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What Secure income means for you

Your assets are the result of countless decisions you’ve made in your life—some of which have undoubtedly paid off, and some which you may have learned from. When it comes to harnessing the potential of what you have, though, it’s easy to miss the opportunities that undoubtedly abound. O’Connor & Associates is here to help people who don’t want to leave any money on the table.

THE BENEFITS OF EXPLORATION

Financial advisors understand the benefits of striking out and taking sensible risks with your holdings. The right professional will find out what you’re looking for and how it fits in with your current portfolio. For instance, are you hoping to own an investment property in the near future or would you prefer to branch out in the stock market? A CTO in Naperville may have different goals than a restaurant owner in DuPage. From family to spare time to lifestyle, building strong returns will only work if it doesn’t place undue pressure on the people at the center of the equation.

John O’Connor knows that the Greater Chicago area can be a difficult place to navigate, both in terms of daily living expenses and long-term financial plans. Some clients might want to move to warmer climates when they’re ready to retire, while others will opt for something a bit closer to home. Seeing a financial advisor is a way to plan your future in a practical sense, ensuring that you have enough to get you past nearly any hurdle along the way.

Your customized strategy will be as complex as the path you took to get where you are today, but the core principles couldn’t be more simple. There are only three questions to ask here:

1. How much can you save and where can we help?

2. What risks do you feel comfortable taking?

3. How will it feel to be financially set when all is said and done?

What We Can Help You With

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Retirement Income Planning

Maximizing Social security

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Long-Term Care

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Efficient tax planning

retirement-income-planning

retirement income planning

Retirement has become something of an unknown for many people. Despite all the warnings about preparing, people still ask “How much do I need to retire?” The standard advice might be $1 million, but is it realistic to assume everyone has this much saved? The reality is a little more complicated than this oft-quoted benchmark.

A financial advisor can do more than just break this figure down into a far more manageable set of goals. They can also show you how to manage your assets so you’re not left wanting by the time you’re ready to part from your career.

HOW MUCH TO RETIRE?

The question of “how much” can be asked by a bank manager as easily as a factory worker. You might want nothing more than an off-the-grid life when you’re ready to relax. A former executive might want to get back to basics after retiring—fishing for dinner and getting by with very few amenities in a home. Yet even people who need very little in life may still want to prepare for anything from a long-term illness to funding their grandchild’s college education.

The right financial advisor can be the answer to finding a middle ground that works for you and the people in your life. At O’Connor & Associates, John O’Connor can show you how to maximize your income. With smart strategies and careful risk management, there are ways to give yourself a competitive edge in a sometimes confusing and volatile market. If you’re wondering how to plan your retirement income in the Greater Chicago area, it usually starts with stretching your finances. Account rollovers, fixed-income annuities, and IRAs are really just the beginning.

Savvy retirement planning is really just another phrase for keeping track of what’s coming in and how you’re using it to your advantage. Talking to a financial advisor gives you more insight into how you can use any and all income to get where you want to be by the time you reach retirement age.

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maximizing social security

By the time you’re ready to apply for Social Security, you might reasonably wonder exactly what the payments will look like. Despite promises from the government, the reality is that many people are left wondering how they’re going to get by on the amount they’re given every month. It’s why retirement accounts have become more popular as the years have gone by.

The good news is that what you receive is dependent on a number of factors, and there are ways to maximize your Social Security payments when you understand the principles behind how it’s calculated. While maximizing Social Security is still unlikely to provide all that you need to be comfortable, there’s no reason to miss out on what you’re owed, either.

SOCIAL SECURITY INCOME

Social Security estimator can be a good tool to use if you’re curious about what you’re likely to receive. But this will ultimately be a rough guess at best. An experienced financial advisor is the best person to talk to if you don’t want to settle for an estimator’s basic questions. To understand what your real dollar amount could be, you should rely on someone who knows. O’Connor & Associates is here to ensure you don’t miss out on a program you’ve paid into your whole life.

What you receive will be based on your former profession and current financial holdings. This is why the average Social Security benefits statement might vary more than you realize. John O’Connor can show you how to look past the basic equation to a more nuanced strategy. The right preparation can have everything to do with how much you will receive. To really maximize Social Security benefits, you have to be ready to dive into a complex program that has changed a lot since its inception. We can show you what it means to really tap into the resources of this system, so you have that much more disposable income in your retirement.

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long-term-care

Long-term care

The right insurance policies can have a lot to do with the strength of your portfolio. It can be a way to simultaneously galvanize and protect your assets. The more complex question is how can you use insurance policies to improve both the structure and strategy of your holdings?

There’s a lot of nuance to this answer, but the key is to avoid blanket solutions. The best ones for you will depend on everything from your lifestyle to your future goals. For some people, a Long-Term Care (LTC) policy will be the smartest possible investment.

WHAT IS AN LTC POLICY?

This policy is a retirement solution created specifically for people who might face a chronic illness at some point in their lives. If you do have to contend with a serious ailment plus a recovery period, the expenses can quickly stretch further than most people would anticipate. It’s not only the direct cost of medical care that will set you back. John O’Connor at O’Connor & Associates has seen how helpful it can be for clients to have a contingency plan in place during these times.

This is what long-term care was designed to be. It’s an asset that you can rely on in a worst-case scenario. The average person who doesn’t have an LTC policy can end up spending 6 times more than a person who does. To safeguard your portfolio (and all the people who depend on it), an LTC policy can really go a long way. And if you don’t happen to ever need the policy, you can still benefit from your investment.

A good financial advisor understands that not everyone will need the same policies across the board. There will be some people who develop a chronic condition who will have no need for this kind of insurance. O’Connor & Associates makes sound financial moves that can manage these kinds of risks.

efficient-tax-planning

efficient tax planning

When it comes to tax planning, managing a portfolio of any size can be daunting. How exactly should you declare your holdings? Particularly if you’re trying to balance gains and losses over the years.

This is a common question that can be taken in many directions. If you’re interested in learning more about how to avoid giving the government a “tip,” John O’Connor at O’Connor & Associates can help you understand how this financial strategy can work to your advantage.

HOW DOES EFFICIENT TAX PLANNING WORK?

Efficient tax planning isn’t a euphemism but rather a proven approach to managing your taxes. You’re not swindling society of a contribution, only exploring the best ways to maximize your holdings. Too many people will end up overpaying in eastern Illinois without realizing it. The right tax treatment will be applied across all of your assets. It factors in the patterns of your retirement accounts and the rate at which your Social Security is taxed. A financial advisor will look at the big picture first before addressing the matter on a more granular level.

Whether you’re subject to capital gains or you’d like to fund a particular charity this year, efficient tax planning will take it all into account. Tax codes can be complicated for even the most meticulous professionals, and it’s easy to miss small changes in local, state, or federal laws that may apply to you. Your CPA might be able to get you off on the right foot, but they can’t understand your holdings on the same level as a financial advisor.

O’Connor & Associates was designed to help you seize on opportunities that most people aren’t even aware of. Exemptions, deductions, and allocations can all work in your favor to bolster your bottom line. The right advisor can tell you how to optimize everything from your income bracket to the structure of your accounts, so you end up with more by the time you file.

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