Congratulations, from your financial advisor in Norman, OK! You’ve reached the transition from working years to retirement. You’ve earned it. Creating an investment portfolio to live off of is no small feat; you should feel proud of your accomplishment.
It’s time to assess your asset allocation. Ready to get long-term financial advice?
The healthy pride of retirement may feel more like anxiety if you’re like most. Not only are you letting go of part of your self-identity, but you now have time to make yourself a priority – which you might have delayed for quite some time.
Common retirement anxiety largely stems from two financial questions:
- How much annual income will my portfolio provide?
- How many years can I expect that income to last?
The answers to these questions can be found in your retirement income plan. Let’s explore this and get you on the right track – to retirement savings and financial planning in Norman, Oklahoma.
What is a Retirement Income Plan?
A retirement income plan is a timeline that shows where your money will come from to fund your retirement. It’s kind of like a budget used to predict your future spending needs over your life expectancy. Knowing how much income you will have can better prepare for planned spending and unforeseen expenses.
Your retirement income (and expenses) can come from various sources, so it’s essential to account for your complete financial picture.
Additionally, there are various uncontrollable and unknown factors outside the bounds of a rigid model. Inflation, tax liabilities, investment returns, volatility, and life events can significantly impact your expected income. Therefore, your plan will need a degree of flexibility and cushion.
The 3 Stages of Retirement Planning
Retirement planning has three stages:
- Accumulation
- Planning
- Distribution
The accumulation phase is where you have been (and may still be). This phase involves setting aside funds for retirement, typically into tax-advantaged vehicles, and letting the power of compounding work its magic. The primary objective is growth, both in added contributions and asset appreciation.
As your target retirement date nears, the focus shifts from saving to planning for retirement and managing risk. This is the planning phase when you get specific about your retirement goals and crunch numbers to see what is possible.
Finally, your retirement plan’s rubber meets the proverbial road of real-life during the distribution phase. You implement the plan and begin withdrawing funds and receiving income from your portfolio.
The 3 Components of a Retirement Income Plan
Creating a good, holistic, and tax-efficient retirement plan is complex. Every plan looks different. However, here are three broad components that you will see in every plan:
1. Identify Expenses
In this section, you uncover what your core costs of living will be, plus you’ll plan for all of your large expenditures and bucket list items. The better you are at accurately predicting your expenses, the less you will have to tweak later on.
Food, housing, medical expenses, insurance, transportation, travel, hobbies – the list goes on. If you’re having difficulty picturing your future costs, use how you spend money today as a guide.
2. Identify Income
How much money will you have coming in? What are your sources? Will it be sufficient?
Will you have Social Security benefits, 401(k)’s and IRAs, other investment accounts, rental income, business income, and a part-time job?
The trouble: it’s nearly impossible to predict your annual income in retirement perfectly – there are simply too many factors at play.
Consider the recent market volatility caused by inflation concerns and the Russia/Ukraine tension – who can reliably predict these events? Thus, you need a stable, reliable, and sustainable plan. You don’t want to have to put your life plans on hold based on stock market fluctuations.
The right retirement income plan will do just that, giving you confidence today of a secure tomorrow.
3. Match Income to Expenses
Focus on your core, essential expenses first. If your portfolio income doesn’t cover those, you may need to work and save for a few more years. Or, are there some areas you can reduce?
If it does cover the essentials, does it take care of all of your wants and dreams as well?
Make wise money moves with tactical investments to protect what you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
The actual specifics of each plan vary from person to person and are primarily affected by your goals, needs, temperament, and risk tolerance. Covering all of the nuances which may be specific to your situation is beyond the scope of this article. That requires a complimentary conversation about financial services – let’s chat!
At the end of the day, what you want to know is whether or not the plan you have outlined will last you through retirement. Without sitting down with you and understanding where you are and where you want to go, I can’t answer that.
If you have doubts about the plan you have created, schedule a meeting with us today and let us demonstrate our value to you. Give us the chance to be your CFO and watch how we can transform your stress about the future into confidence and security.
The Takeaway
You’ve worked long and hard to retire. Can you picture years of rest and relaxation? If not, you may need to take another look at your retirement plan with a professional.
The bulk of this plan has to do with creating expectations of the amount of income generated by your global portfolio. Is it sufficient? Will it last? If you have doubts about your plan, one of those two questions is likely the cause of your concern.
A good retirement income plan will ease your worries about the future and allow you to focus on the things that are important to you. Your retirement years should be filled with abundance, creativity, self-expression, and freedom.
If your current retirement plan isn’t giving you confidence in that sort of future, it may be time to get a second opinion.
TRAC Advisor Group Inc. is a full-service, fee-based financial advisory firm in Norman, OK. We offer independent investment advice and help people withstand any type of market volatility with confidence.
As an independent investment advisor, we can offer alternative investments like numismatics and precious metals to diversify and hedge against uncertain times. With a straightforward and direct planning style, you can trust that we’ll keep you on track towards your financial goals.
Explore our new website and Contact Us today to schedule a consultation today.
