A Safer Retirement and Environment – What We’re Implementing to Help Keep You Safe: READ MORE

Here at Fortress Financial, we are adhering to state and local guidelines in order to protect both the health and safety of clients and staff. Keeping our clients and staff safe is our highest priority and we’re taking all appropriate measures to ensure a safe environment. Should you prefer to not meet face-to-face, we are continuing to serve our clients through virtual settings such as Zoom or phone calls.

We look forward to continuing to help individuals and families achieve their ideal retirements.

Fortress Financial
208-233-1685

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Worried that your financial strategy is

Missing Something?

We’re here to help you feel confident in your financial future.

Your Dreams Matter.

At Fortress Financial we believe everyone should be able to live the retirement they’ve always wanted. Our team of professionals can help you create a well-thought-out strategy, using a variety of investments and insurance products and services, to help you address your financial needs and concerns.

Financial Services

Our financial planning process is a thorough, yet simple way for you to take the first step toward reaching your financial goals. Throughout our process, we can help develop customized financial strategies that can turn your goals into reality.

  • We identify the values and beliefs most important to you and your family.
  • We establish a clear set of short & long-term financial goals based on your values & beliefs.
  • Together, with your tax, legal and other professional advisors, we compare financial alternatives and develop recommendations that work towards achieving your financial goals.

A well rounded financial plan examines your total financial picture: your current financial position, risk management, investment planning, retirement planning, tax planning, and estate planning. Your most valuable asset is time. The sooner you begin to plan for your financial future, the better your chances of achieving your goals.

Some of our Financial Services include the following, but not limited to:

  • 403B / 457 Not for Profit Set Up
  • 403B / TSA Plans
  • Annuities
  • Asset Protection
  • Charitable Giving
  • College Funding
  • Estate Planning
  • Fixed Indexed Annuities
  • Guaranteed Income
  • IRA & 401(K) Assets and Planning
  • IRA, 401(K) and 403(B) Rollovers
  • Lifetime Income Planning
  • Retirement Income Planning
  • Safe Money Options
  • Social Security
  • Wills, Trusts, Estates
Insurance Services

Some retirees underestimate the impact a big market loss may have on the future of their income. Luckily, insurance can be used to protect more than just your physical assets. It can also be used to help protect your future. Our firm specializes in helping individuals safeguard their retirement nest eggs by offering a variety of insurance products and financial planning strategies.

Some of our Insurance Services include the following, but not limited to:

  • Accident Insurance
  • Critical Illness Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
  • Final Expense Life Insurance
  • Funeral Trust Insurance
  • Health Insurance
  • Homeowners Insurance
  • Indexed Universal Life Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Living Benefits Insurance
  • Long Term Care Insurance
  • Medicaid Crisis Planning
  • Medical Travel Insurance Single
  • Medical Travel Insurance Group
  • Medicare Insurance
  • Medicare Supplemental Insurance
  • Mortgage Protection Insurance
  • Short Term Major Medical Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
Retirement Planning

We are Fortress Financial professionals. We take the time to get to know each of our clients. When it comes to retirement, we seek to answer the following five questions:

 

  1. What do you visualize yourself doing on your journey through your golden years?
  2. How are you going to position your life savings to provide funding for your vision?
  3. How can we position those assets in a way that provides you confidence and peace of mind?
  4. What are you going to do when and if the unexpected happens?
  5. What will happen to your assets when it’s time for you to pass on?
Estate Planning
Estate planning and creating a legacy are on the top of most retirees’ minds. Estate planning is the art of making sure your loved ones still talk to each other after you pass on. Leaving an unplanned estate can destroy the strongest of family units. Make sure you take the time to build this important element into your comprehensive Retirement Plan.

By definition, estate planning is a process designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive, and to conserve and control their distribution after your death according to your goals and objectives. But what estate planning means to you specifically depends on who you are. Your age, health, wealth, lifestyle, life stage, goals, and many other factors determine your particular estate planning needs. For example, you may have a small estate and may be concerned only that certain people receive particular things. A simple will is probably all you’ll need. Or, you may have a large estate, and minimizing any potential estate tax impact is your foremost goal. Here, you’ll need to use more sophisticated techniques in your estate plan, such as a trust.

