retirement living

HOW TO RETIRE: PANDEMIC EDITION
photo shows a small wooden wall clock and a calendar with sticky notes and push pins

What a year! The events of 2020 have reached into every facet of our lives. Many careers have been changed or upended.

People working happily at advanced ages have told us they are leery of workplace exposures, so many are on leave or have retired. Others have been displaced from jobs they would have preferred to keep. And some are helping descendants cope with “distance learning” or a loss of childcare options instead of working at jobs.

One friend retired just before the pandemic, planning an ambitious travel schedule. That isn’t happening. And another, who had planned to retire, now works from home: they figure they might as well keep working, since they cannot travel or engage in activities they had planned for retirement.

No matter what 2020 has thrown at you, the basics of retirement planning have not changed. It is a five-step process. We need to figure out…

  1. how much money it takes to run the life we prefer,
  2. monthly income amounts and timing from Social Security or pensions,
  3. lump sums required for one-time goals or needs, like a bucket list trip or boat,
  4. lump sums available from savings, investments, 401(k) plans, and other wealth, and
  5. the sustainable monthly cash flow that might be withdrawn from net long-term investments, after the lump sums are accounted for (we help people with this step).

There are nuances to each step—options to analyze, lifestyle decision to make. Retirement planning works out best when it is a process over time. We have noticed that people learn more about their objectives and their finances as time goes on, and things change. So your retirement plan adapts and changes over time, too.

If the pandemic has shaken things up for you as it has for others—or if it has just gotten to be that time—call or email us when you are ready to work on your plans and planning. Clients, if changes need to be incorporated in your plans, let’s keep talking.

We’re glad to help.

Special Relativity

© Can Stock Photo / Alexis84

A friend wrote to me recently about the two kinds of time. The time that gallops onward in an undistinguished blur, versus the time that resolves itself into perfect crystal moments that stretch on to forever. Haven’t we all had those kind of peak moments?

We seem more prone to the ‘undistinguished blur’ sort of time as the years go by, and routines get set. Perhaps breaking the routine, new experiences, are what sets those forever moments apart.

My friend concluded that if there is a secret to keeping time in a bottle, it must involve moving forward – a special kind of special relativity. This notion has some interesting aspects, including one that bears on our work for you, I believe.

Many financially independent retirees have noted that they spent much time when younger worrying about having enough money in later years. Then, when they get there, they discover that money is abundant, compared to time, which is finite.

If we spend our working years on a treadmill of accumulating a fortune for enjoyment way down the road, perhaps we live life in a routine, in which time is an undistinguished blur. This shortens the subjective experience of our lives.

Alternatively, we can work to understand and perhaps moderate what “enough” means, and balance living in the moment against our longer-term objectives. Would this leave us open to more new experiences, new ways of thinking and being, and that sense of moving forward that might bring about more of those ‘forever’ moments?

Hey, I don’t know either. But I’m in favor of more special moments, and less undistinguished routine. Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.

Moving Target

© Can Stock Photo / Spotmatikphoto

We have observed that spending in retirement is a moving target. One theory says we spend more money in the early years of retirement than in the later years. Financial planner Michael Stein describes it this way: the Go-Go years, the Slow-Go years, and the No-Go years.

Spending in retirement impacts some of our most fundamental plans and planning. Retirees have a wide range of lifestyles, avocations, and circumstances which take money. It’s a personal thing.

In our experience we see people spend less as they age. When we first noticed this trend, we wondered if that was because some people run low on money. However, we recently have taken note that people with resources tend to spend less as time goes on. (Health expenses may run counter to this trend, increasing toward the end of life).

Each person has their own objectives and habits, and life throws some curve balls too. Case by case, it could make sense to plan on spending more in the early years of retirement. Bucket list items, to be done once, might come early in retirement.

The Alaska cruise, trip to Hawaii, or tour of Europe should be undertaken when you have the time and money and health to do it. The boat or camper, if one is desired, should be purchased when one has more years to enjoy it.

One of the most gratifying parts of our work is working with people on their plans and planning. We’ve worked with some of you from mid-career all the way into many years of retirement. Each one of you is as different as a fingerprint.

Clients, if you would like to talk in more detail about your retirement aspirations or anything else, please email us or call.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.