Which of these statements is worth paying attention to and which ones should you take with a grain of salt? Eric shares whether he agrees or disagrees with five retirement planning statements.

We all hear retirement plans and opinions but does Eric agree with these? On this episode of the podcast we play a game of “agree or disagree?” with some commonly thought retirement planning statements. What do you think?

Some people say to pay off the house as fast as you can, but is this really sound advice? Eric agrees that it’s good to be debt-free if you can, but not at the cost of your retirement savings. Don’t take money out of your IRA early to pay it off either. The more money you can have in your control for your retirement, the better off you are.

Which is better, individual bonds or bond funds? What’s the difference? People think they are the same thing, but they aren’t. Eric shares the main differentiators and why you may want to invest in one over the other.

Nobody needs life insurance once you retire, right? Wrong. While the needs are different when you’re younger and have kids living at home, life insurance still helps provide your family tax-free assets. Taxes are probably going to go up in the future. You still need life insurance in retirement, but not for the same reasons you originally got it.

Are annuities a rip-off? Variable annuities might be, but remember that there are different types of annuities. Fixed annuities however could be a great tool, depending on if it fits your plan. Annuities can be tools, but the key is to use the right tool for the job.

Is it safe to assume you’ll be in a lower tax bracket in retirement? If so, is it best to defer taxes now? For most people, they will likely be in the same if not a higher tax bracket. The best thing you can be in retirement is to be in tax control. You want to be able to pull from different buckets of money to pull from at different times.

Want to go a little deeper with one of these? Eric and his team are always ready and willing to answer your questions and make sure your retirement plan and tax strategy fits your situation.

Listen to the entire episode or click on the timestamps below to skip ahead to a particular topic.

0:58 – Should you pay off the house ASAP?

2:26 – Are individual bonds better than bond funds?

4:17 – Do you need life insurance once you retire?

6:00 – Are annuities a rip-off?

7:39 – Will you be in a lower tax bracket in retirement?