Kickin' with The Rickens: Redefining Retirement

Heidi Ricken-Provost discusses several factors that can stack the deck against women and their finances. Fresh off of a women’s seminar with Ricken Financial, Heidi shares some eye-popping statistics about women and wages, divorce, and long-term care. She then shares six phases of planning that every woman should do and why a financial advisor can help in some of these tricky or daunting pro...

Gerry Ricken discusses index universal life insurance (IUL) and explains what it is, how it is different from other life insurance products, and how there are elements of it that can grow tax-free. He also explains how IULs can grow tax free and how the principal amount is preserved in those accounts. Gerry also talks about the fish fry at his local parish and the record they recently set…w...

Heidi Ricken-Provost and Gerry Ricken put a cap on this series on tax diversification. Gerry and Heidi quickly break down ten of the many tools that they help people with in their quest to try to minimize taxes in retirement. They also emphasize that everyone’s tax plan is different and the laws are constantly changing, so people should not try to come up with these plans on their own. Gerry...

Gerry Ricken & Heidi Ricken-Provost discuss one last tax diversification tool in this series: index universal life insurance policies. Heidi and Gerry explain how IULs work and how they can be used for tax-free money growth. They share how life insurance policies can actually help people during their lives, but also how they can be a tool for the future generation, too. And they pay tribute to...

Heidi Ricken-Provost & Gerry Ricken define installment sales and how spreading the income from a property sale over time can help lower the tax burden. Gerry and Heidi also explain cost segregation and some lesser-known ways that owners of rental properties can get tax write-offs. And they share about serving at the Ronald McDonald House and how that place helped them when Mary Beth was sick y...

Gerry Ricken & Heidi Ricken-Provost discusses what tax loss-harvesting is and how people can use it to minimize the taxes they pay on capital gains. Heidi and Gerry also explain the kinds of accounts this works and does not work for and how losses can be applied across a portfolio to offset gains. Then they share the tax pros and cons of municipal bonds and why people need an advisor to walk t...

Heidi Ricken-Provost & Gerry Ricken discuss how capital gains and net unrealized appreciation can actually save money in taxes. Gerry and Heidi define what each is and explain how moving or using money within these accounts can cost less in taxes than traditional income taxes. They also define the different tax brackets and parameters for tax savings in each instance. And they talk about the t...

Gerry Ricken, Heidi Ricken-Provost, and co-host Doug Turnbull talk about non-qualified accounts and how they can be very beneficial in tax planning. Heidi and Gerry define what Roths, HSAs, and 529s are, the parameters and limits for each, the ways funds can be converted to and from those accounts, and how they potentially can lighten a tax burden. The Rickens also talk about losing their Chiefs S...

Heidi Ricken-Provost & Gerry Ricken explain the first two of ten different tax diversification strategies. Gerry and Heidi talk about required minimum distributions: the ages they kick in, why taking them earlier in the year is better, what the penalties and deadlines are, how they increase with age, and how to pay the least taxes on them when they disperse. They also explain qualified charita...

Gerry Ricken & Heidi Ricken-Provost discuss the importance of a diversified tax strategy. In part one of this six-part series, Heidi and Gerry list and briefly explain 10 different ways people can save on or even possibly eliminate taxes: traditional accounts, QCDs, net unrealized appreciation, ROTHs, HSAs, 529 plans, tax loss-harvesting, capital gains, municipal bonds, and tax-free retirement...

Gerry Ricken discusses a novel way to both pay down debt and accrue value. Gerry explains how buying a whole life insurance policy can enable someone to pay back other debt faster and how they can still gain some growth from the plan. Gerry gives examples of two different generations of people and how they overcame some major debts this way. Gerry also talks about his family’s trip to the Ch...

Heidi Ricken-Provost & Gerry Ricken talk about the various scams out there and the insidious ways identities and money get stolen. Gerry and Heidi share stories from their clients and things both to do and not to do in handling fraud. They also share what to look for in an odd communication and some different ways that Ricken Financial coaches people to be proactive. Heidi and Gerry also detai...

