Retirement’s Approaching. Are You OK?
People across all walks of life, with different priorities and different MoneyMinds®, want to know one main thing when it comes to retirement planning:
Am I OK?
The answer, like so much about financial planning, is variable.
Approaching retirement with confidence requires a certain level of introspection. Asking yourself important questions early enough in your retirement planning process helps you decide whether you feel secure in your ability to maintain your lifestyle and protect your legacy—and gives you enough time to change course if you don’t like where you’re headed.
As you approach retirement, are you thinking about these important aspects of your financial life?
Does my plan support my current goals?
Most people start thinking about retirement as they begin their careers, when the idea of not working still feels purely theoretical. As retirement looms closer and begins to feel more tangible, it’s worth assessing your plan to ensure it supports the current reality of your financial goals—not the goals you first outlined decades earlier.
As a 20-something, you may have had a much higher risk tolerance. You may have prioritized growth over security. You may have favored spending in the moment over saving for an event 30 or 40 years in your future.
It’s important to stay continually aware of your financial planning personality and how it has or hasn’t changed over time, so you can make necessary adjustments that support your goals as they currently stand—not the goals you set when you opened your first 401(k). That’s why it’s key to work with a financial advisor whose objective is to take the time to understand you and your priorities, and who understands how and when to make tweaks as your goals change.
Can I maintain my lifestyle?
This is the big question: are you on track to maintain your current lifestyle once you retire?
To answer this, you first need to define what that actually means. Does that mean you want to remain in your current home once you retire? Do you want to have the freedom to pursue your passions, such as travel? Do you want to financially support your children or grandchildren, by funding their education or establishing trust accounts for them? Do you want to continue to support the causes and organizations that matter most to you? How lopsided are you willing to make the scales of work/life balance?
Taking the time to delineate what you mean when you think of your current lifestyle—and calculate how much protecting it will actually cost—will help you learn how much longer you need to work in order to feel confident that you can continue living life to the fullest upon retirement.
Is this something I can handle on my own?
Managing your money with confidence is difficult at any time—and it can be especially challenging during periods of market volatility. If you’ve been serving as your own financial planner, you may find yourself growing weary of the task, particularly as retirement looms nearer and optimizing returns and protecting assets becomes ever-more important. Whether you’re too busy to invest on your own or you’re nervous about the impacts of a pending recession, it may be time to consider working with a financial advisor.
At K&B, we’ve been in business for over five decades. We’ve lived and worked through multiple market conditions and have guided our clients through bull runs and bear markets alike. We take a broad, diversified approach to investing, and we conduct the necessary research to select and invest in a select slate of high-performing companies. All of our clients have access to our senior team members, who each have over 20 years shepherding clients toward their financial goals and gaining multi-generational trust.
When you work with K&B, you don’t need to do it alone—any of it. Our team will work with you to help you define your investment personality, define your goals, and map out a plan to meet them. As you approach retirement, we’ll help you answer that all-important question: “am I OK?”
Let’s have a conversation to figure it out together.
Disclosure:
The content and views expressed in this communication has been prepared for informational purposes only. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principle. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results or success. Links to third-party websites are provided for your convenience and information purposes only. K&B has no control over the accuracy or content of these other websites.
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