The New Rules of Retirement
Our relationship with money has changed. The pandemic accelerated a lot of those changes, but many of the forces were already set in motion over a decade ago. Additionally, these driving forces have reshaped the way we think, use, plan, save, and invest our money. These driving forces include, but are not limited to investing apps; platforms, zero – commission trading; a historic bull market for stocks, and the coming out of the Great Financial Crisis followed by record-breaking inflation; emergence of cryptocurrencies, and the evolution of financial planning. These driving forces have also changed how one may approach retirement. For instance, younger generations are less likely to work at the same company their entire careers, collect a pension, and ease their way out of the workforce at the age of 65.
We are living longer, and we need to able to afford the lives we want to live, when we stop working. For most people, retirement is not the end of the work, but the end of being able to depend on a regular paycheck with benefits and a 401(k) match, that is if one is lucky enough to get one. According to Fidelity, over half of working adults in the U.S. are invested in the stock market, the average 401(k) balance for baby boomers, and Generation X is only around $161,000.
Taking in to account the cost of living which keeps increasing every year, and questions about the staying power of Social Security, for most people nearing retirement, these numbers don’t make sense. There is no easy fix to these problems. However, there are some fundamental practices, and approaches that when applied will result in fortitude of fruition.
For younger adults and those nearing retirement focus on:
Financial Awareness: Know what it costs to be you?
Invest appropriately for your age: Are you above risky, not risky enough, or well- balanced?
Balanced portfolio: Is the 60/40 portfolio still the answer given the trembles in the stock market?
Saving and budgeting in a world of rising prices: Inflation should not be approached as a bug in the system. Instead, we should approach inflation as a feature in the system and accept and incorporate in to our personal budgets.
Plan and care for yourself or family members: The cost of care keeps rising, but less and less people are prepared for those bills when they come due.
Estate planning: If you plan to pass along your savings to charity or the next generation, are your affairs in order?
In this special series on retirement, I will dive deeper in to the changes, knowing that the game has changed in retirement planning and investing. I will dedicate, and encourage deep dialogue, laying out the changes, and along the way offering solutions that can help you adapt with the changing times.
I welcome you to take this financial awareness journey with me. Let’s educate, evolve, and take better care of our finances, investments, and retirement.
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