all my colleagues, you're all over the place. You travel all over the world speaking. And so tell our listeners a little bit about what you do and what you've been doing throughout your career.

Joseph Jordan’s 50-Year View

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Sure, I will. Uh uh and and it's germane to this conversation because I I've been in the business 50 years. And uh I was a life agent. I ran insurance sales at Payne Weber for the youngins out there. It was like a smaller Merrill-lynch. You know, I I I kept saying Payne Weber, like everyone knew what it was, you know, but it's no longer with us anymore. Uh so I had to get stockbrokers to do insurance. And then uh I built the annuity business at MetLife, had all retail product development, and then started their fee-based financial planning unit. So um I had to get insurance people to do investments. So it was around the time, this was around the dawn, just before financial planning came in. When I started, everybody uh sold a product and stayed in their lane. And then we started going back and forth. I remember E. F. Hutton was the first one that started doing insurance on Wall Street. So I was I was involved in that. So, anyway, what I'm trying to say is I've had 50 years in the business and I've seen an awful lot of change. And so part and parcel of what I talk about is what I've learned from change, which I think would be very helpful as we're experiencing dramatic change now.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

Well, I think that's what's going to be so exciting about the show today. So it there's no surprise, this isn't some hidden piece of information, but social security and social security planning is the hot topic. It has been for years. And when you know 12,000 people a day are turning 65 and they're thinking about all these transitions from the working world to retirement, to turning on Medicare, to triggering Social Security, when do I take distributions from which pile of money? That's a lot of different things to consider, and we're gonna be talking about this today. So I know that you've walked in a lot of circles regarding Social Security planning and retirement planning. And so for our listeners today, we're gonna be jumping in talking about a lot of these things. So we're glad that you're with us. So now, Joe, tell everyone where you are. Where where is it that you reside in this lovely United States of ours?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

I I live in Manhattan. I'm on the east side, I'm on 23rd and 1st, if anyone knows where that is. So I'm a native New Yorker. I travel a lot, so I got three airports at my command. So and uh and I'm a native New Yorker, I've lived here all my life, you know. I don't know anybody. I don't know anybody.

SPEAKER_03 4:22

Yeah, that's right. That's all you've ever known, and so you're gonna stick with it, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:26

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 4:27

Well, let's do this because I think I've only mentioned this on one show uh prior to this. I just haven't had the time to record it, but I'm about to start doing several shows about this. I learned about something about four weeks ago. I got an email from the American College, and they were talking about being in coordination with the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts, and talked about bringing a new designation opportunity to uh all of the people who follow the American College who've worked with them in the past and have other financial designations. And I've already gone through two different programs with the American College, the RICP, Retirement Income Certified Professional, which I know you have some background with. And then most recently I did their TPCP, tax planning certified professional, and was one of the very first graduates of that this last year. And so when I saw that there was a designation regarding Social Security Planning, and I knew that, you know, the RICP touched on it and had a section on it, and TPCP had the taxation side, but I thought this is something that's all Social Security Planning related. We need this for our clients. And so I jumped in, one of my other staff members here, one of our other financial professionals jumped in, and I've already been through the program, graduated two days ago. I've passed all my exams and done, and she has her final in two weeks. But let's do this. Let's start off talking a little bit about your background with the American College, and then let's talk about this exciting new designation program.

Regulation Tech And Demographic Change

Longevity And The Social Security Squeeze

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Well, I'm I'm on the board of the American College. Uh the book I wrote uh while I was still at MetLife uh um um living a life of significance, uh all of the proceeds went to the college. So I gave them a lot of money, and uh so that's why I'm on the board, I guess. But but uh but anyway, um I was really intrigued with this whole idea of um of of having this Social Security uh designation, you know. And and before I do that, what I'd like to do is just give you some background. Because I think this is important. What happens is people react to stuff when it happens. If you have a global view of what's driving the change, then you have the ability to understand what's happening and anticipate what the future's gonna look like. So as I said, I've been in the business 50 years, so I think there's three drivers of change: there's regulation, there's technology, and then there's demographics. Now, regulations is it's not regulating your business. It's everything you don't have control over. The price of gas, eggs, uh, airplanes, all of this stuff you don't know, and there's nothing you can do about it. You just don't, you just hope it doesn't get crazy. And then the next one's technology. So everyone is obsessed now with technology because they they they you know, young people are are afraid that their whatever job they choose, it'll go away because because uh AI will take it over. And so that's what everyone is focusing their attention. One thing, and and so I I I think that's important, and and the one thing I would say though, the more transactional the business that you're in is, the more susceptible you are to technology taking it over. So that's something that's that's important. And I don't think that our profession, and what you do and what I do, is gonna be as affected by by AI. Um and uh uh but I will tell you this advisors who use AI will replace the ones who don't. And and basically it's it's not an enemy, it's a friend, and especially, you know, with our our our with our profession, okay? Um well here's one issue that doesn't come up too much, and that happens to be demographics. And that's the subtle big movement that's going on here, and no one talks about it. For decades, this is global, this isn't just the United States. For decades, we have not been producing enough children. And so now we're rapidly approaching a stage where there will be more older people living longer, okay, funding their more expensive and longer retirement than there will be for working-age people who are putting money into the system. So Social Security, as you brought up, isn't going down, it is going down not because of some nefarious trip by the Republicans or the Democrats. There just ain't enough people. And and and so that that's something that is is is is is really important. So I'll ask you this question, okay, just to get you into this mode. Um uh which country in the world has more people over age 100? Do you know what that is?

SPEAKER_03 9:11

Well, I know this, and I was at a conference that you spoke at sitting on the front row, so I know the answer already. But I had just started it when you were when you were sharing that. I had just gone through, and of course, everyone said China, and you said no, and then they said Japan. And I said, No, it's the United States. Tell us why that is, which is shocking to a lot of people.

New RSSA Credential And Claiming Errors

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Well, well, it is. We have the better health care and all of all of the other stuff that's associated with that, but Japan is disappearing. It just literally is, and uh, they have more per capita, but it's a much smaller company and a country and it's disappearing. China committed suicide with the one child policy that they had, because they don't have they don't have enough age uh uh women of childbearing age be because they well, they killed them all, you know. That was the one child policy. It was uh and if you have one child, you have to have a boy, and that's where it is. So they've created Harry Carey, as far as I'm concerned, you know, uh demographically for themselves. So now we're waking up to the fact that life is maybe pretty precious, you know, but it's a reality, so we just have to deal with it. And I don't want to get into the morality of it or what have you. But I think that's something that's important. The other thing is this is that in the United States, for every guy that's over a hundred, there are five and a half women. So this is a woman's issue, okay? This uh unbelievable longevity that we have. 80% of men die married and 80% of women die single. And since we're an aging society, we really got to begin to focus in on that. So if you follow what I'm saying, if you understand the broader parameters, you begin to understand why some of this stuff is happening. Yes. And so it's the aging population of the world which is necessitating the reduct reduction of Social Security. There aren't just enough people that are putting money into the deal. And I believe that this will be the biggest domestic issue the United States faces in the first half of the 21st century, because that's going to be the wake-up call of wake-up calls. And so people have to start knowing about it. That's the importance of having a designation on Social Security, because you better get every single stinking nickel out of it that you can. And you better be dealing with someone who knows what the hell they're doing. And so that's why I congratulate you on doing this, okay? Uh so now there's there's there's actually two new uh uh professional designations. One of them backed by the American College, and that's this the Social Security one, and it's the RSSA, right? The registered uh Social Security Analyst. And uh I know Ted Rosedale did a good job with you, you know, and and his his group. And the second is Chia, which is a certified home equity advisor. It's sponsored by NAFA, uh, the National Uh Association of Insurance and Financial I forgot what the A is, okay. Uh but that deals with reverse mortgages. And so you you really have to begin to understand and appreciate and look at things differently. And and and that's my point. Um uh uh and and you know, as far as reverse mortgages, I used to break out the crucifix and garlic every time I heard it, but they really cleaned it up and and what have you, you know, so it goes further. What I liked about RSSA, and I'm I'm interested in hearing some dialogue from you about it, um, uh because I did do the the RICP, I was one of the the uh originators of it. So I was very involved with that, and I was I was in that. And so the RSSA um has said uh that they have identified that a lot of people, most people, uh uh are short about$139,000 of lifetime benefits because of the choices they choose. And and and to think through this. So there's five common mistakes that are made by individuals claiming at the wrong time. This is a big one for me. You know, when I was at when I was at MetLife, one of the things we did was we created this thing, legislative birth dates. We sent it out to all of our clients. Now you understand MetLife had millions of clients. So every every month, you know, people were turning different ages. So we had 59 and a half, 62, and 70. And so 59 and a half, you can take money out of a retirement plan without a penalty. 62, you could take Social Security now or later. What do you do? And 70, you have to take money out. So that was the thing. And um we focused on that because people really have to, you know, put it in their head. And believe me, if this was the early 2000s, everyone was telling me, you're crazy. You know, uh Social Security's going away, take it out at 62. If it was 61, take it out then. And and that was everyone's mode towards it. But but the idea behind it was was we really wanted to show how uh Social Security is just the biggest immediate annuity in the world. Um it bases it on mortality credits, not interest rates or stocks and bonds that you invest in. It's actuaries who understand how many people the actuaries know to the person how many people will die in a given cohort. They don't know who, but they know how many. So if you start off with a hundred people, okay, by uh uh uh at 65, okay, uh by age 80, you're somewhere in the vicinity of still having 63 people still alive. But that's where they're able to pay older people more because they don't have to pay that benefit out to everybody. And that's a mortality credit, and only actuaries can do it. So what we were trying to do was to teach people about immediate annuities, anticipating the older ages that people would have and the benefit of having a lifetime guaranteed income that you can't outlive. And so uh uh other than people being uh sick, it doesn't make sense to take it out at 62 or you know, whatever the thing is. And and what's been good about this is over the years that has been declining, where people just jump right in and do it. Because as you know, as you know, Brad, if you wait to 70, you get 76% more. Now, if you're in and if you're in perfect health and what have you, and you're in pretty decent shape, why not wait for that? Because that puppy just keeps paying and it pays for the rest of your life. So that was something that we were doing. Um, they also missing family and survivor strategies, not accounting for work and earning rules, and ignoring longevity and tax impact, and no documented strategy. So that's the things that you're learning and you will have, and believe me, the the idea of having that RSSA behind your back, you know, on your card, will mean a will mean a lot of that stuff. The other is the new professional designation is C-HEA, Certified Home Equity Advisor. It's sponsored by NAFA. There's over$13 trillion that is net equity for people over age 65. And uh everyone says, you know, you have the house and then you give it to the kids, you know. In the meantime, you gotta maintain the house, you gotta pay the mortgage if you have to pay insurance and what have you. And and that was the pristine thing. Now you have, and believe me, as I said before, I used to cringe whenever I heard reverse mortgages. They've really cleaned it up and what have you. And so the fact is that if you're living in the house, you can start deriving income from your house, and they can't throw you out, you know, no matter where it goes, okay?

SPEAKER_03 16:52

And it's tax-free.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

And it's tax-free. Oh, tax-free. Oh, oh, so all of a sudden, we are staring at the possibility of a 20% reduction in Social Security simply because there aren't enough people. That's why. And so the way they pay for the the way what they do with Social Security is that pays Medicare. And there's something called Irma, which I know you know, and IRMA dictates how much money they take from. They don't ask you about it, they take it. And by the way, it's not a tax. What did they call it? They called it a uh it's not a tax, it's a oh, I forget what they call it. Some other thing. It's a bloody tax, that's what the hell it is, okay?

SPEAKER_03 17:36

Stealth tax is what a lot of people refer to it as because you don't know it's coming. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

So then, holy smokes, what happens here? The other part of this, now listen, okay? If you have an aging society, that means that Medicare rates are going to continue to go up as they do. So that means more of it comes out. So if you have a reverse mortgage, you have the ability to derive income that comes in tax-free and is not listed for that purpose, which means you might get more of your Social Security that you wouldn't have gotten had it not been. So that's the importance of that.

Real Help With A Social Security Report

SPEAKER_03 18:13

Well, I'll say this, Joe. I'll jump in and say that, you know, over the years, I've had Dr. Wade Powell on several times talking about reverse mortgages in his book. I've had Darren Graves on, and it's kind of funny. You talk about, you know, how you react when you hear about reverse mortgages, and he'll say if you bring up a reverse mortgage at a family dinner, your aunt, you know, Susie will pull out a shank and come after you. Because that's the way it's kind of looked at is don't you dare talk about a reverse mortgage. But we're learning through all these programs, especially in TPCP, tax planning certified professional, through the American College, so much discussion about the reverse mortgage, tax-free income. It doesn't affect Irma, your Medicare premiums, you're able to use those dollars. And why wouldn't you? Because so much of the time people we get confused in our older years, Joe. We get that we but you got the gray, I've got the gray, we're losing our hair. We are forgetting one thing. Our kids don't want our homes. We think they do. We think they're gonna they want our home, they're gonna move into our home, they're gonna keep it exactly the way. No, they're putting that puppy up for sale right off the bat. There's they're selling off all of our stuff, they're moving everything. And so often we keep that thinking that that's one of our greatest assets, which it is, but it's because the kids sentimentally want to come in and keep the home and they don't. And so I think why would you let yourself go broke or go through the struggles that could happen economically with your income when you may have five, six, seven hundred thousand dollar homes sitting there that you could be tapping into completely tax-free. So this is great information. Let me do this. Let's let me give a phone number to our listeners so we can jump back into this. Um, if you're listening right now and you're hearing all this information and you're thinking, wow, I've been thinking about Social Security Planning and how and when to file, and you hear Joe talking about age 62 versus full retirement age versus 70. I don't know where to begin. Well, you can call us. Call us anytime at 866-780 SAFE. That's 866-780-7233. As Joe said, I am now one of the newest registered Social Security analysts in the country, and we are here to help you. We have two people on our staff that will soon be able to help you with all this and to walk through a retirement roadmap through the software that we have to help you determine what is best for you in your specific situation. If you didn't have time to write down a phone number, this is easy to remember. Just go to our website, Ozarksretirement.com. If you go to Ozarksretirement.com, click on the contact us button. I will personally reach out to you. We'll get back in touch with you and run a free Social Security optimization report for you. So anytime, Ozarksretirement.com, click on contact us. Joe, let's do this. And I'm so grateful for having Joe Jordan on the show today. I know you've been a speaker at the Million Dollar Roundtable National Conference before. I've been an MDR team member for 16 years now, uh top of the table the last 12 years, and we're grateful to have colleagues like you who know so much about the industry on the show. You said something earlier when we were talking about Social Security and the age, the aging in and the fact that there just aren't enough people contributing. This is one of the things that jumped out at me about the course that we just did through the RSSA. Back in the early days, there were approximately 15 workers for every person receiving a benefit. Now it's 2.8 workers for every person receiving a benefit. You see the problem there? We had all these people paying in, and now we have all these people retiring and turning on the water faucet, and there's only 2.8 workers for every person uh in the system. So let's talk more about why that's such a problem and why it's you we hear all these numbers about 2033 when Medicare could be affected and benefits could drop. Let's talk more about that.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Sure. Well, you know, I think when it started. It was something like 44 in 1935. It was like 44 workers first. So everyone said, Yeah, what the heck? You know. And so it's just simple math. And I think people should understand it because there's nothing nefarious going on on the politics of it, even though people will say about it. The other thing that's important, um, uh, yeah, so that's why I think democracy, you know, demography is the thing that drives a lot of this stuff. I mean, technology uh dictates how things change. But it's demography that does it, it's the people who do it. And how many of them are there? And by the way, their demands are the ones that are met by the technology. So I'm not saying one's bigger than the other. I'm saying they're on a par. So that's the thing you have to be cognizant of. One other thing I wanted to throw out that I didn't do is bear in mind that people say, well, I guess if I buy a lot of municipal bonds, they're tax-free. And that they don't count. They don't count. There's very few places where you can go and get tax-free income. One of them is a reverse mortgage, the other is cash value life insurance. You have a life insurance policy with a significant amount of cash, you can take that money out. So, you see, I'm not talking about improving your environment. I'm saying trying to get some of it back, which is going away because of the fact that the demographics are working against us. We've never had this before. And it's two-point something right now, now it's going to cross over. There's going to be more old people living longer, and it's not this doesn't self-correct very quickly. So, so uh so that that's why I think this is a this is a major issue.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Very very much so. And so, why do you think it's important for more and more financial professionals to step up their game and to get designations like this, to take the time to sit down and say, instead of just being, oh, I passed a test 30 years ago, I can sell stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance annuities, everything under the sun. I'm good. I took those tests, you know, back in the 60s. Why is it that now someone in 2026 needs to say, hey, a lot has changed? I need to sit down with an organization like the NARSSA, and I need to get the registered Social Security Analyst designation because of updated information and all the other reasons. Why do you think it's important for financial professionals to do this?

