Eric Vieth

Retirement brings a series of decisions that can have long-term financial consequences. Social Security, Medicare, long-term care, retirement income, taxes, insurance, and estate planning can all affect one another. Eric helps individuals and families understand how those pieces fit together so they can make more informed retirement decisions.

Eric has more than 10 years of experience in insurance and financial services and serves as Vice President of Individual and Group Benefits at Desmond Insurance. He holds both the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) and Registered Social Security Analyst® (RSSA®) designations.

Social Security Planning

As an RSSA®, Eric helps clients understand their Social Security benefits and evaluate different claiming strategies based on their circumstances.

The decision is often more complicated than simply choosing an age to begin benefits. A thoughtful Social Security analysis may consider factors such as:

• Individual and spousal benefits
• Survivor benefits
• Life expectancy
• Employment and retirement timing
• Other retirement income
• Medicare considerations
• Tax implications
• The needs of a surviving spouse

Eric’s role is to help clients understand these choices and how Social Security fits within their broader retirement picture.

Looking Beyond Social Security

Eric earned his RICP® designation in 2019, completing advanced education focused specifically on the challenges individuals face when turning retirement savings and other resources into sustainable retirement income.

That training complements his work in areas including Social Security, Medicare, long-term care planning, life insurance, retirement income strategies, longevity risk, and legacy planning.

Rather than looking at each decision independently, Eric helps clients consider how one choice may affect another.

For example, a decision about when to claim Social Security may influence retirement income needs. Medicare choices affect healthcare planning. Long-term care expenses can significantly change a family’s financial plan. Insurance may play a role in managing some of those risks.

The objective is not simply to recommend a product. It is to help clients understand the choices available to them and build a more coordinated strategy.

Planning Before—or During—a Long-Term Care Event

Whenever possible, long-term care planning begins well before care is needed. Eric works with individuals and families who want to understand how a future care event could affect their retirement income, assets, family members, and choices about where and how care is provided.

He also works with families facing a more immediate situation in which a spouse or family member already needs care.

In those circumstances, the conversation may involve evaluating existing long-term care benefits, available income and assets, insurance strategies, Medicaid planning considerations, and other potential resources for paying for care and protecting the financial needs of a spouse or family.

Because these situations can involve legal, tax, investment, and insurance considerations, Eric frequently works alongside clients’ existing financial advisors, elder law attorneys, CPAs, and other professionals. His role is to complement those relationships and help coordinate the insurance, Social Security, healthcare, and retirement-planning pieces.

An Education-First Approach

Eric believes retirement decisions should begin with understanding, not with a product.

His approach is to help clients:

Understand where they are.
Review benefits, insurance, income sources, risks, and existing planning.

Understand their options.
Explain available strategies in plain English, including the advantages, limitations, and tradeoffs involved.

Connect the decisions.
Consider how Social Security, Medicare, long-term care, insurance, and retirement income may affect one another.

Make an informed decision.
Help clients choose a direction that reflects their financial circumstances, priorities, family, and retirement goals.

Eric has been working at Desmond Insurance since January of 2020. Desmond Insurance is an independent, locally owned agency that has served Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati since 1929. The agency’s longstanding philosophy is centered on education, relationships, and helping clients make thoughtful decisions for the long term.