By Michael Souza
PBN Staff Writer

Leonard Hayduchok is the president of Dedicated Senior Advisors LLC of Princeton, N.J., a company he started in 2002. He specializes in helping individuals and families meet the challenges of two strategic financial concerns; retirement income planning and long term care and asset protection planning. His company’s territory includes the Northeast.

PBN: What makes financial planning difficult right now?

HAYDUCHOK: The stock market has performed well until about a month or so. It’s a very interesting time, the market rises then falls. For most people it’s all about the amount of risk they want to take while feeling comfortable.

PBN: What are you seeing in your practice?

HAYDUCHOK: I deal mostly with people who are a little more established in life and many of them have already seen a lot of their retirement savings disappear during the recession. So I’m seeing more annuities because they are relatively safe bets.

PBN: Aren’t their returns limited?

HAYDUCHOK: Depending on the type. For example, an indexed annuity credits interest based on a formula that considers the change in the value of an external equity index but does not participate in any stock or equity investments. Other, simpler annuities will return a rate similar to a CD, a safe bet with limited reward. People that invest in these want the safety.

PBN: Are they popular?

HAYDUCHOK: They are becoming increasingly popular. Many people feel they want the security to know that money will be there in the future. Most are using such accounts for something a little extra after retirement.

PBN: How would you describe business this year?

HAYDUCHOK: Business this year has been at a steady pace. Like some of the national figures I have seen, total annuity sales are down but indexed sales are up. I would have to agree.