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Certainty Planning
Worksheets
These Worksheets are designed to work with the Voya™ Life Companies’ Certainty Planning Workbook (#166401) and the
VFA-approved Certainty Workbook (#166042).
Please note that the worksheets on pages two and three have not been approved for use by agents licensed with
Voya Financial Advisors (VFA).
Certainty Planning
The Choice to Retire
Most of us have built our assets one at a time over many years. Each of us has built
a patchwork of different assets purchased at different times for different reasons.
Many of us have a comfortable retirement as a key financial goal. We’ve consciously
earmarked some of our assets for retirement and we’ve carefully managed them
through economic and tax law changes so we’ll be able to retire when we think the
time is right.
Three Certainties in Life
Our retirement planning needs to be flexible so it can respond to changes in our lives
and in the economy. In a constantly changing world, we also need to plan for the
things that are certain in our lives. No matter what happens, there are at least three
certainties we can all count on:
1. Life is temporary; we aren’t going to live forever.
2. Time is precious; none of us knows how much time we have.
3. N
o matter what we have, we can’t take it with us; what’s left
over will be the financial legacy we leave to those we love.
Opportunity and Responsibility
Certainty Planning gives us an opportunity to make the most of what we leave
behind. It’s part of our retirement planning. If we’re married or committed to someone,
our planning needs to provide for their financial security as well as our own. Over
the years we’ve seen how often dividing up assets can create family conflicts and
disagreements. If we don’t want such conflicts to be part of our own legacy, we need
to anticipate them and make plans to avoid them.
Questions to Consider
As part of our retirement planning, we need to address questions that are certain
to arise:
1

2

3

4

What assets will I pass along?
Who will receive them?
How will those assets be
passed along?
What problems could arise
when assets are transferred
and how can I avoid them?
1 What assets will I pass along?

My Asset Statement
It’s difficult to know today what assets we may pass on
tomorrow. Different assets have different advantages
and disadvantages. Which ones will be left over depends
on a number of factors, including how long we live,
what expenses we will have and how we own our assets.
When they retire, wise people often look at their asset
picture and decide: (1) which ones they should use
up during retirement, (2) which ones they want to
pass on and (3) which ones should be repositioned to
improve their financial position.
Like them, we should start by looking at the big picture
of the assets we have today. List your most important
assets and their gross value; then subtract out loans
or indebtedness associated with them to determine
their net value.
Gross Value
Net Value
General Assets
Cars
___________________ ___________________
Boats/ Toys
___________________ ___________________
Collections
___________________ ___________________
Other
___________________ ___________________
Real Estate
Residence
___________________ ___________________
Vacation Home
___________________ ___________________
Investment RE
___________________ ___________________
Liquid Assets
Checking/Savings Accounts
___________________ ___________________
Certificates of Deposit
___________________ ___________________
Money Market Accounts
___________________ ___________________
Stocks/Bonds
___________________ ___________________
Brokerage Accounts
___________________ ___________________
Insurance Assets
Group Insurance Face Amount
___________________ ___________________ ___________________
___________________
Personal Insurance Face Amount
___________________ ___________________
Non-Qualified Annuities
___________________ ___________ ________
Retirement Assets
IRA/401k
___________________ ___________________ ___________________
___________________
Other Pension/Profit Sharing
___________________ ___________________
Roth IRA
___________________ ___________________
Annuities
___________________ ___________________
Other Assets
_____________________ ___________________ ___________________
_____________________ ___________________ ___________________
_____________________ ___________________ ___________________
1
1

What assets will I pass along?
How Your Assets Are Taxed
How we use up our assets during retirement depends
on how much income we have and how much of it
we’ll have left over to spend after taxes. Taxes have
the potential to play a big part in what we’ll have
to spend and what may be left over to pass on. As
we turn our assets into cash we can use to pay our
retirement expenses, taxes are often triggered. We
need to think about taxes because every dollar we
pay in taxes is a dollar we can’t save, spend or share.
Taxable Bucket
Tax-Deferred Bucket
Interest Income
¼¼
¼¼
¼¼
¼¼
Certificates of Deposit
Interest from Bonds
¼¼
Interest from Mutual Funds
¼¼
Short Term Capital Gains
¼¼
Mutual Funds/ETFs
Tax-Free Bucket
Capital Growth Income
Savings Accounts
Money Market Accounts
Because some assets are taxed in similar ways,
we can organize them conceptually into three tax
“buckets”: (1) a taxable bucket, (2) a tax-deferred
bucket and (3) a tax-free bucket. Each column below
lists several assets that can be found in these buckets.
List the assets and their value from your Asset
Statement in the appropriate bucket.
¼¼
¼¼
Qualified Accounts1
IRAs, SEPs, 401(k), 403(b),
Pension/Profit ­­Sharing Plans
Non-Qualified Annuities
Equity Investments2
Stocks, Real Estate (non-homestead)
¼¼
¼¼
Tax-Free Income
¼¼
Roth IRAs
¼¼
Municipal Bonds
¼¼
Homestead Equity3
¼¼
Life Insurance4
Bonds
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
______________________ _______________________
_______________________
istributions from qualified accounts are generally required when the account owner reaches age 701⁄2; distributions are generally fully taxable.
D
Asset growth in Equity investments is generally taxed at long-term capital gains rates if the requisite holding period has been satisfied; that period is currently
one year.
3
Limited to $500,000 for married couples & $250,000 for singles upon sale if used as principal residence at least 2 of last 5 years.
4
Life insurance death benefits are generally income tax free under IRC 101. Policy cash values grow tax-deferred; as long as the policy is not a modified endowment
contract (MEC) withdrawals are generally income tax-free up to basis and policy loans are generally income tax free as long as the policy stays in force. Cash value
withdrawals and loans generally reduce the death benefit payable at the insured’s death.
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2
Note: This worksheet has not been approved for use by agents licensed with Voya Financial Advisors.
2
1 What assets will I pass along?