Gerry Ricken & Heidi Ricken-Provost discuss the financial moves people should make to start off the new year. Gerry and Heidi talk about the importance of tax planning, so people can both experience growth the whole year and plan for any taxes they will have to incur. They specifically discuss the importance of not waiting to do Roth conversions. Gerry and Heidi explain how to anticipate for a...

Heidi Ricken Provost discusses the pros and cons of working with and for your dad. Plus, what are the biggest challenges when it comes to pushing back against your boss, who is also your biggest fan.  For more information or to schedule a consultation visit online. Learn more about the Rickens on social: Facebook and Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heidi Ricken-Provost and Gerry Ricken talk about how easily emotions can sidetrack people with their spending and the need for a budget. They explain the very basic questions that everyone should answer about their budget and the consequences of not knowing those things. And they discuss the importance of having a financial advisor to talk someone through that planning process with education and n...

Gerry Ricken and Heidi Ricken-Provost discuss the importance of having a long-term care plan, no matter one’s age. They define what long-term care is, explain different types, and highlight some misunderstandings about it. And they explain the different types of ways to fund this kind of care. They also talk about the oldest Ricken family member passing away and how they are currently dealin...

Heidi Ricken-Provost discusses how people attain the retirements of their dreams and that what they deserve requires serious planning. Heidi breaks down how a financial planner asks clients the right questions to help them attain these goals and how there never is a time that is too early to have that conversation. She covers the different areas that planning is needed, including long-term care an...

Gerry Ricken talks about procrastination, namely the common refrain of "Get back to me after the holidays." He talks about the pitfalls of waiting and how people can miss certain tax benefits or even incur penalties by not taking care of some retirement chores before the end of the year. Gerry also discusses how a financial advisor is necessary to guide people through these tasks and also how he a...

Gerry Ricken discusses how listening to financial advice from talking heads and social media can be inadequate. He details how retirement planners can really drill down and learn what a client needs and tailor financial strategies based on that. Gerry also talks about Ricken Financial's big annual Thanksgiving party for their clients and how many apple pies he and Heidi cooked. For more informatio...

Gerry Ricken & Heidi Ricken-Provost talk about what makes them, as phase two planners, different from other financial planners. They discuss the differences in phase one and phase two strategies, the implications of not tax-planning, and how early people should start planning for phase two with their money. They also discuss the logistics in bringing some 15 homemade pies to Atlanta and the sp...

Gerry Ricken talks about people's attitudes and knee-jerk reactions, based on election results. Gerry explains to listeners why tax strategies before the election results have not changed and why Roth conversions are so key to being tax-efficient in retirement, including a story from a client that faced a big tax bubble. And Gerry talks about the family milestone he got to celebrate on a recent tr...

Heidi Ricken-Provost & Gerry Ricken discuss several ways people can decrease or eliminate taxes in retirement: health savings accounts (HSAs), Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s, certain life insurance plans, municipal bonds (with some exceptions), and qualified charitable distributions (from RMD funds). Gerry and Heidi remind listeners why retirement planners are needed to go through all of the diffe...

Gerry Ricken tells listeners about the steps people should take to review who the beneficiaries of their accounts are. Gerry also talks about what people should consider when naming a beneficiary and when they should establish a trust, along with the importance of doing annual portfolio reviews. He reminds people that they cannot just assume everything will be fine if they “set it and forget...

Gerry Ricken talks about the change in the worries of retirees over the last two decades and why living longer plays in to that tension. Gerry breaks down several factors people should consider, in making sure their money lasts as long as them: income plan, healthcare plan, market risk, accounting for inflation and regulatory changes, and a tax strategy. And he talks about the importance of making...

Heidi Ricken Provost defines to listeners how their hard earned money can be inefficient. She explains where people should be considering placing their excess money to be able to get the most out of it and how many times banks can make money off a customer’s account. Heidi also talks about her recent trip to Cancun and what her cocktail of choice was by the pool. For more information or to a...