In our book, Momma’s Secret Recipe for Retirement Success, we share our “7 Rules To Live By For Retirement Security.” Today, we want to focus on one of them: The importance of having a comprehensive written retirement income plan.
The following content has been adapted from Chapter 24 of Momma’s Secret Recipe for Retirement Success, by Dan Ahmad & Jim Files.
For many people, money is scary. It produces anxiety and many other powerful emotions, too. Oftentimes, the root of fear or anxiety is that you don’t truly understand your finances. You may even blame yourself for your “lack of financial intelligence.” However, we believe that for the overwhelming majority of retirees, the confusion and lack of understanding have nothing to do with personal shortcomings. If you feel confused and don’t understand your money, it’s because you don’t have an actual plan in writing.
You can’t suffer a big loss to your savings now you’re retired or nearing retirement, you might not make it up, and you could run out of money. Most retirees we meet with are taking far more risk than they thought and could lose twenty to fifty percent of their savings. Even if you have a diversified portfolio, you could lose a lot, so you should have a risk stress test on your portfolio. You need to know how much risk you’re taking right now before you suffer a big loss because then it would be too late.
The single most important way to achieve retirement success is to have an actual written plan. You can’t buy a home, get a mortgage, buy a car, open a bank account, get health insurance, or even get married without having all the details in writing. So why would you let your advisor invest 1 million dollars or more of your money without everything in writing?
It’s because your advisor said don’t worry, everything will be OK. Why would you take someone’s word for this? You can’t know for certain everything will be OK unless you have an actual comprehensive written plan. Your statements don’t count.
What does the phrase “safe income withdrawal rate” mean to you? Most people would answer, “the amount of income you can withdraw from your assets without the fear of running out of income during your lifetime.” This seems cut and dried. But you have to look at what the word “safe” means to different people.
“Safe” to some people might actually mean “safer than something else,” such as you stating that you are “driving safe” because you are going 80 miles per hour while everyone else on the road is driving 90 miles per hour, but the posted speed limit is 65 miles per hour. And then, “safe” to other people might mean the chance of anything negative happening is 0%. In planning for retirement, safe better mean safe, something you can count on for sure. Safe better not mean “kind of safe.”
Because of how painful portfolio losses can be to retirees, we created The Golden Rule Of 5% To 10%. The Golden Rule Of 5% To 10% states you should not have your assets positioned to lose more than -5% to a maximum -10% of your total portfolio, even if the stock market crashes and loses -50% or more.
If you are like many retirees, right now you may be very nervous, anxious, and worried about your money simply because you are afraid of suffering through the next big stock market crash. You are not sure how much you could lose, but you know at this time in your life, a big loss could be devastating. If your money is currently unprotected in the stock market, you should be nervous because none of us like uncertainty. Following The Golden Rule Of 5% To 10% may help decrease your worries.
Business owners work day and night for a long time to build their business and make it successful. The business generated you a considerable amount of income every year, but, at some point, you know you’ll make an “Exit.” So the big question is how to turn the sales proceeds from your business and savings into dependable retirement monthly paychecks that will last for as long as you live so you don’t have to worry about running out of money? All you have to do is follow 7 Simple Rules.
No matter how much you’ve saved for retirement, whether on your own or with an advisor, you can never be completely confident of your finances without having your entire portfolio analyzed. You may have stocks, mutual funds, maybe some bonds, and perhaps you’ve even been told you’re diversified and don’t have too many risks.
But, do you know for certain, 100 percent, that your portfolio will be okay if the stock market crashes? Unless you’ve had your entire portfolio analyzed, the answer is most likely no. The best way for you to be confident of your portfolio is to place it under a microscope and have a total portfolio audit. A total portfolio audit will:
Most retirees who have saved a significant amount of money for retirement rely on a financial professional to help them make the best decisions with their money. What your advisor does, and says, will tell you if you should feel confident with his/her advice. Here are some telltale warning signs:
#1- You don’t have a comprehensive written retirement income plan, nothing is in writing.
#2- You are told to “Ride It Out” or “Hang In There” when you are suffering through large losses.
#3- Your advisor acts like your dad, he/she acts like your money is their money.
Have you been led to believe that everything is great in your finances? Maybe you trust your advisor who says everything is okay. Perhaps you believe the news that everything is okay because the stock market keeps hitting all-time highs? Maybe you’re an optimist and just believe things will work out somehow and nothing bad will happen?
Here is your wake-up call: You can’t plan and handle your retirement finances this way. You’re putting your finances, and your family’s finances in jeopardy by hoping that you’ll get lucky.