Taxes Directly Impact Retirement Income
One of the biggest fears during retirement is that we may run out of money. We may be able to reduce this
risk by carefully selecting and managing our assets. Understanding the different ways in which our assets
and the growth they produce may be taxed can help us have more after-tax spendable income.
If we need to access or sell an asset(s) to produce spendable income, we need to carefully consider the tax
impact when deciding which one(s) to use first. The order in which we use up our assets directly impacts
how long our retirement savings will last and which assets will be left to pass on.
Look at the assets you have in your tax buckets. Consider these statements about managing retirement
assets for spendable retirement income and indicate if they are true or false for you:
1. To maintain purchasing power, it often makes sense to continue tax-deferred
growth for as long as possible.
True / False
2. W
hen using or repositioning assets in a tax bucket, it is often wise to spend lower
yield assets before spending those with the potential to produce higher yields.
True / False
3. O
ften assets in the Taxable Bucket have the smallest potential for after-tax growth;
when this is the case, it makes sense to use them up first.
True / False
4. When using assets in the Tax-Deferred Bucket, it often makes sense to first use up
those that will be taxed at the highest rates.
True / False
5. B
ecause they have the potential to provide both tax-deferred growth and tax-free
distributions, it often makes sense to use assets in the Tax-Free Bucket last.
True / False
6. B
ecause tax laws change over time, it may be wise to use a variety of different
assets that are in more than one tax bucket; diversifying across several buckets
could create more flexibility if the tax laws change.
True / False
The order in which we use up our retirement assets directly impacts which assets we’re likely to pass on
at death. In many cases, some assets in the Tax-Deferred and Tax-Free buckets will be among those we
will pass on.
Note: This worksheet has not been approved for use by agents licensed with Voya Financial Advisors.
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2

How will those assets be passed on?
How Your Assets Will Be Transferred
Deciding which assets to pass along is one thing, but actually passing them on can be complicated. We can’t
tape labels to our assets to tell our families who should get what. The process of transferring our remaining
assets to loved ones is fraught with potential difficulties and needs to be handled carefully. The devil is in the
details! Exactly how our leftover assets will be passed on depends on what assets we own and how we own
them. Most people own their assets in any of three different ways: (1) sole ownership in their own names alone,
(2) joint ownership with a right of survivorship, (3) ownership under a contract.
From your asset list: (1) put each asset and its approximate net value in the appropriate ownership column,
(2) add them up to determine the total in each column, (3) add the three column subtotals together to
determine the grand total, and (4) calculate what percentage of your total listed assets is in each of the
three columns.
Shared Ownership
(Right of survivorship)
(Roth IRA, IRA/401k,
Annuity, Life Insurance)
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
______________________ ______________________ ______________________
(Probate)
(State Law)
(Beneficiary/TOD)
(You own alone)
Subtotal
Contract
Personal Ownership
$_____________________ $_____________________ $_____________________
Grand Total $_____________________ $_____________________ $_____________________
Percent
4
_____________________ %
_____________________ %
_____________________ %
3

Who will receive them?
What to Know About Beneficiary Designations
True or False*
1. You can make beneficiary designations in your will.
True / False
2. You can change your beneficiary designations in a writing that is notarized.
True / False
3. Y
ou can make one “global” beneficiary designation for all your contract assets.
True / False
4. Your beneficiaries can name a replacement in a notarized document.
True / False
5. The rules on beneficiary designations are the same for all contract assets.
True / False
6. All beneficiaries receive the same income tax treatment.
True / False
Check the statements that are true about you:
1. You aren’t sure which of your assets give you the right to name a beneficiary.
_____________
2. The most time you spent making a beneficiary decision is 5 minutes.
_____________
3. Y
ou considered the income tax implications before naming your beneficiaries.
_____________
4. You know who you named as primary and contingent beneficiaries on your assets. _____________
5. You have copies of the paperwork you filed to name your beneficiaries.
_____________
6. You coordinated your beneficiary decisions with your will and/or trust.
_____________
7. You review the status of your beneficiary decisions at least every 5 years.
_____________
8. You’ve never changed/revised any of your beneficiary designations.
_____________
5
3

