Real Estate in Your Self-Directed IRA

• Earning potential using real estate inside an IRA has caused many individuals and small business owners to rethink their current retirement strategies. David Nilssen, co-founder of Guidant Financial Group Inc, conveyed, “I can’t tell you how many people I talk to everyday who say they wish they had heard about this strategy three or four years ago. People can see the power of real estate. It is more real than stocks or mutual funds. You can touch it and see it.” Nilssen’s company, Guidant Financial Group Inc, specializes in IRA facilitation. Their purpose is to help average people get started in non-traditional IRA investments like real estate. “It is rewarding to help people whose retirement savings have been devastated by the bear market recover their savings through non-traditional investments I have personally lost a great deal of money in the stock market, so I can empathize with the powerlessness one has over Wall Street.”
• Using leverage inside your IRA can be very complicated. Using a qualified Custodian, who can help you through the process of switching into a Self-directed IRA and provide a network of professionals familiar with IRA investing, is very important. Nilssen specified, “If you decide to invest with a Self-Directed IRA, don’t try to do it yourself. Use a professional to handle the process and avoid the severe penalties of doing something incorrectly.”
• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, which established a basic compact between generations: younger workers would contribute payroll taxes, and retired workers would have a more secure retirement. Presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan have signed landmark Social Security reforms to expand Social Security to provide disability insurance (1954), index Social Security benefits so people would not become poorer as they grew older (1972), and reform Social Security to add decades to its life (1983).
• What follows are some facts about Social Security that may surprise you. Read the facts. Then decide again whether Social Security is a valuable “safety net” in America.
• About half of the elderly have incomes that, without Social Security, leave them below the poverty line. Social Security lifts 13 million elderly Americans above the poverty line.
• Without Social Security benefits 46.8 percent of Americans aged 65 and older would have incomes below the poverty line. With Social Security benefits, only 8.7 percent of the elderly do. Some 13 million elderly Americans are lifted out of poverty by Social Security benefits.
• Social Security does more to reduce poverty among children than any other government program.
• In 2002, one million children under age 18 were lifted above the poverty line by Social Security benefits. No other government program except the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) lifts more children out of poverty. In addition, if a broader poverty alleviation measure is used that includes reductions in the severity of poverty (for those who remain poor), then Social Security does more to alleviate poverty among children than any other government program, including the EITC
• Social Security is more than just a retirement program: one-third of Social Security beneficiaries receive survivors’ benefits or disability insurance benefits. 10 million beneficiaries are adults below the age of 65, and 4 million are children.
• Social Security is more than just a retirement program. Of the 48 million beneficiaries in July 2005, 6.6 million received survivors’ benefits and 8.2 million received disability benefits. In total, 10.3 million adults below the age of 65 and 3.9 million children received Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Chief Actuary has estimated that an illustrative family whose breadwinner dies at a young age can receive a total of $403,000 in survivors’ benefits, while an illustrative family whose breadwinner becomes permanently disabled can receive a lifetime benefit of $353,000 from Social Security disability insurance. The Social Security Administration estimates that almost one of every three young workers will become disabled before reaching retirement age.
• For two-thirds of the elderly, Social Security provides the majority of their income. For one-third of the elderly, it provides nearly all of their income.
• In 2002, Social Security provided 50 percent or more of the income of 66 percent of elderly people (those ages 65 or older). Social Security provided 90 percent or more of the income of 34 percent of elderly people. For 22 percent of seniors, Social Security is the sole source of retirement income.
• Social Security provides benefits to 48 million Americans, with the average beneficiary receiving $10,500 per year.
• In July 2005, Social Security provided benefits to 48.1 million Americans, with benefits averaging $876.70 a month, or $10,500 annually.
• 
  Social Security is especially beneficial for women.
• Some 57 percent of adult beneficiaries are women. Women pay 39 percent of Social Security payroll taxes and receive 50 percent of Social Security benefits (This includes survivor and disability benefits as well as retirement benefits). Women benefit disproportionately from a number of the program’s features, including its inflation-protected benefits (because women live longer), its progressive formula for calculating benefits (because women tend to have lower incomes), and its benefits for non-working spouses and survivors. Certain reforms could make Social Security even more effective for women, particularly widows.
• Social Security is particularly important for African Americans.
• African Americans benefit from Social Security’s progressive benefit formula and from its disability and survivor benefits. A wide range of studies, both by respected government agencies and by leading private scholars, have found that these benefits more than make up for the fact that African Americans have a lower average life expectancy. African Americans make up 13 percent of the population but represent 17 percent of those receiving Social Security disability benefits and 21 percent of the children who receive Social Security benefits.
• Social Security provides good benefits for Hispanics.
• Hispanics benefit substantially from the design of Social Security because, on average, they have lower incomes, a higher incidence of disability, more children per family, and longer life expectancies. One study by Harvard economists Jeffrey Liebman and Martin Feldstein found that Hispanics get a Social Security rate of return that is 35 to 60 percent higher than the rate of return for the general population. In addition, Hispanics are less likely to have access to employer-sponsored pension plans and consequently are much more reliant on Social Security for income in retirement. This should be an important motivation for improving Social Security for Hispanics, especially in terms of coverage issues. It is important to remember, during this time of so much pressure on illegal aliens that Social Security benefits are only available to legal citizens and workers.
• Social Security provides a progressive benefit that keeps up with increases in the cost of living.
