As a wealth manager in Nashville, I regularly meet with individuals and couples planning their retirements. Two of the more frequently asked questions are, “Have I saved enough to retire?” “Do I have enough to live the way I want to in retirement?”
You’re not alone if you’re nearing retirement and worrying about not having saved enough for your retirement that could last 30 or more years.
With proper retirement planning, you can live a life of comfort, security, and significance while providing a legacy for your loved ones and giving to the community.
In this blog, we’ll discuss steps you can take today that will impact the rest of your life.
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Developing a Comprehensive Retirement Plan
Retirement is a period of life to be looked forward to with great anticipation. After all the dedicated hard work and success you’ve achieved, retirement is a time to reap the rewards.
At this point, you may be living a very comfortable life, and your goal is to protect it. On the other hand, you may have a relatively tight budget to do everything you want to do when you want to.
The first step in developing an effective retirement plan is understanding your current financial situation and retirement goals. It’s important to consider all aspects of your personal and financial situation. Be realistic! This means considering factors such as your age, health status, genetics, income sources during retirement (such as Social Security or pension), expected expenses during retirement (including medical bills), and a disciplined current savings rate and investment strategy.
Once you have a clear picture of where you are financially, it will be easier to prioritize your requirements and goals and develop a timeline for pursuing them.
Ideally, you elect to work with a Nashville wealth manager who can help you create a personalized financial roadmap to help you retire with dignity and respect.
Identify your sources of retirement income
Retirement income streams are key to pursuing financial stability in retirement and later in life. Maximizing these sources can be invaluable to ensuring your funds last throughout the lives of both spouses.
Living within your means is essential when budgeting for decades of retirement; realistic expectations about spending habits and lifestyle adjustments must be considered since your accumulated savings and Social Security may be your primary sources of retirement income.
Determining the best time to begin taking your Social Security benefits should be a part of your retirement plan, along with a comprehensive assessment of your tax status once you are retired. You may be in a higher tax bracket once you retire, so planning how you will make withdrawals from various accounts is another important factor to build into your strategy for retirement.
For example, consider converting traditional IRA accounts into a ROTH IRA if your current strategy moves you into a higher tax bracket upon retirement. While you’ll have to pay more taxes for the conversion, future withdrawals are tax-free. Just as you diversify your investments, it’s important to also diversify your tax buckets.
Your Nashville retirement planning professional can assist you in comparing these strategies and selecting the best one for you.
Utilize endowment-style investing for your investment portfolio
Endowment-style investing is a smart and reliable way to manage your retirement assets. It allows you to diversify your assets across various asset classes and structures, including stocks, bonds, real estate, and other types of investments.
Endowment-style investing is becoming increasingly popular among investors seeking to improve the potential returns from their investments while minimizing their potential risk. The key benefits of endowment-style investing are the ability to mitigate risk and tailor the portfolio to meet your needs and goals.
By working with an experienced wealth management team who actively builds your portfolio, you can ensure that it reflects your financial situation, goals, and risk tolerance while producing tax-efficient results.
Consider developing a charitable strategy
Giving to the community and supporting the causes you believe in can be very rewarding while producing tax benefits for you and your family.
Numerous strategies can be used to maximize these returns, such as:
- Setting up a donor-advised fund,
- Establishing a private or family foundation,
- Taking advantage of tax-free transfers such as qualified charitable distributions (QCD) from an IRA,
- Gifting appreciated assets to charity,
- Establishing a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) to donate appreciated assets that can be sold tax-free and produce income for you and your spouse.
Tax Planning
Given the complexity of tax planning, working with a wealth management professional with an extensive tax and accounting background can serve you well. This professional should work to minimize taxes throughout your working years and make sure there are no surprises during your initial retirement years. Your withdrawal strategy minimizes your tax liabilities during your retirement years.
A qualified professional who keenly understands aspects of taxation law can guide financial decisions at various life stages, from working years to early, mid, and late retirement years.
Finding a financial advisor you can trust
As an affluent individual, you have unique, complex needs that require specialized advice and services. For example, seeking an advisor with substantial experience working with individuals and couples like you is important.
When selecting a Nashville wealth manager and researching their credentials, services, compliance record, and pricing, it is important to do your due diligence.
When vetting potential advisors, there are several things to consider, such as:
- Experience, education, certifications,
- Record of compliance with industry regulations,
- Compensation method and amounts,
- Fiduciary status.
When searching for the right financial advisor for you, asking about service and fees upfront is important.
Asking for documentation is also the prudent thing to do. You want to base the selection of a financial advisor on something other than verbal information. Asking for this information will help you get the information you need to make the right decision.
About Silberman Wealth Strategies:
We help successful individuals and families pursue an amazing life of significance. Our wealth management solutions are uniquely tailored to benefit you directly.
Before taking any steps on your behalf, we get to know you and learn your hopes, ambitions, philanthropic desires, and objectives. Our approach to wealth planning involves crafting a personalized financial strategy, recognizing that emergencies often stem from not having a plan in the first place.
As life’s circumstances evolve, economies shift, or market dynamics change, our regularly scheduled reviews allow us to discuss potential adjustments to enhance your future outcomes.
To learn more about our retirement planning strategies, connect with us.
The views stated in this piece are not necessarily the opinion of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC and should not be construed directly or indirectly as an offer to buy or sell any securities. Due to volatility within the markets, opinions are subject to change without notice. Information is based on sources believed to be reliable; however, their accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Cetera does not offer direct investments in commodities. Converting from a traditional retirement account to a Roth retirement account is a taxable event. A Roth IRA offers tax free withdrawals on taxable contributions. To qualify for the tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings, a Roth IRA must be in place for at least five tax years, and the distribution must take place after age 59½ or due to death, disability, or a first time home purchase (up to a $10,000 lifetime maximum). Depending on state law, Roth IRA distributions may be subject to state taxes. Re-balancing may be a taxable event. Before you take any specific action be sure to consult with your tax professional. The return and principal value of bonds fluctuate with changes in market conditions. If bonds are not held to maturity, they may be worth more or less than their original value
Registered Representative offering securities and advisory services through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, a broker/dealer and Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services also offered through SILBERMAN WEALTH STRATEGIES, INC. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity. Located at 320 SEVEN SPRINGS WAY STE 250, BRENTWOOD, TN 37027For a comprehensive review of your personal situation, always consult with a tax or legal advisor. Neither Cetera Advisor Networks LLC nor any of its representatives may give legal or tax advice. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. There is no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful. Some IRA’s have contribution limitations and tax consequences for early withdrawals. For complete details, consult your tax advisor or attorney. Distributions from traditional IRA’s and employer sponsored retirement plans are taxed as ordinary income and, if taken prior to reaching age 59 ½, may be subject to an additional 10% IRS tax penalty. A diversified portfolio does not assure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market.
