The Story
Paul is an attorney. That is who he has always been – it is how he, and those around him, have defined his identity. Throughout his career, he’s put in the long nights and extra miles. Eagerly. He loves what he does; he loves the craft of it. Now approaching the next decade of his life, things are changing. He and his wife, Lucille, began asking: What does retirement for us look like?

Retirement marks significant life change. For generations, the expectation for turning the page to this chapter of life has been this: after working nine-to-five until your mid-60’s, you stop and spend the next 8 to 10 years winding down. This trajectory accounts for a lifespan of about 72 years and one career-long, full-time job. A few decades ago, that trajectory made sense, mathematically. Life expectancy was about 72, and people tended to hold the same job and contribute to the same pension for their whole career. But now, we are living longer. We are working differently. The way we retire must change, too. 

This one is shorter. The longer I do this job, the more I think the real value is in the questions. Once we have a good set of questions, the answers are often a Google search away. Products are a commodity. The real value is in the conversations that occur during the planning process.

This one is a downer.  The latest statistics I could find say that more than 5 million Americans ae living with Alzheimer’s in 2020. Eighty percent are 75 or older. Two thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s over 65 are women (ALZ.org).  A study on the same ALZ.org site from 2013 found that 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. So that’s the really bad part, but it’s probably not actually a surprise.

Best way to run out of money in retirement is to get sick, physically or mentally.

According to Time Magazine, the top 3 ways to stave off dementia in retirement are:

1.  Always be learning
2.  Always be fit
3.  Always be with friends

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• Whatever size your home, let’s go to #7, getting hurt
• Who has a close friend or family member who experienced a crippling injury?
• Luckiest client ever, had a client fall from the top of the ladder, only bruises
• LUCK FAVORS THE PREPARED!

What is the smallest house you have owned? How much bigger is your current home? We had our first child, Emma, in a 1,600 square foot house, built in the 20’s. When son James was born we moved to the south edge of town. There were several factors, but size of the house was certainly one of them.

This is a scary one. It’s scary because it threatens our self image. “How could I fall for that?” Unlike identity theft which has protections built in, there really aren’t any protections with scams. Apparently the Nigerian Prince is not coming to Bluegrass Field to drop off my inheritance. Which is sad.

• Remembering life expectancy, inflation and ‘too old’ brings us to #4
• Panicking in the next bear market
  • Only one call and doesn’t count as she was a new client
  • Don’t hesitate to call or schedule a time to come in
  • WE WILL ALWAYS CALL YOU if action is needed
• Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

I’m pretty sure this one is directly related to the first issue, life expectancy. And the assumption that there is no way you will live to see the market recover from a downturn or a crash. This is more of the assumption that the present moment is all there is. Things won’t change from “this”, whatever “this” is.

So, here are some numbers in a nice chart: