Category: Retirement Planning

The answer isn’t simple.

It’s a question as old as retirement itself: Now that the children are gone, should you downsize your home?

Maybe move to your favorite vacation spot to enjoy the sunshine and natural beauty? Or should you stay put, relaxing in familiar surroundings and a community you know well? Today’s retirees enjoy more freedom than ever to choose where and how they live. Many retirees choose to downsize to reduce housing costs or move to be closer to family. As with most important personal and financial decisions, there are pros and cons to downsizing your home that you should consider.

By Michael J. Searcy

Most everyone realizes that there will come a day that they can no longer generate income for living expenses from employment. For some, it’s a welcome event. For others, it’s a curse. Now, assuming you are in the “welcome event” category and want to quit working for a living someday, here are some items to consider in your planning:

By Michael J. Searcy

Have you heard of loss aversion? In economics and decision theory, “loss aversion refers to people’s tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains.”

Loss aversion may help explain why people are not saving enough for retirement – they may avoid saving today because it feels like they’re losing the ability to use that money for things they want now and don’t recognize the delayed gratification of using that money for a comfortable retirement in the future.

After 18 years in the National Football League, the Denver Broncos’ star quarterback, Peyton Manning, is calling it quits after a very successful career. We wish him well and hope that he’s made the preparations needed to enjoy a long, comfortable retirement. If he has, he’ll be in the minority. Research shows that an estimated 60% of retired NFL players go broke within five years of retirement; nearly 16% declare bankruptcy.

One of the most common questions that we get from clients nearing retirement is, “How much income am I going to need to be comfortable?” It’s an important question that gets right at the heart of the retirement puzzle.

Are You Mentally Prepared for Retirement? How to Thrive Before and After the Transition

Retirement is about much more than money. It’s also about finding a new path in life and a new identity as a retiree.

For most investors, retirement is their primary financial goal. As financial professionals, we help our clients chart a course to get them to retirement. We work together with our clients to answer financial questions like: When can I afford to retire? How much money will I need to live comfortably? Surveys show that many Americans are woefully unprepared for retirement and financial worries can make the retirement transition stressful. Fortunately, working with a professional can help ensure that you enter retirement with confidence in your financial future.

Do you have an old 401(k) sitting around from a previous job? If so, you have a few options to consider. You could cash out your account, but if you don’t put the cash back into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or other qualified account within 60 days, you’ll owe income taxes (and possibly penalties) on your withdrawal. If your current employer permits rollovers into its retirement plan, you may also be able to move your savings over to a new 401(k) and consolidate your investments.

By: Michael J. Searcy

Picturing a snapshot of life in retirement might bring to mind images of gardening, grandchildren, relaxing on a beach and golfing – the images of activities people enjoy. The attraction of retirement is having the time to do what you enjoy, time for your hobbies. However, for many doctors, their job is their hobby. They love what they do, the skills they use, the people they meet, and the feeling of accomplishment. Retiring for them means the loss of a hobby, not a chance to gain new ones. Retirement means losing the opportunity to do something they love. If you love what you do, is work really work? Is there a way to retire in your job, not from your job?