Rob & Linda's goal was to lower taxes in retirement, improve investment performance, and establish an income stream to last throughout retirement.
The Problem/Challenge
Rob and Linda recently retired from careers they were passionate about and are excited for all their future plans. They want to ensure that their retirement strategy not only enables the lifestyle they’ve dreamed of and worked hard for, but that they also don’t have to fear of outliving their money. Rob mentioned that he was concerned about how tax changes could affect their retirement goals and questioned whether or not their current investments made sense for them since they hadn’t given them much thought. Linda’s main concern was how they would turn their savings into a reliable income stream once they retired. Rob devoted 33 years to his company and enjoyed his work but decided that it was time for him to move on to his next stage in life. He and Linda were looking forward to traveling, playing golf, and giving back to their local community and since their children were grown they found plenty of time for this. At retirement Rob had a 401(k) and a pension from his employer. He was hoping to put these assets would be enough for him and Linda to have a comfortable retirement experiencing all the things they’d talked about during their working years. However, he wasn’t really sure how he ought to begin spending these funds and needed some advice as to what investment options were available to him. Rob and Linda both knew that taxes would come into play as well but wanted to understand how they could manage those when spending their retirement savings. Rob’s primary goal was to make sure that their money would outlive them while carrying out the enjoyable retirement lifestyle they envisioned.
The Solution/Approach
It was important to provide Rob and Linda with a better understanding of what retirement might look like for them. Guiding them through Our Platinum Advisory Process involved the following: Working with Rob and his company’s benefits administrator to gather necessary information on his 401(k) and pension Visualizing all the options available to them and how each affected their potential cash flow in retirement Implementing their chosen strategy by establishing new investment/retirement accounts as needed Developing an account withdrawal plan to provide them with a reliable income stream while considering tax ramifications Using Cash Flow modeling, Rob and Linda were able to understand and visualize the options available to them and the impacts they would have on their retirement. This removed a lot of worries, letting them move forward with confidence in their plan.
The Results
After going through the collaborative process with their advisor, Rob and Linda implemented several of their recommendations. These helped them in several ways including: Being able to better manage their taxes in retirement Having a plan that helps manage the risk associated with their nest egg Utilizing strategies that allow them to reduce their income worries and allows them to focus on enjoying retirement Rob and Linda are now enjoying retirement. They enjoy traveling between their primary home in Michigan and their vacation house in Florida and spend as much time with their grandchildren as possible. Rob has the confidence of knowing that their financial plan is sustainable and that he and Linda can relax and enjoy life on their terms. They have the confidence of knowing they created a plan that positions their investments in a way they can relax and enjoy life on their terms. Linda appreciates that their plan contains strategies designed to create income over the course of their lifetime and manage tax burdens so they can focus on what is truly important to their quality of life.
