Do you have enough to retire?

It’s a question many people ask themselves today. With more than 10,000 people retiring every day, in America alone, no wonder this is such a popular question. Lance and Lindsay were no exception. They had asked themselves enough, so they decided to come ask me.

A decade away from their retirement milestones, the couple had many questions. They wanted to make sure they were on the right track. Lance and Lindsay were 55 and had, as a combined total, worked for at least as long. Saving as they went. The hard work paid off to the tune of several hundred thousand, enough to retire; on the surface, it appeared they were doing everything right. However, after interviewing them and running a few scenarios using the SIPS Retirement Planning System, we found several holes in their situation.We were able to use the SIPS Retirement Planning System to visually explore their questions. I showed Lance and Lindsay what retirement would look like in 10 years based on their current allocations. When we did this, the couple was not happy. They were able to see and understand that if saving habits did not change, they would run out of money in their early eighties. This healthy duo was devastated. Fortunately, Lance and Lindsay were still ten years away from retirement. We were able to engineer and implement a plan to save more money. We also allocated some of the funds to vehicles of guaranteed income, creating a pension system. Once we had all of the pieces put together — Lance and Lindsay couldn’t have been happier. The two left my office confident and knowing. They were truly on the right track to achieving the retirement of their dreams.

Taking an honest look at their situations, while asking their questions outloud to a professional, was key to avoiding disaster. If I hadn’t had the tools to visually communicate and show them their situation clearly, the clients might have found out about the pitfalls of their situation the hard and unfortunate way. I was happy to help point the way out and proud of them for stopping and asking for directions.

As financial advisors, it is not enough to simply recommend products that you believe are a good fit for most people. There is no one size fits all product. The SIPS Retirement Planning System allows the lines of communication to be opened. Together, a successful plan can be built.