For many people, retirement is a time we look forward to because it means we can slow down, decide how we’ll spend our time, and do the things we’ve always wanted to do. Income in retirement allows us to live the lifestyle we seek. Your customized Retirement Income Strategy will provide you with a thorough evaluation and understanding of your situation; we will serve as a guide to pursue your desired lifestyle.
1. Examine your wants and needs
Your planning begins with a thorough discussion of your leisure, family, residence, and work desires, to obtain a clear understanding of your retirement ambitions. The majority of the time, this discussion continues through and beyond the initial planning process.
2. Your Retirement Income needs are then divided into 3 distinct categories, we call your FLO
F – Fixed Needs
Real Estate taxes, Healthcare costs, food, clothing, utilities, etc.
L – Lifestyle Needs
Hobbies, going out to dinner, travel, gifts to children, grandchildren and charities.
O – Occasional
Roof to your home, heater, A/C and appliances may need to be replaced. You also may need to replace an automobile or two during Retirement.
Your Retirement Income needs are then projected through your life-expectancy incorporating inflation.
3. Obtain a clear picture of your financial situation
Your sources of income and assets for Retirement, as currently positioned, are then overlaid onto the projection of your income needs to provide you with a clear picture of your current retirement financial position.
Sources of income examined
- Social Security (How you believe you will claim your benefit)
- Pensions if available (How you believe you will claim your pension)
- Retirement Accounts (How they are currently positioned)
- Non-Retirement Accounts (How they are currently positioned)
- Part-Time Income
4. Your unique Retirement Planning Strategies
We then review the spectrum of planning options unique to your situation to develop strategies to answer your important retirement planning questions.
- In what order should you distribute your various Investment assets from an income tax perspective?
- What types of Investments are most appropriate for your retirement accounts from a tax perspective?
- How can Roth IRA conversions benefit your retirement?
- How can you minimize your overall income tax in retirement?
- What is your appropriate Investment Asset Allocation and Strategy?
- What do you need to know about Medicare?
- What Social Security filing strategy works best for your situation?
- What estate documents do you need?
- What options are available if you cannot take care of yourself?
- How can you transition your business for retirement income and succession (if applicable)
5. Future decisions and how they impact your retirement
Your plan can help you evaluate the “what-ifs”. What if you want to move to different state, purchase a 2nd home, do extensive traveling, gift assets, to name a few? Your plan will project each scenario to illustrate the impact on your retirement for each “what-if” scenario to guide your decision-making.
6. Planning updates
There are two types of changes that may alter your Retirement Income Planning:
- Changes to your income needs and/or family situation
- Changes outside of your control such as tax laws, tax brackets, Medicare, and Social Security. These can affect your planning decisions.
To ensure your income sources and investment accounts remain aligned properly, it is most beneficial to re-project your Retirement Income Plan every two years or sooner, if your circumstances warrant a review.