Purpose Identity And Isolation After Work

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yeah, I think it's important because, as I said, I think this is going to be the biggest domestic issue in the United States when that sucker hits. And it's going to hit when it hits, because people are just not walking past it. So I'm urging people right now, advisors, to get this designation and start telling people and prepare them for it, because it's uh something that's really important. And that needs to happen. And that designation will be a license for the for the idea of people understanding that you really know what you're talking about. Because this ain't a simple thing. Social Security is pretty complicated. Then you bring in the what was it, the railroad thing, you know, there's a lot of stuff in there that's there. I do I do want to address one other issue that pops up when it gets towards the idea of people living living longer, okay? Um not only that is a new challenge economically, financially, okay? But also as people age or people live longer, guess what? They have to have meaning and purpose in their life. And um, you know what? Everyone can't wait to retire, and then six months after golf and cigars, they're ready to put a gun to their head, you know? And and no one talks about, so this is also important. No one talks about the things that people lose when they retire, okay? They lose routine, they lose identity, they lose relationships, they lose purpose, they lose power. And sometimes if you let it go too far, I mean, the the Surgeon General of the United States has stated that people with a profound sense of isolation is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And how many people and it's beginning to manifest now, of course, people are beginning to see it. I remember Uncle Louie, the guy was all over the place, and yeah, he's he's he's toast, you know. So it's another thing to think about w in in terms of uh of planning for retirement to figure out what the hell you're gonna do. And there's a great book out, it's called How to Retire and Not Die.

SPEAKER_03 26:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

And it's it's by Gary Sarak. He's a guy like us in the business, and he began to notice that some of his top clients were losing it. They didn't take the retirement very well. So that's a that's a whole nother thing that you know people should be uh should look at. I mean, I I see it now. I'm 74 and somehow I'm still doing this, you know. I never, and you know it, God takes good care of me because I never planned to do this. It's just there. Now I have the knowledge of it. And uh I see it with some of my colleagues who've been retired now for a while. And uh some of them are always annoyed, you know, and they're out going, get off my lawn, you know. So you don't want to turn into that. So I I think that's the the other big thing to understand about the age. See, that's my point. If you understand the driving force behind this, the fact that the demographics are such that the older people are gonna take over for the younger people, and humans beings have never felt this before, you know, uh these are some of the things that pop up. And and Social Security is probably the most successful government program that has ever been established, provide a great foundation. I think it's something to the extent these numbers are soft and they're not too far off. I think it's somewhere in the vicinity of like 40% of men and like 50% of women rely on Social Security for at least 50% of their retirement. So you know, um you're you're talking to uh uh you know, and that's why we gotta get to these people early. We gotta have them understand what annuities are. You know, the financial community used to poo-poo them all the time, you know. Uh and but they're not. It's it's a guaranteed lifetime income that lasts as long as you do, because you don't know when you're gonna die. And and and so that's that's why it's really important. And we're talking about life and death here. We're talking about quality of life here, and so that's why it's important to get those those uh credentials uh to make that happen and to have a true understanding of reverse mortgages and social security.

