As you near your ideal retirement age – even within a decade or so – it’s important to begin taking financial planning seriously. To achieve financial peace of mind for the long-term, you should have a holistic plan in place.
There are various risks to consider when developing your plan – some we know and don’t know. Factors, such as healthcare costs, longevity, family responsibilities, inflation, and interest rates, could all have a major impact on your finances and lifestyle.
Today’s retirees are living longer than ever before. A 65-year old couple has a 50% chance one of them will live past age 92 and a 25% chance one will live to age 97. Longevity risk can cause problems with many financial plans. Unless you have genetic concerns or serious health risks, we recommend basing your financial plan on a 95-year lifespan.
To develop a holistic financial plan, you need to start with top-down approach and ask – “What are my goals and how can I achieve them?” This is the most important step, and very different from the bottom-up method many use – “How much do I have and what can I afford?”
Once you have clearly defined goals and objectives, you are ready to start your comprehensive plan. While investment management plays a key role in the plan, other considerations are essential as well. Cash flow strategies, tax planning, insurance risk management, social security optimization, and gifting/estate planning strategies are all important for creating financial peace of mind. Your plan should be clear and make sense, with concise goals and actions. It should be reviewed at least annually to make sure you’re on track.
When developing your comprehensive plan, there are several time-tested points to remember:
- Set return goals that make sense for your personal situation. Your performance goals should be the rate of return you need to live comfortably throughout retirement.
- Focus on “beating the S&P 500” or such should not be a part of your plan. The true measure of investment performance is your return through a full market cycle – up and down.
- Manage your exposure to investment risk through asset allocation and continuous rebalancing.
- Reduce risk during times of euphoria and overvaluation; Consider adding during periods of fear and undervaluation.
Both pre-retirees and retirees should manage risk vigilantly. Remember, withdrawals from a portfolio experiencing significant declines can accelerate the loss in value. In order to outlive your portfolio, risk management is imperative.
Time to Invest In Your Retirement
Bogart Wealth is an acclaimed financial advisor company with an intimate understanding of the various retirement plans. We will answer all your questions and, if you wish, rollover your current retirement plan to a more profitable one. Get in touch today and tell us what you need — we have all the answers.
Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments. All indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment. This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor. Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Bogart Wealth, LLC (“Bogart”), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this commentary will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this commentary serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Bogart. Please remember to contact Bogart, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. Bogart is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the commentary content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the Bogart’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees continues to remain available upon request.
