How Much Do I Need to Retire?
How Much Do I Need to Retire?
Retirement is a very personal process, with no across-the board approach to success. Of course, you’ll need to accumulate a certain amount of assets to retire successfully. But that threshold can vary considerably from one person to another, depending on individual goals. More to the point, many of the factors that determine the quality of your retirement has little to do with how you spend your money. They’re more about how you spend your time.
With that in mind, let’s look at three truths about retirement planning:
1. You don’t have to stop spending your accumulated wealth.
Your accumulated wealth is not a finite amount of sand in an hourglass, slowly diminishing until the last grains trickle away. We can work with you to keep growing your retirement funds and keep them robust and healthy. We can also help you enjoy the type of retirement you so richly deserve by stress-testing your plan. However, we also understand that transition isn’t always easy. A lifetime of hard work and commitment to building wealth doesn’t change overnight. It’s why we work with you to find a sustainable spending plan that can help you enjoy the fruits of your years of savings.
2. You don’t have to stop “working.”
Many clients tell us they miss the satisfaction that came from their career once they step retirement. One way we encourage our clients to continue enjoying that satisfaction is to support charitable causes that are important to them. Part of your support can come in the form of donations, which may also reduce your tax burden or help eliminate inheritance taxes later. If you have charitable intentions, we would be happy to work with your accountant and estate-planning attorney to find the most tax-efficient way to give to the charities that matter to you most. Another rewarding way to support the cause of your choice is to volunteer your time.
Some retirees also benefit from working parttime jobs. This can not only keep you active and provide frequent social contact — an underrated aspect of a healthy retirement — but also help assuage that “hourglass anxiety” some people have about their savings. And you can get a two-birds-with-one-stone benefit by contributing the money you earn with your side hustle to a related charitable cause. If you’re a painter, for example, you can donate any money you receive, from selling your pieces, to a scholarship fund at a local art school.
3. You don’t have to stop — period.
Probably the most important thing to keep in mind as you plan your retirement is not to think in terms of a clear-cut “before” and “after.” Instead, your retirement should be a chance to continue being the same person you’ve always been — with more time and resources to enjoy it.