Let’s compare the similarities of two very different days of one’s life: Day one of your first ‘real’ job, and the first day of retirement. Not only are these two days similar, they both require significant preparation if one is to achieve success throughout each journey.
On the first day at work, people are generally excited and nervous at the same time. As a new employee, you’re learning new faces, a new environment, and a multitude of demands that will increasingly be asked of you over the next several months. And while your managers might allow for a rather light workload for the first week, you may not know exactly what is expected of you, where you’ll be eating lunch, or how to navigate the company’s systems and protocols spelled out in your 150-page employee handbook. However, it is these conditioning factors that help to create the perfect employee that your employer is looking for.
At the other end of the rainbow lies retirement. It is easy to assume that retirement is a simple process of just quitting work (technically, that’s all you have to do), but it is actually a much more complicated planning process than preparing for that first day of work some 40-years prior. In a possible twist of irony, planning for retirement just might have started on that very first day at work!
As I attempt to prepare my clients for an easy transition into their own retirement, there are myriad factors to consider. I generally lead our conversations around the psychological and financial challenges that will arise once a commitment to ending all earned income is made. There can also be challenges such as unexpected family or health issues that can cause one to consider an untimely and premature retirement. But a major hurdle causing one to forgo a perfect retirement is typically a lack of financial preparation, as the brunt of “this whole retirement thing” is controlled by how much income is available, and for how long it needs to last. That’s because your expenses don’t stop!
Ever since the first Baby Boomer turned 65 in the year 2011, it has been estimated by the Social Security Administration that 10,000 Americans are retiring every day. That should mean that financial planners around the nation would have their plates full, but that’s not necessarily the case. Many people attempt to navigate their retirement journey (the planning, investments, budget, draw-downs, cash flow, etc.) on their own using online tools, 1-800 numbers, the advice of their friends, and sometimes plain ‘ol gut instinct. This may work, but are those people maximizing what their retirement experience ‘could’ be if only they had a complete financial assessment of what is possible?
If you’re one of those lucky 10,000 people a day that gets to retire in the near future, or if you know someone who is, why not take advantage of a retirement assessment to learn just how much of a lifestyle you can enjoy during your golden years. People have different goals and objectives and each person deserves to ‘have it their way’ and and on their owns terms. Our office will assess, build, and present a workable plan that makes sense for each unique situation. Call us to schedule a personalized visit today to find out what is possible!