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The 10 Must-Have Retirement Conversations for Couples

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

You and your spouse need to talk about much more than financial issues before you retire.

Retirement is an exciting transition for couples, but it can also be a difficult one. As you approach retirement, you and your spouse may need to revisit your goals, dreams and values to make sure you're on the same page. Talking about retirement now can help you plan for the future and avoid surprises.

Today, we'll discuss the retirement conversations couples need to have by turning to Roberta K. Taylor and Dorian Mintzer ,co-authors of The Couple's Retirement Puzzle: 10 Must-Have Conversations for Transitioning to the Second Half of Life and contributors to The Six Secrets to a Happy Retirement.

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13
May
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Massachusetts financial advisor, Massachusetts financial planner, financial advice, retirement conversation

Develop Your Retirement Roadmap

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

We often make decisions based on our emotions, or how we "feel" about something rather than on the strength of what we "know," or the facts. That is often true in politics, sports and our relationships, as well as when we talk about finances and retirement. I find that the people I talk to often have created visions of their retirement based much more on their emotions (and often, that emotion is fear) than how the numbers actually play out.

So let's understand some of the most important components of your Retirement Roadmap and why it is necessary to develop a Roadmap so that you can pursue a successful retirement.

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22
Oct
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals

Methods of Income Distribution, Part 2

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

Last week, I discussed one method for determining the appropriate retirement income distribution for your needs. Today, I’ll review two additional retirement income distribution methods.

The second retirement income distribution method is one I use with many of my clients. Once you understand how much the portfolio needs to generate (for example, $22,000 per year), then you can set aside one-to-two years of funds in a cash account and then draw that down on a monthly basis. For two years, you would move $44,000 into the cash account. At the end of one or two years, you would evaluate the line items in the portfolio, sell enough to replenish the cash for another one- to two-year period, and start again.

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16
Oct
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals

Methods of Retirement Income Distribution, Part 1

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

There are various methods you can use to set up your portfolio to generate the income you need in retirement. If you're a regular reader of this blog, I hope that by now you understand that without going through the proper planning steps, you may not know exactly what income to draw from which sources.

Unlike many of my financial planning peers, I think that setting up your portfolio is one of the last items you need to address when it comes to retirement planning. Until you've taken time to understand your cash flow needs and develop a comprehensive list of bucket list items, then, and only then, will you know how much risk to take with your portfolio. And, as seen in the case study I discussed last week, you can actually reduce your tax burden by coordinating what investments you own in which accounts, and that will depend on how many accounts you have (for example, retirement accounts versus personal accounts) and how old you are.

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08
Oct
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals

Retirement Planning Step 4: Generate Income In a Tax-Efficient Way

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

In previous posts, I’ve explained three of the four key steps you need to take when planning for retirement: identifying your ongoing needs, creating a bucket list and setting up emergency reserves. Today, I’d like to discuss the fourth, and final, retirement planning step.

Retirement planning step 4: Generate income in a tax-efficient way. The real trick to generating the income you need in retirement is to identify which accounts will generate how much income and when. To do this properly, and to generate the most tax-efficient income, you must integrate asset allocation, cash flow analysis, taxes and knowledge of retirement distribution rules.

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01
Oct
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals

Retirement Planning Step 3: Set Up Emergency Reserves

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

In previous posts, I’ve explained two of the four key steps you need to take when planning for retirement: identifying your ongoing needs and creating a bucket list. Today, I’d like to discuss the third retirement planning step.

Retirement planning step 3: Set up emergency reserves. In addition to determining your ongoing expenses and creating a bucket list, you also need to set up emergency reserves. Why do you need emergency reserves? Emergency reserves are a critical component of any financial plan, since you need to have liquid money available when the unexpected happens (and the unexpected will always happen).

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24
Sep
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals

Retirement Planning Step 2: Create Your Bucket List

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

Last week, I explained the first of four key steps you need to take when planning for retirement: identifying your ongoing needs. Today, I’d like to discuss the second retirement planning step.

Retirement planning step 2: Create your “bucket list.” In addition to determining your ongoing expenses (as I discussed last week), you also need to create your own personal bucket list. Your bucket list consists of the big-picture items you want to accomplish. Creating a detailed bucket list and then estimating how much each will cost allows you to include those items in your retirement budget. Some things that I often see on a person’s bucket list include purchasing a new car, travel, painting the house or buying a second home. There are no limits on your bucket list, so let your imagination run wild as you begin to brainstorm ideas.

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17
Sep
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals

Retirement Planning Step 1: Identify Your Ongoing Needs

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

Last week, I offered an overview of four key steps you need to take when planning for retirement. Today, I’d like to discuss the first of those steps in more detail.

Step 1: Identify your ongoing needs. In order to plan for a successful retirement, you need to have a complete accounting of your various expenses so that you’ll know how much money you have to have in order to do everything you want, and need, to do. To complete this accounting, you will need to calculate your ongoing expenses, including both fixed expenses (like your car payment, mortgage and utilities) and discretionary expenses (for example, travel, gifts or dining out). Don’t forget to include taxes.

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10
Sep
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals

The Four-Step Retirement Planning Process

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

The world of financial planning is divided into two distinctive phases.

The first phase is accumulation. The goal is to put away as much money as possible and get the highest market returns, so that you have enough money to live comfortably in retirement. This is the phase that we go through when we are working and have retirement as a distant goal, many years away.

The second is the distribution phase. The goal when you retire is to generate the income needed to accomplish your desired lifestyle. Now that you are no longer working (and probably not contributing to your retirement accounts), preserving your principal may be more important than growing your money.

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04
Sep
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals

The Three Legs of Retirement Income

Posted by: Mark Singer CFP®

One of the most important aspects of the transition into retirement is knowing when you can retire. A recent survey indicated that 24% of people have postponed their retirement date at least once in the past year. And a study by AARP revealed that 40% of baby boomers plan to “work until they drop.” Why are we so fearful of retirement?

When our parents were retiring, they relied on what we called the three-legged stool of retirement income. But now, some of those legs are a bit wobbly, which is understandably causing quite a bit of anxiety among baby boomers who are looking to retire in the next few years.

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27
Aug
0

Tags: Retirement, financial planning, Mark Singer, Social Security, Certified Financial Planner, Your Retirement Roadmap, Tax Planning, Retirement Income, Retirement Goals


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