For the most part, our business has been about helping our clients plan for the future and, of course, retirement is the moment when everything comes together to make that stage a just reward for a life’s work. This process is one we most enjoy and normally starts when we first meet our client and prepare a retirement income forecast as part of an overall financial plan. We include all expected sources of income, try to estimate a level of inflation, taxation and provide the client with an understanding of where they are financially relative to where they would like to be. Next, we establish the needed saving accounts, ensure an appropriate amount of life insurance, and send them off to get wills and enduring powers of attorney put into place or updated. With all this the financial stuff is mostly in place. Finally, the time comes to retire, and while you have been preparing for the big day, the media, financial service providers, tour companies and retirement home builders have all been feeding you their idea of what “retirement” should look like. We find this social environment often creates misconceptions as to what the whole process is about. We know that taking the plunge can be stressful, but what we’ve also seen is after a short period of uncertainty, and as the monthly incomes begin to settle, people start to relax.
Retirement is about you and satisfying your values, needs and wants on a regular basis. Who says that you need to run down the beach in your bathing suit when you might just prefer to spend some time with your grandchild or continue to enjoy your career but on a part-time basis. Maybe hobby farming is your idea of fun and the chance presents itself to “get cows”. When we set out to prepare financial plans, life expectancy is an important consideration in determining a sustainable monthly income. Life annuities are becoming important in protecting your income stream from volatility and can go a long way to reducing some of the stress in retirement. Thankfully, a sense of normality is resuming in our new, peri-pandemic world. We’ve enjoyed a summer catching up with clients, while also spending time with friends and family. Meanwhile, there is reassuring evidence that the economy is recovering. Markets and returns are rewarding long-term investors with greater growth in their savings than that possible in guaranteed investments.
If you are looking towards retirement with uncertainty or feel as though you’re torn between what you should do and what you want to do, we are here to help you maintain the course.
We appreciate your trust and loyal support and wish you a memorable season of giving and togetherness ahead.
Thank you,
Don, Allison, and Penney.