5/21/2020 RETIREMENT FINANCIAL EXPERT RYAN SKINNER - A STEP ABOVE THE REST

RETIREMENT FINANCIAL EXPERT RYAN SKINNER - A STEP ABOVE THE REST

MON
JAN 13 Written by Tom Estey

The name of my Woburn, MA retirement services firm is Summit Financial Partners for a very good
reason -because the clients I work with have either reached their retirement summit (i.e. they’re ready to
retire) or nearing that milestone. It’s a that time in life where the focus shifts and the client’s priority is no
longer growing a nest egg; rather, the main objective is protecting the nest egg and having it generate
secure income to fund their hard-earned retirement.

In all my years in retirement income planning guiding folks to create secure income, I have learned that
it’s not the size (or full amount) of the nest egg that matters to people, but the amount of their guaranteed
monthly income. My mother was a house keeper and when I asked her how out of all of my aunts and
uncles they earned the lowest income, why were they the ones who were able to buy a house? Her
answered, which had a profound impact on me and every person that I help to build their retirement
income plan, was “it’s not what you have, it’s what you do with what you have.” Everything I do is
centered on that principal when I work with my clients to create strategies that will help them achieve a
monthly income that will suit their desired lifestyle in their later years. I’ve always found it interesting that
some of my multi-millionaire clients come in stressed and discontent, while others who have much
smaller nest eggs have peace and serenity because of the security that comes with building secure self-
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5/21/2020 RETIREMENT FINANCIAL EXPERT RYAN SKINNER - A STEP ABOVE THE REST

directed incomes they can count on.


From my experience, it’s those that find their “IT” -the things in life that bring them the most joy -and have
discovered the financial means to embrace their “IT” on a daily basis and follow their bliss. Those who
live what we call “Retirement My Way” have incredible peace of mind knowing that they can live their
lives and achieve their “IT” within reason, as long as their goals are within the reach of their self-directed
pensions and monthly social security benefits.

That brings up an aspect of retirement planning (or achieving what I call “secure retirement income”) that
I am a huge proponent of -ROI. In my book Taking Stock, I discuss in detail what I call “The Two ROI’s.”
Generally speaking, when I say ROI (Return on Investment), I’m talking about the benefit to a individual
resulting from an investment of some resource. My colleague Ed Rossi is a securities licensed
investment advisor who focuses on this area with our clients. Ed explains that a high ROI means the
investment gains compare favorably to the original amount allocated toward that account. As a
performance measure, he uses ROI to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the
efficiency of different ones.

Specializing in retirement income planning, I’ve found that it’s the second ROI -Reliability of Income -that
matters most. This simply means, knowing that your money is safe and that you’ll have guaranteed
income month after month, year after year, regardless of what goes on in the stock market. In cases
where it is suitable, I utilize different types of annuities to help my clients to achieve this secure income
stream. I explain to my clients that the focus should no longer be about the size of the accounts; what
matters now is the size of their guaranteed income.

In planning “The Second ROI” phase of retirement, we first must consider the basics -i.e. the costs of
being retired and how much money people need to meet their monthly expenses. Important issues to
consider are taxes, long-term care and health care, and their basic living expenses, mortgages and rent,
utilities, food -the same essentials they had to think about when they were in the workforce.

We identify any income gaps, then implement the plan to close those with the guaranteed protected
income for life, then review consistently and revise as necessary over the coming months and years. For
this to work effectively, we must get to know the client’s personal life situation, goals and concerns. Then
we put together a plan to meet these goals and close the income gap with guaranteed predictable income
for life. Once we’ve tailored those needs to the client’s current economic situation and personality, our
focus shifts to creating this reliable income. Using our specialized insurance tools, our job here is to
ensure that we position enough money that is protected from potential stock market loss, and to close
that gap by providing secure income for life.

The most challenging and exciting aspect of my work is that there is no single cookie cutter’ retirement
strategy. My clients’ needs are unique and based on details like their age, whether this is their first

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5/21/2020 RETIREMENT FINANCIAL EXPERT RYAN SKINNER - A STEP ABOVE THE REST

marriage or married more than once, are they single, do they have any children that are dependent or
disabled. Everyone has different specifics related to their IRA’s, pensions, social security, savings and 
other bank assets, life insurance, rental properties, home mortgage balances and other personal debt.

Spirituality plays a very important role in the work I do. A close friend, knowing about my deep faith,
introduced me to the concept of making God my business partner enabling me to bring that dynamic
connection into my day to day business so that I could truly be of service to my clients.

Every day I ask God to guide me to be of service others using my talents He’s blessed me with. I feel my
story allows me to operate on a whole new level in many aspects of my life now. My journey has given
me a purpose, a stronger connection with God, and a desire to have a positive impact on my fellow
human being -especially my clients and those in need. Making a positive impact on people’s lives is what
drives me every day.

As a result of God being my business partner, We have been able to create something much deeper than
a retirement income planning practice at Summit Financial Partners. We have created a culture. In
addition to helping our clients meet their income planning needs, we built a family business where it’s
about the WHY. Why do our clients want a secure monthly income to last through their retirement? So
that they can enjoy time with their children, grandchildren and other loved ones. Why do we donate to
charities, support rehabilitation programs, and pay the tuition for certain students to attend private
schools? We're beyond blessed to be in the position that we are and I know that it is only because of
God's presence in my life. With this blessing, we feel that God expects us to be a blessing in other
people's lives just like he's been a blessing in our life. That is why I'm heavily involved with HEAT (heroin
education and awareness task force), and volunteer with at Woburn District Court to help fight the opioid
epidemic. I also started a program at the Billerica House of Corrections, where I go weekly, in order to
help troubled men to change their lives. I've made the commitment to several underprivileged youths to
pay their tuition to private school so long as they keep their grades up and are positive members to the
school community. We donate tens of thousands of dollars to multiple local charities, such as the Woburn
Council of Concern, where struggling families are provided with much needed support. I've faced
struggles and adversity in my own life and have overcome those obstacles only through the grace of God
and the support of good people. Today God had blessed me with the honor and responsibility of being in
the position to pay it forward and bless others just as I was blessed, and I couldn't be more grateful.

Ryan Skinner

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