Retirement seminar - what to expect

[teller80]

Ok, I signed up for one of those retirement seminars with a free dinner. I'm sure it's a sales pitch, but I've been wanting to get a financial adviser anyway. What should I expect? What questions should I ask?

 

[tvguy]

You listen. If you have questions, you ask. Don't buy anything yet.
Then you go to one put on by another person and do the same thing. And another. And another.
My mom was the queen of the free meal seminars. She went to 15 on long term care insurance before buying a policy. And she bought it from someone else because what she learned from all those seminars was, the other person has a plan with better benefits at a lower cost.

 

[kaytieeldr]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/sc-cons-0219-journey-20150216-column.html

 

[kymom99]

My husband just got one off those offers in the mail.

 

[bababear_50]

I recently got an invite to a golf and country club for a "Gala event".
Hosted by my bank. I declined and ran into the financial planner the other day,,,I told him I'm kind of a capri/ t-shirt/ BBQ kind of girl.
I'm in Canada and I know I am looking for someone that has a fiduciary duty,which is a legal obligation to act in the client's best interest.
I have recently seen my financial advisor at my credit union and he said they may not be able to offer the best "deal" for me , but he will advise me if what I am being offered at traditional banks are in a "Best Interest " for me.
I know to ask about fees for service. Fees can sometimes be hidden in the product purchase. A 2% management fee can cut my investment/retirement fund in a big way.
I am also going to take time to learn and ask as many questions as I can.Like how do I register a beneficiary and what is the process for them when I die. What are the risk factors and is my principal investment protected.
I have alot of family that I can toss ideas off of.
I'm going slow and treating this as a learning experience.
Best wishes
Hugs Mel

Canada Banks
Financial advisor --is bank jargon for salesperson.
Financial adviser-- has a fiduciary responsibility to the client.

 

[Kellydelly]

My husband (five years older than me) has gotten a few of these in the mail over the last year. Some of the venues make me want to sign us up. They seem to be on Tuesdays very often, which is when I usually work . I think the next time we get one that we could actually attend it would be interesting to see what they have to say.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

We get many...they go in the trash....If you want low fees go to Vanguard or Fidelity ...

 

[MillauFr]

Why pay for the advice when you can go to Fidelity and get it for free?

 

[teller80]

My husband (five years older than me) has gotten a few of these in the mail over the last year. Some of the venues make me want to sign us up. They seem to be on Tuesdays very often, which is when I usually work . I think the next time we get one that we could actually attend it would be interesting to see what they have to say.

The one I'm going to is on Tuesday LOL!

 

[Nancyg56]

We get them all of the time. I want to go for the meal, they are always at a nice restaurant, but nope. I toss them in the trash and pay for my own meal. I work for a CPA/financial planner, and have access to good advice for free.

 

[QueenIsabella]

If you're curious (and bored!), here's a thread on the subject from the bogleheads website: www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=240907

For the uninitiated, bogleheads are people who follow John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. The site is generally about saving and investing money, and being frugal.

 

[Dakota731]

Why pay for the advice when you can go to Fidelity and get it for free?

Is it free for anyone or only if you have an account with them?

 

[Hisgirl]

Fees are SO different at different companies! I recently chose some tax free munis for my parents, researched, and had the numbers ready to go. I asked their bank (who was holding other munis for them) what they would charge to make the purchases for me.
$2000+ was their answer. No work, just input the purchases.
So I checked out fidelity and the same purchases, with me inputting the information, was $86.

Do your research and learn a little info. It may save you thousands of dollars one day.

 

[teller80]

If you're curious (and bored!), here's a thread on the subject from the bogleheads website: www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=240907

For the uninitiated, bogleheads are people who follow John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. The site is generally about saving and investing money, and being frugal.

This is a great site - thank you. I'll look into it more.

 

[AnnaS]

We get them in the mail all the time. I have been tempted but know it's a sale pitch!

 

[AnnaS]

If you're curious (and bored!), here's a thread on the subject from the bogleheads website: www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=240907

For the uninitiated, bogleheads are people who follow John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. The site is generally about saving and investing money, and being frugal.

I keep getting Safari can't open!!!

 

[QueenIsabella]

I keep getting Safari can't open!!!

Sorry about that, try googling "bogleheads", the forum should come up. The specific thread on seminars is under Personal Finance, and has been active the past few days. I found it fascinating because (a) the Bogleheads are very financially savvy, and (b) DH keeps getting those postcards. I don't--maybe because I'm younger? He gets invitations to visit retirement communities, too--just the place we want to live with an 11yo!

 

[kathy884]

My husband and I, ages 63 and 57, are getting lots of these, and we are just pitching them. We figure this is just going to be a sales pitch for selling annuities, something we aren't interested in buying.

I do have a question, though, what about these mini classes at community colleges (attorney's are who run those too, but you don't know who they are)? I would think though that in this setting where you pay a small fee to attend and it is part of the continuing education program that maybe this would not be as bad (our Community College continuing education programs have a good reputation in general) , but I am still quite suspicious. There is one of these next Tuesday evening that would work with my schedule about Estate Planning and Living trusts, something I would like to learn more about. I like the idea of setting up something like this that could be easier for heirs, but have concerns about attorney's fees taking percentages out of assets, so would be asking questions about what typical fees and things like this are. And I would not buy something or give my name and info to the attorney running the class. What do you think? Should I skip or should I go? My suspicions are that these are probably the very same thing as those dinners and maybe what I should really be doing is running away vs. signing up.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I've heard both good and bad about the college seminar thingies. As it happens, DH got yet another one of the postcard invites yesterday--it's on the tax law changes, so I actually would be interested in learning more. But, the dinners are all offered on Tuesdays, which isn't a good night for us.

As far as estates and living trusts, you'd probably get some good information from the seminar. Generally, the attorney would charge you a fee for setting up a trust, but not take a portion of the estate unless he/she is executor.

We're going through this right now--MIL set up several trusts, at a cost of probably $2-3000 each. She died last summer. DH and BIL are her executors, so they're not taking any fees out of the one remaining trust--the other 2 contained life insurance, which has already been disbursed. They are working with both an estate attorney and an estate accountant.

If you choose to work with an estate attorney, your best bet is someone who is specifically trained/certified. I don't remember the name of the organization that does this. When MIL died, she had set this stuff all up in one state, but then died in a different state, so her original attorney gave us a list of certified people in the new state. The accountant works for the same firm.

My best suggestion with estate planning is, put the dots really close together. My MIL thought she did a great job making everything crystal clear. While her intent was clear and basic--50/50 between her sons--the actual settlement of the estate has been a slow and painful slog.

 

[kymom99]

My husband and I, ages 63 and 57, are getting lots of these, and we are just pitching them. We figure this is just going to be a sales pitch for selling annuities, something we aren't interested in buying.

I do have a question, though, what about these mini classes at community colleges (attorney's are who run those too, but you don't know who they are)? I would think though that in this setting where you pay a small fee to attend and it is part of the continuing education program that maybe this would not be as bad (our Community College continuing education programs have a good reputation in general) , but I am still quite suspicious. There is one of these next Tuesday evening that would work with my schedule about Estate Planning and Living trusts, something I would like to learn more about. I like the idea of setting up something like this that could be easier for heirs, but have concerns about attorney's fees taking percentages out of assets, so would be asking questions about what typical fees and things like this are. And I would not buy something or give my name and info to the attorney running the class. What do you think? Should I skip or should I go? My suspicions are that these are probably the very same thing as those dinners and maybe what I should really be doing is running away vs. signing up.

Oh I would definitely go to one of those if you are interested. Community Ed classes are general safe.