Getting A Good Start

1. List the factors involved in your own situation, so a professional can help you
2. Set your goals for a retirement plan, read Investment Planning, and fill in our IP Planning Tool
3. Contact us to design a workable retirement plan  - email austin_peterd@yahoo.com or call 855.244.8466
4. Sign plan and trust documents for your retirement plan
5. Choose investment vehicles for your plan - initial vehicles, and plan for later - focus on annual income
6. Set up an investment account in the name of the retirement plan.

List the factors in your own situation:

• How much can you afford to save the first year; the second year; what amount of variability do you need?
• Is your business income steady, or more variable?
• Do you have employees other than yourself?
• Is your spouse paid as an employee? Could your spouse be paid? How about your children?
• Do you own or control any other companies that have employees?
• Do you have any existing retirement plan (IRA, Profit Sharing, 401k)
• Do you have experience in investments? Safer is better!

Set your goals for a retirement plan

• Read the section Investment Plan, and fill in our IP Planning Tool
• Make a chart of what you expect to save year by year for 10 years, assuming conditions stay as they are now
• Make a rough plan on when you will retire, and when you want to start drawing on the plan – later is always better!
• If you have employees, what do you want to contribute for them? Do a separate 401k for them?
• Make a rough goal for what INCOME you will need at retirement, and what INCOME you will have at retirement - this plan will provide part of that income

Contact us to design a workable retirement plan:

• Read the section “Designing Your Plan”, and fill in the IP Planning Tool...Investment Planning
• Call Peter D Austin, FSA, CFA at 855.244.8466, or email austin_peterd@yahoo.com

Choose Investment Vehicles

• Read, once again, the section “Investment Planning”, and review your IP Planning Tool  – this is extremely important...Investment Planning
• Contact investment professionals to select investments in the asset class areas you have chosen
• Restrict your investment in each asset class to the percentage you have chosen, and review this allocation at least once per year – also review your IP Planning Tool each year!!!!!

Set up an investment account for each asset class:

• for example, if your company name is Connor, Inc, and you have a Defined Benefit plan, set up an investment account, or accounts, called Jim Connor, as trustee for the Connor, Inc Defined Benefit Pension Plan. The institution(s) you set it up with will ask for your plan and trust documents, and we can provide those to you.

If you are just starting off, consider having only one investment account for a while, until your retirement plan assets get large enough. If you plan on having real estate in your retirement plan, you will need a separate bank account when you buy the real estate.