SPEAKER_03 28:33

Well, and a lot of people that were in the non-annuity bucket back in the let's say the early 2000s, maybe even as late as 2010, 2012, but in the last decade it's really changed. They were like, no, no, no, annuities are terrible. My grandfather had one, you should never own one, they keep your money. So many wives tells out there about it. But now the world's changed. There's too much education. Education and information doubles every second, it seems like. And so so many people have written a lot of great books. Cheryl Moore, as you know, a colleague of ours. I give Cheryl Moore's book out to everyone why I bought indexed annuities, why I own indexed annuities. Um and she walks through all the wives' tales and all these different things that just aren't true. But I will always say, Joe, when someone says, Oh, no, I don't want an annuity, I'll say, Well, are you on Social Security? And they'll say, Sure, and I'll go, Oh, so you don't like that payment? And they'll go, well, no, no, I love that payment. Well, no, well, wait, you said you don't like annuities, and Social Security is an annuity payment. It's a payment that comes to you every month for the rest of your life, no matter how long you live. If you don't like annuities, just go give the government back your Social Security payment. And then they're like, Well, hey. And so that's when they start to realize, yeah, I get it. Annuities aren't a bad thing. That just means I have a resource that I put into a vehicle that will now pay me every single month, no matter how long I live. It can be inflation protected and it can also, you know, as you talked about, pooling the large numbers of other people, the insurance factor that's there is a great thing. And so, but I'll say this too. You mentioned something that's so important. I've written a lot of uh shows about it. I know colleagues like Jamie Hopkins, Wade Powell, they talk a lot about the non-financial aspect of financial planning. And when someone hears the non-financial aspect, what do you mean? Well, you just said, you know, I I have more than 2,000 clients, Joe, and so I watch a lot of people retire and I watch a lot of them pass away a lot sooner than they thought they were going to after they retire. And for a lot of them, it's because they lost their sense of purpose. They just didn't have a plan. They were in such a race to get to the retirement date that they never thought about what am I gonna do with my days after I get done. And then they're bored, and like you said, you can only smoke so many cigars or go fishing so many times, play golf so many times, and you're like, well, what am I gonna do with myself now? And so these things are very, very important. Very important.

Human Planning And Rethinking Annuities

SPEAKER_01 30:51

And and also the thing that brings value is your ability to help others. And and that's why, you know, foundationally, well, I'll just tell you, it's the Judeo-Christian foundation of how this country was built. And so that's why you got to begin to examine if you really want to live a life of fulfillment, it's your impact on others. And and uh that's why I think fraternal organizations are very worthwhile because they fill that into it. And that's where I see the see where we have to go in the financial services business. It's less about the numbers. It's not a story of numbers, it's the number of stories. And and we have to get more human. I just heard a stat, and and I I don't have the I uh I I don't have the the accreditation for it, but I will get it to you. It's something that when an advisor leaves a firm and goes someplace else, like 90% of the clients go with them. Or her. Right, right. Um and we're obsessing about maybe 10%, you know. It's really about the relationships. We're rediscovering being human beings and creating relationships with people instead of the numbers. Because if you know the numbers, the compu the machines will carry. But no one can replace that. And so that's that's that that that's the thing that I see I think is the new movement in our business is to not just get people financially secure, but also help them plan for what is it they're gonna do. You know, most people have never sat down and said, what do I like doing, what do I don't like doing? Because they're in the madhouse of making this happen. And now it's retirement. And that can be more of a trap. So you're absolutely right.

