Having a multigenerational relationship with your advisor can help your adult children get a solid start with financial planning. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses those benefits and the advantages of starting a retirement plan as soon as your career begins. 

Listening Time: 18 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

There’s a big difference between financial planning and obtaining a one-time financial plan. A one-time plan only presents a snapshot of a single moment in time and doesn’t include consideration of life changes you will likely experience. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses why dynamic ongoing work with a planning professional can be far better suited to helping you achieve your financial goals.

Listening Time: 16 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Planning to work into your late 60’s or beyond may be a good idea in theory, but frequently working longer is not an option. Health concerns or being let go by your employer are likely unforeseen. Does your financial plan include contingencies for retiring earlier than you may have expected? Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses the need for a retirement plan that includes consideration for those unplanned occurrences that may be on the horizon.

Listening Time: 16 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Financial planners help clients manage their money, of course, but may also assist in navigating the physical, psychological and emotional impact of retirement planning, and living in retirement as we age. Making informed choices to stay healthy, fit and financially secure may have a direct connection to how long we live. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses the intersection of health, wealth and longevity.

Listening Time: 22 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

During our working life, some of us define ourselves by what we do for a living. Retirement changes all of that. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, takes a deep and insightful dive into the ways and means of finding purpose in life during your retired years.

Listening Time: 21 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors is joined by Mercer Advisors’ Financial Planner Dennis Jablonoski to discuss newly released data on the impact the resumption of student loan repayments may have on retirement savings.

Listening Time: 22 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Having a well-diversified investment portfolio is one of the most basic guidelines in financial planning. Having cash on-hand should be part of that plan. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses why having a part of your portfolio in cash is necessary.

Listening Time: 19 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

The giving season is fast approaching. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors is joined by Mercer Advisors’ Tim Joseph CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and CPA, and Ryan Flurer, Wealth Manager, to discuss charitable gift annuities. Learn how to make a significant donation to your charity of choice while receiving beneficial tax treatment and more.

Listening Time: 20 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

You’ll spend a good part of your working life saving for your retirement. Once you reach your goals, you want to feel confident that what you’ve saved will be enough to cover your financial needs throughout your retired years. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses the importance of anticipating, and planning for, unexpected expenses that could derail your retirement.

Listening Time: 25 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Attempting to understand Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity can be mind-blowing, but have you ever considered financial relativity? Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, explains the meaning of financial relativity and how understanding it can give you a clearer perspective on your financial position.

Listening Time:  17 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Having a clear financial plan may help ease concerns for many, whether already retired or nearing retirement. What is your view of the future? In this episode, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses ways to help those with optimistic, or pessimistic, outlooks create a plan for their future.

Listening Time:  23 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

In this episode, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses the similarities between building a house and constructing a solid investment portfolio.

Listening Time:  15 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Focusing on your tax situation for the current year is important. It’s equally essential to consider how tax planning for today can impact your tax situation in retirement. In this episode, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, and Tim Joseph CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and CPA at Mercer Advisors, discuss tax planning from a life-long perspective.

Listening Time:  24 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Why should my financial plan include a projection for living until the age of 100 when I know I won’t live that long? It’s a question financial professionals are often asked. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, is joined by Ryan Flurer, Financial Planner at Mercer Advisors, to discuss why it makes sense to assume your lifespan may be far longer than the current national averages of 79 for women and 73 for men. 

Listening Time:  25 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Organizations merging or being acquired is commonplace in nearly every field. In the world of finance, the recent acquisition of TD Ameritrade by Charles Schwab has some investors concerned. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, answers many questions and explains the impact of the two companies becoming one.

Listening Time: 15 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

If you’re an investor who also enjoys the game of golf, the similarities between the two may surprise you. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, details some of the many parallels that can be drawn between the two including the importance of careful planning, keeping your emotions in check and more.

Listening Time: 18 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Roth IRAs offer numerous benefits that make them a preferred choice for many investors. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses five mistakes often made while using Roth IRAs and the impact Roth-related errors may have on your retirement savings.

Listening Time: 15 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Being prepared to deal with the many financial and emotional challenges of a family member’s critical illness is a subject most people would prefer not to even think about. Planning however, must be done. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, is joined by Kara Duckworth, CFP®, CDFA®, and Managing Director of Client Experience at Mercer Advisors. Kara shares her personal experiences navigating the healthcare system alone when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. Kara’s story may help you better plan and cope.

Listening Time: 22 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

There’s a smart strategy for investing in each stage of life. Some investors consider reducing investment risk as they age. The ability to withstand risk may diminish, but you may need to maintain a certain level of risk so you don’t run out of money in retirement.  John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses ways to assess appropriate levels investment risk later in life.

Listening Time: 19 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

As you approach middle age, your 40’s or 50’s, it’s likely to be one of the busiest times of your life. You may be at the pinnacle of your career, getting kids off to college, caring for an aging parent, or you are involved in a variety of other concerns and activities that keep you moving at warp speed. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses the importance of being attentive to your retirement and financial planning needs at a time of life where everything else seems to take precedence.  Mid-life investing may offer future financial security opportunities you should not miss.

Listening Time: 18 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

If you interact separately with professionals such as your financial planner, CPA, and attorney, and each is working independently on your behalf, you may not be getting the full benefits of their integrated expertise. Now, imagine the impact of these professionals working together on your overall financial health, and that of your family.

Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses financial, and other benefits, available through a family office service which had previously been available only to ultra high-net-worth families.

Listening Time: 19

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Estate planning is a critical part of your overall retirement plan. Your retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401ks typically pass directly to a beneficiary you’ve selected, and not through a trust you may have created for your other assets. With these accounts, a separate retirement plan trust may be required to get the asset protection and guidance you are seeking.

Logan, Baker, J.D., LL.M., MBA, Lead Senior Wealth Strategist on the Estate Planning Team at Mercer Advisors joins host John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, to discuss the importance of implementing a retirement plan trust specifically for the protection of your retirement account beneficiaries.

Listening Time: 31 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Anchoring bias can place a disproportionate amount of merit on something you hear or read. It can shape how you make future judgements, and it can have a negative effect on everything from the purchases you make to the success of your financial planning. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, further explains anchoring bias in greater detail and how to avoid it.

Listening Time: 20 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.

Would you like to maintain your pre-retirement spending levels and standard of living after you’ve retired? Some, however, intend to spend more heavily in their early retirement years, believing they will spend less as they age. These spending considerations are an important part of your retirement planning, and there is often a disparity between spending intentions and spending reality. Today, John Walker, Regional Vice President, Mercer Advisors, discusses retirement spending patterns and how they relate to good planning.  He also discusses a recent Boston College Center for Retirement Research study that looks at how retirees intend to spend vs. how they actually spend what they’ve saved.

Listening Time: 20 minutes

Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning document preparation and other legal advice are provided through Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.