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:

This is a tricky issue because the change isn’t very big in any given year. The long term average for inflation is 3.25%. That’s averaged out from 1913 to April of this year. If we refer back to the previous discussion of life expectancy, it starts to make sense. Over a single year, the cost of the car only goes up 3.25% or $812, but over 30 years the price goes from $25,000 to $65,259.

So the solution to this problem is:

The first way to run out of money is to Ignore your Life Expectancy.

A common issue is a tendency to under estimate their life expectancy. A woman aged 65 has a 50% chance of living another 26 years. The male expectation is another 24 years.

There are a lot of important considerations to weigh before doing a Roth Conversion. As a result of the current market condition and changes due to the SECURE Act, Roth conversions are becoming an important strategy that advisors are discussing with their clients. This flowchart addresses some of the major decision points to help guide you in the right direction.