SPEAKER_03 32:29

Oh, I agree a hundred percent. And that's why we enjoy what we do, and that's why, of course, we have these outlets now. For many years, you know, I've I've been hosting a radio show for 17 years now, more than 800 episodes, but now there's podcasts, now there's short video clips, now there's YouTube, Spotify, you know, you just name it. There, it's everywhere. But the whole purpose of that is giving that personal connection. Now people watch me all over the United States, and the same thing for you, Joe. And they'll call me and they'll say, when they when they finally do a phone call with me, oh, you sound like you just do just like you do on the radio, or just like when I'm watching your videos. It's like I I've known you, and I'll have to say, yes, that's awesome, and I'm glad we built that correspondence with you listening to me and me talking with you, but I'm just now getting to know you, so let's get to know each other and find out what's going on in your specific situation. And that's what we want to offer everyone listening right now. If you're thinking through retirement planning, and you've maybe you've raised I'm sure you've received all kinds of dinner seminar invitations, invitations to Social Security planning seminars, educational events at libraries and all different kinds of places. How do you pick who to go to? How do you know who's telling you the truth and who who knows what's going on? Well, I think it's important to look at the letters behind someone's name. I'm a nationally accredited, it is now through the NARSSA, a registered Social Security analyst, someone who's had the training to know how to talk to you about this. And so call us anytime. We'll sit down and go through a customized and optimized Social Security report for you. You can call us at 866-780 SAFE. That's 866-780-7233. Or just go to our website, Ozarksretirement.com, and click on contact us. Joe, as we as we head into the back side of the uh show today, and it's time just flies when we're together and talking about these things. You know, I was thinking through this morning, I just kind of looked back through all the different things in this new NS or NARSSA program. Social Security income planning, Social Security benefits, the history and the future of Social Security. That was so uh exciting to me to learn all that. But then to jump into all these different areas spousal benefits, family and dependent benefits, all your different claiming options, talking about disability, the taxation of Social Security benefits, pensions and annuities, Medicare, Social Security income planning, how to work with clients, and then I love this the big picture, why this is all important. And so with all these different topics and options out there, what would you say maybe to the person listening right now, to a potential person who's maybe about to claim their Social Security benefit and they're trying to decide, should I start at 62? Should I wait till full retirement age, which is probably 67 for most people listening? Should I wait all the way to age 70? Or how do I even determine how to do that? What would you say to someone like that who's listening right now?

SPEAKER_01 35:30

I think you should talk to an RSSA person like you, uh, seriously, uh, because it's so much more dear. And, you know, it's one thing to gain something, people are happy, but they don't like it when something gets taken away. And this is going to get taken away. And so you've got to maximize that particular benefit as best you can. As you said, it goes through all of the parts of Social Security, you know, with children or people getting disabled or what have you, and there might be things that are in your environment that you didn't even think about that you could wind up getting more benefit. That thing really stopped me in my tracks. They said that a lot of people,$139,000 of lifetime benefit, and a lot of that's generated why because people live a lot longer. So it goes over time. So it's to make certain that that that that that happens. And so I think this will be an invaluable uh certification. And I'm I'm sure we'll see it on TV, you know, now they're talking about, you know, yes, I'm a certified, you know, financial planner. You know, I I think the added benefit will be the this idea. And we're right at the beginning of it. So any any any financial advisors on this call, you better pick up the phone and find out about it. And for any of you out there who are getting to the retirement, trying to figure out what to do, make certain those people have that RSSA uh uh designation.

SPEAKER_03 36:57

I'll say this, Joe. This is one of the neat things about how how willing I think our colleagues are to share information and to help each other. After I passed the exam and I made a post about it on LinkedIn, I had five or six different inbox messages from other advisors who said, Hey, I've been thinking about getting education like this. Was it worth it? Should I do it? And I started all this dialogue back and forth with them. And of course, they're asking, you know, what to expect, how long it takes, and all that. But the key is I know I need this critically important planning information for my clients. And so the question I love the most, I think, was when they said, What was your biggest takeaway from the program? And I said, Well, here's here's one of the big ones. Part of the testing, you know, there's there's three final exams, if you will, in the RSSA. Uh, the the end is two different case studies that you have to do. And so, yeah, there's all the knowledge, there's all the history and the future of Social Security planning, all the numbers, all the math, when and how to file, that's all important. But the case studies are when you actually get to go into your roadmap software, which is invaluable to have that, and you plug in the scenarios they give you that you don't know they're going to give you until the day of. And that may be someone who's divorced, maybe they were divorced and remarried, maybe they were divorced twice for more than 10 years, maybe someone with a disabled child, maybe someone who has, here's one, a a 15 or 16 or 20-year age gap in the marriage between the husband and wife. And because of that, they had children later in life, and now there are minors at home. So what about all these different potential benefits that are there that people didn't even know they were there? For instance, if they had a minor in the home or a disabled child before the age of 22 in the home, or all these different scenarios, Joe. And so being able to plug that information in and then uncover the fact that they didn't even realize maybe their children could claim a benefit. A spouse taking care of children could take care of it, take a benefit. And if you don't take it because you didn't know it was there, that's just money you left on the table. That adds to this deficit you're talking about. So we want to be able to, I like like using this example, squeeze every single ounce of juice out of the lemon we can. Why wouldn't you get all the money you can get, right? Because it's times are tough and inflation and all the things that we know are taking place. So that's the beauty to this program. Registered Social Security analyst. You want to be working with a financial professional who's had the training to help you squeeze every ounce of juice out of that lemon that you can to get you as much income as possible. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_01 39:29

Oh, absolutely. I mean, that's you've articulated what I've tried to say, because you were bringing up the the the particulars, the uh the the May, uh October marriage, you know, that happens, you know, and and that's a dramatic difference. The child that gets sick or what have you, all of those things, and that makes up that$139,000, I guess, that they've they've they've they've calculated uh in there. And so it's also great for the advisor because they feel that much more confident about it, you know. I mean it's pretty simple to say if you wait to 70, you get 76% more. Well, that's good, uh that works. But what is the particular situation the people have? And I think as an advisor you feel better knowing that you knew that, or you know, you walked away from it because you're not quite sure what it is, you know. So um uh yeah, and and and so that's why I salute you for taking the guts to uh to to spend the time to make that happen and to pass it. And I salute you.