Medicare

Medicare has several parts: A, B, C, and D

Part A:  Hospital Insurance

With few exceptions, this is free. It helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, as well as skilled nursing care, hospice, and home health care. However, it may not pay 100% of these costs.

To cover the difference, you might buy a Medicare insurance Supplement Plan, or Medigap policy. Same thing.

Part B: Medical Insurance

Part B covers doctors’ services, hospital outpatient care, home health care, and some preventive services to help support your health and to keep certain illnesses from getting worse.

Again, to cover the difference, you might buy a  Supplement Plan (or Medigap policy).

Part C: Advantage Plans  

These are insurance plans offered by private companies that are approved by Medicare.

An Advantage Plan offers all of your Part A and all of your Part B coverage. By law, Medicare Advantage Plans must cover all the services covered by Original Medicare, except hospice.

So what about hospice care? Original Medicare covers that, even if you have an Advantage Plan.

Are Medicare Advantage Plans supplemental coverage? No: see below.

Part D: Prescription Drug Coverage

This helps cover the cost of your prescription drugs. Part D is run by private insurance companies that are approved by Medicare. It may not cover the complete cost, but offers a very significant discount.

Advantage Plan or Supplement Plan?

You have two options.  

When you turn 65 and go on to Medicare Part B, you come to a fork in the road. You get to choose one path:

1: If you choose an Advantage Plan (see “Part C” above), you are actually opting out of the Medicare System and choosing a private insurer. Depending on which company you choose, there may or may not be an annual fee, and coverages and co-pays will vary. See the chart.

2:  It you choose a Supplement (or MedigapPlan, you still get to choose a private insurer but, oddly enough, you are staying within the Medicare System. You will pay monthly installments on an annual fee – this varies according to the insurance company you choose – but zero co-pays. See the chart.

When Should I Sign Up?

If you already receive Social Security and are nearing 65, you’ll get your Medicare card in the mail three months before your 65th birthday. If you wait until age 66 or later to apply for Social Security, you should apply for Medicare about three months prior. 

When Can You Get Medicare?

Your Medicare card will arrive in an envelope from CMS (Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services). It will have the effective dates of both Part A and Part B already filled in. Keep this – and any further information you receive from CMS – for future reference.

If you don’t want Part B, then follow the card’s instructions and send it back. Otherwise you will have to pay the Part B premium.

Can You Say No to Part B?

Yes. Let’s say you work for a business that has a good medical plan, and you don’t want to lose it after you turn 65. You may decide not to sign up for Part B quite yet. Check with HR to decide what’s best.

Later, when you leave the company, you can contact Social Security and ask for a new card, with your preferred start date for Part B. In most cases, this is the first day of the month after your company health benefits end.

Tax Planning

Tax planning is often a forgotten part of retirement planning. This is an important step in the planning process, which is why Fortress Financial Advisors have in-house tax planners.

Some of our Tax Services include the following, but not limited to:

  • Tax Advisory
  • Tax Planning
  • Tax Minimization Planning

Complete Personal Income Tax Preparation: We constantly keep up to date with the current tax codes and utilize some of the most sophisticated tax preparation software in the industry.

Tax Preparation

Our firm offers professional preparation of all federal, state, and local tax returns at competitive affordable rates.

IRS and State / Local Representation

Our staff knows the tax laws, and we know how your tax return was prepared. We can provide complete representation services before the IRS as well as state and local authorities. We are also experienced in negotiating in Compromise with the IRS and various States.

Tax Planning

We continuously monitor federal, state, and local tax law changes to allow our clients to minimize current and future tax liabilities. If necessary, we can implement tailor-made due-date tax compliance monitoring systems to prevent costly interest and penalty assessments attributable to late filing. Of course, we offer full tax preparation and filing services.

Sales Tax Services

Our firm prepares all sales tax filings and offers full sales tax audit representation.

Estate, Gift and Trust Tax Return Preparation

We provide expert preparation of federal and state estate, gift and trust tax returns.

We offer services in these three areas:

Grow

Prepare for retirement by putting your hard-earned assets to work.

Preserve

Protect the assets that can help you live the retirement you’ve always imagined.

Give

Provide for the people and causes you care about the most.

Ready To Take

THE NEXT STEP?

For more information about any of our products and services, schedule a meeting today.

Or give us a call at 208-233-1685