086 Steve Parrish: Rational and Phased Retirement Planning

About Fun With Annuities Episode #86

Steve Parrish is a true thought leader, and it was great to have him on the podcast. He is the co-director of the Retirement Income Center at The American College of Financial Services. Steve helps consumers and business owners with retirement planning best practices focusing on law, estate planning, taxes, and financial strategies that can help enable a successful retirement. He is an adjunct professor of Advanced Planning at The American College and also has a law degree.

We covered many hot topics in this podcast, starting with why people don't understand annuities. Not only is Steve mad-smart, but he speaks and explains things in an easy-to-understand manner. That's a home run combination.

"Guess who the last person would be that knows that you have diminished capacity – you." —  Steve Parrish

When it comes to your retirement planning, are you concerned about what you're going to do when you're older and maybe not firing on all cylinders? That's a not-so-fun topic for all of us to consider realistically, but we've got to get it done. Steve and I used his recent article in Forbes, "Getting ahead of your diminished capacity worries," to talk openly about realistic situations and options to consider.

His unique outlook on what Steve refers to as "Phased Retirement" and his "go-go" or" slow-go" or "no go" look at how our lives are going to flow as we get older. At The American College, Steve has a few courses that jumped out at me; "Source of Retirement Income", "Managing The Income Plan", and "The Retirement Income Process: Strategies & Solutions" I asked if he could speak to them from the consumer's point of view and he did not disappoint. He's brilliant and relatable – a powerful one-two punch.  

We closed out with Steve sharing how is "Refuse to Retire" mantra applies to all of us as we march toward Chapter 2, 3, 4, whatever of our lives. Get after it.

Co-host bio Steve Parrish:

Steve Parrish is an Adjunct Professor of Advanced Planning at The American College of Financial Services, teaching in the CLU® and RICP® programs. Parrish is also the Co-Director of the American College Center for Retirement Income. He is a contributor to the WMCP®, MSFS, and ChFC® programs. In addition to his role at The College, Parrish is an Adjunct Professor at Drake University Law School, where he teaches estate planning.

Parrish is an expert in estate and financial planning, with a specialty in business owner issues. He is a recognized industry authority, spokesperson, and author, including as an on-going contributor for both Forbes and the Journal of Financial Service Professionals.

Parrish has served as an expert source for such prominent media outlets as Investment News, MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal Radio, HR Magazine, and the Journal of Financial Planning. Parrish is a sought-after speaker with bar associations, estate planning councils and state AICPA meetings. He has addressed such financial service organizations as MDRT, Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, and Society of Financial Service Professionals. Source: theamericancollege.edu  

Connect with Steve Parrish:

• Website:  https://www.theamericancollege.edu
• Blog posts: https://www.forbes.com
• LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Steve Parrish discuss:  

• People don’t understand annuities
• Preparing for diminished capacity
• Life expectancy is good and getting better
• Managing your retirement plan

Key Takeaways:  

• Annuities are not an investment, it’s a form of insurance that makes investments even better.
• Address problems in advance while you still can. Think about how your bills will be paid, how your money will be invested and how it can be protected from being abused by others when the time comes that your capacity is diminished.
• Plan to live past the life expectancy age - especially these days where technology was forced to advance to cope with the pandemic.  
• Retirement is not just an event, it’s a change in life. Think of the behavioral and emotional aspects of it, not just the money. But when it comes to money, keep these three things in mind: your social security, Medicare, and your benefit pension plan.

Fun With Annuities® Podcast is hosted by America’s Annuity Agent®, Stan Haithcock, The Annuity Man®. Hear brutal annuity facts with no sales pitches from the top independent agent in the country, licensed in all 50 states. Author of 7 books, Stan dives deep on all annuity types and strategies. It’s fun, learning the contractual truths on how annuities actually work and if they’ll fit your personal retirement lifestyle.

Listen in on how you can be livin’ the reality, not the dream®. Listen and subscribe on Libsyn, Stitcher,Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, and Spotify.