Tax-Free Income Tools For Retirement

SPEAKER_03 40:34

Well, I I appreciate that. I'll say this, you know, you probably know Heather Schreiber, she's been at a lot of the conferences we've been at together, and she's my go-to. So we have her on about six times a year on the show, and we have an Ask Heather segment where callers can call in and ask her these questions. And right when I passed the test, the third test, because you have to, you know, you got to pass the first one to go to part two and then go to part three, I texted her and said, Hey, made an A, got all three tests passed, and she said, I knew you would. She said, So are you gonna quit asking me questions now? And I said, Oh, heck no. I said, I'm gonna I'm gonna refer all questions to my superior, Heather Triber. And so, you know, but the the difference was feeling like you've got information you didn't have before. And and I'll say this, you know, with with the retirement income certified professional, there was a specific section in it, strategies for optimizing, claiming, and understanding your social security benefits, and that was invaluable. And then in the TPCP, there was a special section, coordinating Social Security Benefits with Other Income and the Taxation of it. So that was great. But with the RSSA, the entire program is built around Social Security claiming, taxation, all these different elements. And so it was good to have something from RICP, TPCP, and then also the RSSA to build them and merge them all together to make you a more complete financial professional. And so I'm I'm grateful for that. Um, here's what I'd like to do. Uh tell people about our website one more time. We're gonna have one more segment. Just if you have questions about your Social Security planning, income planning, retirement planning, Medicare, call us anytime. We have specialists on our team here. Go to Ozarksretirement.com, click on the contact us button, or just call us 866-7807233. There's always someone standing by to take your call. Joe, thank you so much for joining us on the show today. I want to kind of wrap things up in the next, you know, eight to ten minutes here with one more segment. You've watched a lot of things change over the years. You've been in business for 50 years in this industry. And so I know you've watched the the uh poo-poo days, like you said, when annuities were a bad thing and now they're you know over$400 billion went into annuities last year in 2025. I think it'll exceed that in 2026. You've seen the understanding of life insurance change. People thought, oh, that's just as a death benefit. But I want to say this uh personally, and it's good for us to share personal things on our shows and and with other people. People will often call in and they'll say, Brad, I've listened to you for 10 years. Here's what I want. I want whatever it is you're doing for yourself, whatever you're doing for yourself, for your retirement, that's what I want. I want you to set that up for me and I'll say, okay, well, guess what? Uh I own permanent cash value life insurance, a lot of it. I put more than six figures a year into permanent cash value life insurance. I have a home which is my greatest asset. I have two homes. They're paid off, and I have a plan for the future where a reverse mortgage might very well be part of the plan for me for that tax-free income. I have Roth IRAs. There's a reason I have Roths, I've paid to do the conversions because I know that with cash value life insurance, with Roth IRAs, and with reverse mortgages, your home as an asset, those are the truly tax free things that exist in this world. And you've talked a lot about it, but why do you think these things are so Important for people to be focusing on in today's economic world and environment. Why is the tax-free side so important for the future?

SPEAKER_01 44:08

Well, it is because uh you know, as we said, it it it it it it regulates to some extent your social security amounts, you know, that you get. Um uh uh and and uh uh and and of course that's that's crucial. And um you know, you don't know what's gonna happen with tax rates, you know. I mean they said we have a permanent tax there's nothing permanent about it, man. I mean that thing can change.

SPEAKER_03 44:36

It's written in pencil. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 44:39

So uh that's what happened. And it's the confiscatory nature of it which really, you know, does something. And so knowing that that's there, and so that that that that too is the part on the annuity side. I mean, I I heard a lot of critics on annuities, you know, saying um, you know, and and and and that's why you have to deal with the reality of people living a lot longer. Because if they live a lot longer and they're just really on a fixed income, it's it's it's like the the death of a thousand cuts. Little things start to happen. Lifestyle tends to defend. You don't drink Johnny Walker Black, you're drinking Claire McGregor, you know. It's all those little things. Uh Scott, you know, it's all those little things that happen. And by the way, if you're you're on the the precipice of running out of money, you don't wake up Thursday and say I'm out of money. You know that's happening six or seven years before it happened.

SPEAKER_03 45:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 45:37

Anybody, anybody can run out of money. But with annuities, you'll never run out of income. And so maybe it it shrinks the lifestyle or what have you, but it's better than nothing. And that's and that's that's interesting. People say, well, it's illiquid because you can't, you know. Well, there's ways to go around that, but the fact of the matter, being broke, zero, pretty illiquid.

