Pre-Retirees
Retirement is not a “one size fits all” next phase of life. It will mean something different to each of you. But without proper planning, your retirement years could fall short of expectations.
We know too many retirees who are no longer happy. And it's not about the money.
This may come as a surprise to you, but people (including you) don't have an inherent need to retire or to stop working. In fact, when we peel back the onion, we learn that retirement isn't their goal… financial independence is.
Most of the people we talk to define financial independence as the knowledge that they can meet their expenses, both now and in the foreseeable future.
Determining why you want to retire may be the most important decision you will make about the rest of your life.
So, let's start by talking to you, not about your goals, but about your values and your intentions instead.
Once your ‘why' has been established, we'll help you understand what your retirement can look like and how you can fund it while addressing potential red flags.
We'll work with you to:
- Develop a sound cash flow plan for spending in retirement
- Review your government benefits (e.g. CPP and OAS) to identify the optimal time to begin drawing these benefits so that you can maximize the likelihood of your future meeting your expectations
- Help you understand the mechanics behind taking portfolio withdrawals to support your financial independence
- Assess the impact of a health-related issue, or any issues, on your overall retirement plan
Let us help ensure your success with a thoughtful, realistic, and collaborative retirement plan.
Recent Retirees
Retirement consists of four or five phases, depending on who you talk to.
As a recent retiree, you will probably be in the first or second phase. I have called the first a period of Retirement Euphoria; others call it the holiday phase. As you might guess, this phase is not a problem.
But then it becomes progressively more difficult. One of the key findings in a 20-year longitudinal study1 completed by Harvard was that the unhappiest retirees had not gone on to do anything productive beyond pleasing themselves.
The next phase, Retirement Hell, if you will, may well be the tipping point for the rest of your life, especially if you have not established a framework in which to live your life outside of your business or career. Does this ring a bell?
Research by Dr. R.E. Moynes2 suggests that many people do not get past Retirement Hell. If they do, they often suffer relapses and fall back into it. It can be scary.
This phase is also the age of discovery. While money is and always will be very important in your life, you may soon discover there are a lot of more important things than money. And this is where working with an advisor who will take the time to really know you, and who will provide meaningful and actionable advice may prove invaluable to your retirement well-being.
You have the chance to make the next phase or phases of your life an adventure. This may be daunting, but if you want to do something new and experience the sense of satisfaction from completing an uncertain and unpredictable course of action, we relish the opportunity to work with you.
Retirement can become a void for many people. We see a better alternative and have chosen to work with those who want to make this phase of their life better, more rewarding, more fulfilling.
This is retirement on your terms. Interested?
Retiring Business Owners
Retiring business owners fall into two camps:
- Those that want to retire
- Those that are reluctantly retiring
Either way, most of you are headed for turbulent times, and you're unprepared.
For one thing, most of your success has been about you taking charge. About cutting through the clutter and making hard decisions. You're the boss, and you're good at it.
And for many of you, your business has been your retirement plan. Transitioning to the next phase of life may involve letting go of that business. And it's not just that, it will also involve a myriad of financial decisions that will primarily revolve around tax (fun times).
No one feels good about working hard all their life and then having to give up a good deal of their wealth to the taxman, especially when you consider the tax changes being imposed on small business owners by Ottawa at this time.
The truth is that you probably have the money you need to do what you want.
Your challenges are many, beyond your belief at this point, but at the crux of the matter, you probably have these three concerns:
- Determining how best to keep your hard-earned money
- Determining how best to use that money going forward
- Learning how to stay in control of your life
At this point you'll probably realize you need to start planning for retirement... But how can you commit to a retirement plan if you're not in charge?
And that's where we come in.
Committing to co-creating a retirement plan with competent professionals will answer your questions. Often questions you haven't even asked but need to know the answers for.
Typically, this type of exercise will not only show you your options, it will allow you to explore your many ‘what if' scenarios. Planning will help you arrive at an agreed upon course of action that meets your needs and wants. It might even keep you in charge, if that's what you want.
If you feel that you want a new perspective on preparing for retirement (one that's not just about the money) we are the people you should be talking to.
Financial Services For Widows & Widowers
When a widow first comes to me, she often seems lost and very alone.
“I believed my life was over. I believed I would never be happy again. I believed I had no reason for living…”
“Can I make it?” is the same question asked by widows whether they're worth many million dollars or considerably less.
As a financial planner my role becomes that of being a decision partner, someone you can trust while you get used to being alone (and that's what it is, “getting used to”, not “getting over” or “forgetting”) and wondering whether you can make it psychologically and financially.
Establishing a new cash flow plan is one of the great needs for most widows. We will work with you to figure that out as you slowly establish a new life. Maybe you can't do that right away, but as you make changes in the way you live, we'll help determine what it's going to cost you and where the money is going to come from.
The other big thing is re-establishing the investment portfolio. We provide guidance without pressure to remove the worry from financial decisions and give you the confidence to move forward with your life.
Besides just planning for your financial future, we also talk. Sometimes it's just inspiring confidence and giving you the courage to say, “Maybe I didn't think much about this in the past, but I can go forward from here.”
Working with widows has become some of the most rewarding work for me as a financial planner. To be able to see widows grow and change and become empowered makes me feel humbled.
It's not a perfect world, so please contact me for a no obligation preliminary meeting to see if we are the right fit.