When approaching a retirement planning case, the first, and most important step, is helping the client get a handle on what is really important to them. While this is often the very hardest step, it’s also often the most important. There is so much to think about that we put off because so much of it brings up difficult feelings. This step ranges from what you want your retirement to look like, to how much income you need to support it, to what’s your risk tolerance and potential length of time. All of these areas are critical to know, yet we often spend a lot of time avoiding them. My advice: Stop avoiding and start knowing.

A great place to start is by understanding what you want your retirement to look like. Are you a home body who likes to putter around the home, perhaps gardening, reading, spending time connecting with friends and loved ones on social media? Or are you an adventurer who loves getting out, kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing, and skiing? If so, maybe a motorhome would be your thing.

I really liked the movie, “The Bucket List” as it brought this notion into our consciousness. So much so, in fact, that the term “Bucket List” is now a common part of our lexicon. The thing about it that I really appreciated was its specificity. Members of one couple told me they have a dream to visit every continent and are well on their way to completing the goal. Another fellow told me his goal was to run a marathon on each continent, adding he had completed four of them. The thing about each of these goals and dreams is they provide a purpose in life. So often in our pre-retirement lives, life gets in the way of our dreams. We are so busy raising the kids, paying the mortgage, financing school, driving to soccer practice and Scouts, etc., that our lives get in the way of our dreams. In his song, Beautiful Boy, John Lennon wrote, “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” It’s so true.

So now is your opportunity. Retirement doesn’t just have to be that phase of your life that happens between working and dying. It can be the beginning of another act. And that act can be the best of your life.

My parents did that. They had worked hard all their lives and given my siblings and me wonderful lives. There was little we really wanted to do that we could not. All of us went to college. All of us had opportunities to travel. We always ate well, had nice clothes to wear, were active in after-school activities, etc. In other words, my parents devoted their lives to taking care – great care – of their children.

Then, we all moved out and moved on. Not gone; we all got together for holidays, came over for dinner, sometimes took trips together. But we got married and started raising families of our own.

Mom and Dad fell very naturally into the role of doting grandparents. Mom was always available to watch the kids at a moment’s notice. But that wasn’t all. Not even close.

Soon after they retired, I had to travel to Southern California to visit a client and took the opportunity to visit my parents. By this time, they had sold the family home and purchased a very nice manufactured home in a 55-plus community. It was much smaller than where we grew up, but it had an extra bedroom, so I was able to stay with them.

My plan was to rent a car, but Mom wouldn’t hear of it. “Of course, you will use one of our cars,” she told me. Though reluctant to impose any more than I was already doing by staying with them, I agreed. I took a shuttle from the airport and arrived in time for dinner the night before I was to show up onsite at my client’s office. After, the conversation shifted to the matter of the car. Both Mom and Dad collected their calendars and brought them into the table to compare notes. After about 15-20 minutes of discussion, it became very clear that there was not a moment during their day that either of them could spare their car! In days gone by, it had never been a problem. All you had to do was drive one of them to and from work, and the car was available in between. Not so in retirement! Every hour of every day was booked. Mom had Junior League, bridge club, church activities, and volunteer work at the local thrift store. Dad had Rotary, his own volunteer work and church activities. They had grandkids to go see, gardening to do, shopping to get done. Dad edited the Rotary newsletter, and Mom volunteered at the women’s center at church. 

The bottom line was they lived a full and meaningful retirement. And during the entire time, they never worried about money because they had pensions in addition to their Social Security and their retirement accounts. This structured income lasted their entire lives, providing regular monthly income they could count on, never having to worry if the market was up or down.

That income set them free to have the lives they desired.

What’s your outlook? Do you have lifetime income you can’t outlive? Would you like to? If so, we may very well be able to help you. Give us a call.

Stephen Kelley is a recognized leader in retirement income planning. Located in Nashua, he services Greater Boston and the New England areas. He is author of five books, including “Tell Me When You’re Going to Die,” which deals with the problem unknown lifespans create for retirement planning. It and his other books are available on Amazon.com. He can be heard every weekend on the “Free to Retire” radio show on WCAP and WFEA, and he conducts planning workshops at his New England Adult Learning Center, located in Nashua. Initial consultations are always free. One can reach Steve at 603-881-8811 or at www.FreeToRetireRadio.com.

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