SPEAKER_03 46:02

Well, you know, Ed slott will say the number one goal of every retiree should be to not become a financial burden on your family members. And that's why Social Security claiming decisions are so important. As you know, Joe, you retain the higher and lose the lower. So why would someone defer all the way out to full retirement age or to age 70? Because that's the continued pension on for that family member who you I mean, you you shared something earlier, the stat was incredible. I don't know that I'll get it right, but you said what 80% of men die married and 80% of women die single. That's right. So you've got for the majority. Yes. So that that hit me. I'd never heard that stat before. 80% of females, my mother being one of them, now three and a half years with my dad past, she very well could live 20 more years, Joe. And so you're you're you're delaying that social security claiming decision because the higher earner may pay that benefit out till age 95, 98, 100, 105. You said it earlier in the show. The United States has more centurions than any other nation, more people turning 100. So this stuff is so very important. So very important. Anything you would like to say to our listeners right now as we close out the show today?

SPEAKER_01 47:16

Yeah, I I I I I just remember, you know, because you tweaked my memory, you know, uh back when annuity, because I've been involved with it for a long time. Um and um uh Susie Armin always used to drive me nuts, you know.

SPEAKER_03 47:31

Never buy an annuity, right?

SPEAKER_01 47:33

Yeah, never buy an annuity. And then I have a video of her. She's she's being interviewed and and and and people call in, you know. So um one of the things she said, you know, is that she's talking all mad. You know, she's talking numbers. And it's not a story of numbers, it's the number of stories, all right? So she's talking about and you know, it it erodes the performance. You know, it's almost like the the the foundational pieces of the investment thing was maximizing return and equities outperform all the time, not every day. And we have our girlfriend right out there who says, Oh, why I bought a fixed annuity. Why? Because I don't want to see a negative, a negative number, you know, and that's that's well within her purview to do that. So she has the guts to do it. But anyway, she was going, and then they have this other thing, you know. So the the the the the woman comes on and says, Well, you know, my my my husband and I, we we took our retirement money and we put it all in annuity, and Susie's going like, oh no, you know, and then she said, and you know, about uh the the the the the stock market crashed and the account balance was down about 40 percent, but my husband died and we got back a hundred percent of what we put into it, so what's wrong with that? And so she goes, Well, in that case it makes sense. So, you know, it this is not a math exercise, it's a human one. And so, as you know, annuities have that ability to pay the people more or something, sometimes even more than that. It it it it's the human side. And so getting back to the idea that if 80% of clients go when their advisor leaves a firm, um uh that shows the importance of the relationship and the ability for people at a time when they need it most. Uh that's what some of these products do. So there's no there's no right or wrong. There just is what are you most comfortable with.

Choosing Your Claiming Door And Closing

SPEAKER_03 49:32

Well, Joe, I'll tease this at the end of the show today. When we get finished here in just a little bit, I'm actually gonna record another show for radio, which is seven reasons why you might consider claiming your social security benefit before your full retirement age. And then I'm gonna record one, seven different reasons why you might want to wait until you're 70. And so here's the whole key with people who are listening. It is based on, like Joe was saying, your own personal situation. Maybe you're married, you're you're both 67 and you don't have children and it's very cut and dry. But maybe there's a 15, 20-year age gap, maybe there are young children in the home, maybe there's been divorces on both sides, and there's all these kinds of options who are here. We want you who are listening right now, professional or individual, no matter what, we want you to have the right education and the right answers to your specific situation. And that's what we offer you. As registered social security analysts, we want you to know that you can come in, we can look at your specific situation, plug this into our software, and then show you four different examples of what would be best for you a maximized example or A, B, and C taking it at different times, so that you can look at your own situation, your own work situation, your own health, and say, Yeah, I want door number B. Here's what would work best for me based on what's going on with us. And that's what an RSSA can do for you. Joe, thank you so much for joining us today. I know we'll have you on again. To all of our listeners, call us anytime, 866-780 SAFE. That's 866-780-7233, or go to Ozarksretirement.com, click on the contact us button and ask for a free Social Security report. We'd be glad to do that. Well, I'm about out of time, and I would like to thank you for listening to Safe Money Radio. If you're serious about your financial future, give me a call, and together we'll get your retirement savings on the fast track to accumulation while reducing exposure to market losses. Thanks for listening, and until next time at the same time, I'm Brad Pistol, reminding you to stay safe so you can step into a secure future.

SPEAKER_00 51:45

You've been listening to Safe Money Radio with your host, Brad Pistol. Find out how to contractually guarantee that your hard-earned money is safe while avoiding market loss so you can have the retirement that you deserve. Call Brad Pistol now for your complimentary Safe Money book and Safe Money Information Kit at 866-780. That's 866-780-7233. The preceding information does not represent tax, legal, or investment advice. Surrender charges apply to base contracts. Optional lifetime income benefit writers are used to calculate lifetime payments only and are not available for cash surrender or in a death benefit unless specified in the annuity contract. Fees may apply. Guarantees are based on the financial strength and claims paying ability of the insurance company. No information presented today should be acted upon without meeting with a qualified and licensed professional. Obviously, by calling us now, you are just taking the first step towards protecting your retirement. It's important that you read all insurance contract disclosures carefully before making a purchase decision. Rates and returns mentioned on this program are subject to change without notice.