Why a Retirement System is Better Than Just Having Retirement Goals

If you are really serious about creating, achieving, and living your dream retirement, implementing a system to guide you along your way will be far more impactful than stating specific goals like achieving a given dollar amount, age, or length of service at an employer. Goals are great, but without a system to get you from point A to B, you may feel like you are lost in a sea of endless “expertise” from relatives, blogs, or the talking heads on TV.

Goals are specific objectives – a reach it and be done situation. If this is how you have set up your retirement dream, by amassing a certain nest egg or attaining a specific age or length of service, you may be setting yourself up for failure. The problem with only setting this type of retirement goal is that once achieved you will inevitably ask yourself “now what”? You will have an endless list of open-ended questions on what you want your retirement to look like.

How will you fund your monthly retirement expenses?
How do you pull money out of your nest egg tax-efficiently?
When are you going to elect Social Security benefits?
What are RMDs and when do I need to take them?
How will your nest egg be invested so you don’t have to worry about running out of money?
What do you do if there is a 10, 20, or 30 percent decline in the market?
And even more…

A system, however, has no deadline and gives you the opportunity to adjust your plan or goal no matter what life throws at you. Having a retirement system, a plan that details:

Where your monthly income will come from
When the optimal time to elect Social Security benefits is
Has a detailed tax-efficient distribution strategy
Creates a disciplined investment strategy based on your personal risk tolerance
And details how to react to market volatility to guard you against harmful emotional decisions

Among many other what-if situations, a retirement system is far more impactful than simply stating a one-and-done retirement goal.

Our financial planning process and 4 decades of retirement planning experience have allowed us to create a retirement system that will allow you to live your dream retirement and feel confident that no matter what life or the markets throw your way you have a system and a trusted professional to see you through.

If you and your life savings are being ignored or feeling taken advantage of, come join our family. We are a family-owned financial planning and investment advisory firm that promises to treat you like family. No products. No hard sell. No gimmicks. Just honest advice based on four decades of experience.