Laura Deignan · 27 Mar 2025 · 2 minutes

LEGISLATIVE RISK

Decisions in Washington are Impacting Your Clients. Here’s Your Chance to Learn More.

Author: Laura Deignan Laura Deignan
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Leadership in Washington has been busy debating bills and policies that could significantly impact U.S. savers.

So, what do your clients need to know? And how can you help them address these new risks and opportunities?

Stonewood’s leadership team is on the road this spring, bringing powerful insight into what’s happening in Washington – and how to help your clients prepare.

First up, May 19-20: Stonewood COO Neil Wilding and CEO Becky Swansburg will be presenting at NAIFA’s Congressional Conference in Washington.

In a special conference session, “Washington & Your Clients’ Retirement: Four Risks to Watch in the Year Ahead,” Neil and Becky will be discussing:

  • What Congressional spending could mean for the national debt – and why it matters to your clients

  • What to watch on the changing attitudes in Washington towards 401(k)s and IRAs

  • What’s next for the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act

NAIFA members will then head to Capitol Hill to meet with Members of Congress and advocate for policies that impact financial advisors, our clients, and the industry at large.

Interested in attending? Check out the complete conference details and register here. 

Next, Becky will be presenting at NAFA’s National Annuity Leadership Forum, June 23-24 in Washington.

Her talk, “Emerging Risks for U.S. Savers: The Latest Developments from Washington,” will focus on the decisions being made in Washington  – and how we, as an industry, can help savers address these new and evolving risks. Becky will dive deep on:

  • The short-term and long-term impacts of today’s tax and spending policies

  • Why government surcharges like IRMAA could be the wave of the future

  • How the deficit and debt will shape future public policy

  • Keys to understanding the growing challenges facing Social Security, Medicare, and more

The conference includes a Hill walk, where attendees will meet with elected officials and better understand the legislative impact of pending bills on our industry.

Interested in attending? You can see all the conference details here. 

Understanding the “Legislative Risk” coming from Washington is critical to helping clients prepare for the complete risks they could face in retirement.

If you’re ready to learn – and help your clients prepare – there’s a lot of opportunity in the coming months. We hope to see you at NAIFA and NAFA!

Real Advisors. Real Results.

See how advisors are using Stonewood software to win larger cases and deliver better outcomes for their clients.

An advisor was working with a prospect who was a real "do-it-yourselfer" when it came to Roth conversions. The client was converting assets up their existing tax bracket – and hadn't considered any impact to IRMAA.

With Roth Done Right, the advisor was able to show an alternate pattern that sped up the conversion to 6 years. The new structure offered $30,000 savings in conversion taxes – a 20% reduction on the prospect's conversion tax bill. The report also showed hundreds of thousands of dollars in long-term tax and IRMAA savings from the converted assets – an amount the prospect hadn't been able to quantify on his own.

Outcome

A new client with $1M in new AUM, and a $1M FIA sale to fund the conversion process.

An advisor was working with a prospect who already had assets with Ken Fisher. Fisher's team presented a 5% systematic withdrawal projection, so the advisor needed a stronger way to frame the income conversation.

Using the Annuity Alpha report, the advisor showed how an annuity could deliver over 8% in annual cash flow with lifetime income, plus a long-term care doubler. The contrast was clear enough that the prospect moved forward.

Outcome

$1.5M placed and a $100K in new business revenue.

An advisor was working with a 58-year-old couple with an established, well-funded retirement income plan, leaving an additional $3M IRA to build out a legacy for the kids. The couple's existing advisor had no real additional plan for this money, other than to keep it in their managed account and grow that money as much as possible for the kids.

Using the Legacy Done Right report, the advisor showed the need for tax planning on this $3M IRA. According to the advisor, the simple analysis "opened up the wallet" to the Roth conversion story. The advisor then used the blended Roth/Life feature in the report to show a blend of Roth Conversion assets with some Life Insurance to help maximize the client’s legacy.

Outcome

$3M in motion. The advisor picked up a $1.5M FIA sale that will be converted to Roth. And the advisor also sold a 5-Pay Protection focused IUL policy at $225,000 of premium per year.

An advisor group incorporated the Total Tax Burden report into the strategy presentation for all new prospects. They ran the tax snapshot for every new client as part of their first meeting conversation, quantifying the growing tax burden of IRA money – and illustrating the kinds of tax savings possible when working with their firm.

Starting in January of 2023, this simple analysis was presented to every single prospect who walked in the door. The goal was to differentiate their practice and drive overall revenue growth through various Roth conversion strategies.

Outcome

From 2022 to 2025, new annual AUM rose from $5M to $50M. Annual FIA sales rose from $3M to $35M. And annual life premium rose from $50K to $1M.

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