• Social Security retirement benefits are calculated based on a progressive benefit formula. For the first dollar of average lifetime income, you get a Social Security benefit of $0.90. At higher incomes, a $1 increase in average lifetime income adds only $0.15 to annual benefits. Once benefits are computed, they are automatically adjusted for inflation annually, helping to ensure that people do not fall into poverty as they age. In contrast, most annuities sold by private insurance companies are very expensive and do not increase with inflation.
• This last fact may surprise you. Social Security is an extremely efficient program, with administrative costs equaling only 0.6 percent of retirement and survivors benefits.
• Administrative costs account for only 0.6 percent of total Social Security retirement and survivors benefit payments. According to the most optimistic estimates, even private accounts plans with very limited choices and services would have administrative costs more than ten times as high. The Office of the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration generally assumes that with private accounts that offer limited choices and services, administrative costs would ultimately consume about 0.3 percent of account assets each year. At that rate, administrative expenses would ultimately eat up about 7 percent of a worker’s retirement benefit, more than ten times as much as the administrative costs under the current Social Security system.
• There is a wealth of information regarding Social Security and it’s past and future. You can discover some very eye-opening information at the Economic Policy Institute http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/issueguide_socialsecurity there you can download a PDF of the entire Social Security Facts guide from the Institute and read about many other interesting topics the Institute pursues.
• Use the following links to find more information about retirement issues, life’s rewards, funding, current state of IRA’s, 401k’s, income, investments etc:
• Sorry! A Fulfilling Retirement Is Not For Sale
• When planning for retirement, money may not be the most important consideration. Millions of Americans buy the retirement industry’s familiar song: Unless you save upwards of a million dollars, you are likely to end your days living on the street eating cat food… More
• Social Security: A Look Back
• None other than President Eisenhower, the self-proclaimed “militant liberal,” spoke highly of New Deal programs such as social security and campaigned for national health care. He wrote that his administration was “committed to … More
• Retirement Lifestyles – Early Retirement
• At age 55, Billy and Akaisha Kaderli have more information and experience regarding early retirement and living a financially independent lifestyle than 99% of others in their peer group… More
• Five Key Issues in Retirement Planning
• “Retirement” is when most workers apply for regular, monthly Social Security retirement benefit payments. Until the end of 1999, the “normal” age to begin receiving full Social Security retirement benefits was 65. In January 2000, however, the Social Security Administration…
• Posted on July 15th, 2009 in Land Banking by Randy Burchfield
• Because of the current downturn, most Californians are expecting slow population growth. According to a survey done by the Public Policy Institute of California, California will continue to grow at historical rates. The population is expected to grow by 10 million people over the next 20 years. That means more housing, more jobs and a demand for Land!
• One of the reasons for the growth is the continued birth rate. California is a fairly young population so we will see growth internally. Immigration is another reason California population will continue to grow. The third reason is due to the current downturn. The Baby Boomers who were planning to cash out, retire and move are finding that they must wait for home values to increase and wait for retirement funds to grow. So the Baby Boomer generation is staying put and continuing to work.
• For ACE Capital clients, this is a huge opportunity, because the growth will continue in the growth path of the major population centers. The most diverse job and housing opportunity that is growth friendly is Los Angeles County, specifically in North Los Angeles County.
• So now is the time to focus on a methodology to recover retirement funds more quickly through the acquisition of pre-developed land in North LA County
• Posted on June 5th, 2008 in Land Banking by admin
• Land banking is a long-term appreciation strategy, so we recommend owners hold their property for more than one full real estate cycle or approximately 8-10 years. However you are free to sell your property at any time—either when a developer or builder is knocking on your door or when you decide to place your property on the market with a local real estate agent.
• Scott Bachman
• Posted on May 29th, 2008 in Land Banking by admin
• There is no specific minimum purchase price. However, we encourage our customers to purchase as much as they are comfortable with. By purchasing a Tenant In Common parcel our customer’s can participate in much larger tract of land acquisition. Larger parcel of land are typically more attractive to developers. With a TIC parcel you still receive a grant deed and title insurance giving you free and clear ownership of your property.
• Jerry Hart
• Posted on May 28th, 2008 in Land Banking by admin
• Section 408 of the IRS tax code opened the door for you to roll over your IRA including Traditional, SIMPLE, SEP and Roth as well as qualified 401k, Solo 401k and 403b plans into real estate without a tax penalty. If your plan administrator or custodian does not provide a land banking service, you will need to find one. If you like, we can refer you to one of our partners in the ACE Professional Network.
• Scott Bachman
• Posted on April 23rd, 2008 in Uncategorized by admin
• Welcome to our Public Blog! There has been a tremendous effort by a lot of people to bring you our dynamic and innovative websites. A place for REAL information… not just about ACE Capital Group, but information on the tremendous opportunity called “Land Banking”.
• As we all know the financial services sector is taking more than just a few lumps. The marketplace, including major financial institutions, have lost billions; the U.S. Dollar at record lows and Wall Street as volatile as ever. Traditional investments are making a lot of people a little bit nervous in these trying times. The financial service companies are being forced to be more creative with how they first attract and then manage your hard earned money.
• ACE is the pioneer in “rolling your IRA into real estate” and has now taken an industry leadership role in showing people that there are alternatives to how they should think about building their personal wealth. There are ways to think “outside the box” and still feel safe and secure and make a great return for you dollar.
• Get started by contacting us for a webinar to watch. It’s all good stuff and we are proud to bring it to you as a service to our friends, clients and associates. If you’re a professional in a related field, by all means, check out our APN page and sign up for a FREE listing in our professional network. We look forward to a long and valued service. Thanks.

Please call me for more info

Aaron Marinucci 408-515-2650

Or Visit my website at

http://www.irongatefinancialgroup.com/