Who will receive them?
Your Beneficiary Designations
You may be passing on an important percentage of your assets through your beneficiary designations. These
decisions will be very important to the people you love and care about. For each asset you listed as a Contract
asset, write the approximate date you acquired it and who you’ve named as primary and contingent beneficiaries.
Asset
When
Acquired
Primary
Beneficiary
Contingent
Beneficiary
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
__________________ __________________ __________________ ___________________
*All statements in the True or False section on the top of page 5 are False.
6
3

Who will receive them?
Managing Beneficiary Designations
Over the years many people have purchased a variety of “contract” assets which allow them to name
beneficiaries to receive the assets when they die. These beneficiary decisions have the potential to pass
on significant amounts of money outside of the protections of their wills and trusts. Although beneficiary
designations can be extremely important in protecting a spouse and passing on assets, most people have
never been shown how to manage and keep track of them.
Check any of the statements which are true for you and your family:
1. I’d like to be certain who my primary beneficiaries are and not simply rely
on my memory.
______________
2. I’d like to be certain who I’ve named as contingent beneficiaries.
______________
3. I’d like to be certain that I’m the primary beneficiary of some contract assets
______________
owned by my spouse, partner or significant other.
4. I’d like to have written copies of each of my/our beneficiary designations.
______________
5. It makes sense to put all my/our beneficiary records together in one place
for easy reference.
______________
6. I think it makes sense to review my/our beneficiary designations regularly.
______________
7. C
reating a simple system to keep track of my/our beneficiary designations
is important and I’m willing to spend some time to get it done.
______________
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4

What problems could arise when my assets are transferred and how can I avoid them?
Potential Wealth Transfer Problems
We all hope to have a long and active retirement. However, sometimes unexpected things happen. A sudden
accident or illness can change everything. Our planning needs to consider this possibility. Death could trigger
a number of problems that could seriously impact the people we love. None of us wants to leave behind a
legacy of problems or cause divisions within our families.
Circle the number of any questions that could be a problem for you:
1.
Will there be enough left for my spouse/partner? Will he/she/they be financially secure?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________ 2.
Do I have any “Problem Assets” that could be hard to deal with?
_____Business interests
_____ Residence
_____Collections /Family Heirlooms
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Do I have any “Problem Heirs” who need to be treated differently?
_____Special needs children
_____Children with emotional, marital, legal or dependency problems
_____Children deeply in debt
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Are there likely to be any conflicts between some of my family members?
_____Poor relationships between my partner and my children
_____Strained relationships between children
_____Children from different relationships
_____Children with different amounts of financial resources
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
5.
Do I have causes or charities I would like to do something for?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
6.
How much of my financial legacy will be lost to costs and taxes?
_____Income taxes my heirs will have to pay
_____Estate and/or inheritance taxes
_____Administration costs, funeral/medical bills, commissions, management fees
________________________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________________
Certainty Planning
is Part of Retirement Planning
Thoughtful planning requires us to think about which assets we have and how to make the most
of the income they may produce. Careful management of our assets can increase our odds for a
secure retirement.
As part of planning for retirement, we need to plan for the things in life we know are certain to
happen. Markets and tax laws change frequently. But the three certainties in life stay the same:
1. Life is temporary; we aren’t going to live forever.
2. Time is precious; none of us knows how much time we have.
3. N
o matter what assets we have, we can’t take them with us;
what’s left over will be the financial legacy we leave behind.
Certainty Planning helps us take care of ourselves and those we love. By thoughtfully managing
our assets and how we pass on the leftover ones to those we leave behind, we can leave a
positive legacy that our families will appreciate and remember. Certainty Planning is an important
way we can show them our love.
9
Not FDIC/NCUA Insured | Not A Deposit Of A Bank | Not Bank Guaranteed | May Lose Value | Not Insured By Any Federal Government Agency
These materials are not intended to and cannot be used to avoid tax penalties and they were prepared to support the promotion or marketing of the matters addressed in this
document. Each taxpayer should seek advice from an independent tax advisor.
The Voya Life Companies and their agents and representatives do not give tax or legal advice. This information is general in nature and not comprehensive, the applicable laws may
change and the strategies suggested may not be suitable for everyone. Clients should seek advice from their tax and legal advisors regarding their individual situation.
Life insurance products are issued by ReliaStar Life Insurance Company (Minneapolis, MN), ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York (Woodbury, NY) and Security Life of Denver
Insurance Company (Denver, CO). Within the state of New York, only ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York is admitted and its products issued. All are members of the
Voya™ family of companies.
©2014 Voya Services Company. All rights reserved. CN0625-10875-0716
167331 09/01/2014
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