The Permission Slip

{3 minutes to read} With all the volatility in the market and a lot of fear on the street with recession and inflation, some basic financial planning concepts may serve to help some of the readers today.

There is a concept I learned about 20 years ago called The Permission Slip, built around the idea of being able to spend your money freely. I reflect on my father who was born in 1920 and lived through the Depression. When he decided to retire, his attitude was he could never spend his principal, his money, his capital. He could only touch the interest.

My dad was successful, but never really accumulated a huge amount of money, so he received a low income from his investments because of his fear of running out of money. Living through the depression in the twenties created a scarcity mentality — that fear of running out of money.

Unfortunately, as he got older, he got sick and had a lot of healthcare expenses which required us to spend some money on assisted living, nursing homes, private nurses, etc. He was genuinely concerned about dissipating his wealth, not for fear of running out of money but for the legacy that he wanted to leave. He believed the value of his estate for my sister and myself was going to be dissipated because his healthcare expenses were going to consume his money. It was at that time that I was introduced to this concept of a Permission Slip.

The Permission Slip concept says that if my family had purchased, let’s say a half-million-dollar life insurance policy on my father, then towards the end of his life, he would’ve known that the legacy value that he wanted to leave was guaranteed to be provided through the insurance. This would allow him to freely spend his capital, which would have increased his quality of life. The one thing we want to guard against is stress and anxiety caused by a lack of financial confidence and freedom. People that have guaranteed incomes, thus little to no financial stress, live longer and have a better quality of life.
The concept of a Permission Slip is a way for you to utilize smart insurance planning to allow you to:

• Spend your money differently.
• Consume your money differently.
• Have a hedge against inflation.

You could spend your principal and your interest a little bit differently which is why having that legacy value through life insurance can be so helpful.

If you want to learn more about this concept, read below. I would be happy to walk you through some modeling to help you understand that you can maximize your legacy, without minimizing your retirement income. This is what we try to accomplish for our clients, permitting them to enjoy their wealth while making sure that whatever legacy value they want to leave is guaranteed and intact.

CPA Wealth Provider: Permission Slip

Leaving a Legacy vs Retirement Income

Registered Representative offering Securities through American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS) Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory Services are offered through G&G Planning Concepts, Inc. which is not affiliated with APFS. Strategic Wealth Advisors Network and Gassman Financial Group are not affiliated with APFS.

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